On Point Physical Therapy focuses on treating movement disorders. It can also help reduce pain, manage chronic (long-term) medical issues, and promote mobility after injuries or surgery.
Physical therapists get to spend a lot of time one-on-one with patients, which gives them an opportunity to build rapport. Sessions largely consist of learning movements that improve mobility, coordination, and muscle strength.
Exercise therapy is an important part of physical rehabilitation and can reduce pain, improve strength, balance, and mobility. The goal of physical therapy is to help patients achieve their highest level of functional independence. Physical therapists specialize in many different areas including orthopedic, pediatric, geriatric, and cardiovascular/pulmonary physical therapy. Each specialty focuses on unique patient populations and conditions, but all incorporate therapeutic exercises into their treatments.
Therapeutic exercise includes a wide variety of exercises that are designed to strengthen, lengthen and stretch muscles, and to increase your overall range of motion. It can also include movements that mimic the activities of daily living to improve balance, stability, and coordination. These exercises can be performed in various settings and may use a number of different tools such as resistance bands, weights, or bodyweight.
Stretching is an important part of every physical therapy session because it helps improve flexibility, reduces muscle stiffness, and alleviate tightness. There are three main types of stretching: static, dynamic, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). Your PT may recommend static stretching, which involves held positions that do not require a lot of effort to perform. Dynamic and PNF stretching involve repetitive bouncing movement that produce a muscle stretch over time. Stretching is often done towards the end of a physical therapy session because it is best when the muscles are warm.
Strengthening exercises are designed to help retrain the muscles and build strength that may have been lost due to injury or surgery. Your therapist may recommend using simple movements like squats and lunges, or more complex movements such as step-ups and pull-ups. Your therapist will work with you to find the right level of difficulty that you can do safely and effectively.
Balance and coordination exercises help improve the ability to move with proper posture, prevent falls, and reduce the risk of future injuries. These exercises are usually done on unstable surfaces such as parallel bars or on the floor and may include repeating a meaningful movement that works multiple joints and muscles, such as shifting your weight from one leg to the other in a swaying motion.
Massage
Massage enhances the body’s natural ability to heal itself, helping with injury recovery and preventing future pain. By encouraging movement & relaxation of the muscles, therapeutic massage helps your therapist improve the flow of oxygen and nutrients to injured areas & boosts the effectiveness of standard physical therapy treatment.
Therapeutic massage can relieve tension, reduce inflammation & swelling, loosen tight muscles & joints, promote blood circulation, and increase flexibility. Physical therapists use a variety of massage techniques to help with pain relief, including soft tissue manipulation (STM), active release therapy (ART), and trigger point therapy.
Physical therapists are trained to recognize any distorted postural patterns or habits that could lead to injury and improve the musculoskeletal system’s strength, mobility, and flexibility. They also know how to treat and prevent common injuries, such as whiplash, muscle disorders, strains & sprains, and tendonitis.
Getting regular massages can improve your overall posture, which is important for keeping muscles strong, healthy, and flexible. Massage can help loosen tight muscles that may be causing poor alignment, decreasing range of motion, and leading to discomfort.
Studies show that massage can significantly lower stress hormone cortisol, allowing your body to rest and relax more fully. It can also help improve sleep and reduce anxiety by enhancing the parasympathetic nervous system.
Massage can help with chronic neck & back problems by improving your range of motion, decreasing muscle spasms, and increasing flexibility. It can also help treat and prevent headaches, such as migraines & sinus pressure.
A common misconception is that massage is only for pampering yourself, but it is a valuable tool in your physical therapy treatment. In fact, it is a vital part of specific medical treatments that help people recover from various injuries and surgeries. If you’re considering massage therapy, make sure your therapist is highly skilled in this form of hands-on healing and has your best interests in mind. If you are concerned about your therapist’s training or communication skills, consider seeking a different provider.
Electrotherapy
Electrotherapy is the use of electrical stimulation to reduce pain and promote healing. Your physical therapist may recommend this treatment to help control your pain and improve your flexibility and mobility. In addition, it can also help reduce muscle spasms that occur in the neck and back. The resulting relief from these spasms reduces stress and tension, which can lead to headaches and migraines.
The electrical impulses sent through electrodes on the skin stimulate nerves and muscles, helping reduce swelling, increasing circulation and improving mobility. These are all important elements of a successful recovery from any injury or illness.
Unlike medication, electrotherapy is non-invasive and can be used as a complement to other treatments like massage therapy. Depending on your condition, your therapist may recommend specific types of electrotherapy to help relieve your symptoms. Typical treatments include transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and electrical muscle stimulation (EMS).
TENS uses small electrode pads that stick to the skin. These electrodes are connected by wires to a battery-powered device that delivers low-level electrical pulses to the area. This causes the muscles to contract, and the physical therapist can adjust the settings on the machine to allow for either forceful or gentle contractions. TENS can decrease pain by stimulating the nerves to release natural pain-relieving chemicals, or it can be used to reduce inflammation and swelling of a joint or muscle.
NMES and EMS use similar equipment, but differ in how the pulses are delivered. NMES targets nerves and can help alleviate pain by blocking pain signals, or it can strengthen the muscles that have been weakened by injury by stimulating them to contract. EMS targets the motor neurons that cause muscles to contract, and can be helpful in preventing muscle atrophy.
A recent study showed that patients with chronic neck and lower back pain experienced improved spinal flexibility after undergoing regular supra-threshold electrotherapy for six sessions. The results showed that pain levels and subjective feeling of disability did not change in the treatment groups, indicating that electrotherapy is an effective treatment.
Nutritional counseling
The body requires a variety of nutrients to function optimally, heal from injuries, and maintain overall health. Proper nutrition can boost immune system function and speed up muscle recovery. It can also help prevent common health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis. Incorporating nutritional counseling into physical therapy can improve outcomes by promoting healthy habits that last long after patients leave the clinic.
PTs are ideally positioned to assess and promote the benefits of a nutritious diet for their clients. They frequently interact with people who have musculoskeletal problems and can provide guidance on adopting healthy eating habits that support healing and reduce pain, inflammation, and discomfort. They can also refer patients to a registered dietitian for additional assistance with nutritional concerns and support.
However, existing research reveals that PTs do not always incorporate nutritional assessment and counseling into their clinical practice. This may be due to lack of training or a perception that nutrition is not within their scope of practice. Moreover, it is possible that many of the PTs surveyed were not integrating nutritional assessment and counseling into their practice because they did not believe it to be an important aspect of their job.
In order to measure the extent of PTs’ implementation of nutritional assessment and counseling, this study developed an anonymous online survey and disseminated it via social media platforms, physiotherapy professional groups, and the Israeli Physiotherapy Society newsletter. Participation was limited to certified PTs who were licensed in Israel and actively practicing in clinical settings.
The questionnaire was carefully assessed for clarity, content validity (assessed by dietitians), and alignment with the field of PT. The finalized questionnaire was administered over a four-month period (20 March 2022–17 July 2022). Participants were randomly selected from the population of certified PTs working in clinics in Israel. Participants were divided into three groups based on their level of clinical experience and workplace setting. PTs with the most extensive clinical experience and those who worked in outpatient clinics were more likely to include nutritional assessment and counseling in their practices.