What Is Physical Therapy?
Before we discuss how physical therapy can improve your mental health, we should make sure we explain what physical therapy actually is and how it works. Physical therapy, also known as physiotherapy, is a form of treatment for pain and injury that involves massage, treatments, and exercises that provide physical stimuli. The goal of physical therapy is to relieve pain, improve mobility, or strengthen weakened muscles depending on the patient’s needs. These techniques can be used to treat acute and chronic symptoms, as well as, help prevent future injuries. Physical therapy exercises can be done outside of a practice or hospital. Another goal of working with a physical therapist is for you to gain agency in your own health journey. You can and should incorporate physical therapy exercises into your daily life at home.
How Can Physical Therapy Improve Mental Health?
You may be thinking, how can something that is meant to improve my physical health improve my mental health as well? This is because of the importance of the mind-body connection. Ailments that affect the mind can have physical side effects and vice versa. Physical pain can often lead to stress, anxiety, and isolation leading to depression. These are just some of the ways working with a physical therapist can have a positive impact on your mental health.
Reduces stress
Pain and stress have a strong connection. Experiencing pain can lead to increased stress in the body. Experiencing chronic pain can lead to prolonged stress. Unfortunately, the connection doesn’t stop there. Stress can also increase pain levels. Stress stored in the body can cause your muscles to tense, leading to spasms. Additionally, chronic pain can create daily stressors such as lack of mobility, extensive medical treatment, or required lifestyle changes. This creates a continued cycle of pain and stress. Working with a physical therapist can help relieve pain and reduce the stress that comes with it.
Builds self esteem
After medical events such as sudden injury or surgery, recovery can be a long and discouraging process. There can be a lot of shame associated with the healing process when completing daily activities that used to be easy and mundane, but now require much more time and effort. The process of physical therapy will help the physical aspect of recovery – relieving pain, increasing mobility, and helping rebuild strength. As the body recovers, the things that have become hard, slowly become easier again, and your self confidence can rebuild. Working with a physical therapist can help build the self esteem needed to push through recovery.
Reduces depression
The average patient that is seeking physical therapy is looking for treatment because they are either recovering from an injury/surgery or because they have been experiencing chronic pain. The road to recovery and finding answers when dealing with chronic conditions can feel never ending. This can lead to feelings of isolation, loneliness, and depression. Working with a physical therapist can help combat these feelings and give the patient back a sense of agency as they become a practitioner in their own medical care. Additionally, physical activity releases chemicals in the brain called endorphins. Endorphins both trigger a positive feeling in the body and interact with brain receptors to decrease the feeling of pain.
Improves sleep
Physical exercise has a positive impact on sleep. At least 30 minutes of activity is said to improve sleep quality by helping the body to fall asleep faster and get a deeper sleep. Sleep plays a large role in our mood and mental health. A lack of sleep can lead to an irritable mood but it can also exacerbate stress levels and anxiety. It is during proper, deep sleep that our minds are able to process new information, sort through emotions, and recharge. Therefore, a lack of proper sleep can negatively affect all aspects of your life because of its impact on your body, mood, memory, and overall mental health.
Provides social support
Social support is a very important component of physical therapy, specifically for patients that are dealing with chronic pain or recovering from a major surgery. Having pain that limits your mobility can be very isolating. Patients who have a hard time leaving their homes are naturally prone to isolation, but patients that experience chronic pain are also at a risk of isolation if they are hesitant to do things because of a potential flare up. Having a physical therapy routine can help these patients re-introduce themselves to social settings by getting that support from their physical therapists. Additionally, those dealing with chronic pain or illness can often have a lack of support in their medical journey. Dealing with chronic pain or illness can be a difficult journey especially if you have no peers that understand what you’re going through. Working with physical therapists gives these patients an opportunity to be around others that are empathetic to their health journey and want to work together on pain management and recovery. This is an often unattainable social support system that patients may not have elsewhere.
Where Can I Find A Physical Therapist?
At Advanced Kinetics Physical Therapy we offer physical therapy services whether you’re dealing with chronic pain, recovering from an injury, working to prevent an injury, recovering from surgery, or looking to improve mobility! These services are available at our locations in Falls Church and McLean, Virginia. If you’re interested in learning more about how our physical therapists can help you, please get in touch with us!
