When people hear “physical therapy” they often picture car crash victims or world-class athletes damaged after a serious game. While these situations certainly can call for physical therapy, the truth is that physical therapy can assist in plenty of conditions and circumstances. Physical therapy encompasses many exercises, stretches, massage therapies, and more that can mitigate pain, improve your body’s health, and increase mobility. We’ll explore some conditions and situations that may call for physical therapy.

1. Sports Injuries 

Of course, let’s first talk about sports injuries, as they’re often what most people picture when they hear physical therapy. Physical therapy targets can target a wide range of sports injuries, including sprains, strains, tears, hamstrings, and plenty of other conditions. However, you don’t necessarily have to be a world-class athlete to deal with these injuries or to benefit from physical therapy. Even if you play sports as a way to exercise, you may benefit from treatment.

2. Headaches

Many factors can contribute to headaches, but we often contribute headaches to factors like loud noises, not getting enough sleep, or the day after having too many drinks. However, headaches caused by these factors are typically temporary. If you have frequent headaches, you might suffer from stiff neck pains or damaged nerves. Physical therapy can help improve your neck’s flexibility, and you may find your headaches “magically” going away.

3. Arthritis

As we age, we become more susceptible to conditions like arthritis. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for arthritis. However, certain treatments can mitigate arthritis’ worst symptoms. These treatments may include losing weight, exercising, medication, and physical therapy.

4. Spinal Problems 

Physical therapy can also help alleviate pain associated with spinal conditions like:

• Sciatica
• Spinal stenosis
• Scoliosis Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
• Degenerative disc disease
• Herinated discs

5. General Pain 

We can sometimes suffer from general neck, back, and shoulder pain that may not have a clear-cut direct cause. Anything from your diet, poor posture, your sleeping schedule, repetitive motions, etc., can all cause general pain. A physical therapist can help alleviate this pain while also giving you tools for bettering your lifestyle. One distinctive advantage of physical therapy is to reduce peoples’ reliance on medication. While over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen have their place, too many people take these pills regularly to deal with their general pain. Physical therapy can help eliminate patients’ reliance on medications by treating their pain’s root causes versus their symptoms.

6. Concussions 

Even a minor concussion can have disastrous effects if not dealt with. Physical therapy can help patients properly heal following a concussion.

7. Severe Accidents 

Of course, many patients pursue physical therapy following severe incidents like car crashes or getting shot. An incident like a car crash can cause various injuries, ranging from reduced mobility to paralyzation. Especially when dealing with the possibility of never being able to walk again, patients will want to pursue physical therapy. Physical therapy can make a huge difference in a patient’s life — a fact our friends at the Mid Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic can attest to.