“Many people treat their bodies as if they were rented from Hertz - something they are using to get around in but nothing they genuinely care about understanding.” - Chungliang Al Huang
It’s a common myth that you can do physical therapy yourself. In reality, you need the expert care and guidance of a licensed physical therapist for a successful treatment plan.
There are numerous types of physical therapy that address different types of injuries and various parts of the body. Examples include acute care, orthopedic, cardiovascular and pulmonary rehab, post-operative care, wound care, lymphedema management, and neurologic rehabilitation.
James H. West once said, “Health is a large word. It embraces not the body only, but the mind and spirit as well; …and not today’s pain or pleasure alone, but the whole being and outlook of a man.”
Thomas Carlyle has rightly said, “Ill-health of body or of mind, is defeat. Health alone is victory. Let all men, if they can manage it, contrive to be healthy!”
A true quote from the book - Pain Recovery: “It is not an easy reality to face, but just as your chronic pain did not develop overnight, neither will the solution to finding relief develop in a day or two.”
“The human body has been designed to resist an infinite number of changes and attacks brought about by its environment. The secret of good health lies in successful adjustment to changing stresses on the body.” - Harry J. Johnson
“The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick.” - P. T. Barnum
Physical therapy isn’t a new concept. In fact, many ancient writings from Greece, China, Persia, and Egypt describe the benefits of exercise, movement, and massage for treating various ailments.
Physical therapy can not only help heal sports injuries, but it can help improve overall athletic performance as well. The exercises and practices involved in physical therapy help to restore the optimal potential of the professional, amateur or recreational athlete.
Most recent reports suggest that more than 100 million Americans, about 1/3, suffer from persistent pain. That affects Americans more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.
Do you know that a great number of insurance providers include at least a minimal amount of physical therapy coverage in their policies? Make sure to check with your insurance provider to know what coverage it provides.
According to a study published by the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine, physical therapy could help some people with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) - a type of lower back pain caused by the narrowing of the spine - avoid surgery.
Physical therapy isn’t just for adults, in fact, it can be used to diagnose, treat and manage a variety of developmental, congenital, neuromuscular, skeletal, and acquired diseases and disorders in infants, children and adolescents as well.
Did you know when physical therapy first originated as a profession during World War I, physical therapists were known as “reconstruction aides”? During that time, only women were recruited to work with and restore physical function to injured soldiers.
The Division of Special Hospitals and Physical Reconstruction was created in August 1917, just a few months after World War I began. Its purpose was to provide ‘reconstruction therapy’ to soldiers who were disabled during the war.
Physical therapy isn’t just for injuries and accidents. In fact, it provides relief and rehabilitation for all kinds of patients with all kinds of physical limitations and complications.
According to the reports, each year half of all Americans over the age of 18 will develop a musculoskeletal injury that lasts longer than three months. That’s more than a hundred million people who could benefit from physical therapy.
Athletes may still opt to receive physical therapy, even if they haven’t suffered an injury. Since physical therapy focuses on strengthening muscles and joints, increasing flexibility, and improving coordination, it helps athletes enhance their overall athletic performance.
The first association for physical therapists, originally known as American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association, was founded in 1921 by Mary McMillan. Today, this association is known as the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
According to historians, Hippocrates and Galen were the first to support the use of massage and hydrotherapy as far back as 460 BC. Ancient writings from China, Persia, and Egypt also describe the health benefits of exercise and massage.
“To anyone living in persistent pain: it is possible to overcome chronic pain. You do not have to learn to live with it, or manage it. You can treat it and change it.” --Bec
A wonderful saying by Elbert Hubbard: “If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want.”
Heat therapy is generally not helpful in acute recovery from surgical procedures. This is because heat increases swelling. So, if you are recovering from a knee replacement surgery, hot packs are unlikely to be used by your physical therapist.
