LIFE+ Blog

The first step of any rehabilitation process is to heal the affected tissues including bones, muscles, nerves, vasculature, tendons, or ligaments.

With the help of your healthcare team, a physical therapist  may recommend immobilizing or unloading the joint, meaning, use a brace or cane to ease pain and pressure on the area that is experiencing pain. A Physical Therapist may also use manual therapies or prescribe simple exercises to decrease pain and swelling. This can also improve blood flow of the affected area.

As body parts begin to heal, the next step is to gain and maintain range of motion.

Physical therapists use soft tissue and joint mobilizations, in addition to gentle exercises to get joints moving and the muscles looser and more flexible. Efficient body mechanics also play a role in the proper movement, which is a Physical Therapist’s specialty!

As the affected area begins to reach its full range of motion, the next focus is to learn to activate and build up the muscles.

This allows those muscles to move and stabilize the joints. At this point, the goal is to increase the endurance and  improve motor control of muscles. This will support improvements in range of motion to the area that is experiencing pain.

With performance improvement, we begin to transition into functional movements, and a rehabilitation program will feature both single joint and multi-joint exercises. Gains in strength, power, and endurance are hallmark goals in this phase to help return to activities of daily living, work, or other sports & recreational activities.

Advanced coordination refers to skills that may be required in high-level activities such as sports. A physical therapist may prescribe specialized, complex exercises of high intensity that simulate the demands that challenge an individual in unique environments.