When should I get Physical Therapy?
To go to physical therapy or not go to physical therapy, that is the question. How do I know when to go? Is physical therapy really necessary? Won’t it just heal with time? Is it really going to help my problem, I’ve had this pain for years. Is it too late to fix this problem? Isn’t exercise going to make my problem worse? These are all common questions that we get from new physical therapy patients regarding their physical condition. Today we’ll break down when it may be beneficial to see a physical therapist.
When should I see a physical therapist? Short answer, any time you have bodily pain. Physical therapists are specialists in biomechanics and correcting movement dysfunction. The sooner a physical therapist is able to assess the problem, the quicker we are able to resolve your pain. The longer the dysfunction is present the longer it may take to resolve the pain that goes with it.
My pain has been there decades, isn’t it just old age? Many times the dysfunction has been going on so long that our body compensates to keep us going. The body is very good at compensating to keep us moving, but it can only do so much before it finally catches up to us. By finally addressing the root cause and fixing the movement dysfunction we can eliminate that nagging pain that’s been bugging you for 20 years. Even if the dysfunction has been there for decades, it’s never too late to see a PT to address the underlying cause.
Isn’t Physical Therapy just exercise? Can’t I just do that at home? Our profession focuses on healing the body through motion and mobilization. Exercise is a key component of physical therapy because our muscles are what allow us to move and maintain the position of our body. Exercise is only part of the equation though, manual therapy or joint mobilizations may be required to correct motion patterns that may be the root cause of the dysfunction. It’s always a good idea to get assessed by a PT any time an injury occurs, or the pain that showed up out of nowhere just won’t go away.
Doesn’t the body heal itself? Won’t this pain just go away with time? Often this is true, especially for superficial injuries to the skin, but many structures inside of the body do not heal as well as the skin and need a proper rehabilitation program in order to heal. This goes back to timeline, the longer an injury or pain goes untreated, the longer it may take to fix the underlying cause. Honestly, if the body always fixed itself, Physical Therapists wouldn’t be necessary.
