Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is an area of healthcare that provides diagnoses and treatments for patients with diseases, dysfunctions, abnormalities, or other medical conditions that limit their ability to move properly and without pain in their daily lives. Physical therapists use a wide range of techniques to help their patients, such as deep tissue manual therapy, mobility and flexibility exercises, dry needling, cupping, myofascial release, instrument-assisted therapy such as Graston, joint mobilization, and many more. Physical therapists are licensed medical professionals, often with their doctorate in Physical Therapy, which includes not only a four year undergraduate degree in fields such as exercise science or athletic training, but also an additional three year graduate degree, involving rigorous classes, hands-on training, and internship programs. Physical therapists are trained to work with all ranges of patients, from young children to the elderly. If outside of the United States, physical therapists are often referred to as physiotherapists.

Physical therapists can offer primary care and treatment for their patients or services in conjunction with other medical treatments. Therapists can offer assessments and examinations to help diagnose health problems or impairments, build a treatment plan, and help their patients complete those treatment plans with the goal of restoring normal movement, mobility, and function. In many cases, the nature of a patient’s injury or health problem prevents full restoration of normal function, and physical therapists will help those patients recover as much function as their injury or health challenge allows. For example, in patients with broken wrists, a metal plate and screws are often used to help support the wrist, but in doing so, the plate and screws inherently, and permanently, limit the range of motion of the wrist. In such cases, a physical therapist can help the patient restore as much mobility and function in and around the wrist as the metal plate and screws will allow.

Manual therapy is one of the most commonly used techniques during physical therapy sessions, and it is essentially the therapist using their own hands, without any devices or instruments, to provide therapy to a patient to help reduce pain, improve tissue flexibility, increase range of motion, or improve posture, among other goals. Manual therapy can include stretching, joint manipulation and mobilization, resistance training, and massage-like techniques. Manual therapy can be used to treat a wide range of issues, including, but not limited to, neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, elbow pain, wrist pain, ankle pain, lower back pain, migraines and tension headaches, fibromyalgia, tight and tense muscle, restricted joints, and herniated discs. 

Instrument-assisted therapy is also popular with many physical therapists, and it is a form of manual therapy in which the therapist uses specifically designed stainless steel instruments or tools to help identify and treat soft tissue problems. Instrument-assisted therapy can be used to treat inflammation, break up adhesions and scar tissue, and promote healing in soft tissue such as muscle, ligaments, and tendons. And within the category of instrument-assisted therapy, there are more specific forms of treatment, such as Graston technique. Graston is a patented type of manual therapy that uses specific stainless steel tools to help patients, and it often involves 30-60 seconds of scraping the affected area with the Graston tools to increase blood flow and healing, improve mobility and flexibility, and reduce inflammation and pain.

Physical therapists get many of their new patients from referrals from other healthcare professionals, such as primary care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, personal trainers, chiropractors, and more. In all areas of the United States now, patients can also receive physical therapy without a referral from a doctor or other healthcare provider, thereby having direct access to physical therapists as needed. This has not always been the case - in years prior, most states had laws requiring a physician referral for a patient to receive care from a physical therapist. And even now, although all states allow direct access to physical therapists without a doctor’s referral, the scope and duration of care is often limited, and, in some cases, extremely limited. For example, in some states, anyone can seek treatment from a physical therapist, but they may only be able to receive an evaluation and one or two weeks of treatment without then having to get a referral from their primary care doctor, even if they are willing and able to pay for the therapy on their own, without using health insurance.