When you have chronic pain, it can be tempting to rely on medications to help you stay comfortable. However, there can be other ways to manage your pain that may be better options for you. Physical therapy is often an option that can not only treat your pain right now, but also help you avoid further pain in the future. Here are several ways physical therapists treat pain.
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Pain relieving exercises – Your therapist may teach you exercises that can relieve pain by helping you stretch areas where you have discomfort. In particular, stretching can relieve stress and pain in muscles and joints.
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Strengthening exercises – Strengthening muscles can help relieve pain and increase mobility. Your physical therapist will probably teach you exercises that can make your muscles stronger in areas where you have pain. Give this therapy time and exercise at home, as this is a great pain management tool, but it is a long-term technique.
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Flexibility exercises – Lack of flexibility can increase pain. Over time, when you avoid use of a muscle because of pain surrounding it, your flexibility decreases. Increasing your flexibility, just like increasing your strength, can help decrease pain and enhance mobility.
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Aerobic exercise- This type of exercise is often used in physical therapy. It can be a great way to warm up to avoid injury during the rest of your exercises. It can also be helpful if you need to lose weight to decrease stress on your painful joints. Your physical therapist will show you how to complete aerobic exercises in a way that does not contribute to your pain.
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Massage – Therapists use massage therapy to relax tight muscles and relieve pain. It is common for patients to stiffen up and tighten muscles in response to pain, which is why massage can be so therapeutic.
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Heat and ice – Physical therapists in Voorhees NJ also use heat and ice to relieve swelling, loosen muscles and relieve pain. Your therapist will show you how to use these same treatments at home.
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Electrical nerve stimulation and ultrasound – Both of these techniques can be powerful pain relievers. Electrical nerve stimulation sends a low voltage electrical current to painful areas while ultrasound uses sound waves. Both are painless and both block pain messages sent to your brain.
Physical therapy can have amazing results in the treatment of pain and the healing of injuries. Patients can often avoid excess medications and surgery by working diligently with their therapist to use exercise and alternative treatments for healing and pain management.
Suburban Orthopedics offers a full range of pain management services provided by our staff of physical therapists. You can follow them on Twitter for further news and updates!
