Who Can Benefit From Physical Medicine?

Your musculoskeletal system is vital to everyday functions like walking, climbing steps, and even dressing yourself. So as you can imagine, when it becomes damaged, your life gets harder day by day. 

But there’s a way that you can get multidisciplinary care to get you back on your feet. It’s called physical medicine.

At Integrated Body and Medicine, our team of specialists gets you the help you need when you’ve suffered an injury or are dealing with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Our expert clinicians are well-versed in physical medicine and give you the specialized care you’ve been looking for.

Understanding physical medicine

Physical medicine is a specialized form of care that involves rehabilitation and a comprehensive approach to helping you regain function of your body. It’s also known as physiatry. 

This form of medical care uses a multidisciplinary approach and multiple health care providers to restore normal function to your body after an injury. It also helps when you’re suffering from medical conditions that affect your body and that damage your musculoskeletal system.

So how does physical medicine get your body back on track? Our team uses both physical therapy, along with pain management techniques to reduce your pain and help you regain functionality.

We use many different strategies to help your body heal, including chiropractic manual adjustments, massage therapy, and physical therapy. These treatments work together to help not only relieve chronic pain, but restore overall function in your body.

Is this treatment for you?

Physical medicine is a type of treatment that can help a number of different conditions, including injuries and certain chronic medical problems. It’s also utilized after surgical procedures to help you regain your normal mobility.

While physical medicine isn’t just used for musculoskeletal problems, we specialize in these types of conditions. 

So how can our team help you with physical medicine or rehabilitation? If you have any of the following conditions, this form of treatment is valuable in your recovery:

• Sciatica
• Neck pain
• Sports injuries
• Arthritis
• Herniated discs
• Carpal tunnel syndrome

Injuries suffered at work can be difficult to treat, but physical medicine can help you rebuild your strength and mobility after such an injury. 

Ultimately, it’s up to you, with our help, to decide if this form of therapy is the right treatment avenue for you. Each condition and injury is different, which means we specifically tailor a care plan to your needs.

What you can expect during treatment

Each patient’s physical medicine treatment is different. As we said, we customize the plan to your specific condition. We first perform a detailed physical exam and ask about your pain level and history of your condition.

Once we evaluate your level of mobility, we form a treatment plan to achieve certain goals. These goals may include decreased pain, increased mobility, and improved functionality.

While physical medicine uses physical therapy to help you regain control of your body, we use other approaches as well, including:

• Therapeutic exercise
• Soft tissue or joint injections
• Ultrasound therapy
• Pain medications
• Bracing or orthotics

We also use heat and cold therapy, along with pain medications, to help you get through your sessions and regain your strength over time. Physical medicine isn’t always easy, but keeping up with your program gets you back on your feet with less pain and better mobility.

If you want to better understand how physical medicine is able to help you, call our Highland, Indiana, office or schedule an appointment through our online system today.