#ChoosePT

Each year, the American Physical Therapy Association wants you to focus on your long-term health. The #ChoosePT movement was designed to show patients why physical therapy should be their first choice for pain management. While opioids and surgery can help prevent discomfort, physical therapy has been shown to produce similar results with less downside.    

Despite helping individuals no longer feel pain, opioids do not fully treat the problem. The reason why you are no longer in physical distress when taking opioids is because they prevent the brain from receiving pain signals. Physical therapy is not only effective in treating the ailment, but can help you prevent this from happening again. Opioids can still be useful in pain management, but not on their own. The CDC recommends patients to use both medication (at a low dosage) and physical therapy for relief.

Despite surgery being a necessary step in the recovery process, there is evidence supporting physical therapy as not only being equally effective, but also cheaper as well. Using physical therapy to recover from injuries such as spinal stenosis and rotator cuff tears has been documented to be just as successful as surgery. Another benefit is the hands-on role you have in your own recovery. Your physical therapist will provide you with exercises and the knowledge to treat the issue and learn how to prevent it from happening again.

If you think you can benefit from this form of treatment, consider seeing Island Sports Physical Therapy. Along with treatment, Island Sports Physical Therapy believes every patient should be properly equipped with the education to assist in their own recovery. After all, you may need to continue to do exercises at home after you no longer need to come in. Together, we can help you get off the sidelines and back to the life you had before this condition.