How Therapeutic Exercise Can Restore Strength, Balance And Mobility To Those Recovering From Injury Or Disease

By Rosella Campbell


Physical therapy involves specialized movements designed to remedy impairments in the body's mobility. It is used to help people recovering from health conditions, illnesses and injuries that limit their ability to function in their daily lives. The aim of this type of therapy is to help patients build strength, mobility, balance and coordination. Therapeutic exercise is a very well established modality and residents of Boston, MA have an excellent choice of practitioners to choose from.

Physical therapists help patients with a variety of impairments and work in a number of health-related environments. They can be found in hospitals, fitness centers, schools, care homes, hospices, and other establishments where rehabilitation care is undertaken. Many choose to specialize in particular areas such as sports injury, senior care, child care and orthopedics.

When designing a care program, a therapist will begin by examining their patient's medical history and making an assessment of their current capabilities. He or she may also draw upon information provided by lab studies and scans where needed. A care plan will then be designed that is tailored to the specific needs of the patient. As much as possible, the goal is always to restore the patient's physical capacity to normal.

Individual exercises are designed to target a particular part of the body, or particular joints or muscles. The therapist will show the patient how to execute each exercise, and how to do so for maximum benefit. This process involves trial and error, and the therapist will carefully monitor how the patient responds. Each exercise in the program can be altered as necessary or substituted for another depending on the patient's response.

The essence of any program of exercise will be to improve flexibility, strength, coordination and balance or several of these attributes. Strength exercises are of particular importance for patients who have experienced muscle loss. Gains in strength are also important for restoring a patient's confidence, which often suffers when physical capacity is lost.

Injury and certain medical conditions can lead to impairments in balance and coordination. The elderly in particular are prone to these issues, which can make them vulnerable to falling. Balance and coordination exercises are ways to build up physical poise and thus avoid accidents and further injury. They are designed primarily to improve lower-body muscularity and also develop the body's balance and spatial perception capabilities.

Flexibility drills are aimed at restoring range of motion and suppleness. They also play an important role in preventing injury. These exercises come in many guises, but they all involve range of motion movements and stretching the muscles. Many of them also have the advantage of needing no equipment, and the positive effect they can have on a patient's sense of well-being.

This sense of well-being raises an important insight about physical therapy. Exercise (and significant movement of virtually any kind, in fact) can have a hugely positive effect on someone's mood and degree of hope. Scientific studies have demonstrated conclusively that people who are positive and optimistic recover better and more quickly than those who are more pessimistic. Physical therapy can therefore play a critical role in helping patients recover both their physical capabilities and their quality of life.




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