Dr. Slava Shut

Physical therapists are experts in treating pain and its source. We’re trained to find where you’re weak, sore or stiff. We can find what could be making things worse and what you can do to alleviate some of these problems.

Welcome to Topic Tuesday, where we dive into something specifically related to fitness, health, business, or life in general. Today, we’re going to talk about the benefits of physical therapy for pain management.

Physical Therapy For Pain

I always recommend non-surgical, non-invasive options BEFORE you consider surgery. There are some things that you absolutely need surgery for. And the right medications save countless lives everyday.

But not everything can be solved with medicines and surgeries.

In fact, sometimes medication can cause side effects. It might help resolve your first symptoms and cause you others. I can’t tell you how many patients I’ve met that are taking multiple medications in tandem because of this. Some of them might have been able to resolve their first problem without medication at all.

That would mean no added symptoms or side effects from any of the other medications, either.

Before you decide to pursue surgery for your injury, pain, or illness, it’s best to consider all your other options first.

Lower Risk

A physical therapy session is much lower risk than a surgery.

There are so many variables at play with most surgeries. How your body will react to the anesthesia could have consequences that you or your doctors might not be aware of until it’s already in your body. People with undiagnosed conditions, like hypertension, could experience complications waking up after a surgery, for instance.

But if that person had an equally viable, non-surgical physical therapy treatment option available to them, they could eliminate the possibility of something scary like that happening.

Less Damage

Did you know that your lymphatic system becomes damaged when you have a surgery? Lymph is important for maintaining fluid balance all throughout your body. It works by transporting the majority of fluid in your body to the places that it’s needed. Think of the lymphatic system as a kind of uninterrupted network going all throughout your body.

Along with many other parts of your body, when you have surgery, the lymphatic system is often cut by the surgeons in order to carry out their procedures. When this lymphatic network is cut, it’s not as capable of carrying out its functions as effectively. 

This can cause swelling, pain, and discomfort, particularly in the extremities. A good physical therapy treatment for this is manual lymphatic drainage. MLD can really help the body direct its fluids where they need to be.

Less expensive

Another great advantage of using physical therapy as your primary treatment method for pain management is the price. Physical therapy is much more affordable than surgery. Depending on what you’re going through, it might be completely viable for you to have surgery OR physical therapy. When making the decision from a financial perspective, you have to consider all the different things you’ll have to endure with either path.

Surgeries require a lot more equipment and a lot more people.

Everything from the x-ray machines, MRIs, and even the scalpels and sterile environment have to be paid for. Physical therapy usually just takes you, your time, and your undivided focus.

Surgeries also have recovery periods that typically take weeks or months. Sometimes, there are prescription medications you need to take in order to get better. You’d probably have to take some time off work to recover, too. All of these factors can really add up if you decide on a surgical option.

If you’re experiencing chronic pain and you’re considering treatment, contact my team today to schedule a 1-on-1 with me today, and don’t delay; the time is now!