MOVEMENT, it can cure your pain!

September 15, 2020 – Our September blog series has focused on pain. We have learned about the different types of pain and the mistakes we make when we are in pain. Now let us get onto the good stuff! Let us learn how we can help with our pain. This week we are going to focus on how exercises and modalities can help alleviate your pain.

Often when we first start to feel pain, we go to the standard things to try first. We try ice, rest, and medication to help our pain go away. Often these items can help to lessen the pain but rarely due they treat the source of your pain. Physical therapy can help treat the source of you pain and keep you off the meds! Physical therapy cannot treat all types of pain, but we can help identify where your pain is coming from and then work with you to get you on the right track with therapy or, if needed, another medical provider to treat the source of your pain.

Sometimes pain is caused by a lack of movement. Our joints, muscles, ligaments, or tendons get stiff, damaged, or loose hydration causing pain when we move. Often the best medicine for this is to get moving again! Movement allows our body to rehydrate the joints, warm up the muscles, and improve blood flow. These items are paramount in getting moving and feeling better. Remember, we are made to move. Sitting and resting too much is bad for our health and bad for our bodies. Physical therapy can help to get you moving again. We can start in a way that is less painful and controls any pain and work you back into a normal movement pattern that can get you back to working out, gardening, playing with your grandchildren, back on the playing field, etc.

Sometimes we do need modalities to help take the edge off the pain. These modalities can make it easier to try to move and get back on track fighting the cause of the pain. Modalities could include ice, heat, TENS, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, compression, massage, and activity modifications. Ice, heat, compression, massage, and TENS can be completed at home if you have the right equipment. However, all of these can be done by your physical therapist. Remember, moist heat feels better and travels deeper into our bodies than dry heat, such as a heating pad. TENS units can be purchased without a physician’s script, but often you get what you pay for. Your physical therapist can help you identify what modalities may be best for your situation, get your pain under control faster, and then help you get moving to cure the cause of you pain.

At Witte Physical Therapy our number goal is to get you back to doing what you want and need to do. We do not worry about our goals, because our goals are your goals! Give us a call at 402-234-3333 in Louisville or 402-298-4747 in Plattsmouth to schedule your free, no obligation consultation and let’s begin to discuss your pain and what we can do to help you!