Work Out? How A PT Can Enhance Your Training
How Physical Therapy Can Take Your Workout to the Next Level-
There is no denying that exercise and working out produce a long list of benefits for your physical and emotional well-being. Reducing risk factors for developing chronic diseases, preventing injury, improving brain health, strengthening bones and muscles, managing your weight, improving ability to do functional activities, reducing stress, anxiety and depression are only a few of the benefits you will receive by participating in regular physical activity.
Whether you love running or biking, olympic weight lifting or crossfit, yoga or hiking, at some point in time you may start thinking about how you can enhance your performance in these activities. Most of us think about personal trainers or coaches as the primary resource for learning how to optimize your performance and progress in your ability but today we are going to talk about how physical therapists can play an important role in enhancing your training.
WHAT MAKES A PT QUALIFIED TO HELP YOU IN THIS AREA?
Physical therapists help people live healthy and active lives. The American Physical Therapy Association defines physical therapists as movement experts who improve quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education. Many people think about physical therapists as professionals who help people recover from injury, which is certainly true, but physical therapists also work with people who just want to become healthier, perform their sport or activities better, and prevent injuries before they happen.
While some seasoned physical therapists may have a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy, the majority of practicing physical therapists have a master’s or doctorate level education in movement and exercise. They go through rigorous education on anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics to understand how the body should work. They also undergo extensive education on exercise physiology, disease, injury, and dysfunction of the body as a platform on which they build their skills as rehabilitation professionals who work to restore optimal movement and prevent recurring injury.
While other exercise professionals and coaches have a great depth of knowledge in exercise principles and training for different sports, a physical therapist has a great depth of knowledge in exercise principles and training specifically for you, as an individual whose body may have capabilities and injuries that necessitate a more individualized training plan.
IS A PHYSICAL THERAPIST THE RIGHT RESOURCE FOR ME?
If you’ve been reading this article and wondering if a physical therapist is the right resource to help you enhance your training keep reading below to see if you fit into one of these categories.
I have an injury or am experiencing pain/discomfort: No matter the type of workout you are engaged in you may find yourself experiencing pain or discomfort during or after you exercise. There are many potential causes to injury, pain, or discomfort during a workout but without understanding the cause it’s hard to fix the problem. A physical therapist can help you with this in many ways:
They will perform physical assessments and special tests to examine the area of pain or discomfort to better understand it’s origin.
They will perform physical assessments of related areas and movement analyses of your specific workout components to see if deficiencies in strength, flexibility, stability, or motor control may be causing extra stress and strain on the area of pain or discomfort.
They will create a treatment plan to help rehabilitate the injury or reduce pain and discomfort while staying active and getting stronger and more injury-proof.
They can advise you on how to modify either temporarily or permanently the workouts and exercises you love to increase your ability to perform them pain and injury-free.
They will educate you on how to self-monitor your own positions and performance during your workouts so you will feel confident in your ability to return to full activity after discharge from physical therapy while limiting the chance for re-injury.
I want to start training more, differently or at a higher intensity or become more competitive but I don’t want to injure myself: You have been working out for some time but are ready to take it to the next level. This may mean entering races or competitions, lifting heavier weights, trying new compound moves, or going longer distances. Whenever you increase any component of training such as time, speed, or intensity, you may experience an increased risk for injury if your body is not prepared to handle the new load. Here are several ways consulting a physical therapist with special knowledge in your sport or workout can help:
PT’s are movement experts and a PT with extensive knowledge in your sport or workout will understand what optimal movement or mechanics look like for each component of your workout.
Since they know what is needed to enhance your performance of a particular skill they will next examine your body and your movement performance to see how your strength, flexibility, power, agility, etc. line up with the demands of the skill.
If areas of deficiency are noted in your performance then your PT can create a plan to fix them.
They can also advise you in proper warm up and cool down routines as well as any cross-training that would both reduce your injury risk and improve your performance on your favorite workout.
I have a history of disease, surgery, or injury and I could use some guidance on how to safely enhance my training and workouts: As long as you have been cleared to exercise by your physician, finding ways for you to workout more or differently is something PT’s love to do. Because physical therapists have a strong background in injury, disease, and differential diagnosis they are specially positioned to help those who may be unsure or intimidated by working out, get more comfortable.
A PT will get a thorough medical and surgical history and work with your doctors to understand if there are any precautions or contraindications for exercise.
They will find out what kind of exercise and workouts excite you and what concerns you have about starting or progressing these workouts.
They can teach you safe and effective modifications to activities when needed to help you perform your workouts safely and effectively.
They can monitor things like heart rate, blood pressure, or oxygen saturation while you exercise to keep you safe and help you monitor your body’s response to the workout.
They can provide you with a program of exercises and activities to supplement your favorite workouts to manage pain or discomfort and reduce injury risk.
So as you can see, physical therapists can help you optimize and enhance your workouts whether you are fighting off an injury or wanting to prevent one. With a unique combination of knowledge in disease, injury, and movement dysfunction with expertise in movement and exercise PTs want to help you take your workout to the next level.
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About EvolveNY-
Brooklyn's Premier Holistic Physical Therapy Clinics-
There’s physical therapy, there’s training, and then there’s EVOLVE. We use the science of biomechanics merged with fitness to help our patients get better and stay better!
First we evaluate, then we heal, then we strengthen our clients so they can reach their goals, feel better, and live happier lives. We do so by utilizing a range of core techniques and specialized treatments to reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance physical strength and deal with the underlying issues, not just the pain itself.
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