There are millions of pamphlets, blogs and other types of content out there that tells you about the importance of physical therapy. But how do you know it’s time for you to see one?
For too long now, people have ignored mild and sometimes even severe pain. They tend to ride out their injuries by walking off a back injury or resting their joints to heal them after an accident. But this point of view that your body will heal itself with time is not always the right approach.
You should see a physical therapist for various painful conditions and injuries, some of which we will cover here.
A consultation doesn’t hurt. If your condition is truly mild and manageable, then your physical therapist will likely prescribe you a rehab program to do at home.
But you must get a professional to look at your injuries and chronic conditions.
That’s because s/he might properly assess you and recommend the appropriate course of treatment – one that holistically treats your body while preventing any secondary injuries.
In this article, we’ll help you identify some of the key signs that indicate that you need to book a PT appointment.
We’ve divided the topic according to the various populations so scroll through the post and find the portion that covers your age group.
How Do You Know If You Should Go To a Physical Therapist?
Oftentimes your primary care doctor or physician will refer you to PT if they feel like that might help you. But a doctors’ referral is not a requirement to see a physical therapist in most countries.
You can walk into a PT clinic without a doctor’s note and get treated for pain, problems with movement, rehab issues, strength training, post-pregnancy problems and much more.
Here are some of the generic reasons for which you should seek PT care:
- For a general fitness test or physical mobility assessment.
- For preventive care to counter the physical stress from bad posture, daily activities and learn to move right.
- For rehabilitation after injury, acute condition or surgery.
- If you have constant pain for longer than a week.
- To seek treatment for a chronic condition such as Parkinson’s or arthritis.
In the next sections, we’ll explore the various age-specific reasons to see a physical therapist. Let’s begin!
5 Reasons Why Older People Need To See a Physical Therapist
Geriatric physical therapy is a specialty domain in this healthcare field. Here the PT therapy regimens are focused on treating the conditions prevalent in the elderly (65+-year-olds). Here are five signs that can tell you that it’s time to go see a physical therapist:
1. You tend to fall a lot or lose your balance
Older people’s degenerating nervous system causes them to fall a lot. That’s because they have a decline in proprioception or sensory ability and also have decreased ability to integrate the information into the central nervous system.[i]
In addition to that, various medications that the elderly take for chronic diseases and pain can also cause drowsiness and increase the risk of falls.
If you’re experiencing unsteadiness and that’s causing you to fall or lose your balance, then you should see a physical therapist right away.
PT can help you learn adaptive postures to prevent falling. The exercises can also help improve the remaining sensory receptors in your joints and skin that can improve awareness of the body during standing and walking.
2. Your mobility and independence are decreasing
The joints and muscles decline as we age. That can lead to a decrease in your mobility.
Research tells us that a loss of independence is not only harmful to your physical health but it also significantly affects your mental state.[ii]
A physical therapist can help you regain your mobility by doing strengthening and stretching exercises. They can also train you to use assistive devices for walking and standing which can improve your independence.
Some other exercises work towards increasing your endurance so that you can move around for longer periods.
If you feel like you can’t move around as easily or that you are becoming increasingly dependent on others to help you out, then it’s time for you to visit a physical therapist.
Many people see these changes as a natural consequence of aging and so tend to not seek treatment.
Although many problems do emerge with age, decreased mobility is one that you can easily manage and improve with proper care.
3. You’re living with a chronic illness
If you have a diagnosed condition such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, Parkinson’s or any other – then you should seek PT care.
Chronic conditions often lead to immobility and extended bed rest. That can affect your overall body functions, primarily mobility, joint range of motion and muscle strength. Appropriate physical therapy programs offset these side effects of illnesses and teach you to manage them in the best way possible.
Physical therapy also significantly helps elderly patients who’ve recently undergone surgery such as a knee or hip replacement.
4. As prevention therapy to decrease the risk of injuries
Your joints and bones become weaker as you age. That means a fall or a small injury can result in a lot of damage. Physical therapy can help you decrease the extent of damage by performing exercises that keep your bones as healthy as possible given your age and comorbidities.
Preventive physical therapy is beneficial to maintain your muscular strength, energy levels and to decrease flare-ups in conditions such as osteoarthritis.
You can come to a physical therapist for preventive PT even if you don’t have any symptoms of decreased function. Your therapist will assess you and work on the weakened areas to prevent pain and mobility loss in the future.
5. You want to improve your quality of life
Your overall quality of life is divided into four major segments, physical, psychological, social or family and environmental. Physical therapy can help you improve all of these.[iii]
Community PT or group PT classes for the elderly can help you find a sense of belonging with others going through a similar situation as yours.
Since most geriatric patients have one or more chronic conditions, physical therapy can help you manage those as well thus contributing to health-related quality of life.[iv]
Worried about your first PT appointment? Here are the 6 Things You Should Know for Your First PT Visit
When Should Middle-Aged People Visit Physical Therapists?
People often don’t think that they need physical therapy if they can move around just fine, have good endurance and are healthy enough to manage small injuries by themselves.
But physical therapy is not only for the sick. It can still help you in many ways even if you’re relatively young and don’t have any disabilities.
Here are five reasons why you should visit a physical therapist as a middle-aged person:
1. To treat early-onset arthritis
The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis and it has different stages. If you feel pain, stiffness, tenderness or discomfort in your joints that wasn’t there before, then you should visit a physical therapist rather than just blaming the changing weather or aging.
Early treatment for osteoarthritis can decrease pain and improve the functional outcomes for patients.
Physical therapy can slow disease progression. Your therapist can teach you various approaches to manage inflammation and flare-ups which helps improve your quality of life.
2. If you have pain that prevents you from functioning
Acute or chronic pain as a result of an injury or disease can negatively impact your life. If you’re experiencing intermittent muscular or joint pain that comes and goes, then you need to book a PT appointment.[v]
There can be an underlying condition or injury that could be the cause of your pain. A physical therapist can identify the root cause and fix that to relieve your pain.
You should look into PT if you have reproducible pain. This is where your pain aggravates as a result of certain activities or postures. So if you have to take some painkillers after every golf game, then you need to go see a physical therapist.
If you’re a golfer, then check out our expertly curated guide for managing golf-related back pain.
3. For the prevention of old-age related physical changes
If you’ve lived a sedentary life then you could experience age-related physical changes much sooner. For that, you can go visit a physical therapist and get a physical checkup.
Physiotherapists are experts in identifying potential areas of weakness and damage that might be susceptible to injury and pain.
Then you’ll receive an exercise regimen to prevent the decrease in mobility and strength, and improve your baseline body function.
4. During pregnancy to prepare for delivery and post-delivery care
Physical therapy can help alleviate pain, soreness and general fatigue associated with pregnancy. Your physiotherapist can take the time during pregnancy to teach you exercises for post-delivery care.
Research shows that pelvic floor strengthening and flexibility exercises tend to reduce urinary incontinence and accelerate the recovery of abdominal muscles.[vi]
So if you have low back pain or pelvic pain during pregnancy, then visiting a physical therapist can help. Exercising during pregnancy is generally safe. Your physiotherapist can help determine the exact intensity and frequency of your exercises. That way you can benefit from them without causing any harm.
5. To recover following hospitalization
Acute hospitalization due to surgery or any other reason can cause deconditioning. If you don’t proactively treat that then it could lead to long term problems and disability down the line.
So if you’ve been discharged from a hospital recently and feel like you can’t move or breathe the same way, then you should come to see a physical therapist.
Reconditioning programs are widely used in PT. These help you regain your muscle flexibility and joint mobility and counteract any changes that might have happened due to immobility.
Your physical therapist will devise a multi-component treatment regimen that could include home exercises in addition to the clinic ones.
You might have also been under general anesthesia during surgery. That can negatively affect your lungs and you might experience difficulty breathing afterwards. PT can help you recover from that as well with research-backed exercises that can improve your lung capacity.
PT is also beneficial for pre-operative patients. So you can visit a physical therapist if you have surgery coming up. Here’s our detailed guide on how PT can help you before surgery.
5 Indications That Your Kid Need To See a Physical Therapist
Infants with congenital conditions are often regulars at PT clinics. But kids that don’t have such conditions can also benefit from physical therapy.
Here are five signs that should tell you to bring your kid to see a physical therapist:
1. Your kid has decreased mobility or range of motion in joints
Kids with cerebral palsy, club foot, limb deficiencies, burns and such conditions often suffer from decreased mobility. Physical therapists can help them regain flexibility and improve functional performance.
The causes for these impairments can be congenital or as a result of an injury during or after birth. Since kids grow much faster than adults, it is even more important to seek help at the appropriate time to prevent long term deficits.
2. Your kid has balancing and coordination problems
Kids can have balance problems just like adults, although these are rare. Hearing impairments are a common cause for these but the good news is that this is a manageable condition.
Oftentimes, kids with balance deficits are called clumsy and uncoordinated. This can lead to parents not seeking treatment and risking injury. If your kid tends to fall a lot or lose balance, then you should visit a pediatrician or physical therapist.
Physical therapists use different approaches to train balance. These can include task-specific balance training, gait training and sitting balance via repetitive movements.[vii]
3. Your kid lacks motor skills
If your child has a developmental coordination disorder or lacks gross and fine motor skills in general, then you should see a physical therapist. PT treatment regimens are individualized for each patient and these can include clinical and home exercises.
Physical therapy focuses more on gross motor skills such as sitting, neck holding, lifting, crawling and more. Fine motor skills, although treated by physiotherapists to some extent, often fall under the domain of occupational therapy.
4. Your kid has delayed milestones
Developmental Training is a big part of what pediatric physical therapists do. Kids can have delayed milestones for a lot of reasons such as genetics or premature birth. But the cause remains unknown in most cases.
Physical therapy can help accelerate your kids’ development by teaching them to do various movements using play therapy and toys. The physiotherapist can use a treadmill to improve walking velocity, fix abnormal gait patterns and improve balance. This therapy is safe for kids and the therapists are trained to prevent any injury.
Kids that receive proper care early on tend to develop just as fine as adults. Your physical therapist or pediatrician is the best person to determine if your kid has delayed milestones and if they need treatment.
So if you feel like your kid is developing slowly, bring them to a doctor or physical therapist for an assessment.
5. Your kid has a new assistive device
Kids can have many kinds of assistive devices for their hands, feet or legs. And they need to learn to use them properly so that they can enjoy all the benefits that the device is supposed to provide.
A physical therapist can help train kids to perform activities with assistive devices.
This is helpful for temporary devices as well. Such as when kids break a bone in their legs and have to use crutches for a while. Learning the right way to put weight on it can not only improve healing outcomes but also contribute to functional independence which is important for kids.
Conditions Treated By PT That You Might Not Know About
Most people view physical therapy as the healthcare field that deals with athletic injuries, musculoskeletal conditions and the rehabilitation of people with severe movement deficits. But physical therapy is much more than that.
Here are a few more conditions that physiotherapists treat. You can book a PT appointment if you suffer from any of these and want to explore alternative treatments other than pain killers and conservative management:
- Acute or Chronic Headaches
- Vertigo and Vestibular issues
- Pulmonary issues
- Post-surgical deficits with mobility
- Jaw pain
When to See a Physical Therapist – In a Nutshell
Some home remedies that people use can cause more harm than good. If you’re experiencing any of the signs we’ve covered in the post above, then it might be best to schedule a PT appointment and finally go in for a checkup.
Contact us for a virtual PT session where we can guide you on appropriate treatments or help you understand your clinical condition or pathology.
[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6853739/
[ii] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28555713/
[iii] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163711000699
[iv] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pri.280
[v] https://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0301/p1331.html
[vi] https://www.scielo.br/j/clin/a/LmzD3pdJDwtnQTxjNj99Pdy/abstract/?lang=en&format=html