Does Health Insurance cover Physical Therapy?
If you have health insurance, your Physical Therapy Montgomery County sessions should be covered. However, be sure you understand your coverage before you get started.
A PT’s first appointment will likely involve an evaluation, including a Q&A conversation about your injury or pain and how it impacts your daily life. Then, they will develop a treatment plan.
Diabetes is a condition that can cause many problems for patients, including weakness, loss of balance, and poor circulation. Physical therapists can help patients develop a plan to improve or avoid those issues, while also helping them maintain a healthy blood sugar level.
The first step in physical therapy is to examine your patient’s strength, flexibility, and balance. Then the physical therapist will choose specific movements and treatments to restore movement. This may include passive movements that the physical therapist performs for the patient, or it may be exercises and stretches the patient can do on their own. This is designed to improve the patient’s ability to move and decrease pain.
In addition, the physical therapist will educate the patient on how to keep their body safe and healthy. This includes proper foot care and how to check for sores and other skin problems. They will also encourage the patient to exercise regularly, which is an important part of diabetes management.
For patients who have Type 2 diabetes, physical activity is one of the best ways to manage their blood sugar levels. However, for many people, it can be hard to add physical activity to their lives. Physical therapists can create safe and effective exercise programs to promote a healthy lifestyle and manage high blood sugar levels.
When selecting a physical therapist, make sure they are certified to treat diabetes or have extensive experience in the condition. It’s also a good idea to ask the physical therapist about their experience treating other diabetic patients, as well as any specific questions you have regarding your own situation.
Finally, always follow your PT’s instructions about how often and when to perform exercises and stretches. Doing so will help you heal faster and reduce the risk of injury. Follow-up appointments will be shorter as your recovery continues, and the PT will show you new ways to continue improving at home. If you aren’t seeing results, talk to your PT and let them know if there are any changes you’d like to make. If you’re having trouble finding a therapist, try using Find a PT, an online tool created by the American Physical Therapy Association that helps people find a therapist with special clinical expertise in their area.
Physical Therapists Help People with Arthritis or Osteoporosis
A physical therapist can teach you a program to increase bone and muscle strength and decrease your risk of falls that lead to fractures. Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to thin and become more susceptible to breakage. A regular exercise routine is essential for maintaining bone density and improving balance, which can help reduce a person’s fall risk. Exercise programs may include weight-bearing exercises like squats and jogging, as well as non-weight-bearing movements such as leg lifts and bicep curls.
A PT can also evaluate your posture, muscle imbalances, and body mechanics to make recommendations for changing the way you move to prevent pain and injury. They can also recommend orthotics and home modifications that can ease your arthritis symptoms.
People with arthritis can benefit from a consistent exercise regimen, which lubricates joints for smoother movement and builds muscle strength for joint stability. A 2020 study found that a regular exercise program can decrease fatigue, improve cardiovascular fitness, and boost cognition in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Getting regular exercise can also relieve pain from arthritis, but it is important to consult with your doctor and/or a physical therapist before you begin a new program. A PT will be able to guide you through a safe, effective program that will help you manage your pain and improve your quality of life.
It is important to follow your therapist’s advice and attend all of your sessions to get the best results. It is also important to let your therapist know if you are experiencing increased pain, fatigue or problems with any of the exercises and stretches.
If you are having trouble working with your therapist, find another practitioner who is more comfortable working with you. Two-way communication is key to a successful treatment plan. Your therapist should listen to your concerns and be willing to make changes to your therapy program as needed. The end goal of a physical therapist is to allow you to live your life without the limitations caused by arthritis. If you’re interested in learning more about how a physical therapist can help you with your arthritis, contact a local clinic today.
Physical Therapists Help People with Chronic Pain
For people living with chronic pain, physical therapy has been found to be a more sustainable treatment than prescription opioids. It can help reduce inflammation, improve posture and muscle strength, and increase range of motion to alleviate symptoms. It can also teach patients to manage their pain using relaxation techniques and cognitive-behavioral therapies.
During an initial evaluation, a physical therapist will watch you perform movements like walking and get a sense of how you move and the areas that hurt. They will then use their knowledge and skills to develop a treatment plan for you that may include a combination of different methods. Some of these methods include exercises to strengthen or loosen the muscles and joints that are causing you pain, massage or therapeutic dry needling, electrical stimulation, hot and cold treatments and modalities such as ultrasound.
One of the key reasons physical therapy is so successful for treating chronic pain is that it teaches patients to change their mindset about the condition that’s causing them pain. It’s not uncommon for someone to develop a negative belief about the cause of their pain, leading them to avoid certain activities and even think that they’re getting worse. Physical therapists are experts in helping people with chronic pain overcome these obstacles and learn how to perform their daily activities again, even in the face of pain.
The first goal of physical therapy for anyone who has chronic pain is to build trust with the therapist. Many patients have anxiety about moving, fearing they will exacerbate their pain or make the problem worse. A physical therapist will help you feel safe, working to slowly increase your exercises in a step-by-step manner so that your body can adjust.
Some patients with chronic pain have conditions such as fibromyalgia, which is characterized by widespread pain and fatigue. In addition to helping with their symptoms, physical therapists can also help improve sleep quality and endurance for daily activities. Patients who undergo physical therapy for fibromyalgia often report less pain and a better quality of life after finishing their therapy sessions.
Physical Therapists Help People with Injury
Many people need physical therapy as part of their recovery from injury or as a way to manage long-term medical conditions. For example, a person with an injured knee may benefit from PT for pain management, strengthening the knee, and learning how to do things differently in order to avoid reinjury.
During an initial appointment, a physical therapist will ask questions about the injury and its symptoms, perform a physical exam, and review the patient’s medical history. This will help them develop a personalized treatment plan, which may change as the body heals.
A physical therapist can use a number of techniques to treat injury, including therapeutic exercises that improve range of motion and muscle strength, manual therapies like massage, joint mobilization, and dry needling, and modalities such as heat or cold therapy, electrical stimulation, and ultrasound. They can also teach the patient self-treatment methods, such as ice packs, a hot water bottle, or sitting in a certain position to reduce swelling and discomfort.
Some injuries require the therapist to retrain how the brain communicates with the affected limb. In these cases, the therapist can work on restoring proper nerve ending function to ensure that the body receives the right messages about movement and pain.
Balance problems can occur after an injury or surgery, causing difficulty with walking and even driving. In some cases, these issues can be caused by weakness in the muscles or inner ear, or by a problem with the vestibular system (how your body senses its location). A physical therapist can help determine why a patient is having balance difficulties and treat them accordingly.
While there are risks associated with physical therapy, such as an improper treatment that can lead to more pain or a worsening of the condition, these are generally rare. People should talk to their doctor about any concerns they have about a potential physical therapy treatment program and follow the advice of the professional, so that they can recover from their injury in the most efficient way possible. A good therapist will also set realistic goals and schedules for the patient, so that they don’t push themselves too hard and re-injure themselves.
