Physical Therapy Could Be The Solution To Your Joint Pain

They Can Teach You About Pain

Research shows that your beliefs and perceptions of pain can significantly influence how much pain you experience and how it affects your life. By increasing your understanding and awareness of pain, a physical therapist can help you address and modify the psychological factors associated with your experience, as well as the physical factors. Many doctors of physical therapy are trained in therapeutic neuroscience education (TNE), an educational model that helps people learn about what pain is and how it develops in the body — and can reduce pain in as little as one educational session.

They Can Prescribe and Progress Therapeutic Exercises

We know that people who don't exercise enough or remain too sedentary are at increased risk of chronic pain. A physical therapist can teach you exercises specifically geared toward reducing joint pain, stiffness, and inflammation so that you can start increasing your mobility again and take advantage of all the incredible benefits of physical activity.

They Can Provide Manual Therapy Techniques

Passive techniques like massage therapy and joint mobilizations are excellent additions to any physical therapy plan of care. This helps improve range of motion, increase joint space and alignment, reduce pain, stimulate the circulation of blood and lymph fluids, reduce swelling, minimize inflammation, and ease physical and mental stress. Your physical therapist may also prescribe non-invasive modalities such as electrical stimulation, dry needling, hot or cold therapy, and Kinesio taping.

They Can Teach You How to Move More Efficiently

A physical therapist is a great resource for helping you problem-solve your mobility limitations and learn how to move more safely and efficiently. They may recommend adaptive equipment like canes or orthoses, environmental modifications like grab bars, and specific ways to move your body during various activities — getting in and out of bed, going up and downstairs, walking, playing a sport — to improve your body mechanics and minimize pain.

They Can Work Collaboratively With the Rest of Your Medical Team

Physical therapists regularly consult and communicate with physicians, orthopedic surgeons, occupational therapists, and other health professionals. This type of multi-disciplinary collaboration ensures you have good continuity of care so that everyone is on board with your pain control plan, which helps you get the streamlined and cost-effective treatment you need.