If you are reading this article, you are probably already familiar with a physical therapist and with the benefits of using physical therapy to improve health and physical function. Much of the “general public”, however, continues to have an outdated concept about what physical therapists actually do. Unfortunately, it is also often true that other medical professionals have limited knowledge about physical therapy and about how to work effectively with physical therapists to provide optimal comprehensive health care for patients. This article provides several quick “Myth Busters” intended to address some common misconceptions about physical therapy. We hope that you will pass it along to others that might find the information helpful.
- Myth: You have to be in pain to benefit from physical therapy.
Fact: There are many reasons to see a physical therapist, and being in pain is just one of the things that physical therapists address. Your physical therapist can also work with you to:
- Delay or avoid surgery
- Improve mobility
- Reduce risks for falls
- Maximize movement
- Manage chronic illness or disability
- Recover from and/or prevent future injuries
- Maintain or improve general health and fitness
When a patient comes to see a physical therapist, they can expect to:
- Undergo a physical exam and evaluation, including a health history and certain testing procedures, including evaluation of posture, movement and flexibility, and muscle and joint motion and performance
- Receive a clinical diagnosis, prognosis, plan of care and short and long term goals
- Receive physical therapy treatment and intervention based on the therapist’s evaluation and diagnosis
- Receive self-management recommendations
2. Myth: Physical therapy is expensive.
Fact: Virtually all medical insurance plans include physical therapy benefits, although the number of covered visits may vary. Typically, these plans cover the majority of the costs for therapy visits. Part of a physical therapy evaluation should include as discussion about how each patient’s insurance plan works, so that treatment plans can be designed within the plan’s parameters.
The cost of a physical therapy visit is small fraction of the cost of other types of medical services, such as emergency room visits, imaging examinations, hospital stays, or surgeries. Managing health with the help of a physical therapist is MUCH less expensive than treating injury or disease.
3. Myth: Physical therapists will tell you to stop doing the activities you love.
Fact: Physical therapists understand the benefits of exercise and other favorite hobbies for physical and mental well-being, and their goal is to help patients to continue or resume the activities that they love. If you are experiencing an acute injury, it may be necessary to limit a particular activity temporarily until the injury fully heals. However, your physical therapist will suggest alternative activities or modifications to preferred exercise habits to promote ongoing fitness.
Overwhelming evidence from research across multiple health care specialties supports the fact that exercise or really any sort of physical activity is a foundational component of keeping people healthy across their entire life span. It is a physical therapist’s goal to help patients to DO things, rather than to tell them not to do things.
4. Myth: A physical therapist is the same as a personal trainer.
Fact: Physical therapists are licensed medical providers that hold Doctorates in Physical Therapy. Licensure is achieved after 3-year graduate school programs completed subsequent to 4-year university degrees. Many physical therapists then also complete additional post-graduate certifications in areas of specialty such as orthopedics, neurology, or geriatric care – similar to the residency programs that physicians complete after their initial MD degree programs.
A physical therapist helps take care of patients in all phases of healing, from initial diagnosis through the restorative and preventive stages of recovery. Physical therapy may be a standalone option, or it may support other treatments.
Exercise training like that which a personal trainer would provide can be a component of physical therapy care, but a physical therapist’s education provides a significantly broader medical expertise to the prescription of activity. A physical therapist will perform a detailed assessment of your global physical condition and provide a treatment plan tailored to your goals, your body and your needs. Physical therapists and personal trainers do often work together. Patients in a physical therapy clinic are likely working to improve specific goals related to medical health and physical function. This care can also be complemented with strength and endurance training that a personal trainer can provide in a gym setting. It is also common that a physical therapist would work collaboratively with coaches or athletic trainers as patients are working towards specific specialized activity goals such as returning to dance or tennis or other types of sports and athletic activities.
5. Myth: I can’t do vigorous physical exercise, so physical therapy isn’t safe.
Fact: Everyone of any fitness level can benefit from physical therapy, and a skilled physical therapist can make adjustments to ensure that activities are safe for anyone with any specific health challenges. The prescription of movement in a physical therapy clinic is designed to address each patient’s pain level and tolerance to activity. Patients are given specific instructions about targeted levels of activity intensity, and are monitored to make sure that they are able to accomplish any prescribed exercise safely and successfully.
Sometimes, exercises prescribed in physical therapy involve strength or stretching. But physical therapy activities often address a much wider range of goals. Many activities are not vigorous at all, but instead might address balance, coordination, agility, visual skills, movement pattern sequencing, or posture.
6. Myth: After you’ve finished physical therapy, you’re healed.
Fact: To help patients stay healthy, manage a chronic condition, and prevent new injuries or issues, physical therapists typically recommend that patients continue to follow an ongoing maintenance activity plan after they finish a course of treatment. Physical therapists will also have taught patients appropriate body mechanics for performing certain activities, such as bending and lifting, as well as other strategies for the successful completion of day-to-day tasks or work or recreational function.
It is common for patients to return to physical therapy intermittently over time, particularly if they are trying to successfully manage chronic conditions. Health maintenance is an ongoing project, and periodic consultation with your physical therapist can help you to stay physically healthy – just as periodic dental visits can help you to maintain your teeth. It is recommended that you have a check-up with your physical therapist at least once or twice a year, so that ongoing adjustments can be made to your movements and activities as you continue to participate in life.
To learn more about the physical therapy services offered at Symmetry Physical Therapy and about our expert therapist staff, please visit our website or call us at 512-339-1500. We’d be happy to help you to learn more about how a relationship with a physical therapist might help you!