What is a physical therapist?
Physical therapists diagnose and treat injuries or medical problems that limit the body's natural ability to move or perform bodily functions. They are trained and licensed healthcare professionals who focus on specific treatments that reduce the need for prescribed drugs and surgery. They use a combination of stretches, exercises, special equipment, and hands-on techniques to relieve pain and restore muscle function.
Most patients suffering from a disease or injury who see a physical therapist usually receive referrals from their primary care doctor or specialists. Physical therapists work with such patients to correct muscle and joint movements, improve physical mobility, manage chronic pain conditions, and help them lead a good quality of life.
What is the role of physical therapists?
Physical therapists collaborate with doctors, surgeons, nurses, sports coaches, social workers, educators, nurses, and physical therapy assistants in various healthcare settings. They treat mobility issues in patients of all ages, from infants and kids to senior citizens.
The physical therapists may discuss the patient's concerns and general health history during the initial appointment. Next, they observe the patient’s walk and stance and how they perform various physical tasks to arrive at a proper diagnosis. They help design a customized care plan per their observation, medical expertise, available medical research, and the patient's goals and expectations.
Physical therapists also evaluate patients' responses and progress to the care plan and make modifications when required. They ensure the treatment plan is implemented correctly for optimal health outcomes for the patient.
Regular physical therapy sessions help to identify weak areas in your body that may be prone to bodily injury. Physical therapists can recommend lifestyle adjustments, healthcare routines, and regular screenings to strengthen weak areas and prevent damage.
What is the difference between a physical therapist and a chiropractor?
There may be a few similarities between physical therapy and chiropractic care. However, their approach to treatment dramatically differs. Here are the key differences between physical therapy and chiropractic care.
- The primary goal of physical therapy is pain-free physical movement. In contrast, spinal alignment and pain relief are the primary goals of chiropractic care.
- Physical therapy focuses on body movement and functions, including muscles and joints. In contrast, chiropractic care focuses mainly on issues related to hand or leg joint pain, back pain, neck pain, and headache.
- The physical therapy treatment plan includes stretches, exercises, and nutrition to improve physical health, muscle function, and mobility. In contrast, chiropractic care involves spinal or joint manipulations and chiropractic adjustments to improve the range of motion of the particular joint and faster healing of the discomfort.
- Physical therapists can provide treatment at home or in any healthcare setting. In contrast, chiropractors need specialized equipment and spaces to perform manipulations and adjustments.
In simple terms, if you suffer from muscle-related health problems due to injuries, strains, surgery, or chronic movement issues, you need to see a physical therapist for proper diagnosis and treatment.
What are the different techniques used in physical therapy?
Physical therapists use diverse methods to treat various conditions and attain specific treatment objectives.
Some of the common physical therapy techniques include:
- Therapeutic exercise: This technique comprises a variety of exercises and movements aimed at enhancing strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, and coordination. Therapists recommend exercises tailored to your requirements and condition.
- Manual therapy: Manual therapy involves hands-on techniques the physical therapist executes to enhance joint mobility, manipulate soft tissues, and mobilize joints.
- Electrotherapy: This treatment uses electrical stimulation (e-stim) to aid tissue healing, pain relief, and improve muscle function. Some of the common electrotherapy methods include TENS and electrical muscle stimulation.
- Heat and cold therapy: During this therapy, the physical therapists apply hot and cold packs, which can effectively decrease pain, swelling, and muscle spasms. Hence, common options in physical therapy include hot packs, cold packs, ice massage, and contrast baths.
- Hydrotherapy: Hydrotherapy consists of exercises done in water, which reduces strain on joints and muscles due to the buoyancy of the water. Research indicates that aquatic exercise is more effective than other physical therapy methods like TENS and infrared thermal therapy in reducing long-term disability in chronic lower back pain cases.
- Balance and proprioceptive training: These methods enhance balance, coordination, and body awareness (proprioception). They include specialized exercises and activities that improve stability and help prevent falls.
- Blood flow restriction therapy (BFR): BFR means using a special cuff or band on a limb to partly limit blood and oxygen flow during exercises. Research indicates that BFR in rehab leads to muscle growth, quicker recovery, better heart fitness, and less pain.
- Ultrasound: This therapy uses high-frequency sound waves to create deep tissue heat. The physical therapists use ultrasound to promote tissue healing, boost blood flow, and ease pain and muscle spasms.
Physical therapists offer their services at research and rehab institutes, hospitals, geriatricians, and health centers. Once physical therapists understand patients' concerns, they create a personalized approach to relieve symptoms. Their goal is to achieve the quickest results while ensuring the patient's comfort.
How to find the best physical therapist near you in Woodbridge, Virginia
Visiting a physical therapist is crucial to your overall good health and well-being. If you already have a health plan, choosing an in-network provider can save you money. Your ideal physical therapist will accept your insurance, be available when needed, and offer you a say in your healthcare decisions. But how do you find such a qualified and experienced physical therapist from endless online profiles, websites, and directories? The answer is simple: log in to Zocdoc.
With Zocdoc, you can easily find the best and the most experienced physical therapists in Woodbridge, Virginia, that suit your healthcare requirements. Please create a free account on Zocdoc and choose your specialty or condition, location, date, and insurance plan. A comprehensive list of doctors based on your search criteria will appear. If you have insurance, include your insurance carrier's name in the search, and the website will show you the best physical therapists who accept your plan.
At Zocdoc, we believe in long-term, trustworthy patient-doctor relationships. Every one of our physical therapists has a unique profile, and you can read about their educational qualifications, board certifications, clinical interests, expertise, experience, and languages they speak.
Thanks to our provider profiles, user ratings, and verified reviews, you can make an objective and informed decision before visiting a physical therapist. You can even perform an area-specific search on Zocdoc to locate a licensed physical therapist near you. Zocdoc also allows you to filter the search results by gender if you are specifically looking for female or male physical therapists in Woodbridge, Virginia.
You can also book video appointments on Zocdoc before an in-person visit to better understand your physical therapist. Look for a purple video icon on physical therapists' profiles or filter the video appointment selection. Schedule appointments with a physical therapist near you who accepts your insurance plan in real-time.
Booking appointments with providers on Zocdoc is simple, secure, and free!
Statistics on physical therapists, chronic pain, back pain, lower limb pain, upper limb pain in USA
The May 2022 data published on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics website states that the USA has about 229,740 practicing physical therapists. Virginia has about 6,610 practicing physical therapists at the rate of 1.707 per 1000 population.
The National Center for Health Statistics measured chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain among adults during three months in 2019 and published the data. According to this report, the prevalence of chronic pain among adults was about 20.4%, and that of high-impact chronic pain (which frequently limits life or work activities) was about 7.4%. At about 21.7% and 8.5%, adult women are more susceptible to chronic and high-impact chronic pain, compared to about 19.0% and 6.3% of men, respectively. Incidence of chronic pain was highest among adults in the 65+ age group ( 30.8%) and lowest among adults in the 18-29 age group (8.5%). Further, the incidence of high-impact chronic pain was highest among adults in the 65+ age group (11.8%) and lowest among adults in the 18-29 age group (2.2%).
The same organization published data on location-specific pain (pain in the back, neck, arm, and hips) among US adults measured over three months in 2019. As per this report, about 58.9% of adults in America reported pain of any kind. At about 39.0%, back pain was the most reported pain symptom among adults, followed by lower limb pain (36.5%), upper limb pain (30.7%), migraine or headache (22.4%), genital, pelvic, or abdominal pain (9.8%), jaw or tooth pain (9.2%). Almost 45.6% of adults in the 65+ age group and 28.4% of adults in the 18-29 age group reported having back pain, the highest and the lowest rates, respectively. At about 40.6%, women are more susceptible to back pain than men (37.2%).
The report further stated that the incidence of lower limb pain was highest among adults in the 65+ age group (50.3%) and the least among adults in the 18-29 age group (21.0%). The incidence of upper limb pain was highest among adults in the 65+ age group (42.0%) and the lowest among adults in the 18-29 age group (16.2%).
Sources
Medical News Today
WebMD
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
American Physical Therapy Association
Healthline[1]
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[2]
Healthline[2]
Family Medicine Austin
