National Physical Therapy Month
For National Physical Therapy Month this October, we honor the Residential Home Health clinicians who get patients up and moving. With a singular emphasis on physical function and strength, a physical therapist seeks to advance the body’s performance and capability, preparing patients to do more, for longer, with renewed confidence.
The practice of physical therapy involves some form of exercise, tailored to a patient’s individual needs. Anything from resistance training to stretching to walking with an assistive device could be part of physical therapy work. Patients who undergo physical therapy are carefully instructed to perform their exercises safely, and supported throughout their training as they practice and improve. Keep reading for more about the extraordinary gains that physical therapy can bring, and the many strengths and skills of these specialized clinicians.
Recover Range of Motion
If a patient has an injury or other physical setback (for example, after joint replacement surgery), a physical therapist can target the area appropriately as it heals, getting the affected limb or region back toward its prior level of performance. Working to ensure that the body can bend, pivot, and rotate in the expected ways is a boost for safety, pain relief, and prevention of further injury. But the benefits aren’t limited to an acute injury: many individuals with diminished physical abilities can see improvements with physical therapy. For example, patients with progressive neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease may be able to slow their progression with proven therapies, such as the LSVT® BIG program.
Restore Strength and Mobility
When a person is feeling fatigued by a chronic condition, or used to being sedentary, it’s that much harder to start up — and keep up — a new exercise regimen. In this instance, one of the ways physical therapy can help is by increasing strength. Building up muscle strength makes the body work less hard to do more things, literally making it easier to get up and moving. Patients who grow stronger through physical therapy are building up endurance to do longer periods of heart-healthy exercise, increase energy levels, and help their bodies get healthier and more efficient.
Increase Balance and Safety
Another benefit of physical therapy is that better, easier movement can lead to better, easier balance, a crucial component of fall prevention. The steadiness and confidence that can come with improved strength and flexibility can reduce fear of falling and lead to exciting gains in independence. For patients with nerve damage in their feet (such as diabetic neuropathy), specialized treatments such as Solaris light therapy can also improve sensation and help restore ease of movement.
Residential Home Health’s physical therapists do incredible work every day, providing the motivation to start healthier habits and offering valuable training and tips to patients as well as their caregivers. Their strength and skills can address a wide variety of patient needs, for numerous conditions, at any age, for better health, healing, and quality of life.
To determine whether you or your loved one might benefit from in-home physical therapy or other home care services from Residential Home Health, call (888)930-WELL (9355) to discuss your specific situation with a Home Care Specialist today, or click here to take our Home Care Assessment.
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