Got pain? why you can benefit from physical therapy

If you didn't notice, I'm a physical therapist and truly believe in what our profession does in the grand scheme of health care. Sometimes, I feel that we are on the low end of the totem pole, but have the potential to save the health care system large amounts of the green stuff. People tend to fear us because of the mantra "no pain, no gain" or "physical terrorist", but I think our profession has really progressed over the past several years into more of a biomechanics specialty or movement specialist with emphasis in manual therapy techniques (massage, mobilizing stiff joints, stretching, etc.) allowing us to treat much more effectively. So, what better way to kick off this BeneFIT blog than to explain how us physical therapists can help. 
I spend a lot of time educating potential clients on how correcting muscular imbalances can greatly relieve tension and pain. I like to think of your joints as tires on your car. If they're balanced properly, you get more life out of the tire. Joints act the same way. When you lack symmetry between one side and the other because of tightness or weakness, you may create torsion on the back creating pain, for example. Before you have surgery, I strongly encourage you to try a conservative approach and go see a physical therapist to assess your mechanics while attempting to correct them. "A recent study from Finland asserts that when it comes to treatment of nontraumatic rotator cuff tears, physical therapy alone produces results equal to those produced by arthroscopic surgery and open surgical repair. According to the study's authors, follow-ups of 167 shoulders treated show that "conservative treatment should be considered as the primary treatment for this condition."

This goes for other conditions as well. If you have shoulder pain, please take the time to read this article on MoveForwardPT's website:

http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/NewsNow/2014/3/12/RotatorCuffTears/

Please feel free to ask questions or share experiences. "Like" me, "Share" me or "Tweet" me and I'll give you a free hug

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