Physical therapy aims to help patients improve their strength, balance, flexibility, and mobility, and to reduce or eliminate their pain levels. Doctors and surgeons often recommend physical therapy to their patients who have an illness, have suffered an injury, or are recovering from surgery.
On a proactive level, sports doctors recommend physical therapy to athletes in order to help them learn how to train properly for their sport, and spine doctors recommend this noninvasive treatment to help reduce their neck pain and back pain. Let’s talk about how physical therapy works, what you can expect from it, and where you can go here in Southeast Michigan for outstanding physical therapy treatment.
Your Initial Evaluation
The first thing that your physical therapist (PT) will do is to gain a familiarity with your physical condition and understand your particular issues that warrant therapeutic treatment. The PT will ask about your previous level of function and how much function you have lost.
You can expect that the therapist will then assess the following:
- Strength
- Range of motion
- Mobility/capability
- Problem areas or weak areas
After the comprehensive assessment, your PT will devise an individualized treatment plan. This will include exercises, stretches, and therapeutic modalities that will gradually help you return to your previous level of function.
What’s in a Physical Therapy Treatment Plan?
Physical therapists create focused treatment plans with clearly set goals and milestones. You will provide some input into your plan because the PT will want to create a plan that you be glad to follow – rather than consider it begrudging and stop following the plan.
You will likely start immediately with your treatment so that you will experience relief from your pain symptoms as quickly as possible. Your treatment plan may include:
- Range-of-motion exercises and stretches
- Strengthening exercises
- Balance exercises
- Coordination exercises
- Manual therapy (hands-on techniques and massage)
- Therapeutic modalities (e.g., heat and cold therapy, ultrasound, electrical stimulation)
Your PT will teach you exercises and stretches that you can continue to do at home. The reason you should have an actual therapist show you how to perform these actions is so that you avoid injuring yourself in the process. Watching a video or reading about exercises on the internet do not take into account your personal physical build and other factors.
What Results Can You Expect from Physical Therapy?
Some of the many benefits of physical therapy include:
- Accident prevention
- Correction of movement errors
- Effective pain control and less need for pain medication
- Better cardiovascular health
Spine Surgeon in Rochester Hills, Bad Axe, and Royal Oak, Michigan
If you have back pain or neck pain, see our outstanding spine surgeon, Dr. Bradley Ahlgren, for an evaluation. He will determine the source of your pain and then work with you to determine your optimum treatment plan – and that may include pain-relief injections, prescription medication, and physical therapy.
Our physical therapy clinic is located in the same building as our Rochester Hills office for your convenience. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Ahlgren, contact the friendly staff at Ahlgren Spine today by calling us at (248) 215-8080 or by filling out our online request form. We look forward to serving you!
