Physical Therapy Promotes Wellness as well as Treating Injuries

You can learn how to modify your movements during exercise class to help prevent injury.

It can happen with just a twist in the wrong direction or an extra stretch during a yoga class. Suddenly you have an injury that derails your new exercise program and sends you back to the couch discouraged.

Getting healthy shouldn’t make you feel worse, but often it does. Maybe you have a weakness you didn’t know about or maybe you push too hard too quickly. Just because the instructor does a particular movement doesn’t mean you can or should.

Physical Therapy offers a better alternative. Although people often think about PT to help with recovery from an injury, it is actually very effective at preventing the injury in the first place, as well as generally promoting wellness.

A physical therapist can perform an evaluation to determine whether you have any hidden problems and to identify any particular weaknesses that you should specifically address. It’s as good for a novice thinking of starting an exercise program as for an athlete who wants to improve her performance.

Physical therapy sessions often include education about changes you can make to protect your health as you strive to grow stronger. The physical therapist will also show you how to safely do exercises targeted for specific areas and what to avoid based on your physical capabilities and needs. She can show you how to properly stretch and create balance between muscle groups. She can then help you set up a schedule so you can advance without going too fast.

The physical therapists at Ella Health will work with you to develop an easy to follow routine that you can do at home. The focus is on creating a program that is practical and enjoyable. They will also show you how to adapt moves in exercise classes based on your capabilities so you can safely participate in them.

Ella Health provides individualized physical therapy programs for women at San Francisco, CA. Services will soon be available in Chicago, IL, and San Antonio, TX.