| About Physical Therapy
What Is Physical Therapy? Is Physical Therapy Right for Me? How Do I Choose? | Glossary
Treatment Applications Types of Physical Therapy Credentials |
What Is Physical Therapy?
Physical therapy is a medical practice in which a person’s injured body is restored to healthy functioning through a program of therapeutic exercise and touch. Following an injury, a body part is often too damaged to get better on its own, but not so damaged as to require surgery. In such cases, the doctor will prescribe physical therapy so your injured body part can heal itself over time through the right movements and treatments.
In addition to having you do therapeutic exercises that will gradually strengthen the injured body part, physical therapists may also use massage, ultrasound, heat, ice, and electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to help you recover. The exercises your physical therapist will have you do may include lifting weights, riding an exercise bike, stretching, and resistance training using rubber bands. The physical therapist will also likely massage your joints and muscles to help improve balance, strength, alignment, and mobility.
Physical therapy was first recognized as a profession during World War I. To answer the overwhelming need for rehabilitation of wounded military personnel, the Surgeon General's office formed the division of special hospitals and physical reconstruction. The employees of this division were known as "reconstruction aides." Today, physical therapy is considered a conventional form of medicine, as central to the healing of injuries as orthopedists and sports medicine doctors.
