Many people are aware that obesity and being overweight can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea. But something that’s not often discussed is that being overweight can put too much stress on joints and lead to chronic pain conditions.
Pain is an unpleasant sensation your body uses to indicate something is wrong. Instinctually, you may limit movement to prevent the painful sensations. Though immobility may be recommended initially, you don’t want to remain inactive for too long.
Whether you’re recovering from an injury or suffering from chronic neck or back pain, exercise is an important part of the recovery process. At Premier Spine Institute, our board-certified orthopaedic spine surgeon Bonaventure Ngu, MD, wants you to know why physical therapy is such an important part of your treatment plan.
When you’re in severe pain, you may find it hard to believe that exercise can help in any way. However, therapeutic exercise mobilizes your joints and muscles and activates your body’s natural healing powers and pain relievers.
In addition to an exercise program, physical therapy may also incorporate other treatments to assist in the healing process, such as bracing, ultrasound therapy, or taping.
The purpose of physical therapy is to get your body moving again. Your exercise program will help improve your mobility and balance and help build muscle strength. Improving the strength of the muscles that surround your injury or source of pain can reduce stress and discomfort.
Certain activities may stress areas of your body prone to injury. To reduce your risk of reinjury, your physical therapy program will include education on not overusing certain muscles or performing certain actions too much. Physical therapy can also reduce your risk of reinjury by improving body strength and balance.
While we are experts in orthopaedic surgery, we always take a conservative approach first to try and prevent the need for surgery. By improving your body’s natural healing powers, reducing your pain, and improving your body’s mechanics and balance, your physical therapy program may provide enough pain relief to improve your quality of life and prevent the need for surgery.
Whether you’re recovering from an injury or a surgical procedure, physical therapy can help your body heal and recover faster. Initially, your physical therapy program may include simple movements to keep your body mobile and simple treatments to reduce pain. Then, as your body heals, your physical therapy program will progress to improve mobility, restore function, and help you get back to your active lifestyle.
From neck pain, to shoulder pain, to pinched nerves, physical therapy may not only help relieve your discomfort, but it may also help identify and fix areas of weakness that could be contributing to your pain condition so you can get long-term relief.
We want nothing more than to help you get relief from your pain. To learn more about our treatment options and the many benefits of physical therapy, book an appointment online or over the phone with Premier Spine Institute today.
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