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By William Kelly


Physical therapy is treatment that is recommended when one experiences health problems that make it hard to move around and perform tasks they need to be doing. It comes in handy in enhancement of motion and relief of pain besides the fact that it ensures restoration of fitness levels and physical functions. In consideration of physical therapy Cambridge MA residents can benefit from some useful information.

It can help with recovery after some surgeries. Doctors will normally recommend it for injuries or long-term health problems like arthritis. It is either used alone or with other forms of treatment. The therapist examines you to know the various symptoms you are experiencing. This helps to come up with a treatment plan. The main goal is to make joints move better and restoration of flexibility and strength. It will also enhance strength, flexibility, coordination and endurance.

There are various forms of physical therapy. One of the most common is exercising. Exercise is a controlled physical stress that is applied to the body to help with improvement of strength, motion range and flexibility. Exercises can be active or passive. With the passive exercises, you are required to only relax while the physical therapist applies stress. An example is the hamstring stress where a person lifts your leg so that hamstring muscles are elongated on the bag of the thighs.

With active exercises, the are done by the individuals concerned. Some examples are walking on treadmills, hip strengthening and straight leg raising. There are many home exercise programs that are recommended. The exercises in this category are performed individually. They come in handy when an individual wants to resume normal activities. Generally, exercising is among the most used forms of physical therapy.

On some occasions, electric stimulation can be used to help in reducing pain around injured tissues. There are two main theories about the way the stimulation works. These are the gate theory and opiate theory. Other forms of electric stimulation can also be used for muscle contraction. This is normally used for helping injured muscles to relearn how to properly function.

Traction is used in treating low back pain and neck pain to help in minimizing pain and enhancing mobility of the spine. To make use of lumbar traction, one is strapped into a mechanical machine. A vest is used in helping to support ribs. In theory, traction is used in separating joints and disk spaces at the lower back and neck. This decreases spinal nerve pressure.

You can also make use of light and laser therapy. Light therapy will involve using light of specific wavelength for improving the healing process in tissues which are injured. The treatment is painless and will last for between one and three minutes. There is a light emitting wand held directly above the injured sections before a button is pressed to activate the light.

Massage is also an option. It involves using hands to knead injured tissues of the body and thus decrease pain and improve circulation. Muscle tension will also be decreased.




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