- Physical Therapy and Arthritis
- Physical Therapy for the Elderly
- Physical Therapy after an Auto Accident
- Physical Therapy for Children
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Physical Therapy Treatments
Physical Therapy and Arthritis
Arthritis is a crippling disease of the musculoskeletal system and physical therapy plays a crucial part in the treatment of the full spectrum of arthritic conditions. Arthritis is caused swelling and inflammation of joints and it is quite popular affecting on average 2 in every hundred people. Research shows that it affects women twice and much as men.
Arthritis is a chronic disease which afflicts sufferers with varying severity. Mild arthritis is characterised by intermittent joint pain and a manageable level of discomfort. Suffers will tend to visit a physical therapist when they need support to management discomfort, and may only require physical therapy a few times during a twelve month period. However in severe cases arthritis there will gradually cause serious joint deformity. The discomfort is severe and has been compared to having broken glass between the joints, meaning each movement is sheer agony.
Arthritis is a chronic disease, generally affecting people from the age of 35. Traditionally arthritis was simply treated with medication. The primary purpose of the medication was for pain management. As research has improved, successful physical therapy treatments have slowed the progression of the disease.
Physical therapy plays an equal role to pain management in the treatment of arthritis. Arthritis gradually limits the full range of joint mobility. Due to the pain associated with joint movement, those who suffer from arthritis will do everything they can to avoid significant joint movements. Of course, they have to move around, but they will severely limit their range of motion. Physical therapy is crucial. Limiting the range of motion accelerates severe joint deformities. This ultimately makes the condition, the suffering t the pain so much more severe.
Physical therapy encourages (and forces) controlled joint extension. By maintaining normal movement the rate of joint deformities is significantly slowed down. Physical therapy educates the patient on the most efficient ways to use their joints and to carry out every day activities allowing patients to maintain their independence and have more enjoyment from their day.
In addition, physical therapy reduces pain in a variety of ways. For example physical therapy directed at strengthening increases the strength of the supporting fibres, such as muscles, ligaments and tendons. This means that these fibres take much of the pressure of limb and body movements. This significantly reduces pain and suffering.
Other physical therapy methods used to reduce arthritic pain is the application of heat to areas causing most pain. This can be as complex as using high-tech machinery, to simply applying heat with a wheat pack. An ultra sound machine is used as a key part of most physical therapy plans for its benefits in reducing inflammation and swelling. Heat has both positive and negative effects on joints and muscles. The negative effects arise from the movement after heat has been applied. For those who suffer from severe arthritis heat should only be used as part of an overall physical therapy regime, and under the supervision of a physical therapist.
Physical Therapy for the Elderly
The most common injuries in the elderly are from falling. The most popular injuries as a result are hip fractures and broken shoulders or arms. There are several factors that play into the elderly being more susceptible to broken bones; Osteoporosis or another illness or condition that will play a part in weakening the bones. When an elderly person falls it may take several months for them to recover from their injuries. This includes a period of hospitalization, immobility, ambulating with assistance, and finally physical therapy to help the patient learn to use what was broken.
When it comes time to go to physical therapy the goal for the physical therapist and the patient is to get the patient to be able to use their part of the body again. They will not have the strength that they once had because their bone has weakened but they will be able to use their body part with restrictions to prevent further breakage. The length of time that it takes to get to this point will vary, depending on the health of the patient and their overall health. There are several factors that play into the length of time physical therapy will be needed; the patient’s mental state, the severity of the injury, and the loss of movement.
Sometimes having an injury and not being able to move around that well will cause the patient to become depressed and sad. This is due to the fact that they must depend on everyone to help them where before they could do everything themselves. The patient may need to seek counseling to help them deal with the injury and to make their physical therapy more successful.
There are other conditions that physical therapy would be needed for elderly and one of them is a stroke or heart attack that would leave them paralyzed on one side or a certain area on their body that they must learn to reuse again. When something like a stroke paralyzes someone they will need to start from scratch in order to regain usage of that part of their body. If it is their arm that was affected they will go through months of physical therapy that will train them to move their arm up and down, grip and even to relearn how to hold a fork and a spoon.
Physical therapy is not intended to hurt or re-injure the broken bone or paralyzed limb. It is slowly strengthen the use of the part of the body that has been weakened. Physical therapy will gently promote, strengthen and extend the patients range of motion and ability slowly and gradual so that a re-injury does not occur.
The amount of time it takes to reach the goal set fourth by the physical therapist and the patient will depend totally on an evaluation of the patient that will be done on the first visit. The other factor that will play into it would be how hard the patient can and will work to reach the goal as well. It's not easy dealing with an illness but physical therapy can help.
Physical Therapy after an Auto Accident
It's a beautiful morning and you start it like you do any other day. You get the kids ready for school and you get dressed for work. You head out the door and drop off your kids and head to work. Little do you realize that someone is not paying attention and doesn't notice the stop light that is red on their lane. They plow into your drivers' side door at a speed of 55 mph. The next thing you know you are at a hospital and unable to move. After months of agonizing hospital stays and doctors visits you are healed as good as it gets. Now your doctor recommends that you take physical therapy to help you learn how to live with your disability and how to keep the strength you have.
Your first visit to physical therapy will consist of a lot of paper work. Then you will also go through a series of tests to see how much strength you have, how much movement you have and you're overall healthy. Your physical therapist will create a goal that you and the physical therapist will work for in order to maintain your current status. Without moving your body in a normal way you may feel weaker than normal. That is because your muscles are not continually used and that leaves you vulnerable to weak muscles and a higher chance of re-injuring yourself.
Your physical therapist will re-evaluate your progress half way through reaching your goal so that changes can be made if necessary. This is especially helpful if you are starting to become weaker than you were when you started physical therapy. If changes are necessary your physical therapist may also extend the date that you reach your goal so you will have all the chance in the world to recover.
Some of the exercises that you will do while in physical therapy depend on what you injured. For example, if you injured your leg you will need to strengthen your leg and you may even need to learn how to walk again. There are several degrees of physical therapy and your physical therapist will know exactly where you need to be at all times. Physical therapy should never over exert your muscles and make you feel pain. Physical therapy is a certain type of exercise that is used to strengthen weak muscles and maintain the strength that is already present.
Your physical therapist will work out a schedule of sessions that you need to attend. Even when you start to feel better or you just don't feel like making the effort at all, it is very important to always keep your appointments with them. If an appointment should be broken then it is very wise to reschedule and keep the rescheduled appointment. You can’t control what will happen but you can control the outcome. Not everyone has the chance to go through the physical therapy so you are already well on your way to recovering.
Physical Therapy for Children
There are several reasons why a child would need physical therapy. The most common reasons are that they were born with a defect that restricts their movement, they develop a condition after they are born, and they were in an accident and more. Because of this reason physical therapy can be a recommendation that the doctor will make to help the child learn to live with their condition. Some physical conditions can be corrected over time with the help of physical therapy and hard work and effort from the patient as well as the physical therapists.
When a child becomes injured sometimes it is recommended that they take physical therapy in order to regain full range of motion in a particular limb. The physical therapy is done almost the same way as the adults with the same goal, to improve independence. The physical therapy is done in a more playful way so that the child will enjoy doing their activities and strengthen their weak limb. The Physical Therapist has a difficult job in coming up with creating the exercise and activities that are age appropriate and to reach the goal they needed to reach.
It is very important to make the exercises not so much like exercise. A two year old would not appreciate a stranger teaching them to exercise but if the Physical Therapist plays a game of Catch the Ball with the child to teach him or her how to grip then the child will play. In the end, the child is doing well with their physical therapy and the Physical Therapist is able to maintain the structure that is needed to help the child recover from their injury.
Children need to establish a relationship with their Physical Therapist in order to have positive results. In order to do that the Physical Therapist must first show the child that he or she is safe and the Physical Therapist will not hurt the child. Keep in mind that the child has already endured so much with the injury and all the different people who have played a key role in the child getting the medical attention that they got. Once the child is brought in for the first time, the Physical Therapist will start by playing and talking to the child. After a visit or two the child will consider their appointment with the Physical Therapist to be a play time or at least a fun time and will enjoy it.
For older children, the Physical Therapist must establish a relationship with them as well so that the physical therapy can work in a positive way. Dealing with older children may be more of a challenge for the Physical Therapist because they are more aware of everything. She also can't expect a game of catch to work for this age group.
Physical therapy can be done to help children of all ages. Finding the right Physical Therapist for a child needs to be a very careful process. You may need to get the advice of a doctor to help you determine which one would be right for your child.