GetHealthAccess.com | What Are the Different Types of Physical Therapy? | Physical therapy is different from other types of healthcare because it’s not typically a one-time event.
It takes place over many sessions, and different physical therapists might be best in different phases of your recovery process. Because of this, you need to do your research before choosing a PT clinic or therapist for yourself or your loved ones.
Here are four different types of physical therapy to help guide you through the process:
Hand Therapy
Hand therapy is different from other phases of PT because it focuses on a person’s hands and upper extremities.
This type of treatment may be used for people who have suffered injuries or surgery to their wrists, fingers, shoulder blades, and elbows. Hand therapists also deal with different types of nerve injuries, dislocations, and amputations.
A specialist may help patients recover by suggesting different exercises for their hands. They can also design different programs that will allow them to regain strength in those areas over time.
Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Orthopedic physical therapists work with people recovering from injuries or surgeries, which can result from a car accident, sports injury, falls, etc.
Therapists help patients improve their range of motion through stretching exercises and hands-on techniques such as massage. They also design specific exercise programs for each patient.
The goal here is to prevent any future issues by strengthening weak areas or eliminating any joint inflammation.
Some conditions that can benefit from this type of therapy are:
- Tendonitis
- Rotator cuff syndrome
- Ankle sprains
- Hip pain
- Knee injuries like patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFS) or osteoarthritis
- Some types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout
In these cases, the therapist may also suggest different types of exercises to help someone recover.
Geriatric Physical Therapy
This type helps seniors with a variety of different conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis. Others include slow walking speed, muscle weakness, and loss of balance control. And all these are problems that come with age.
This type of PT is similar to that offered by orthopedic therapists. It’s focused on functional abilities rather than strength or endurance. But the difference here is that geriatrics are more fragile because they deal with aged patients.
So treatments might be slower so as not to hurt their bodies too much. At the same time, the therapists must make sure any injuries heal properly without further complications.
Neurological Physical Therapy
Neurological PT focuses on the body’s muscles, movement, and senses rather than injuries or pain.
The goal here is to recover function by restoring a person’s sensory skills like touch, balance, reflexes, and motor functions.
These therapists deal with conditions like cerebral palsy, neuropathy, and nerve injuries.
Different Types of Physical Therapy Explained
Different types of physical therapy exist for different needs. It’s up to you, the patient or loved one, to select the type of physical therapy that works best based on your situation. If you make the right decision, you’ll enjoy the benefits of physical therapy.
We hope this blog post was helpful in guiding you to different types of PT. For more interesting articles, please keep visiting our blog.
