Physical therapy is the medical practice of treating diseases, injury or physical deformity through medical methods that do not necessarily require drugs or surgery. Some of these methods are easy to go through while some would seem unusual to most people. Some of the commonly used methods are as stated below.
Manual Therapy: The most common method used by health specialists in this field is manual therapy. This involves using such methods as massage and stretching to stimulate the body to enable it to move with ease. Manual therapy should be used immediately after assessing a problem and should be done majorly when the body muscles are involved.
Use of Ice: Ice is used majorly as a substitute for manual therapy or in conjunction with it. It is used in physical therapy when swelling occurs since it relaxes blood vessels and thus prevents further swelling. It also helps in cooling a patient allowing for introduction of other methods which would be more effective.
Heat Treatment: Heat is used mainly for injuries to the muscles causing tightness. Going with the law that when things are heated they stretch medical expert uses this method to make the tissues flexible hence be able to stretch the muscle.
Physical Exercise: Anything done apart from daily practices can be considered as exercise. These include jogging, stretching to reduce stress on muscles and weight lifting. Exercises help improve flexibility, strength, speed, and body coordination. After any injury and treatment, one should do regular exercises to improve muscle efficiency. It is always healthy to maintain a regular exercise program as most therapists would advise.
Laser Therapy: This method involves using light or laser technology to reduce swelling and pain. This in turn allows a therapist to be able to work on the affected area without necessarily bringing pain to the patient. It is majorly used in physical therapy for muscular or tissue injuries deep within the skin.
Electrical Stimulation: The use of electric shock on the human body is known to have bad effects but in this case it has beneficial effects. When the human body is subjected to a mild electric current the sensations within the point of contact are lost and it is possible to move the said part. In physical therapy a patient who has gone through a very damaging experience is given a painless mild electric shock causing a muscular contraction. This in turn leads to restored movement or full movement to the muscles. However it is not always a successful procedure.
Traction: This is a method of physical therapy that involves separating the spinal cord to allow nerves room and give the discs more moving space. This is a good method because it is not time consuming and in the long run as one grows older the spine does not lose support as fast as it should have. It is mainly used for those who experience back pains or pain when they turn in their abdominal region.
Use of Ultrasound: Almost like laser therapy, it involves using sound waves to penetrate deep into the body tissues causing a heating effect inside the tissues thus softening them up. This enables a therapist to use manual therapy or encourage the patient to do some aerobics.
Physical therapy therefore doesn’t involve many visits to the doctor. It can be done from the comfort of your home. It is therefore a natural way of medical treatment with exception to the likes of laser therapy, electrical stimulation and use of ultrasound. Not only is it economical but with methods such as exercise one can also end up having a healthier lifestyle and enjoy life more.