Whether you've been in an accident, had a stroke or just had surgery performed, one follow up visit you will most likely be scheduling is with your physical therapist. Physical therapy focuses on helping improve healing through increasing range of motion and in some cases helping reduce pain and inflammation. These tasks can be approached in several ways.
Stretching
Stretching involves manipulating the different areas of your body to help stretch the connective tissues such as muscles, tendons and ligaments. The stretching process helps limber and relax tight areas around the joints, helping to increase your overall range of motion after an injury or when recuperating from surgery.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy, or ice pack therapy, involves introducing extreme cold temperatures to your the affected areas of your body. The cold penetrated deep into your skin and muscle tissue, which helps to decrease inflammation. The cold from the treatment also slows down the velocity of nerve conduction in the treatment area, which slows down the parts of your nervous system the process pain, resulting in pain reduction.
TENS
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, or TENS, is also sometimes used during physical therapy, especially for pain managment. TENS treatment involves the placement of electrodes on the affected area being treated. The electrodes then deliver charges into the muscle which elicit a nerve response to reduce pain. TENS is widely used in the treatment of chronic pain in which physical therapy has been prescribed.
Massage
Massage can be used in physical therapy to help encourage blood flow to affected areas, and to relax and make your muscles more pliable. The physical manipulation of your muscles during massage may include long strokes called effleurage, kneading strokes like petrissage, or percussive or beating strokes called tapotement. Each massage stroke works to manipulate the muscles and connective tissue to encourage relaxation, decrease pain and increase range of motion.
Iontophoresis
Iontophoresis is a physical therapy method that is more centered on reducing inflammation. For this procedure steroids are applied to the affected area of the body. An electrical current is then directed into the area where the steroids have been applied to encourage them to go deeper into the skin. The steroids help reduce inflammation, which can also help reduce pain.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound can be used in physical therapy to apply heat to deeper areas of the skin and muscle tissue. Unlike superficial heat, like a heating pad, ultrasound uses sound waves to project deep into the tissue, which reacts with the body to create heat. Ultrasound is not typically used on recent injuries as the heat can work against the reduction of inflammation.
