Physiotherapy, also known as physical therapy, is a treatment practice which can prevent conditions and diseases, restore balance, help you recover form injuries and alleviate your pain. Here out Stittsville physiotherapists explain 5 signs that physiotherapy might be able to help you feel your best.
You may be familiar with physiotherapy as a way of helping professional athletes perform at a high level. However, it's important to not feel intimidated, or like these treatments are only for people suffering from injuries for for high performing athletes.
Physiotherapy therapy can improve your health in a number of ways, regardless of who you are.
Physical therapy encourage an active and healthy lifestyle while treating health issues. It can be used to promote your strength and flexibility, alleviate chronic pain and prepare your body for an upcoming surgery. Doctors will often prescribe physiotherapy early as a way of conservatively treating an illness before having to resort to other, more invasive methods. But, this isn't required in order to work with a physiotherapist.
Here are 5 signs you can look out for in your body that a visit to Motion Works Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre and a consultation with one of our experienced physiotherapists might be a good idea:
1. You have been considering physiotherapy.
While it may seem like a bit of a no-brainer, you wouldn't be thinking about speaking with a physiotherapist unless you were feeling like something was wrong.
If you suspect that physiotherapy could help you with whatever it is that has caused you to consider it as an option, chances are that it can! Physical therapy is able to address all sorts of health issues beyond pain or injury, and our Stittsville physiotherapist team may have expertise in whatever is causing you discomfort.
2. You struggle with your daily tasks
If you are you struggling with your usual daily tasks and finding common movements suddenly harder to do, physiotherapy might help.
Before pain sets in, the body will naturally try to compensate to solve a "problem" that is developing, in order to achieve a task (e.g., reach up to a high cupboard for a coffee mug). Your brain will achieve the task, but HOW you move to reach the mug might be changing, and might not be optimal.
Physiotherapists can help assess your body’s functional and joint-specific movements, to determine if the quality of your movements are optimal and safe. Solve the problem before your brain & body say "time out" and experience more serious pain or dysfunction.
3. You are struggling with balance.
While you may not consider loss of balance to be cause by an injury, there's a good chance that if you have noticed a sudden loss of your sense of balance, it is caused by a condition, illness or injury affecting your vestibular system (also known as your inner ear).
Physiotherapists can help you to recover your loss of balance through a treatment called vestibular rehabilitation. Your physiotherapist will be able to assist your body in support of your vestibular system as it recovers from the conditions which were stopping it from properly functioning.
4. You are experiencing pain.
Are you suffering from pain which won't go away? While one might expect the pain of an injury to subside over time, it sometimes will remain and become chronic. This is especially common in lower back and neck injuries and can affect every part of your life, from work to sleep.
Physiotherapists can work with you to identify the root issue which is causing you pain and creating a physical therapy treatment plan to reduce or even eliminate your pain entirely.
5. You experience discomfort at your desk.
The human body is built to move, so sitting for long periods of time at work can put strain on your neck, back and joints. Getting up every often to stretch can be a great start, as can speaking with your HR manager about what resources they offer for healthy and safe desk setups.
Physical therapy can also help combat desk discomfort. Our physiotherapists can walk you through good posture at your desk and provide advice about what a good home office desk setup should include.