We get it. Doing your physical therapy exercises or meeting with your physical therapist in their clinic twice a week isn’t exactly something that you wake up looking forward to every day. It may not be the most fun activity, but it could be one of the most rewarding things you’ll do all day. Not only that, but putting it off can have a number of consequences for your health and your life in general. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some of the consequences of delayed or skipped physical therapy.
The Problems With Skipping Or Delaying Physical Therapy
There are some obvious and some not-so-obvious problems associated with skipping physical therapy. Below, we take a look at some of the problems associated with delaying physical therapy before or after a surgical operation.
- Worsening Symptoms – Physical therapy is one of the best treatment techniques for strengthening key structures and supportive tissues. Targeting areas that are weak or painful with physical therapy can put an end to your symptoms. Delaying treatment can simply mean you have more days of discomfort.
- Decreased Likelihood Of Treatment Success – Your body tends to respond better to treatment when the condition being treated is in an earlier stage. The less degeneration that has taken place, the more likely your body will be receptive to the strength training exercises in physical therapy. The sooner your treatment begins, the higher the likelihood you’ll see good results through physical therapy, and vice versa.
- It Can Get Expensive – A recent study on the consequences of delayed physical therapy found that putting off active intervention techniques can be costly for your wallet. Early physical therapy was associated with a decreased likelihood of needing surgery, and those operations don’t come cheap. Even if you don’t end up needing surgery, you may have additional costs like corticosteroid injections or prolonged physical therapy if you ignored advice to begin a PT routine sooner. Save yourself some money by jumping into a physical therapy program.
- Emotional and Mental Effects – There is a significant relationship between our physical health and our mood and mental health. If you’re in a constant state of pain and discomfort, you may also be more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression. Take control of your mental health by investing in your physical health through physical therapy.
- You Only Get One Body – At the end of the day, you only get one body, so you need to take care of it. When your car breaks down or your shoes get a hole in them, you can go to the store and buy another one, and while you can get a surgery or have a joint replacement operation, you can’t exactly get a new body. Take care of your body when it can still respond to treatment. Oftentimes the best intervention for your long-term health is early physical therapy.
To connect with a physical therapy team near you who can help you prevent surgery and improve your quality of life, reach out to the therapy team at OrthoRehab Specialists today.