Blog Post: January 18th, 2021
Lindsay Dean, Doctor of Physical Therapy
What do you think of when you hear Physical Therapy? Do you think of an injury or surgery? You probably do, and for good reason! One of the biggest areas of treatment within outpatient physical therapy is treatment after an injury or surgery. However, my goal today is to explain how physical therapy can be more than rehabilitation.
One area where physical therapy can be helpful is injury prevention. Injury prevention can be for anyone from young athletes, adult athletes or any adult. For example, if a young softball pitcher is starting to increase their amount of throwing and have concerns about their shoulder, they can seek out a physical therapist to talk about ways to prevent an overuse injury. Another example would be an adult who just started a new workout class. They want to go 3 times a week but are concerned about getting hurt. This is another great time to seek a physical therapist for injury prevention. A final example could be an older adult that has noticed a decrease in balance. This older adult is wanting to prevent falling. They could seek a physical therapist to prevent injury.
Another area that is different from traditional rehab is sports performance. This is a growing area of treatment that I am passionate about. Physical therapists are experts in movement assessment and treatment. A physical therapist can help an athlete move to the best of their ability and create the most power output needed for their particular sport. For example, if a baseball player notices that they can’t follow through with their swing when hitting, they may be frustrated and not know what to do next. A physical therapist can analyze their full body movement system and help to find ways to make the movement more efficient and effective.
As you can see, Physical therapy is more than traditional rehab. When in doubt, give us a call. We will make sure we direct you to the right place for your goals and needs. Visit our locations page if you are interested or feel like you would benefit from seeing a physical therapist.