Returning to activity after surviving COVID-19? PT’s are the best choice!
Flower Mound, Texas
July 6, 2020
Physical Therapists Have a Unique Position on the Healthcare Team
The pandemic has put health and healthcare providers in sharp focus. There has been so much education about prevention and spread of the coronavirus, but what happens when people need help returning to activity after surviving COVID-19. When they get off the ventilator and can no longer walk without gasping for air, are too weak to climb steps, or even have trouble sitting upright? That’s where physical therapists come in.
The American Physical Therapy Association defines PTs as “health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.” PTs are the people who help you do things. For patients recovering from something like COVID-19, that could mean walking across a room, climbing steps, or getting in and out of a chair. For an injured athlete it could mean getting back to competition. For someone with arthritis or back pain, it could mean going for a walk or getting through a day of work without pain. Physical therapists are unique in that they are trained to treat pain without surgery or medication. That means that the pain relief they offer is less costly and safer than most methods.
Physical therapists also work to keep people healthy. The APTA goes on to say that “PTs work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.” That means that a physical therapist can help you determine your risk for injury, choose the right fitness program, and improve the quality of your life by improving your health and ability to move.
The ability to move well is a big deal. The risk of many of the leading causes of death can be reduced by exercise. Some of these conditions would include heart disease, cancer, lung disease, diabetes, and stroke. By helping you move better with less pain, finding the right exercise program, and helping you to make healthy lifestyle choices, a PT could help you live longer. Regular activity has also been shown to reduce stress, reduce depression, help with weight loss, reduce pain, improve sleep, and improve memory and cognitive function.
The unique expertise and skill set of physical therapists is meant to help people move better and more often. A skilled physical therapist is the best person to choose when people need help returning to activity after surviving COVID-19. The benefits of this to your health and quality of life are hard to understate. If a physical therapist isn’t a part of your current healthcare team, consider adding one. They might be just the person you need.
About S2S Functional Performance®
Founded in 2005 by a licensed physical therapist, S2S Functional Performance® provides fitness classes, professional coaching, and physical therapy to empower you to live healthy, energetic, and injury free. We have won Best of Denton County for more than 10 years as both the best physical therapy practice as well as the best pilates studio. Our goal is to continue to pursue relationships with others, excellence in our business, achievement in our specialties, commitment to our cause and honor to all that work here as well as receive our services. For more information please visit s2sperform.com