5 Benefits of Physical Therapy For Hip and Knee Pain
Have you noticed your hips and knees are in pain when you wake up or go to bed? Are the activities you do between sunrise and sunset impacted by chronic hip and knee joint dysfunction? Struggling with this kind of condition can severely hinder your ability to go about your daily normal routine. Thankfully, there is a solution. You don’t have to give up hope of living with less pain—or become reliant on the medicine cabinet, either. Physical therapy may be able to help.
At our physical therapy clinic, we have an experienced physical therapist staff who can help you find more ease, strength, and confidence in your day-to-day-life. We believe, like the American Physical Therapy Association and other organizations, that natural and conservative treatment options such as physical therapy are just as effective (if not more!) for pain relief than medications and surgery.
If you or a loved one is suffering from hip or knee pain, call us and find out how we can help. In the meantime, read more to learn about some of the benefits physical therapy offers for this kind condition.
1. Physical therapy can help to strengthen your joints and improve your range of motion.
Increasing muscle strength and mobility of the connective tissues around your joints (including the tendons, muscles, fascia, and joint capsules) will help your joints feel better and move better. This can also help you improve your functional activity tolerance, which is essential for work, leisure, and simple daily function.
2. It’s a safe, holistic method of hip and knee pain management/elimination.
If you haven’t heard of the opioid epidemic, you should know that there is one in our nation. People are relying so heavily on over the counter medications to ease their pain, they don’t realize the long term effects these pills have on their bodies.
You don’t have to rely on over-the-counter or prescription painkillers to ease those achy, stiff, swollen joints! Physical therapy modalities that have been shown to ease pain, reduce spasms, increase circulation, and promote healing include electrical stimulation, diathermy, cold laser therapy, dry needling, and therapeutic ultrasound.
3. Physical therapy can uncover underlying problems for your pain.
Many of the impairments you and your physical therapist work to correct—including weakness, poor posture, and limited range of motion—may have been caused or worsened by things you’re unknowingly doing. This includes sitting too much, using poor body mechanics, breathing improperly, and having an ineffective ergonomic set-up at work. A physical therapist can educate you about ways to move in more energy efficient and safe ways to enhance the overall effects of your care and reduce the risk of re-injury.
4. You can learn to move without limits again.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, exercise is one of the best ways to manage hip pain and knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. Your physical therapist can help you get back to regular exercise in a way that is safe and effective for you, based on your current abilities, goals, and needs. This is especially helpful if you’re currently on a weight loss journey, since being overweight is a major risk factor for knee and hip pain.
5. Your joints health will greatly improve!
When you see a physical therapist for hip or knee pain, there’s a good chance they’ll use joint mobilizations or manipulations to help promote healing and attract circulation to the inner joint surfaces. These techniques have also been shown to reduce pain and improve joint alignment…and they feel good, too! When complemented with services like massage and Active Release Technique, physical therapy can help you get physical and mental relief.
Get started on hip and knee pain relief today!
If you’re sick and tired of spending every day in pain, know that this isn’t how you have to continue the rest of your life. Contact our clinics in Utah today to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist, and learn how you can begin to heal in a safe and healthy way — from the inside out.
