Did You Get In An Accident at Work? Here Are the Benefits of Physical Therapy

Accident Injuries, Work Injuries

Have you been injured in an accident at work? Are you spending your days struggling through tasks, only to lie awake at night in pain?

Then you may need physical therapy to help you recover. By strengthening certain parts of your body you can reduce pain in others.

Getting in an accident at work can be a stressful and costly occurrence. However, the right physical therapy can make your recovery time much faster and nearly painless.

Wondering what the exact benefits of physical therapy after an accident at work are? In this guide, we’ll break it down. Keep reading to learn more!

What is Physical Therapy?

If you’ve been in an accident at work, or any serious accident, you should get physical therapy.

Physical therapy is a rehabilitation system that aims to get injured people back into their best shape again. Therapists use a variety of treatments, such as exercises and massage, to make this happen.

A physical therapist will work with you to design a specific plan so you can live your life and recover quickly.

The goals of physical therapy treatment usually involve improving your movement and physical functionality, decreasing or managing your pain, and preventing a similar injury from happening again.

As time goes on, physical therapy can also help you gain a better range of motion, more strength and endurance, and increased flexibility.

Physical therapy works using progressive exercises that meet you where you’re at and then build from there.

Although each therapist might have a slightly different approach, they often follow the same pattern. For example, your therapist might begin with light stretching exercises and slowly move you towards more difficult exercises.

No matter what, the work will always be tailored to the injury you have and what your goals are. Manual therapy including joint and tissue mobilization can also help you get your range of motion back and reduce your pain.

Benefits of Physical Therapy

Now, let’s take a closer look at the specific benefits of physical therapy after an accident at work.

1. Stay Out of Surgery

Physical therapy can help you heal and reduce your pain. This often means that you can avoid a surgery that you otherwise would have needed.

In fact, even if you do end up needing surgery, having physical therapy done before your surgery can make it go much better.

When you go into the surgery in good shape, your recovery afterward is faster. This can also help keep the costs of your healthcare down, and get you back to work sooner.

2. Increase Mobility

After an accident at work, things that were once simple for you can become difficult. You might find that you have a hard time sitting, standing, walking, or moving. Other activities, like biking or running, might be entirely out of the question – at least for a while.

This can take a huge toll on your life. You might miss doing the activities you once enjoyed. Everyday tasks like doing your laundry or navigating a commute can become hard. However, the good news is that physical therapy can help.

The exercises your therapist gives you, including stretches and strengthening work, will help you get your mobility back. A physical therapist can also set you up with crutches, a cane, or other assistive devices that will help.

Even better, they’ll help customize a plan that will help you get back to living your life as soon as possible. For example, they can help you come up with ways to modify your normal activities so you can still do them while you recover.

3. Recover From Repetitive Motion Injuries

Accidents at work aren’t always singular events. Sometimes, your workplace injury is actually due to a repetitive motion that you’ve needed at the job for many years.

Physical therapy can both help you recover, and help prevent the same kind of injury from happening again. This can get you back to work faster, and reduce pain in the process.

4. Prevent Falls

Falling is one of the most common types of accident at work. Sometimes, you might be at a higher risk for falls because of balance issues. Whether these are due to your injury or you’ve always had them, physical therapy can help you reduce those issues.

When you start working with your therapist, they’ll give you a screening for fall risk. Then, they’ll give you some exercises to carefully challenge your balance in the same ways that real-world activities would.

On top of that, they can give you the assistive devices to keep you from falling for the moment, and they can give exercises that will improve your hand-eye coordination, too.

Sometimes, your balance issues can be traced back to your vestibular system. This is the system that provides you with balance and spatial awareness. If it’s not working properly, chances are good that you’ll fall.

A physical therapist can help get your vestibular system functioning again, which will also get rid of issues like vertigo or dizziness.

5. Manage Specific Health Concerns

Your accident at work might have been related to another health concern, such as your age or a hereditary problem like arthritis.

No matter what the contributing factors are, a therapist can help you manage them and get back to work safely. Many workplace accidents are preventable, and it’s worthwhile to do all you can to reduce the chances of one happening again.

Have You Been in an Accident at Work?

When you’ve been injured at work, you need to take action right away to get on the road to recovery. The sooner you start physical therapy, the better the results will often be.

Physical therapy doesn’t just help your recovery – it also helps prevent new injuries from happening, and cuts down on medical bills due to complications or reinjury. If you stick to your physical therapy regimen, you might just find that you end up better than you were before the accident!

Looking for physical therapy near you? Check out our locations and book an appointment as soon as you can.

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