Are you interested in learning all that you can about physical therapy? Are you in need of a new physical therapist to help you with your physical ailments? Whatever the case might be, you need to find the right type of physical therapy.
Most people don’t realize there are different types of physical therapy to begin with. They commit themselves to the first method they come across without looking into the other ones to see if they prefer it.
See below for an in-depth guide on the different types and how to find the best physical therapy method for your needs.
1. Shockwave Therapy
For those of you that are having chronic pain or an injury you’ve been fighting for a while now, you’ll want to give shockwave therapy a try.
Its main priority is to target the built-up stress in your body. The shockwave therapy is used to promote your body’s natural healing of the pain, rather than leaning on medicinal assistance.
You can either invest in in-house shockwave therapy products or have them performed by someone who is clinically trained to operate them.
However, you may find it most helpful to do a bit of both. Clinical machines are more powerful, and the physical therapist can help you target specific spots. Then you can use your in-home products to provide maintenance until your next appointment.
It’s a tremendous option for anyone, is pain-free, and promotes your body’s natural healing process. What could be better than that?
2. Manual Therapy
This is the method that most people consider when they think of physical therapy. It’s used to treat musculoskeletal pain and inhibited movements you might be experiencing.
A lot of it has to do with your body’s range of motion, muscle manipulation, joint manipulation, and the mobilization of all your joints. It aims to enhance your tissue flexibility and make your range of motion more fluent and natural to prevent injuries.
Manual physical therapy mainly uses different types of massages and exercises to break up scar tissue and increase the blood flow in your muscles. This will ease the pain that you’re experiencing and help get your body back on track.
Studies have shown manual therapy to be a great form of physical therapy, but the results depend on the area you’re trying to treat. Be sure to consider what area of your body you’re experiencing the most pain, then research if manual therapy can help.
3. Ice and Heat
The term “opposites attract” certainly applies to this form of physical therapy. As the name would imply, this term of physical therapy aims to use both extremes on the temperature scale to reduce inflammation and help with muscle tightness.
However, it’s essential to know that ice and heat serve two very distinct purposes in this form of physical therapy.
The ice is used to reduce inflammation and swelling that your muscles, joints, or tissue might be experiencing. It helps constrict your blood vessels and take out the pain you’re feeling with your specific injury.
Heat is used to prevent muscle spasms and eliminate muscle tightness. Whenever your muscle experiences an injury, the first reaction is to tighten up, thus building up stress in your body.
The heat can decrease the pain that you have with that injury and get your mobility back to where it was before the injury occurred.
The trick with this form of physical therapy is to strike a healthy balance. If you use too much ice or too much heat, you won’t achieve optimum results.
4. Light Therapy
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, light can now be used to heal your injuries. While there is much room for improvement in this method, it can still offer many benefits to the patient.
Light therapy, as the name would imply, uses different levels of light, such as lasers (low-grade) and light-emitting diode (LED) lights to give you relief.
It’s mainly used to reduce swelling and inflammation in your injuries. Many experts see it as a way to assist those with a high level of physical activity such as athletes, blue-collar workers, and so on.
As helpful as it can be, it should never be the primary form of physical therapy that you receive. It’s best used in collaboration with physical therapy workouts and other methods on this list.
5. Exercise Therapy
Some of you might think this to be counterproductive after you’ve sustained an injury, but these aren’t just regular exercises.
The exercises that your physical therapist will have you perform are specifically intended to strengthen the injured area and the muscles that surround it.
Its primary focus is to not only get you back to where you were before the injury but prevent the injury from occurring ever again. Make no mistake about it; the exercises will be light enough to prevent further injury, but rigorous enough to push your body.
Exercise therapy can also be used as a way to rid you of some unhealthy habits such as working on the laptop with your spine curved on the couch or texting with your head down.
Find the Best Physical Therapy Style for You
Now that you’ve seen the different physical therapy styles for treating your pain, start by setting yourself up with the best physical therapy: shockwave therapy.
Be sure to read this article for more information on Oceanus and how our shockwave therapy products can help you feel better than before the injury occurred!
For more inquiries, please be sure to reach out via our contact us page, and we will be happy to assist you further!