Three reasons to go to a physical therapy clinic for an annual health checkup

Think about physical therapy for a minute. What words come to your mind? If you’re like most people, you probably thought about words such as: recovery, rehabilitation, healing or injury. Did you know that physical therapy is for more than just recovering from pain? That’s right. Physical therapy should be treated like any other annual checkup. Learn how an annual physical therapy checkup can benefit your overall health.

Preventive care 

An annual physical therapy checkup can help you spot issues before they become a problem and even prevent major sources of pain. According to Healthline, “Knee replacement surgery has become a routine procedure in many hospitals. Surgeons carry out approximately 600,000 total knee replacements annually in the United States.” That’s a lot of knees that have been replaced. For the most part, knees are replaced because they wear out. An annual physical therapy checkup can help maintain your healthy knees. 

Improving your posture 

By taking part in an annual physical therapy checkup, you can work to improve your posture. Your physical therapist will assess your overall posture during your exam. Based on your current posture, your physical therapist may give you some exercises to do at home to stretch and strengthen your body. Strategies may include: 

• Stabilization exercises — Your physical therapist may recommend exercises such as the prone T, prone I or prone Y to help you improve your posture.

• Use of a lumbar roll — Tire of low back pain? A lumbar roll may help you improve your posture and ease your tightened low back muscles. 

• Overcorrecting your posture — This strategy encourages improved posture by slowly shifting from a slouched position to an overcorrected posture. Once you relax slightly, you’ll have correct posture. Over time, this will help you train your body to maintain proper posture. 

Reducing your risk for injuries 

At your annual exam, your physical therapist can evaluate your body mechanics and assess your risk for injury. Once your physical therapist understands where your body may need additional support, they may give you some exercises to help you strengthen your body and reduce your risk for injury.

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.