How Physical Therapy Can Reduce Pain
The last thing a person wants to do when they’re in pain is to move their body. Moving seems to exacerbate the pain, or one would think. However, physical therapy can be a great part of pain management. It can help to ease the pain rather than make it worse. If you would rather curl up in bed with a heating pad and a bottle of pain relievers, then there are other options for dealing with chronic pain management. Some think that exercise sounds like pure torture, but it may be the best management for treating your chronic pain.
Safely Moving Stiff and Sore Muscles and Joints
Therapy is a highly effective way to treat many types of musculoskeletal and neuropathic pains. Those who suffer from osteoarthritis, chronic headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia, are just a few of the conditions that can be helped through this treatment. One of the goals of therapy is to strengthen any weakness in body by making it mobile. Many people become weak from not moving about. Therapy teaches people ways to move that are safe, especially if they have remained idol for a while.
Chronic Pain Treatment Options
There are numerous different types of pain management methods that can be utilized in physical therapy. One of the best ways to promote healing is through massage. Massage can improve circulation, relieve tight muscles, enhanced energy and vitality, and help to heal scar tissue. The manual manipulation of joints and bones can also bring instant relief. Using hands or tools on soft tissues is a great way to get the blood flowing to the area.
Cold laser therapy is perfect for alleviating inflammation. It helps to release endorphins and boost serotonin and dopamine, which will alleviate pain naturally. Movement therapy and exercise is also beneficial. Joints that don’t move will become frozen. Learning to move them through the pain will eventually lessen the pain. Some of the exercise methods will include walking on a treadmill or swimming in a pool. Depending on a person’s pain level and the amount of physical ability, gentle methods like swimming under water may have a great impact.
How Therapy Helps Chronic Pain
Therapists work with their patients to understand their concerns and pain levels. By understanding what is causing the pain, it can be managed. A therapist will ask specific questions that are geared towards gaining knowledge about pain levels and developing an exercise routine that a person can do.
By just exercising for about 30 minutes a day, three to four days a week, many can control their pain without any medications. It will increase muscle strength, endurance, joint stability, and flexibility. Rather than becoming disabled by chronic pain, there is an option that allows a person to move and function physically. Therapy will tackle inflammation, soreness, and stiffness. However, it provides the stimulation needed for the body to heal itself.
Finding the Right Combination For Pain Management
More pain will be experienced when a person fails to move. However, a person must learn to exercise to accommodate their pain levels. Finding something that lessens the pain will make life bearable. Therapy is an extremely effective tool against chronic pain. Thus, it is important to understand that it is a combination approach to have effective pain relief. Adding nutritional supplements, hot and cold therapy, and a TENS unit can all help to promote healing. Working with a Michigan certified therapist and medical doctor is the most important thing in the big picture. By surrounding a patient with a qualified psychologist, pharmacist, and therapist, all these members can form an effective pain management team. All these components will help to find the most effective pain management treatment possible.
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