Exercise
Why Is Exercise Used In Physical Therapy?
Exercise is a cornerstone intervention utilized in physical therapy to address key functional impairments that are identified during examination. Exercise can be utilized to improve mobility, strength, balance, aerobic capacity, and functional abilities. Your physical therapist will work with you to explore movements that improve resilience, confidence, and independence. Exercise is an instrumental piece of physical therapy that works synergistically with other interventions in physical therapy that you might explore, such as manual therapy, dry needling, or other modalities.
How will exercise affect my pain?
Exercise causes important effects in our body beyond improving strength, mobility and performance. It also induces changes in our pain messaging system that normalize activity and signaling in our nervous system. Once you can begin moving with less pain in ways that are meaningful and functional, your central nervous system can begin to disarm the anticipation of pain and regulate your incoming sensory information more effectively. With a toolkit of accessible exercises learned during your time in physical therapy, you will effectively have access to an internal medicine cabinet that can decrease pain and keep you doing what you love!
How can I continue on my own?
Once you have completed physical therapy, it is important to maintain focused exercises independently. Your PT may assign you a program of exercises to complete on our own for this reason. Depending on your available time and resources, this may be prescribed in a home environment or a gym. Another avenue of continued exercise is working with a personal trainer. This is a valuable investment in your health, and in solidifying the functional improvements you made during physical therapy. We collaborate with many personal trainers in the Cody community and are happy to assist you in finding a good fit.
Is exercise ever dangerous?
All people require movement in their body in order to function optimally. For most of us, there is a greater risk in NOT moving than in adopting an exercise regimen. Few exceptions apply. When present, however, your physical therapist will evaluate cardiovascular, neurologic, or other health concerns to determine the degree of risk associated with exercise. An appropriate level of activity can be selected, accompanied by physiologic monitoring to ensure that your body is responding appropriately.
