Why Physical Therapy Is A Must After A Fall
Going through a fall at any age isn't fun. In worst-case scenarios, a fall can absolutely become life-threatening, but even in more minor situations, a fall can result in bruising, torn ligaments or muscles, and broken bones. If you've gone through a fall recently or someone you care about has, it's a good idea to seek out physical therapy, even if you think you're managing well. Here's why.
Recovery Time
When someone falls, the last thing they want to do is to try and walk around. Everything likely hurts from the fall, and there's usually some fear attached to the idea of falling again. Of course, if you broke a bone, you'll also need to spend time off your feet in order to let it heal properly.
The problem with this is that while you're recovering from injuries like bruises or broken bones, your muscles are suffering for it. Muscle mass is actively being lost so that when you can get back on your feet, you'll have less fine motor control. In addition, if you were off your feet for a very long time after the fall due to a broken bone, your bones can even become thinner. Bones need regular pressure from activities like walking and weight lifting in order to produce new bone cells and stay strong. In short, all this means that you could be hurt even more if you fall in the future without repairing your body.
Risk
The fear of falling is likely something you or your loved one go through, and unfortunately, it's not without cause. Studies have found that people — and particularly the elderly — are more likely to experience falling after an initial fall than they were before they fell the first time. In other words, if you fell once, you're at a high risk of falling again.
There are a few reasons why this can happen. Part of it is due to weakened muscles during recovery downtime. If you've ever started to fall and managed to catch yourself before going down completely, you know that a lot of different parts of your body are involved in making this happen. It can be harder to make micro-corrections like this when muscles are weak.
In addition, many people lose muscle mass in their legs and hips, so their gait becomes abnormal as they attempt to compensate. This can make you more likely to fall, too.
What to Do
The good news here is that you don't have to suffer these risks needlessly or force yourself to keep exercising while your body hurts. All you need to do is to work with a physical therapist.
Physical therapists are experts at helping to identify injured and weak parts of the body. From there, they design exercise routines that gradually build up strength in these areas. This allows you to gradually regain strength and to retrain your body to use a normal gait.
With physical therapy, you can get back to your old self more quickly and without risks of injuring yourself further by pushing too hard, too fast. Reach out to a physical therapy service to learn more about what to do.
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