How to know if PT will Help My Pain or Injury.

Can PT help my Injury? What types of injuries and pains do physical therapists treat? How do I know if they can help with my issue?

Will Physical Therapy help treat my injury?

• Pain with movement: Physical Therapy teaches you about the alignment of your bones and muscles, therefore teaching you the best way to move to open up the joints and decrease pain. This is critical for avoiding injury, whether you are completing big power movements to move an object overhead, or a small repetitive movement each day at work or with chores around the house.
• Preventing pain and injury: In addition to treating injury, Physical Therapy also works to prevent future injury. Physical Therapy seeks to prepare your muscles and joints for movement, therefore they will better withstand injury.
• Strengthening your muscles: Physical Therapy seeks to strengthen your muscles in order to ease movement and decrease pain. Physical Therapy often focuses on small, postural muscles that support and protect joints in order to decrease the risk of injury when these joints move during activities.
• Mobilizing tight areas: Motion is Lotion! Physical Therapy seeks to mobilize tight joint and muscles to make movement easier and allow people to move in the full range of their joints and muscles without pain or aggravation.

What Injuries can Physical Therapy help with? (for more on Mobility and Stability Injuries see here)

• Back: this includes the neck, upper, and lower back
  • Herniated disc (decreased stability)
  • Whiplash (treat decreased mobility, then increase stability to prevent reinjury)
  • Cervical Strain (treat decreased mobility, then increase stability to prevent reinjury)
  • Cervicogenic Headaches and Cervicocranial Syndrome (decreased mobility)
• Shoulders:
  • Shoulder Osteoarthritis (decreased mobility)
  • Shoulder Impingement (decreased stability)
  • Rotator cuff tendinitis (treat decreased mobility, then increase stability to prevent reinjury)
  • Frozen shoulder aka Adhesive Capsulitis (decreased mobility)
  • Shoulder instability or frequent dislocations (decreased stability): acute dislocations require further medical care
  • Biceps tendinitis (treat decreased mobility, then increase stability to prevent reinjury)
• Elbow, Wrist and Hand: While Physical Therapists are trained to treat these body parts, they are typically handed over to Occupational Therapists for treatment as the upper extremity is their specialty. For more information on the difference between PT and OT click here.
• Hips:
  • Osteoarthritis and Impingement (decreased mobility)
  • Piriformis Syndrome: (decreased mobility)
  • Snapping Hip Syndrome (decreased stability)
  • Hip flexor/Groin pain (decreased stability)
  • SI joint pain (decreased stability—see also lower back treatments)
  • Adductor or Gluteal Tendinitis (decreased stability)
  • Hamstring Strain (treat decreased mobility, then increase stability to prevent reinjury)
• Knees
  • Knee Osteoarthritis (decreased mobility)
  • Runner’s knee aka Patellofemoral Pain syndrome aka Chondromalacia (decreased stability)
  • Patellar tendinopathy (treat decreased mobility, then increase stability to prevent reinjury)
• Ankles:
  • Shin splints: (decreased stability is the cause – decreased mobility is the result): treat by increasing mobility, prevent by increasing stability.
  • Posterior tibialis tendonitis (decreased stability)
  • Achilles tendinitis (decreased stability)
  • Peroneal Tendinitis (decreased stability)
• Foot: Plantar Fasciitis (decreased mobility)

Common Injuries that Require Further Medical Care (typically provided by an Orthopedist or Neurologist)

• Back: fractures of vertebrae, compression fracture, Myelopathy
• Shoulders: Acute dislocations, AC joint separation or sprain, biceps tear, Labral tear, rotator cuff tear (PT can assist in treatment of these as well, even before surgery, depending on your case: for more information on choosing PT or surgery click here)
• Hips: Femoral Stress Fracture, Avascular Necrosis, Hip Fracture
• Knees: Patellar fracture, Ligamentous and Meniscal tears (though PT can assist in treatment of these as well, even before surgery, depending on your case: for more information on choosing PT or surgery click here)
• Ankles: (stress) Fracture, Achilles tendon rupture, Severe ankle sprains (again, with ligamentous tears, PT’s can help this issue, but it is best to also seek further medical care if your case is severe to ensure surgery is not needed)