Therapeutic Exercise: Just what The Doctor Ordered
WHAT MAKES EXERCISE “THERAPEUTIC”?
We have all heard that exercise is good for us and physical therapists believe so much in this tenet that a good portion of their training and education is focused on exercise prescriptions. Physical therapists prescribe exercise to almost all of their patients as a means of achieving goals such as improved strength, better flexibility and range of motion and enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness. When these exercises are prescribed to you by a physical therapist, we call it “therapeutic exercise.” You might also perform exercises with a personal trainer to achieve these same goals, so what makes the exercises prescribed by a physical therapist “therapeutic”?
When working with a personal trainer or joining an exercise class at the gym, the aim of your workouts are to build elements of general health and fitness. While physical therapists also work to improve fitness, their scope of practice is much broader. They examine, treat and diagnose individuals with injuries, disabilities and other health conditions throughout their lifespan in order to help them avoid or recover from surgery, avoid prescription drugs, manage their pain, prevent future problems, manage chronic conditions and maximize their mobility. Therapeutic exercises are just one tool in a therapist’s toolbox to manage these conditions but one that is often a cornerstone of the treatments provided to all kinds of patients.
LET’S GET MOVING
As mentioned above, exercise is good for all of us. So good, in fact, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have dedicated an entire portion of their website to educating Americans on the benefits of exercise. According to the CDC, adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week or 75 min of vigorous intensity aerobic activity per week. They should also aim for two or more days of total body strengthening per week. Aerobic training can be broken up into several shorter bouts of exercise throughout the week.
Can’t meet these recommendations? That’s ok! The goal is to move more and sit less and getting any amount of exercise that raises your heart rate in a sustained manner and strengthens your muscles will benefit your health.
MAKING IT THERAPEUTIC
These above guidelines are a great starting point but not everyone is in a place to begin an exercise program on their own. Disease, injury, pain and disability are four conditions that might impact one’s ability to participate in exercise. These conditions are encountered daily by physical therapists and are excellent indications to prescribe therapeutic exercise to help people meet their goals of improving function so that they can be more independently active in their own lives.
As opposed to general exercise, therapeutic exercises are prescribed to address specific impairments like muscle weakness, loss of range of motion, poor aerobic capacity, loss of flexibility and so forth, in the context of patients recovering from injury, dealing with pain, living with disease or disability. Therapeutic exercises help to restore musculoskeletal function in order to improve or maintain general well-being and general function. So, how does a physical therapist determine which therapeutic exercises a specific patient needs?
When you meet your physical therapist for the first time, they will implement several tests and outcome measures that help them identify impairments that contribute to limitations in activities and restrictions in participation in community and household roles. Here are some examples of how therapists use tests to identify impairments in order to guide their therapeutic exercise prescription:
Manual muscle testing: manual muscle testing assesses muscle strength. Muscles that are found to be weak are candidates for therapeutic exercises involving strength training
Goniometry: goniometry is a method of measuring joint range of motion. Impairments in joint range of motion indicate therapeutic exercises like self joint mobilization or stretching are needed
Walking endurance tests (6 or 2 minute walk test): these tests can reveal impairments in walking endurance and indicate a need for aerobic training exercises
Muscle coordination: muscle coordination or motor control tests can indicate the need for therapeutic exercises that work on neuromuscular re-education
With relevant impairments identified, your therapist will develop a program of therapeutic exercises to address these impairments.
WORKING WITH A PT
Since therapeutic exercises are intended to address specific impairments in order to enhance your overall well-being and function, here are some things you can expect when working with a physical therapist:
Technique is very important and you will receive feedback on how to perfect your exercises
Regression and progression: your therapist will observe you performing these exercises to determine if an exercise is too difficult and needs to be regressed or if you are ready to progress to a more advanced exercise
Your therapist will monitor your response to exercise and educate you on what levels of discomfort or fatigue are acceptable during your PT session
These exercises are specific both to the impairments you have but also to the kinds of activities you want to resume–communicate with your therapist about the activities that are important to you so they can individualize your program
Therapeutic exercises are progressive which means resistance, intensity, time, position and speed can be progressed over time to facilitate continued improvements in each impairment
Reassessment and re-testing is performed regularly to monitor the impairments and to help progress your exercise program
You can expect to have a home program of exercises that will complement the work you do in the clinic
GET STARTED ON YOUR THERAPEUTIC EXERCISES TODAY
As you can see, therapeutic exercises are an important part of a physical therapy plan of care and our team of therapists at Evolve take it very seriously. If you are dealing with pain, weakness, difficulty moving or any other impairment, call Evolve Physical Therapy today to schedule an initial evaluation and to learn about all of the tools we have to help you achieve your goals.
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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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