DO YOU NEED A PHYSICAL THERAPIST?

Almost all of you reading this must have suffered from injuries causing pain at one point or another in your lives leading to dysfunctions and hampered your capabilities to perform day-to-day activities.

Along with the pain, many other complications often tend to get neglected by people only because there is a lack of awareness regarding the help which is available. Sadly, this vicious cycle of neglect and ignorance continues while our body starts giving up. In other words, tolerance for this discomfort crosses the threshold.

Here is when the dilemma arises. “Doctor or a Physical Therapist”

Whom to consult?

The answer needs clarifications for the misconceptions and presumptions which are widespread, regarding the Physical Therapy practice and how Therapists work towards helping people in regaining the lost or hampered function and a pain-free life.

I hope these points will help to debunk the myths and increase the flow of patients towards Physical Therapy:

• Physical Therapists (PTs) are “first contact” practitioners like Doctors.

We see patients being reluctant to consult a Physical Therapist directly when they do not possess a referral from another medical practitioner. Here, the general population needs to be aware that obtaining a referral is not a mandatory process and they can visit a PT without having one.

• Another prevalent misconception regarding PTs is that they are Masseurs and they only do massage.

PTs are also known as “applied motor control physiologists.” Therapeutic massage is one service amongst many which Physical Therapists provide after making a Physical and Clinical diagnosisof your ailments.

• When I am using the term Physical diagnosis, I would like to give an example of how it differs from a Medical diagnosis:

Medical Diagnosis: Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) or Stroke.

Physical/Clinical Diagnosis: impaired motor function and sensory integrity associated with non-regressive disorders of the central nervous system acquired in adolescence or adulthood.

A medical diagnosis refers to the identification of a disease, disorder, or condition but physical therapistsuse the term physical diagnosis to “identify the impact of a disease or a condition on function at the level of the system (especially the movement system) and the level of the whole person”. (Ref: APTA: Guide to physical therapy practice,ed 2.Phys Ther 81:1, 2001).

• As therapists, we frequently encounter this query from patients, “My doctor has advised surgery, so what is the need of physiotherapy?” Unfortunately, again the problem here is the lack of awareness regarding the potential of Physical Therapy amongst the masses and other healthcare providers.

Many studies have proved physical therapy as a safer and economical option before or sometimes instead of any invasive treatment. Also, the rehabilitation programs involving strengthening and conditioning before and post-surgery have miraculously shown a better outcome in the functional activity performance scores and long-term maintenance of these results than surgery sans physiotherapy.

Chronic pain, restricted end ranges of motions, residual deformities are problems that have a scientific solution. These issues are not to be compensated, compromised, or neglected at any cost but deserve professional attention and car

Undergoing an exercise program under the guidance of a physical therapist and following a few tips like using the crutches for a short period can help patients in the long run than discarding them at the early stages of recovery and then creating a whole new problem of faulty biomechanics later on.

• The sea of information available at our fingertips regarding medical issues leads to anxiety and confusion.

Watching online videos, reading treatment plans, and self-diagnosingproblems are commonplace.

By investing a decade of their lives studying and diagnosing varied musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, aging, and sports-related conditions, physical therapists are proficient in providing a customized treatment plan for the ailments related to these systems.

• There is a rise of undue importance given to investigative procedures (MRI, CT scans, Radiographs) for diagnosing simple problems, which results in only burning a hole in the pocket rather than anything fruitful. People also need to know that a PT can refer patients to get specific scans and tests post their clinical diagnosis.

With this information, I request you that if you or your loved ones are facing problems like:

loss of balance; pain; fatigue; weakness; tingling numbness; obesity; bladder issues (frequent or uncontrolled urination); difficulty in carrying out activities at the workplace; need of pre and post-surgical care; if kids are having problems with achieving their developmental milestones; amputations; to ease the antenatal, natal and postnatal period complications; aging; vertigo and so on, 

then please choose Physical Therapy and give Therapists a chance to alleviate your pain and discomfort.

And I also hope, after reading this blog, the answer to the title will be a YES.

If any other questions or doubts arise regarding consulting a Physical therapist, please feel free to contact me.