Not Sure Where to Start or When to Start Physical Therapy? 3 Key Indications

Pain can be very scary, as can a diagnosis. On the other end, pain can be ignored and pushed through. So how do you know when it’s time to have it looked at and taken care of?

Other times you may not have pain at all, but feel you can’t complete tasks, activities, or sports without fatiguing or being able to complete the goal that you have set out for. So when should you reach out for assistance to progress or to meet your goals?

For those of you that are feeling great after rehabbing an injury or working hard to progress to meet your goals, yet you are fearful of returning to your sport; there is a time that a physical therapist can assist you also.

A few times when it would be a good choice to seek out a physical therapist include:

• When you have pain or suffered an injury,

• When you’re out of shape or seeking to progress, or

• When you are trying to return to your sport following pain or an injury.

Let’s discuss what it might look like to work together in these types of situations.

When You Have Pain or Suffered an Injury

The obvious time to seek out physical therapy is when you are dealing with pain or suffered an injury. If you have pain that is causing you to stop an activity or limiting your ability to complete an activity, then it would be in your best interest to have a physical therapist assess you in order to give you direction and prevent further injury. Typically, the sooner you address a pain, the quicker you can get ahead of it to get back to yourself.

A physical therapist can assess your pain and determine what can be done in order to move ahead to function without pain. Sometimes this means changing a movement pattern which can take time and lots and lots of repetition. Changing a pattern or posture is like training your brain to take a new path that it has been taking for years potentially.

In my blog: 3 Reasons Why You Need a Physical Therapist in Your Life, I discuss the ways that I can help you heal from pain and what it looks like to work together.

When You’re Out of Shape OR Looking to Progress

You don’t have to have pain to benefit from our services. A physical therapist is a Doctor in her field and a specialist in movement. We take many classes focused on how the body moves, what muscles, joints and nerves are involved and the prescription required to make gains in strength, power, endurance, and speed. Click the link to check out my post "Endurance Training for the Long Haul" to find out more about how you could benefit from endurance training.

Should you be looking to get in shape or start your fitness journey, we can set up time to assess your strength, flexibility, and movement patterns to determine what would be the best place for you to start and progress through a training program to meet your fitness goals.

If you are currently playing a sport or in a training program, but you aren’t where you want to be or progressing as you would like to meet your goals, there are many ways that I can help you to find a plan that will work best for you to progress and smash your goals!

You can visit my previous blog: PT: Physical Therapist or Personal Trainer? to learn more about what I can help you with.

When You are Returning to Sport Following an Injury

After rehabbing from an injury, the most important part to returning to your sport is making sure that you are 100% both in physical abilities and strength and also mentally. This is yet one more time when working with a physical therapist would benefit you.

If you return to sport too soon, you are at risk of re-injury. You might feel better and not have pain, but that doesn’t mean that your muscles are strong enough, your joints stable enough, and your movement patterns appropriate for sport-specific movements. It is most important to work with a physical therapist on these different aspects to progress you in sport-specific activities and prepare your mind for competition and how to overcome fear of re-injury.

To learn a little bit more about what it looks like to work on training for your sport, visit my blog: Individual & Team Training.

Are You Ready?

Do you fit into one of these 3 categories discussed above? Are you ready to make changes and commit to working together to get you to where you want to be?

If you answered yes to any of these, then we need to talk! Take a look at what a new client can expect and then schedule your FREE phone consultation now by clicking here.

We will discuss what you have going on and what your goals are so that I can best serve you.