Somerville, Massachusetts, Luna’s physical therapists specialize in helping patients strengthen their muscles to promote healthier movement, increase balance, and prevent re-injury. As experts in proper exercise form, your PT can guide you through a training program offering tangible, lasting results.
Best of all, with Luna, patients can receive physical therapy for strengthening in the comfort of their homes. Our physical therapists come to you; it’s physical therapy, delivered.
A typical physical therapy regimen incorporates exercises intended to improve flexibility, balance, and strength. Strengthening forms the base of most therapy plans, as it is key to improving endurance and allowing for safe, effective motion.
Patients may require a strengthening program for any number of reasons. If they’ve sustained an injury, it may be necessary to gradually strengthen the injured body part before it can be safely used again. If they’re recovering from a condition that has required bed rest, they may need to strengthen the entire body before returning to their previous activities.
Source: Merck Manuals
Strengthening programs differ widely depending on the patient’s conditions, needs, and goals. An experienced physical therapist can create a routine that targets not only the affected area but also those parts of the body that are secondarily affected.
For example, an ankle injury doesn’t just require ankle-strengthening exercises. An inability to place weight on the ankle would also cause the calf, quadriceps, hamstring, and glute to atrophy on that side of the body. In addition, because the excess weight would have been shifted to the other side, the body would be out of alignment.
A licensed physical therapist can make these types of assessments and create a specialized physical therapy routine based on the patient’s needs, condition, age, prior fitness level, and more.
Source: Merck Manual