At its heart, physical therapy is when you need help repairing muscles through strengthening and stretching. The key words here are “help” and “repairing“, and they are important.
That’s because insurance companies sometimes have different opinions as to whether or not you need physical therapy. If you had surgery that unalterably limits a certain motion, say a spinal fusion, then physical therapy won’t be of much help. However, if you’ve had surgery that’s supposed to restore a certain motion, then physical therapy perhaps can help you greatly. People that get surgery to repair tendons, muscles and ligaments are usually good candidates for physical therapy, as well as people that receive joint implants in the hips and knees.
But what about chronic diseases and head injuries? According to medical experts, anyone whose quality of life can benefit from physical therapy, is a candidate. If you’re experiencing immobility or other difficulties because of these types of injuries, but you had surgery to regain movement, then you may be a candidate.
Other cases for physical therapy include asthma issues. Physicians claim that certain types of muscle therapy, in combination with medication, can help improve inhaling and exhaling as well as lower the frequency of asthma attack incidents.
Sometimes, older people who are just getting back into exercising may need some physical therapy as well. Medical experts explain that people who are just starting an exercise routine again, especially older people, sometimes overdo it and begin to experience chronic pain in certain joints or muscles.
Doctors also report that arthritis sufferers, even those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, can benefit from physical therapy. However, they also say improvement is often limited because these are chronic diseases.
But there’s no reason why if you are experiencing discomfort you don’t think you can overcome yourself, that you shouldn’t try some sort of physical therapy. If you find yourself in a situation where your insurance company disagrees and won’t pay for it, then you should hire a patient advocate or lawyer to help plead your case for you.
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