When you suffer from chronic pain, it’s important to try to find ways to manage it that reduce your dependency on drugs or invasive surgical methods. Drugs can cause unwanted side effects and addiction, and surgery comes with risks and a long, painful recovery period.
One way to manage long-lasting pain or sudden pain from an injury is with physical therapy. Below are a few of the ways physical therapy helps manage pain.
Therapeutic exercise
Once your physical therapist has examined your condition, they can develop a personalized therapeutic exercise routine. This will include gentle exercises designed to improve the strength and flexibility of your muscles and soft tissue.
Improving your strength and flexibility helps reduce pressure off the painful areas of your body. Exercises also help improve your circulation, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients to the parts of your body trying to recover from a painful condition or injury.
Manual therapy
Another way physical therapists manage pain is with manual therapy. Also known as hands-on therapy, manual therapy techniques include joint and soft tissue mobilizations designed for reducing pain, tension and stiffness in your joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.
Many of the mobilizations your physical therapist performs with manual therapy are unachievable on your own. Your physical therapist knows how to safely mobilize your joints and tissue into positions that help treat your condition without causing harm to you.
Professional guidance
Certain lifestyle habits (or lack thereof) can contribute to the development of long-lasting and recurring pain. For example, smoking is a habit that affects the circulation of your blood, which can lead to many conditions that cause pain, tension and stiffness. Your physical therapist can help you find help to quit smoking to improve your overall health.
A sedentary lifestyle is another contributing factor to chronic pain. If you don’t get enough physical activity, your muscles will grow weaker and stiffer. Muscles in this condition don’t provide enough support for your body, which increases pressure on your spine and joints. Physical therapists can help you develop a routine for remaining active.
Your posture may also be an issue. Physical therapists can help you sit and stand with better posture to help reduce pressure off your joints.
Visit Border Therapy Services in El Paso, TX, for pain management
Are you tired of suffering from pain only to turn to medication or invasive procedures for relief? Our physical therapists at Border Therapy Services can help you manage your pain to improve your overall quality of life. Contact us today to talk to our team about physical therapy for pain management or to schedule an initial appointment.