Physical therapy is a type of medical care designed to help people improve movement, reduce pain, and restore function after injury, surgery, or poor health. It involves a range of exercises, techniques, and therapies that are tailored to each individual's needs. Whether you're recovering from an injury, managing chronic pain, or working to improve mobility, physical therapy plays an important role in your recovery and overall well-being.

What Does Physical Therapy Help Treat?

Physical therapy helps treat a wide range of conditions, focusing on improving mobility, reducing pain, and enhancing overall physical function. Some of the main issues it addresses include:

• Musculoskeletal Injuries: Physical therapy treats sprains, strains, and fractures, helping restore strength, flexibility, and mobility for faster healing and reduced pain.
• Arthritis and Joint Pain: It helps alleviate arthritis pain by improving joint function, reducing inflammation, and strengthening muscles around the joint for better mobility.
• Post-Surgical Rehabilitation: After surgery, physical therapy aids in regaining strength and flexibility, speeding up recovery and reducing complications.
• Neurological Conditions: For conditions like stroke or Parkinson’s, physical therapy improves coordination, balance, and movement, helping patients regain independence.
• Sports Injuries: It treats sports injuries, helping athletes recover safely and prevent future issues with targeted rehabilitation exercises.
• Balance and Fall Prevention: Physical therapy improves balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls and promoting safer movement, especially for older adults.

What are the 4 Main Types of Physical Therapy?

Orthopedic Physiotherapy

This type of physical therapy focuses on treating injuries or conditions that affect bones, muscles, joints, and ligaments. If you have a sports injury, back pain, arthritis or need rehabilitation after surgery, orthopedic physical therapy can help you regain strength and mobility. It includes strength exercises, stretching, and manipulation to improve movement and reduce pain.

Neurological Physical Therapy

If you have a condition that affects the nervous system, such as a stroke, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, or multiple sclerosis, neurological physical therapy can help restore function. It focuses on balance, coordination, and motor skills to improve your mobility and ability to perform daily activities. This therapy is important for regaining independence after a neurological injury.

Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy

This therapy helps people with heart or lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, or after a heart attack or surgery. It includes breathing exercises, endurance training, and cardiovascular conditioning to improve your endurance and lung capacity and make daily activities easier.

Pediatric Physical Therapy

Pediatric physical therapy helps improve movement, coordination, and muscle strength for children with developmental delays, birth defects, or injuries. It supports children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, or autism by using fun, engaging exercises to improve motor skills and independence.

What are the Benefits of Physical Therapy?

Pain Relief

If you suffer from chronic pain, joint discomfort, or muscle tension, physical therapy can help relieve your pain. For example, using techniques such as manipulation, stretching and ultrasound therapy can get to the root cause of the pain, improving circulation and reducing inflammation. With consistent treatment, you can get long-term pain relief without relying on medication.

Improve Mobility and Flexibility

Struggling with stiffness or limited mobility? Physical therapy includes strength and flexibility exercises that help restore your range of motion, making everyday activities like walking, bending, and reaching easier. Over time, improved mobility allows you to perform daily tasks more comfortably and with less physical strain.

Accelerated Recovery from Injury or Surgery

Physical therapy can help you regain strength and function after a sports injury, accident, or surgery. A personalized rehabilitation program ensures that your wounds heal properly reduces stiffness, and improves muscle coordination. This approach prevents complications and helps you get back to your normal life faster and with more confidence.

Preventing Future Injuries

Physical therapy helps prevent future injuries by identifying muscle imbalances and weaknesses. This is because the therapist will design exercises to strengthen key muscle groups, improve posture, and enhance body mechanics. This is especially beneficial for athletes and people with physically demanding jobs who need to stay active and injury-free.

Improve Balance and Prevent Falls

If you feel unsteady or have a condition that affects your balance, therapy can help. Balance training and coordination exercises, for example, can strengthen stabilizing muscles, improve reflexes, and make movement more comfortable. These techniques are especially useful for older people and can reduce the risk of falls and related injuries.

Managing Chronic Diseases

Physical therapy is very effective in managing conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and neurological disorders. Daily life is made more manageable through targeted exercises that help maintain mobility, reduce stiffness, and improve circulation. By maintaining consistent therapy, you can stay active, reduce discomfort, and improve your quality of life.

Surgery Can Be Avoided in Some Cases

In some cases, physical therapy can help you avoid surgery by addressing pain and mobility issues in a non-invasive way. Surgical intervention can sometimes be avoided by strengthening muscles, improving joint function, and correcting movement patterns. This not only shortens recovery time but also reduces the risk of surgery.

Where Do You Get Physical Therapy?

You can get physical therapy in various settings, depending on your needs:

• Hospitals and Medical Centers: Hospitals with on-site physical therapy departments offer specialized care and advanced equipment for post-surgery and injury rehabilitation under medical supervision.
• Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinics: These clinics focus on personalized treatment plans for injury recovery, pain relief, and mobility improvement, providing ongoing physical therapy care.
• Rehabilitation Centers: Rehabilitation centers offer intensive therapy for recovery from major surgeries, strokes, or serious injuries, focusing on rebuilding strength, balance, and coordination.
• Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities: For the elderly, these facilities provide physical therapy to enhance mobility, maintain independence, and prevent falls through guided exercises and treatment.
• Home Health Physical Therapy: Licensed therapists visit your home to provide personalized treatment, making it convenient for those with limited mobility or recovering from surgery.
• Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Centers: These centers specialize in helping athletes recover from injuries and improve performance through targeted exercises, strength-building, and injury prevention.
• Workplaces and Occupational Therapy Centers: Some workplaces offer on-site physical therapy for employees recovering from work injuries or needing rehabilitation to improve strength and mobility.
• University and Research-Based Therapy Programs: Universities provide supervised physical therapy treatment at lower costs, allowing students to gain experience while providing quality care.

How Much Does Physical Therapy Cost?

The cost of physical therapy varies widely, ranging from $50 to $350 per session, depending on factors such as the type of treatment, location, and expertise of the therapist. On average, a typical session costs about $100 to $150. If you need specialized treatment or advanced equipment, the cost may increase. It's a good idea to ask your healthcare provider for a clear breakdown of costs to see exactly what it will cost to meet your specific needs.

Physical therapy is covered by some health insurance plans, but coverage can vary greatly from plan to plan. Some plans may require partial out-of-pocket payments or place a cap on the number of visits paid. If you don't have health insurance, check with the clinic for available payment plans or discounted fees, as some clinics will offer a sliding scale payment option to help you cover more of the cost of treatment.

What Mobility Aids Can Be Used to Help After Physical Therapy?

Several mobility aids can help during and after your physical therapy sessions. These tools can help with mobility and make daily activities easier as you recover.

• Canes and Walkers: Canes and walkers provide stability and make walking easier during rehabilitation. For example, walkers for seniors or a 4-wheel walker provides extra support for better balance.
• Wheelchairs and Motorized Mobility Scooters: Manual wheelchairs and mobility scooters aid in mobility, save energy, and increase independence. For people who need powered support, electric wheelchairs can make mobility easier.
• Lift Chairs: Lift chairs help people with mobility problems to stand by gently tilting, thus reducing the strain on the body during the rehabilitation process.
• Knee Mobility Scooters: Ideal for those with lower leg injuries, knee mobility scooters make rehabilitation easier by providing mobility without putting pressure on the injured leg.