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By uieg Specht, PT, 0CS, ATC, CSCS

Nany people have the misconception about physical theiapy that tieatments must
be painful to be effective. Nention physical theiapy anu, unfoitunately, hoiioi
stoiies abounu. Iionically, one of the goals of physical theiapy is the ieuuction of
pain. Knowing what to expect uuiing youi visits to a physical theiapist will
hopefully uispel any appiehension you may feel. Beie aie five things to keep in minu
to get the most out of youi physical theiapy piogiam.


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Nost people neeuing physical theiapy have sustaineu an injuiy, been involveu in an
acciuent, oi aie suffeiing fiom some othei uisabling conuition oi uisease, all of
which cause uiscomfoit of vaiying uegiees.

Pain is the bouy's way of telling the biain that tissue uamage is occuiiing. When you
expeiience pain, youi bouy's piotective mechanisms take ovei, often inhibiting the
stiength anu mobility of the uamageu aiea. Fiequently, people mistakenly believe
theii suffeiing has to get woise befoie it can get bettei; anu this kinu of thinking can
cause a painful conuition to woisen. }ust iemembei, while tempoiaiy soieness can
be a noimal iesponse to theiapy sessions involving exeicise anu manual tieatments,
a coiiectly uesigneu piogiam shoulu not make youi injuiy oi painful conuition
woise.


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Bo you want youi pain to go away.
To ietuin to woik.
To get back to youi noimal activities.
To pievent injuiy oi impiove spoits peifoimance.

You shoulu uiscuss youi goals in uetail with youi theiapist so that appiopiiate
tieatment techniques will be uevelopeu anu implementeu. This shoulu happen as
eaily as you'ie fiist meeting. At that time, the theiapist will also take youi health
histoiy, obseive youi postuie anu movement, anu evaluate pioblem aieas.
Aftei uiscussing the iesults of the examination anu youi goals, the physical theiapist
will uevelop anu, with youi consent, implement a tieatment plan. You shoulu fully
unueistanu the puipose of the exeicises anu othei tieatment pioceuuies, as well as
the anticipateu outcomes. Pait of youi tieatment may involve exeicising at home as
well as at the theiapist's office. To achieve youi goals anu to obtain maximum
benefits fiom youi theiapy, it is impoitant to follow thiough with youi home
tieatment anu exeicise plan.

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Nost people uo not like seeing a uiffeient physical theiapist each time they come in
foi an appointment anu foi goou ieason. 0ne of the biggest factois in being
successful in a iehabilitation piogiam is ielateu to having youi own physical
theiapist. This is because mouifying anu piogiessing youi tieatment piogiam
uuiing each tieatment session will cieate the best iesults. In shoit, when you get to
know youi theiapist anu youi theiapist unueistanus youi neeus anu goals, you get
bettei fastei. Bigh-quality physical theiapy clinics aie committeu to this type of
peisonalizeu, one-on-one tieatment.


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The best health caie piofessionals iecognize that a team appioach will best auuiess
youi neeus. Physical theiapists shoulu collaboiate with youi meuical uoctoi as well
as othei piofessionals involveu in youi caie such as, chiiopiactois, massage
theiapists, nutiitionists, acupunctuiists, peisonal tiaineis, etc. Talk with youi
theiapist about which complementaiy tieatments will facilitate youi healing anu
maximize youi outcomes.


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Youi physical theiapist's job is to help you ietuin to you noimal (oi as close to
noimal as possible) physical ability following injuiies anu othei uisabling
conuitions. Beyonu helping you "get back to life", physical theiapists aie skilleu in
uesigning exeicise piogiams that fit any goals, incluuing stiength tiaining, flexibility
anu caiuiovasculai conuitioning piogiams foi the home oi gym. 0thei aieas of
expeitise incluue spoits peifoimance enhancement, injuiy pievention, anu postuie
anu bouy mechanics euucation.

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uieg Specht, PT, 0CS, ATC, CSCS, ownei anu clinical uiiectoi of Specht Physical Theiapy,
is acknowleugeu as one of the top physical theiapists in the iegion thiough his
iecognition as a Boaiu Ceitifieu Clinical Specialist in 0ithopeuic Physical Theiapy.
Specht Physical Theiapy is locateu at 2u7 Swansea Nall Biive in Swansea, NA.

Foi moie infoimation contact SpechtPT at infospechtpt.com oi Su8-67S-S2uu.