Most doctors agree that the first and most effective healing method to partake in after a car accident is physical therapy. Physical therapists are trained to address motion hindrances and work with the biomechanics of the body. It is a natural and less expensive alternative to surgery and invasive treatments. Even when surgery is experienced, physical therapy or PT is usually part of the recovery process post-surgery.
After surgery, physical therapy is often advised to strengthen the target area and also to allow for quicker recovery. If you or someone you love is undergoing physical therapy, there are three natural mediums that you should expect to encounter: stretching, exercises, and core stabilization. This article can help you prepare, and shares details of these areas to help you not be intimidated and know what to expect.
Stretching
With the primary goal of physical therapy being to maintain functional movement, obviously stretching will play a part. Aside from physical therapy, if you think about it,stretching is just as important in everyday life. What do you do when you have an ache or pain in some part of your body? Stretch it out.
Components of stretching include hold relax and contract relax techniques, along with similar techniques and movements with varying nuances to them. Hold relax and contract relax are very similar and are static positions. They have been a common theme in physical therapy for years. If you can envision hold relax as stretching to a point of discomfort and staying put for a certain amount of time, then visualize contract relax as this: once in the place of discomfort, the patient will then contract the muscle so that it tightens. This with many other types of stretching exercises will be a part of your therapy regimen and healing process.
Exercises
Physical therapy has evolved over time, but one of the most interesting principles found is that immobility of a certain body part can actually cause more trauma. This would happen over time if the muscle remains unused and weak. However, now the accepted therapy program is to get the injured area moving to increase blood flow, muscle flexibility, and strength.
Your physical therapist typically will show you exercises in person and give you some exercises to work on at home. This personalized exercise program is one of the key parts of physical therapy. There will also be certain exercises used as measures over time to track your improvement. Such measures test mobility, flexibility, and stamina of the injured area.
Core Stabilization
You can think of this term as another way to say “improving the base.” Really, all core stabilization is is working with what we have already, to bring more strength and endurance to our body. The founding principle in this part of physical therapy is to activate the trunk and core muscles.
Many think of our “core” as simply our abs, when in fact this is not the case! There are muscles that run the entire length (hips to shoulders) of our torso. If all of these muscles are working together then benefits can be seen. There is minimal back pain with the activation of these muscles, and posture can also be improved which puts less of a strains on all of our muscles overall. Core strengthening and stabilization can benefit anyone, injured or not!
The above is by no means all inclusive of every physical therapy facility or program. Ultimately, a plan will be created that is tailored specifically to your injury and target areas. Treatment after an auto accident or other type of injury will always vary, but now you are aware of the basic components of the physical therapy aspect of injury treatment and recovery.
After surgery, physical therapy is often advised to strengthen the target area and also to allow for quicker recovery. If you or someone you love is undergoing physical therapy, there are three natural mediums that you should expect to encounter: stretching, exercises, and core stabilization. This article can help you prepare, and shares details of these areas to help you not be intimidated and know what to expect.
Attorney Bryan Delius provides free consultations on all types of injury cases, including car crash Sevierville.
Attorney Bryan E. Delius was born and raised in Sevier County, TN. He founded Delius & McKenzie more than 20 years ago, after receiving his JD from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He is admitted in Tennessee and in several federal court systems. Learn more about Bryan E. Delius.
