The goal of a physical therapy program is to help you become a more physically fit version of yourself, but in order to do that, a PT is going to have to push you outside of your comfort zone. You’re going to have to work hard and push yourself if you truly want to make the gains you seek, but this increased stress and strain on different areas can increase your risk of injury. This can be especially problematic if an area is already weakened as a result of injury or surgery. So how do physical therapists strike a balance between pushing you physically without increasing your risk of an injury or setback? In today’s blog, we explain how working with a physical therapist can reduce your risk of reinjury during your rehab program.
Why Working With A PT Is So Safe
We take pride in making sure that our clients reach their physical potential and do so quickly, and that means we place a large emphasis on client safety. And while it’s impossible to prevent every single issue in every single client, here’s a look at some of the ways we work to keep each and every client safe from aggravation or reinjury during the recovery process.
- Continual Assessments – We typically conduct a baseline assessment during the initial visit, and this helps us understand your strengths, deficits and goals for the program. However, that’s not the only assessment that we’ll conduct, because your abilities will change as you progress through the program. We regularly assess and reassess your functional capabilities so that we know how to adjust your rehab program to your unique needs that day. Constant reevaluation is key to ensuring each PT program is tailored to your strengths and goals on that specific day.
- Guided Exercises – One of the best things about working with a physical therapist is having an expert by your side when you’re doing your exercises. They can help to ensure that your form is on point and that you are doing the exercises correctly so that the right muscles and tissues are handling the stress. If you try to perform a PT program on your own and you end up performing some moves incorrectly, there is nobody there to correct your form, and that can increase your injury risk. Professional instruction is key to reducing your reinjury risk.
- Form Evaluation – We have a number of tools in our arsenal to assess your movement patterns frame by frame so that we can make adjustments to your form. This is especially helpful for athletes or runners who are hoping to take their game to the next level or ensure that stress is dispersed appropriately on specific areas of your body. Our form assessment tools can show us things that can’t easily be seen by the naked eye so that we can help you make the adjustments you need to ensure your athletic form isn’t leaving you at risk of an injury.
- Gradual Reintroduction – A common time for an injury to develop during a recovery program is when an athlete attempts to return to sport-specific activities. When you’re working with a physical therapist, they will have a specific onboarding program that will gradually help you take on more stress so that you are not overwhelmed. Another crucial aspect of recovery is making sure that your fitness and endurance are back to competitive levels if an injury has left you sidelined for an extended period. We can help improve your endurance and stamina so that you don’t fatigue as easily upon your return to physical activities, as fatigue is oftentimes a common factor in injury onset.
Pushing your body physically while also being careful not to overstress it is a delicate line to walk, but it’s something we do with clients each and every day, and we’d be happy to help you return to the physical activities you love while also reducing your risk of injury during your recovery period. For more information on how we can help do this, or to talk to someone about setting up your first session, pick up the phone and contact the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.