If you have ever had surgery or been in an accident, you might have been referred to work with a physical therapist. Physical therapy occurs after you have been treated by your physician. The goal for any physical therapist is to increase your range of motion, relieve pain, restore function and prevention. They are health professionals that are trained to assist patients in their physical goals to recovery from either illness or injury.

Physical therapy begins with a consultation to review your condition and discuss a treatment plan with you. As you forge through your therapy appointments in the months following, your therapist may change the plan in accordance with your progress. The sessions may consist of massage, exercise or heat treatments. By manipulating the muscles and joints through these methods, it greatly decreases the likelihood that you will need prescription medication.

Just like anything in life, the more you practice the better you will become. The physical therapist will most likely give you instructions on how to complete exercises at home. Practicing the exercises on a consistent basis will help the treatment plan tremendously. Much more than if you only did the exercises at the physical therapy facility once a week. The physical therapist becomes very involved in your success by actively helping you achieve your goals, even by checking to see if you are completing your “homework”.

Physical therapy helps patients become more independent by increasing their mobility. They also feel the freedom of not relying on medications for their ailment. Physical therapy cannot help every condition, just the ones that involve movement of the body. It does, however, cover a lot of ailments.

If you are in Lee county of southwest Florida and are in need of a physical therapist, we encourage you to do a search through IPALC.org.  There, you can find physical therapists in your area and get the help that you need.