Revving Up Your Wellness Plan with Physical Therapy

Think of your body as a car.

Potentially, it’s an invincible combination of power and speed. To keep it functioning at a premium level, however, it needs routine tune-ups and the proper fuel to keep it purring.

Eventually, the miles mount and the “check engine” light inevitably turns on.

Do you take it to the mechanic immediately to discover what is triggering the warning or do you just keep driving, hoping it will go away on its own?

It’s the same decision with your body.

Preventive maintenance is crucial, whether in the form of proper nutrition, daily exercise, an annual exam with your physician or a wellness visit with a physical therapist.

All are strong, common-sense practices.

But when that mysterious dashboard icon appears – when you feel aches and pains and aren’t sure why – it’s time to act.

Discomfort in your shoulder when you stretch or pain in your knee when you walk or a loud click in your jaw when you chew are the body’s version of the flickering, “check engine’ light.

There are many excuses for not getting the trivial checked out. You don’t have the time to make an appointment. You don’t have the money for treatment. It’s an annoying pain in your back, not a debilitating one.

Living with minor discomfort may seem easier than the potential cost of physical therapy. The problem, however, is, just like a car, that minor issue may become a major repair if you don’t address it quickly. It’s best to be attuned to your health and have tune-ups when necessary.

As this year is ending and another one is on the horizon, here are things to consider about physical therapy and how it fits into a proper wellness routine.

An annual physical therapy evaluation is smart medicine

When we seek physical therapy it’s almost always after there is an injury or an operation. Yet meeting with a physical therapist annually, even when your body seems to be humming along, is smart self-care.

Physical therapists are specially trained, musculoskeletal experts who use a combination of learned knowledge and advanced technology to assess your body’s strengths and weaknesses. By using stretches and exercises personalized for you and your specific needs, a physical therapist can help increase your power, flexibility, mobility and balance.

Even after one assessment, a clinician can provide a plan to continue your physical therapy at home, which will improve weaknesses that, when left unchecked, could lead to falls and other potential injuries.

Get physical therapy without a prescription

Whether it is an annual assessment or twice-a-week sessions for a month or more, you can access physical therapy without first getting a prescription from a physician.

Although there are some limitations depending on state regulations, such as length of care, all 50 states permit some form of direct access physical therapy, including 20 with no restrictions. In 2024, more than 60,000 patients throughout the Select Medical Outpatient Division family of brands received physical therapy without an initial prescription.

If your insurance company typically pays for physical therapy, it will do so whether you use direct access or a prescription for the initial consultation. It is best, however, to contact your closest center to verify your insurance is accepted there before making an appointment.

A proven remedy in recovering from injury and illness

Physical therapists aren’t just experts in treating pain. They’re also experts in finding the source of your discomfort and determining how to alleviate it, whether that is through specific training and exercise or manual techniques such cupping therapy or joint mobilization.

Maybe you were injured playing sports or working on the job and needed surgery. Maybe it’s chronic pain, something more than 60 million Americans live with each year, like a back that won’t loosen up or a knee that locks but isn’t quite ready for replacement surgery.

Or maybe you’ve dealt with neurological conditions such as strokes and Parkinson’s disease or pelvic floor issues like bowel and urinary leakage and sexual dysfunction. Perhaps you are recuperating from cancer and trying to rebound from the toll chemotherapy took on your body.

Physical therapy can help with all of that and more. You shouldn’t have to rely on medicine alone to temporarily ease your symptoms. You shouldn’t have to suffer. Physical therapy will help you heal and help restore your activity to the highest level.

Preventing future injuries

When you make your body’s health a priority, you are actively working to prevent future injuries – assuming you know what to do and, more important, how to do it properly.

Physical therapists are movement experts, and they understand how the body’s parts work together to ensure maximum efficiency. They also know what happens when one is out of sync, causing a domino effect of overcompensation and, often, further injury.

By learning proper movement techniques, conditioning your muscles and focusing on body mechanics, your chances of getting hurt dwindle.

Making the connection

It’s good to have a strong, trusting relationship with the medical personnel you work with, whether it is a family doctor, a dentist or a specialist. That’s especially true with physical therapists, since they spend an hour with their patients per session two to three times a week. Comparatively, you may get 20 minutes with a physician every three months.

But it’s more than time allotted that makes a patient-physical therapist relationship special. The nature of the profession is hands-on, from demonstrating exercises to using manual therapy such as soft-tissue mobilization. There is time at a typical appointment to talk, to share, to bond.

Additionally, a key component of physical therapy is understanding a patient’s goals and then working in partnership to achieve those, whether it is through instruction or some tough-love encouragement. The trust factor must be there for patients to buy what clinicians are selling, which is a return to a healthy and vibrant life.

Physical therapists get to witness the improvements made along that journey, and that makes them further invested in the treatment outcome – strengthening the bond between patient and clinician even more.

So, as you prepare your wellness goals for a new year, don’t forget physical therapy as a key component in keeping your higher-mileage body a well-oiled machine.