10 Reasons Why Physical Therapy Should be Part of your Annual Wellness Routine

Each year we are expected to visit our primary care physicians, who are trained to prevent, diagnose, and treat a broad array of illnesses and injuries. Their scope of knowledge is the provision of comprehensive care — which means they can address chronic, long-term conditions like diabetes mellitus as well as acute problems like bronchitis, allergic reactions, or colds and flu. However, who is going to help you with that chronic back pain? Who will help you with neck soreness from carrying your children? Who can help you with that dizzy feeling when you first get up? Physical therapy can, and we are here to help! Here are the top ten reasons PT should be part of your annual wellness routine!

1. Muscle

It is important to have clean teeth, be able to see and hear properly, and have a healthy heart and lungs. But what about our muscles? Who is keeping an eye on our strength, muscle imbalances, flexibility, or even ability to get on and off the floor? Physical therapy can and will help you in all these areas. Remember, health is more than just your temperature, height, and weight!

2. Preventative Care/Injury (Pre-screen’s)

Starting a new job and not sure if you are “fit” enough? Want to try kayaking but not sure your shoulders are strong enough? Physical therapists are experts in human movement and preventative health. By participating in a yearly PT assessment, you will be better prepared for lifestyle challenges and reduce your risk of injury with lifestyle changes like these.

3. Incontinence

This can often be a tricky topic to discuss, and it may not come up in your standard “health and wellness” checkup, but it is a daily matter that truly matters. Males and females can suffer from stress, urge, overflow, and functional or mixed incontinence. PT’s are trained to assess and treat pelvic floor dysfunction to prevent these unfortunate episodes.

4. Dizziness

Do you occasionally feel dizzy when you stand up, roll over, or move too quickly? Do you find yourself stumbling out of bed or a chair when you first get up? PT can help you address this impairment with a series of exercises you can perform in the clinic and at home. “Dizziness” is often waived off as dehydration or medication side effects, but being dizzy is not normal and should be addressed as soon as possible. Left untreated can lead to falls or even motor vehicle accidents. Stay safe and get checked out by your local PT.

5. Balance

What if you could prevent a fall before it happens? Physical therapy can do just that.. After a brief physical and neurological assessment, PT’s can help design a customized exercise plan to address strength and balance impairments. Falls can range from minor bumps and bruises to hip fractures and even fatalities. Remember to be preventative and check in at your local clinic to see what you can do better.

6. Relationship building

Like your primary care physician, it is important to build and maintain a healthy relationship with a health care provider who understands you and your life goals. If your provider can view you at your “best”, then they can better understand your “worst.” It is also helpful to have a provider you can quickly access, understand your condition, and get you back on track. It never hurts to build a great team of healthcare providers around you, just in case you need it!

7. Illness affects all of our body systems

It is not uncommon to have the flu, cold, or even sore throat and be off your feet for a few days. It is commonly expected that our body’s “bounce back” in no time; but this is not always the case, particularly with illnesses such as COVID-19 or pneumonia. Often after a prolonged illness, it is not uncommon to have new aches and pains that were not there before. A physical therapist can help evaluate and treat these conditions to get you back to your baseline as soon as possible.

8. Mindset

We are what we care about. If we only visit the doctor once a year and skip the eye doctor and the dentist, then we are not truly caring for ourselves and are at risk for injury and illness. I strongly recommend you take an active role in your healthcare decisions and ensure you are well in all areas of health, including physical and mental health.

9. Second Set of Eyes

There is no such thing as being a “perfect” human being, but often we can do better and improve ourselves in all areas of life- in this case, we are talking about human movement. We teach ourselves to roll, crawl, walk, and climb as we grow up—but after that, we just stick to what works. What if the way we picked isn’t ideal? What if the steps are too long/too short or too wide, or too narrow? Why wait until you have pain or a chronic condition to find out? A physical therapist can analyze your movement and facilitate proper body mechanics to prevent breakdown.

10. Be the best you!

The human experience is unique to every one of us. As physical therapists, our goal is to help you be the best you. Why give yourself any less of a chance to succeed? Don’t skip out; come check us out at Athletico!

Here at Athletico, we want you to be the best you that you can possibly be. Schedule a free assessment at your local clinic to get on the right track and get on top of your health!

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*Per federal guidelines, beneficiaries of plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VHA and other federally funded plans are not eligible for free assessments.

The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.