Physical Therapist in Hempstead, NY 11001
7 Ways a Hempstead, NY Physical Therapist Near Me Treats Pain
The field of physical therapy concerns itself with reducing pain in its patients. Hempstead physical therapist near me will employ several tools to help their patients accomplish each expected outcome outlined in their rehabilitation treatment plan.
A Nassau County physical therapy journey begins with the initial evaluation. The rehabilitation therapist seeks to find out why the patient made the appointment in the first place. Physical therapy is part of the medical community. Therefore, the two have several things in common.
Physical therapy patients receive on-site treatment at a rehabilitation clinic. A treatment plan could include one-hour sessions a few times a week for six to eight weeks. Patients also receive homework. To help the patient maintain momentum, it’s important to keep up the work at home.
The work completed at a Hempstead, NY physical therapy clinic is similar to a professional cleaning dental patients receive once every six months. Professionals guide the on-site work. It’s up to the patient to maintain the work completed at home in-between visits.
On-site physical therapy with a therapist is beneficial for the patient. Sometimes it’s mandatory. An estimated 50 million Americans benefit from the rehabilitation service annually.
Moreover, it’s worth knowing that a referral from a primary care physician isn’t necessary to book an appointment with a Hempstead, NY physical therapist near me at Quan Medical PLLC.
It’s possible to treat pain at home with remedies passed down from one generation to the next. When pain is severe, it’s best to seek help from professionals. Nerve pain is difficult to treat with medical knowledge. Even surgery doesn’t always succeed to solve the discomfort.
Physical therapists spend several years in school earning their undergraduate degrees. Then they earn their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. In-between degrees, physical therapists receive hands-on experience in a medical setting. Thereafter, they complete a residency.
Once the residency is complete, they fulfill licensing requirements as set down by New York. Therefore, when you put your pain relief symptoms in their hands, you can rest assured that you’ve turned to an experienced medical professional.
The following are seven ways a Hempstead physical therapist treats pain.
Stretching
The exact solutions a Nassau County physical therapist employs during a session depending on their findings during the initial evaluation and examination. All patients benefit from stretching, especially those seeking to improve their range of motion, mobility, and overall well-being.
Stretching involves reaching, shifting, and bending. It helps the patient develop more flexibility. Thereafter, the patient strengthens their muscles.
An obstructed range of motion results from pain. A person who experiences discomfort when they reach for an item on an upper shelf has two choices. They either reach anyway or they stop reaching.
Over-reaching with discomfort can worsen the pain. Those who stop reaching start weakening their muscles and range of motion.
During a physical therapy session, the stretches receive guidance. The therapist ensures that the patient doesn’t stretch beyond their capability. They also push the patient past their pain threshold when they move merits it.
Exercises
Most physical therapy patients will participate in exercise during their sessions. Common exercises include planks, squats, and lifting.
Physical therapy exercises fall into low-impact cardio and aerobic. Patients can also expect pain relief and strengthening exercises.
When a patient attends a session, it’s important to dress appropriately. If the physical therapist intends for their client to break a sweat during the session, the right exercise clothes are a must.
Low-impact cardio moves help elevate the patient’s heart rate and lubricate their joints. This is an important step for strengthening the muscles. Sometimes pain stems from stiffness. Other times from inflammation. By moving the joints, the muscles gain the strength they need to push back the weakness causing pain.
Strengthening exercises target the core, glutes, and triceps. These exercises help the patient lift objects more easily. Expect to execute sets of squats, planks, and pushups. Some physical therapy clinics employ the use of machines. Others offer objects.
Pain relief exercises target the areas where the patient feels pain the most. The goal is to lubricate the joints for easier movement.
Heat and Cold Therapy
Keep in mind that physical therapy provides a non-surgical treatment solution for pain. It’s a holistic approach that uses natural remedies. The patient receives encouragement to use their own body for recovery. It skips over prescription medication that causes severe addiction.
Surgery has a useful place in medicine. Well-qualified patients whose condition has no remedy benefit from the procedure. For example, emergencies after an accident often require a trip to the emergency room for surgery. Sometimes there’s no other way to stop internal bleeding.
Heat and cold therapy are among the most holistic rehabilitation treatments for pain reduction. It’s a passive solution. Thus, the patient exerts no energy. The therapist alternates between cold and hot compresses placed on the areas where the patient feels pain.
Healthy blood flow has healing properties according to some medical studies. Gushing blood is a good sign that the patient is going to heal well once it’s under control. Poor blood flow is a sign of health problems and deficiencies.
The physical therapist aims to encourage blood to rush to the site of injury or pain. The technique encourages healthy healing without extra effort from the patient.
Manual Therapy
Manual therapy involves the physical therapist placing their hands on the patient’s body, namely the areas where the pain exists.
Some solutions employed by a Nassau County physical therapist use machines. Manual therapy does not use machines or extra tools. It only uses the therapist’s hands.
Patients whose rehabilitation treatment plans include manual therapy will undergo passive physical therapy treatment. The physical therapist works on the patient’s soft tissue. After a series of sessions, successful treatment leads to improved circulation and reduced pain.
The moves of the manual therapy technique use mobilization and manipulation. They alternate between fast and slow. There is twisting and pulling.
It’s common for a patient to feel sore after a manual therapy session. A course of placing ice on the soreness for 20 minutes at a time often helps. If the soreness persists, contact your therapist for additional guidance.
Manual therapy is a suggested treatment for those suffering from back pain. It also helps those who experience acute pain.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy also uses the hands of the physical therapist, but the technique differs from manual therapy. In massage therapy, the goal is to relieve the patient of tension, stress, and anxiety, especially in the parts of the body where it’s concentrated.
In addition, massage therapy aims to help circulation and increase flexibility. Improving blood flow is a focus of physical therapy. The belief is that it helps the healing process occur more quickly.
For physical therapy, massages complement the other methods used in a patient’s rehabilitation treatment plan; it’s not the focus.
Massage therapy is common for athletes too. After a physical competition, it’s normal for competitors to experience soreness. In addition, the experience blows to the body that bruises.
Every physical condition that involves pain has a physical therapy solution. Individuals injured on-the-job benefit from Hempstead, NY occupational therapy at Quan Medical PLLC. Those who suffered a stroke or condition that injured their nervous system benefit from neurology therapy.
There is also a wing of the field dedicated to children. Children through the age of 21 benefits from services provided by a Nassau County pediatrics physical therapist.
In each sub-category of the physical therapy field, treatment plans include massage therapy, manual therapy, and exercises. Before starting any treatment, the therapist becomes familiar with their future patient.
Patients go through an initial evaluation. This stage allows the therapist to ask a series of questions. Sometimes workplace injuries require physical therapy for worker’s compensation claims. The therapist helps evaluate the patient. They determine the patient’s ability to return to work. If they can resume their workplace duties, the therapist estimates the extent of the therapy required.
Electrotherapy
Some patients benefit from the use of electrotherapy during physical rehabilitation. The technique uses electricity to stimulate circulation and repair tissues. The ultimate goal is to reduce pain. In some cases, electrotherapy manages to strengthen muscles and help the bones re-grow.
Electricity has shown results in targeting nerve pain too. Remember that physical therapy is a holistic way to reduce pain. Many individuals are opting for this non-surgical treatment. Nerve pain is a difficult ailment that even surgery cannot fully fix.
As the population shies away from surgery, electrotherapy becomes more attractive. For example, diabetic nerve pain becomes more painful as it advances. Most diabetic patients do not qualify for surgery, which requires extensive recovery afterward.
Electrotherapy also serves patients experiencing fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, and weakening bones.
This treatment, like the others, requires approval from the patient first. A therapist develops a treatment plan based on their findings from the initial evaluation and examination. They pull from their knowledge-based and other cases. Nonetheless, they partner with their patients to ensure that they understand their plan.
Moreover, the therapist educates their patients. It helps to understand the source of the discomfort and pain. They discuss prevention tips too.
Combination Therapy
Most physical rehabilitation patients require a treatment plan of combined therapies. The medical community understands that a one-size-fits-all treatment plan doesn’t work anymore. Instead, each patient requires solutions tailored to their person. Even when two or more patients experience similar symptoms, they react differently to medication and other treatment.
One of the outcomes of this realization is the baseline appointment. It establishes the patient’s current health status according to the results of their bloodwork. Then, the primary doctor addresses urgent concerns and works their way back to the ones that require simple maintenance.
Physical therapy follows a similar logic. After the initial evaluation and examination, the therapist determines the best course of action to address the patient’s concerns.
Many rehabilitation therapy treatment plans use passive and active solutions. To address neck and back pain, a therapist combines them to deliver the best outcome. Neck and back pain is a prime candidate for hot and cold therapy. During the session, the therapist alternates the two compressions several times.
Massage therapy is also employed to help relieve back and neck pain symptoms. In severe cases, therapists employ ultrasound technology and electrotherapy. Neck and back pain often results from inflammation in the nerves, tissue, and muscles. Thus, the goal is to reduce the swelling.
Before starting active physical therapy with a patient experiencing neck and back pain, a therapist ensures that their spine is stable. Individuals with unstable spines often participate in strengthening their muscles, but the therapy takes longer to reach that point.
Active therapy for neck and back pain includes stretching. Then, the plan incorporates exercising. The aim is to improve the patient’s flexibility. Facing side to side to strengthen the neck is one common exercise. Moving the neck up and down is another.
Appropriate exercises are also executed for the back. People underestimate the importance of daily physical activity. Simple exercises keep the body flexible and strong, which leads to good posture. Good posture indicates that the body is healthy. A person who exhibits poor posture such as hunching over or favoring one leg over the other signals that something is hurting them. Therefore, they’re compensating.
However, this strategy only leads to more damage. The area that experiences pain remains in that state. The areas working harder to compensate experience additional wear and tear too.
The physical therapy field shows that the population doesn’t need to live in a state of chronic pain. Plus, the treatment is cost-effective. Physical therapy sessions lower overall healthcare costs. Studies show that the savings hover around 72%.
At Quan Medical PLLC, you’ll find a Hempstead, NY physical therapist near me that helps you live your best life and less pain. Make an appointment by calling 516-898-7676. We also serve ? and varRegion in New York. To view a list of our services, visit our website.
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