Physical therapy is a form of treatment that one may need when health problems make it hard for them to move around and do tasks that they should be doing. It helps to enhance movement and relieve pain in addition to ensuring there is restoration of physical function and fitness level. When considering physical therapy Cambridge MA residents should know the goal is to make daily activities easier.

It helps in recovery after one undergoes certain types of surgery. Doctors recommend this therapy for either injuries or long-term health issues like arthritis. It can be used alone or in conjunction with other modes of treatment. Therapists examine patients to be able to know what the cause of the problems are. This assists them to have a treatment plan. The main aim is to ensure joints move in a better way and also restore strength. The treatment also improves coordination, flexibility and endurance.

There are various forms of physical therapy. One of the most common is exercising. Exercise is a controlled physical stress that is applied to the body to help with improvement of strength, motion range and flexibility. Exercises can be active or passive. With the passive exercises, you are required to only relax while the physical therapist applies stress. An example is the hamstring stress where a person lifts your leg so that hamstring muscles are elongated on the bag of the thighs.

With active exercises, the are done by the individuals concerned. Some examples are walking on treadmills, hip strengthening and straight leg raising. There are many home exercise programs that are recommended. The exercises in this category are performed individually. They come in handy when an individual wants to resume normal activities. Generally, exercising is among the most used forms of physical therapy.

On some occasions, electric stimulation can be used to help in reducing pain around injured tissues. There are two main theories about the way the stimulation works. These are the gate theory and opiate theory. Other forms of electric stimulation can also be used for muscle contraction. This is normally used for helping injured muscles to relearn how to properly function.

Traction is used to treat neck pain and low back pain and thus helps to minimize pain and improve spine mobility. In order to use lumber traction, you get strapped into some mechanical machine. There is a vest used for supporting the ribs. Theoretically, traction is used to separate joints and disk spaces found at the lower neck and back. This will decrease pressure in the nerves.

You can also make use of light and laser therapy. Light therapy will involve using light of specific wavelength for improving the healing process in tissues which are injured. The treatment is painless and will last for between one and three minutes. There is a light emitting wand held directly above the injured sections before a button is pressed to activate the light.

There is the option of using massage. This will involve use of the hands to knead tissues that are injured with the aim of improving circulation. This leads to decrease of muscle tension.