Physical therapy over the years has become one way of treating several conditions and injuries among all people. Many people can restore their original body functions after attending several sessions of therapy and later maintain a healthy lifestyle. For this reason, the use of physical therapy as a means of treatment skyrocketed as many people prefer it to other treatments. Despite these facts, physical therapy has several benefits as well as limitations.
Pros:
1. It aids in pain management; physical therapy procedures and therapeutic exercises aid in restoring function within muscles, joint movement, weak tissues, and body ache or does away with pain ultimately. What’s more, when the patients follow their treatment per the therapist’s prescription, the pain is inclusively eliminated.
2. It helps patients get back to their original form; the effectiveness of physical therapy has been on the rise over the years proven by its patients. It enables many patients to recuperate fully or restore the majority of their primary body function. Moreover, it improves both the health and fitness of the patient.
3. It aids in restoring balance and reducing falls; for patients who attend physical therapy for the first time, examining their risk to fall is always essential. If the test turns out positive, the physical therapist usually guides them through several exercises to restore their balance. Other times even integrating walking device assistance and using precise training specified by a therapist helps.
4. It helps in sports injuries; all athletes are always at risk of acquiring injury during their performance. Hence they usually depend on the physical therapist to aid their recovery. The therapist also uses a prevention exercise program to enable injured patients to recover faster and later join their sports.
5. It helps the injured and older people gain mobility; through exercises like stretching and those that strengthen the body, this could help one restore their mobility. Correctly, people who depend on the aid of crutches for movement, cane, or other walking device assistance can restore their progression through their therapist aid.
Cons:
1. The procedure is costly; physical therapy services are expensive, and it might become a burden to those who cannot afford it. As much as health insurance can cover the cost of the treatment, this does not apply to all individuals.
2. It is time-consuming; the whole process of attending the therapeutic session and following the prescription provided could take longer. Therefore a lot of patience through the entire recovery process is essential for someone to restore their health and regain their initial strength.
3. It requires a lot of willpower; for patients to recover, they have to make sure to follow the prescription indicated by the physical therapist. However, not all individuals have the willpower to endure the whole process to ensure their recovery hence making the procedure less viable.
4.. The misconception that there is no pain experienced during the process; the procedure is always safe but may hurt a little since you are exercising injured body parts like being sore after a massage or stretching. Therefore this could pause as a challenge to people who expected the procedure to be pain-free.
5. Physical therapist bias; a therapist might be accustomed to treating different conditions and body parts in a particular manner. Due to this, when presented with a slightly different case, they tend to do, as usual, something that makes the patient’s recovery difficult.