Leon-Echeverria, 1

Valerie Leon-Echeverria

Mr. Alderson

English 4 CP

2/7/19

Physical Therapy makes a difference

A lot of people who get hurt and have serious injuries such as getting into car accidents,

and suffering from broken bones or injuries in the spinal cord tend to assume the first thing

doctors will recommend is surgery. That is not always the case, in most situations, depending on

how bad the person’s injury is, doctors will recommend physical therapy rather than surgery.

physical therapy is a way to avoid having to pay a lot of money and avoid having surgery. By

getting operated many side effects can occur, so, by getting therapy, it will help avoid risking

much more pain and harm to the persons injured area. This is also a way to teach patients how to

manage and take care of their harmed areas. By patients being educated in physical therapy it

will help prevent them from further damage to their existing injuries. Physical therapists do this

by making a plan for each individual to help treat their specific injuries. They do this by slowly

exercising the injured muscle. As time passes and they see a positive outcome they begin to do

more demanding exercises to assure the muscle is secure. They can tell the muscle is improving

when they notice their patients don't feel as much pain as they did in the beginning. An exercise

they do to improve the muscle is by lifting. Depending how bad their pain is, they lift either

heavy or light weights. Building muscle will help fix the injury because it allows the body part to

get stronger, allowing the patient to use it for normal daily tasks again. Also, with a lot of

exercising and moving around therapy can help maintain mobility and help people balance.

Older people who go to therapy do not always go just because they are injured, they also go to
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practice on their balance, so, in the future, they will not fall and hurt themselves. A lot of the

time physical therapy can also help avoid having to take strong medication. At times, most

people do not even need to take medication because therapy takes the pain away. When people

get hurt in a certain areas they tend to get redness and or swelling which is called inflammation.

Therapy helps prevent taking less medication because it can help take away the pain of

inflammation. Physical therapy can take the pain of inflammation away permanently. They help

reduce the swelling by doing specific exercises related to their injury. Many times patients tend

to get random pain in places and therapy helps get rid of that pain quickly and in a safe way.

Therapy can also manage diabetes, it does this by exercising. Physical therapy has many types of

exercises. Some methods are through heat and cold therapy, water therapy and massage therapy.

These methods are just as effective as regular therapy. Most of the time these methods are better

than surgery and come with less side effects. ​Although some people think physical therapy is

used for recovery after surgery, it can also be used before to avoid surgery, taking

medication and to help decrease inflammation.

Physical therapy can help avoid surgery in many situations. The reason for this is because

therapy helps build muscle, and helps the muscle get used to doing what it is supposed to do

again, slowly. In the article ‘You’ve torn your ACL. Now what’ it states that a group of

investigators followed 121 young adults that have torn their ACL. Half of them were assigned to

get surgery first and later then physical therapy, and the the other half were assigned to just get

physical therapy and surgery as an option later. For the people who only had physical therapy it

mentions that two years after their injuries only 40% had surgery after and 60% did not. This

demonstrates that physical therapy can be as effective as surgery to most people. Most of the

time Physical Therapy can help people recover from an injury without surgery. In the article
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‘physical therapy Versus Surgery for Rotator Cuff Tears’ it talks about people who have a rotator

cuff tear and the ways to help fix it. One way recommended is surgery and the other way is

physical therapy. Research in the article states “​They found that a significant number of people

with rotator cuff tears were treated successfully with conservative measures, including physical

therapy”​(​Hughes). Surgery should not be the first option doctors recommend because a lot of

people cannot afford surgery or are not comfortable with it. Most injuries can be fixed by simply

doing exercises. A very common injury that occurs a lot is lumbar spinal stenosis. This is when

the spinal cord has a lot of pressure. This can cause pain by standing up too long and or by

bending forward or sitting down. In the article ‘physical therapy as good as surgery and less

risky for one type of lower back pain’ it mentions “physical therapy works just as well, and

comes with fewer unwanted complications”, meaning that physical therapy would be a better

option for patients than surgery because it is less risky. A lot of times surgical procedures can go

very poor, and with therapy patients do not have to worry or be in risk of that. Although a lot of

doctors recommend surgery first and physical therapy as an option after, it is proven that therapy

works as good as surgery. It actually helps avoid having further injuries and having to take

medication after. By doing physical therapy rather than getting surgery patients will save more

money and it will be as effective as surgery. On a positive side it will also come with less risks

and outcomes.

Physical therapy, not only helps avoid surgery, but it also helps avoid taking strong

medication. With injuries come pain and or swelling but medication is not always the answer. A

lot of doctors tend to prescribe patients very strong medication that will stop redness and

swelling. There is also another option to help and that is physical therapy. In the article ‘Physical

Therapy Helps Man Avoid Surgery and Maintain Mobility’ it mentions how a man named
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Roberto, who was struggling with spinal stenosis, was not able to take anti inflammatories. The

reason for that is because it made him very sick and one time he ended up in an emergency room

by taking them. His doctor then recommended him to a physical therapist. He would go twice a

week, one day to relieve his back pain and another to help his shoulder. As time passed by

Roberto, got better. In the article Robert says, “My physical therapist, who really listens and

cares, has enabled me to avoid back surgery and stop using the anti-inflammatories. Instead of

using medications, I have my mobility". Therapy was able to not only help him recover from his

injuries but also avoid having to take medication. In the article ‘Physical therapy more effective

than drugs for chronic pain, studies confirm’ talks about how about 25 million americans

struggle with chronic pain. It also states that physical therapy and exercise may work and be

more effective than taking painkillers. It also says that not only is physical therapy more

effective but also comes with less side effects. While taking medication people tend to react

different to the prescription. Either, their bodies react okay or they react bad. In the same article

a physical therapist named Anne Thomas says “it’s no wonder prescription drugs can seem like a

great option at first. But they were never meant to be the long-term solution they’ve become as

they’re risky, addictive and can lead to bigger problems. Physical therapy, in contrast, is a true,

long-term way to treat and manage chronic pain”. By taking medication it will only make the

pain go away temporarily, unlike therapy. On the other hand therapy allows the body to work

and get it moving again. Physical therapy is more of a long term option and allows the patient to

be more successful in recovery.

Physical therapy can help with many things, including help with inflammation.

Inflammation is very normal, this is when the tissue is healing. A lot of times when patients get

injured, they get redness or swelling. It also occurs when there is an infection. Therapy is a way
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to help the swelling and redness go down and hurt less without having to take any medication. In

the article “Chronic Inflammation and Physical Therapy” it states that physical therapy not only

helps manage the pain but it also helps find out where and why a certain area hurts. A physical

therapist named Watson says “One of the goals of physical therapy, is to help chronic pain

patients become stronger, because they're usually weak from not moving”. Therapists are

specialized to help patients get better and not having to put them at risk. Physical therapists work

with patients on short term and long term pain solutions, they do this by finding out how you got

injured and where it hurts. This helps them map out a solution to help the patients heal.

Exercising is a very good way to help reduce swelling and inflammation, this is because it can

improve strength. By improving strength and slowly exercising the muscle it will reduce the

swelling. In the article ‘Physical Therapy for Pain Management’ it mentions how Therapists also

teach patients how to move around safely without hurting themselves even more. If a patient did

not know how to properly get around places, it would affect their injuries more, but therapy helps

avoid that. There are many ways to make inflammation go away. Another therapeutic way

therapists do this is by massages, heat and cold therapy and water therapy. Heat and cold therapy

help the muscles loosen, allowing them to work better. Water therapy is for people who have a

very hard time moving. In the water it is much easier to move because you're not as heavy in as

you are on land. Water therapy allows patients to slowly begin to move their muscles. After a

certain time they will be able to do normal exercises to help them move normal again.

In conclusion physical therapy is a very good way to save money. Physical therapy helps

in many ways and some ways are to avoid surgery. It is also a good way to avoid taking strong

medication, and helps get rid of inflammation. Patients are also not at risk for side effects after

surgery. Physical therapy is also a faster way to heal an injury without having too many
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problems. There are also many ways of doing physical therapy and are just as effective as having

surgery, sometimes it works even better. In many situations physical therapy helps more than

having surgery and this is because you rebuild the muscle that was injured. As research shows,

patients do not have to have surgery all the time, they also have the option to choose therapy and

decided after if surgery is an option for them or not. By allowing patients to choose surgery or

physical therapy, it will help patients feel more safe and comfortable. Saving them more money

and less side effects.

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WORK CITED:

Courtney , Erin. “Chronic Inflammation and Physical Therapy.” ​Life's Work Physical Therapy,​

21 Dec. 2015, lifesworkpt.com/2015/12/chronic-pain-part-2-of-2-2/.

LeWine, Howard, and M.D. “Physical Therapy as Good as Surgery and Less Risky for One Type

of Lower Back Pain.” ​Harvard Health Blog​, Harvard Health Publishing, 17 Feb. 2017,

www.health.harvard.edu/blog/physical-therapy-as-good-as-surgery-and-less-risky-for-on

e-type-of-lower-back-pain-201504097863.

“Physical Therapy for Pain Management.” ​EverydayHealth.com​, Harvard Health Letter, 9 Mar.

2010, www.everydayhealth.com/pain-management/physical-activity-and-therapy.aspx.

“Physical Therapy Helps Man Avoid Surgery and Maintain Mobility.” ​American Physical

Therapy Association,​ Move Forward, 19 Mar. 2018,

www.moveforwardpt.com/WhyTherapy/Detail/physical-therapy-helps-man-avoid-surger

y-maintain-.

“Physical Therapy Can Prevent Surgery.” ​Santé​, 6 July 2016,

santecares.com/2016/07/18/physical-therapy-can-prevent-surgery/.

“Physical Therapy May Help You Avoid Surgery and Medications.” ​Crozer-Keystone Health
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System,​ 16 Nov. 2016,

www.crozerkeystone.org/news/press-releases/2016/november/physical-therapy-may-help

-you-avoid-surgery-and-medications/​.

“Physical Therapy More Effective than Drugs for Chronic Pain, Studies Confirm.” ​Body in

Balance,​ Body and Balance Physical Therapy, 8 Nov. 2016,

bodyinbalanceak.com/2016/11/08/physical-therapy-more-effective-than-drugs-for-chroni

c-pain-studies-confirm/.

Rodriguez, Diana. “Physical Therapy for Pain Management.” ​EverydayHealth.com,​ Everyday

Health, 9 Mar. 2010,

www.everydayhealth.com/pain-management/physical-activity-and-therapy.aspx​.

Sears, Brett, and Grant Hughes. “Physical Therapy Versus Surgery for Rotator Cuff Tear.”

Verywell Health,​ 31 May 2018,

www.verywellhealth.com/physical-therapy-versus-surgery-for-rotator-cuff-tears-2696052

.
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