Are you in pain? Is your body not moving the way it used to?

Many people reach for a bottle of anti-inflammatory or pain relief rather than reaching for the source of the problem.  A quick visit to Dr. Marshall Allegra, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice, will allow him to supervise each phase of your diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

One option to explore with him is Physical Therapy. Physical Therapy can help you optimize your quality of your life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education. With Dr. Allegra’s diagnosis and instruction, your qualified physical therapist will generate a personalized treatment plan specific to your needs.

Not all patients are of equal age, strength, or ability so it is essential to have your PT Program tailored to you and monitored for you. This is why there are various specialties in physical therapy:

  • Orthopedic Physical Therapy usually takes place in the hospital or an outpatient clinic directly following surgery.
  • Pediatric Physical Therapy is designed for early detection of health problems among infants, children, and teenagers to strengthen gross and fine motor skills, strength, balance, and even cognitive functioning.
  • Geriatric Physical Therapy is geared toward those who have trouble with the aging process.
  • Neurological Physical Therapy is one possible treatment path for patients with a neurological disorder or disease—such as Alzheimer’s, cerebral palsy, brain injuries, strokes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s.
  • Heat Physical Therapy may help relax and restore your muscles and soft tissues by increasing your blood circulation. This is effective for joint stiffness but should be used with caution and a doctor’s orders as heat can also increase swelling.

PT can absolutely improve your mobility, help recover from injury, manage your pain, as well as increase your flexibility and strength to avoid future injury and build stamina.

When you experience pain, your natural response is to favor that body part.  This allows it to rest, although it can put strain on the rest of your body that is being used to compensate. Allowing too much rest can allow muscles to atrophy and stiffness to set in.  Your Physical Therapist will work with you to show you how to properly use your body to allow healing and minimize further damage.

October is National Physical Therapy Month, which was established in 1981 by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).  The stated purpose of the month-long campaign is to acknowledge the physical therapy profession’s efforts to ‘transform society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience.'”

Breaking the cycle of reaching for a pill to solve all ills is a big step in preventing Opioid overuse. Not a day goes by that this topic is on the news as epidemic proportions of use and abuse effects the population of all ages. Opioid abuse leaves you at risk for depression, overdose, addiction, plus the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when you stop.

Step one to living pain free is a visit to Dr. Allegra.

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