“Physical therapists are movement experts who improve the quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education.” - APTA

First, what is physical therapy?

Physical therapy is care that aims to ease your pain and help you function, move, and live better. We can diagnose and treat a variety of movement dysfunctions – from musculoskeletal to neurological – across the lifespan, from pediatric to geriatric. 

Why is physical therapy important?

When you experience an injury or undergo surgery (which is essentially an organized/planned injury), it takes time for your body to heal. It’s critical that you allow your body this time to heal before you return to your daily activities, recreational activities, and sports activities. 

During the healing process, you’ll find that your joints and muscles become stiff, your muscles lose strength, and your balance and motor control become challenging. Through exercise, manual (hands-on) treatment, and patient education, physical therapists help you get back to what you love doing.

Working with a physical therapist will:

• Improve your mobility;
• Strengthen your muscles;
• Improve your balance and motor control;
• Progressively increase your activities.

Resolving Ongoing Discomfort

Having an injury or undergoing surgery isn’t the only reason you would need a PT. Maybe you have had persistent pain that started “out of nowhere” and gradually built up to the point where you can no longer engage in your usual activities. Similar to an acute injury, you will still likely see limitations in your mobility, strength, and balance. 

In a similar way, your physical therapist will observe your movement and assess your limitations to find the source/root of the problem. Once the root cause has been addressed, you and your PT will build an action plan for getting back to doing what you love. 

Futureproof Your Body

What if you don’t have a current injury, but you used to have one before? What if you don’t have a current injury, but you’re worried about getting injured? PT can also help with that! We love preventative care. We can observe/assess your movement and determine what might increase your risk of injury. Previous history, weakness, lack of control, decreased mobility can all be risk factors. From there, we can train and prep you so that you can keep doing what you love without the risk of future injury. 

In other words… Train for Life! For more guidance, visit us at our Santa Monica physical therapy performance facility.