Physical rehabilitation is the process of restoring patients to their original condition. Incidents that could make this necessary include injuries and surgery. Pain can also be debilitating and limit one’s ability to do daily activities. Physical rehabilitation programs not only help you get back to normal but also enhance your ability to move despite your physical impairment. Physical rehab only works if the patient is proactive and committed to the exercises, which means it is up to you to do your exercises at home to reach your recovery goals.
Physical rehabilitation programs are personalized to the patient. Let’s talk about the typical components of rehabilitation programs.
Stretching and Strengthening Exercises
At-home exercises usually involve stretching and strengthening exercises, which slowly build strength, improve flexibility, and increase range of motion. Whether it’s a neck or back injury, these exercises are critical to recovery. Regaining strength is the first step after your injury or incision has healed.
Neck exercises include stretching the trapezius muscle (which stabilizes and moves the scapula), the scapular muscle (attached to the shoulder blade), and neck rotation help improve mobility and strength. Back exercises include leg slides (strengthens the lower back and core), hip bridge (strengthens the posterior muscles), upper body lifts (strengthens the large back muscles), partial crunches (strengthens the back and core muscles), and walking (improves the condition of all muscles). All these can be done at home without any equipment.
Once you’ve built strength and flexibility, and range-of-motion has returned to normal, the next part of physical rehab is restoring function. The goal here is to restore you to a pre-injury level of function.
Exercises to Restore Balance, Coordination, and Higher-Performance Skills
If you’ve injured yourself while playing sports or exercising, or at work, your physical rehab specialist will help you regain your independence and function to be able to perform again. The therapist will help you work on your posture and stance, which are critical for balance. Aquatic exercises, which are done in the water, help patients regain a sense of balance. It is also safer, as the buoyancy of water is easy on the joints and helps protect against hard falls if you lose balance.
As for coordination exercises, walking along a straight line and repetition of motor activities such as foot-tapping helps improve coordination. Tai Chi, Pilates, and yoga are very helpful in practicing good coordination.
For your safety and to ensure that you are doing exercises correctly, it’s best to consult with a physical rehabilitation specialist. Physical rehab programs are focused and have set goals. Without the guidance of a rehabilitation specialist, you could be delaying making a complete recovery.
Texas Injury Clinic in Fort Worth, TX
At Texas Medical Institute, we provide individualized rehabilitation services to patients who are recovering from an injury or surgery and those who are in pain from musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis. We are dedicated to expediting your recovery with the use of physical rehab exercises, as well as other modalities such as massage, hot and cold therapy, electrical stimulation, and chiropractic care. We have family doctors, emergency medicine specialists, and chiropractors on our team ready to provide a wide range of services to improve your physical condition.
If you would like to know more about our physical rehabilitation services or to schedule an appointment, call our clinic today at (817) 615-8633 or use our appointment request form. We look forward to helping you make a complete recovery and get back to the life you love.
