Topic > How Physical Therapy Positively Impacts a Patient's Illness, Deformity, or Injury

Physical therapy, by definition, is the treatment of an illness, deformity, or injury through exercise rather than physical therapy. use of drugs or surgery. Physical therapy can help improve a person's mobility and body, thus improving their health altogether. It is incredibly helpful for those who suffer from arthritis, muscle strain, back pain, tendon or ligament problems, or who want to promote post-operative healing. Ways that physical therapy can improve your ability to live a healthy lifestyle are by reducing or eliminating pain, recovering faster from certain injuries due to earlier strengthening of muscles, and improving mood. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Physical therapy reduces or eliminates a person's pain by a physical therapist who teaches the patient proper exercises to increase his mobility and improve his overall lifestyle. PTs can achieve this by identifying which part of the body appears to be the weakest or stiffest and create treatments to reduce or eliminate that pain. Treatments may include aerobic exercises such as cycling, jogging, swimming, and strengthening exercises such as squats, push-ups and lunges. Cycling improves joint mobility and cardiovascular fitness, jogging strengthens bones, and swimming reduces stress levels and improves mood. Squatting helps develop leg muscles, push-ups can help create stability and balance, and lunges can effectively work the leg and butt muscles, strengthening them and increasing hip flexibility. All of these have been proven to have a very positive effect on the human body both physically and mentally. Another way physical therapy can help a person live a healthy lifestyle is by strengthening muscles so they can recover from injuries faster. Let's say you're a teenage athlete, such as a high school baseball player. Baseball is known for its repetitive throwing motions, and if you're a teenager, you're at the time in your life where your bones are growing rapidly and those constant, repetitive motions can lead to painful injuries. According to an article written by Ellen Shanley, PhD, and Chuck Thigpen, PhD, in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, "The combination of repetitive throwing, weak physeal cartilage in growth centers, muscle stiffness associated with rapid growth of long bones, increased laxity of soft tissue structures and reduced development of neuromuscular movement patterns may place the adolescent athlete at increased risk for upper extremity injuries” (1) With the help of a physical therapist who can identify the points weak arms and shoulders in a teenage baseball player, with proper exercises and movements to strengthen these areas such as the elbows, you will have fewer injuries or at least recover much faster from those injuries. Then, soon enough, you can return to the field to play with the rest of the team. The final way that physical therapy can make a difference in someone's ability to live a healthy lifestyle is that their mood can dramatically improve. With the exercises your physical therapist recommends you do, studies have shown that exercise can dramatically improve how you feel overall. According to James Blumenthal, PhD, “There is good epidemiological data to suggest that active people are less depressed than inactive people. And people who were active and then have..