Injuring yourself can come with a lot of stress and frustration. You have to deal with the pain of your injury, and you might be restricted from your everyday activities while you heal. Thankfully, physical therapy after an injury can help speed your healing process and get you back to normal in no time. Read on to learn more about the importance of physical therapy after an injury.
Swelling and Pain After an Injury
After you injure yourself, the body begins a physiological process that causes swelling, pain, stiffness, and decreased muscle activation. All of this is necessary to protect the area of injury as it heals. However, physical therapy can help lessen the negative effects of these natural processes and even help you heal faster. While you should always rest the first couple of days after an injury, you can start physical therapy soon after that.
Restoring Your Range of Motion After an Injury
When you begin physical therapy for an injury, one of the first things your physical therapist will work on is restoring your range of motion. After an injury, especially one involving a joint, you will have a limited range of motion in that area as you heal. But with the help of physical therapy, you can increase your range of motion quicker, which will help get you back to your normal activities faster.
Building Endurance and Strength
The next phase of your physical therapy after an injury will be building muscle endurance and strength. Because this is so important, your physical therapist will probably recommend several weekly appointments as you heal. Each session will be focused on building your endurance. But don’t worry; your therapist will never push you too far.
Have you recently suffered an injury that’s inhibiting your everyday life? Give us a call at Activity First to get started with physical therapy today.