If you are like most people, you will wait and see if your ache or pain gets better. Count me as one of them and I am a PT. The difference is, my education and profession give me a slight heads up on which issues I can work through more easily and others that I may have to ask for help from a colleague.
It is in our nature to wait and see…plus, in many instances you will get better…eventually. Our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal…if provided with what it needs. But how long might that take? And at what expense to enjoying activities, taking care of the home/family, etc? In most cases, people just aren’t aware of the most important questions to ask or things to be aware of when deciding whether to get help or wait it out.
Even as a professionally biased writer, I can tell you that research shows PTs to be in the highest class of healthcare providers in terms of knowledge treating the body for muscle and joint issues right next to orthopedics. The difference is, Orthopedics are looking to image, inject or do surgery. While PT is looking to find out why you hurt and then solve the problem, keeping you from pills, needles, and knives.
To help you understand when you may want to choose PT for those muscle and joint aches or pains, HERE are the Top 3 things (questions) to consider:
- Has the ache or pain been there more than 2 weeks? If so, then it is probably time to ask for some help. We know from years of research that back pain is best treated within the 1st 2 weeks and treated rather well between 3-6 weeks. This is not to say after 6 weeks that treatment can’t be successful, but why wait and see, letting back pain further hinder your daily activities? #1 here, doesn’t just apply to back pain but all aches and pains in general.
- Is your ache or pain impacting your ability to sleep, work, perform daily activities at home? If so, then a call to a PT is in order. PTs specialize in helping discover and then address the root cause of aches or pains to then help people get back to a more restful night’s sleep and back to work and other daily activities as desired
- Do you want to avoid a needle, knife or stop taking pain medication? If you answer YES, then a finding a PT should be high on your TO DO List right now. PTs are highly trained professionals whose goal is to help people heal naturally without medications, injections or surgery. Highly publicized research is now showing that conservative measures such as PT are at least equally effective to surgery for back pain, knee issues, and small to medium rotator cuff tears.
Not sure about the next step? Try getting some of your questions answered HERE in this FREE resource. It answers many of the most common questions about who and what PT can help. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation, then feel free to start with a conversation (by calling 717-440-6197) to get those questions answered. Knowledge is power and confidence in the person going to help you has been proven to markedly improve success.
Here’s to you getting back to life without those aches or pains…