5 Types of Physical Therapy & Their Benefits

Physical therapy is a highly customizable tool designed to provide mobility improvement, strength building, and overall pain reduction. It can be used as a preventative tool to minimize the risk or need for more invasive treatment. Other times, physical therapy can be an option after treatment or surgery to provide a way for individuals to gain strength and function. There are many reasons to invest in physical therapy. Understanding the various types of physical therapy is a good place to get started if you’ve been told you may need it.

1. Vestibular Therapy

Vestibular therapy treats people who have inner ear dysfunction, which can lead to dizziness, trouble balancing, and difficulty understanding and navigating space. This type of therapy can help to significantly improve the quality of life in those who are suffering from these types of conditions.

Vestibular therapy works through a combination of positional maneuvers as well as developing new exercise and movement habits. We also incorporate eye coordination exercises, which can help to reduce the dizziness many people feel. We use balance training tasks, which may seem as simple as turning a head or opening and closing the eyes, but can have a significant impact on improving inner ear dysfunction.

This type of therapy may help people who have:

• Generalized dizziness
• Concussions or head injuries
• Headaches and migraines not otherwise explained
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
• Vestibular hypofunction
• Meniere’s disease
• Balance disorders such as strokes or Parkinson’s

If you have trouble rolling over in bed, feel dizzy when turning your head quickly, or have a loss of function when you look up, you may benefit from this treatment.

2. Geriatric Physical Therapy

Geriatric physical therapy is focused on providing improvements and support to people as they get older. Everyone sees changes in their function, mobility, aches, pains, and limitations as the body ages and tissues break down. These changes increase the risk of falling, which can lead to critical damage.

In geriatric physical therapy, the goal is to typically focus on specific areas of need, but often with mobility and movement improvement. Many people develop musculoskeletal conditions as they get older, which can alter the form of their movements, including walking, bending, stretching, and standing up or sitting down. Conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, cancers, and others can create limitations to all of these activities.

In this area of physical therapy, the goal is to improve movement and adjust methods of mobility to reduce both pain and fall risks. It typically involves correcting movements and incorporating smaller, less-intense exercises to help improve pain levels.

3. Pediatric Physical Therapy

While it’s common for adults to need physical therapy from time to time, those under the age of 18 may as well. Many times, people are afraid of what physical therapy is or what it means, but for many children, it can prove to be not just essential but life-changing. This type of physical therapy enables specialists to provide care to infants, toddlers, younger children, and teens to improve a wide range of conditions.

Some pediatric physical therapy treatments help support the improvement of genetic conditions, while others foster a way of learning how to cope with limitations. The same applies to congenital disabilities and limb disabilities. Physical therapy may also prove to be essential when a sports injury or other serious injury occurs, especially as it relates to the head.

In this type of physical therapy, the goal is typically to heal and improve function as appropriate for the situation. Doing this early on may help a child gain as much mobility and functionality as they can. Often designed to be as enjoyable and “fun” as possible, this type of physical therapy is always done with safety in mind. Children learn, receive customized treatment, and are encouraged to push themselves to reach their goals.

4. Orthopedic Physical Therapy

Orthopedic physical therapy is a common form of physical therapy often needed after an injury. If you suffered an injury, rehabilitation for it might include working to improve the range of motion, strengthening the muscles, and building up overall endurance. In this type of physical therapy, treatment is always customized to fit the specific needs of the paint.

Often, injuries create long-term damage to the strength of impacted muscles. Even once the injury heals, the muscle has scar tissue and a different level of functionality. With this type of therapy, it may be possible to improve the function of the muscle or work to strengthen the body so that it can operate at the best possible level.

Treatment is not overly demanding, but it can be designed to meet the individual needs of the patient very closely.

5. Pelvic Floor Therapy

Pelvic health physical therapy is another core area of physical therapy that can benefit many people. The pelvic therapy solutions available can help men, women, elderly people, and transgender individuals. Through a holistic approach, it is possible to improve the functionality of the pelvic area as a whole. 

There are many conditions that may be improved with the help of this type of therapy. That includes pain in the genital, rectal, or groin area, osteoporosis, pre-natal pain and weakness, bowel leakage or urgency, and urinary leakage or urgency. If you are struggling post-partum to get back to an active lifestyle, you experience constipation, or incomplete emptying of your bowel or bladder, this type of therapy can help.

It works to retrain and build muscles within the pelvis that are typically responsible for these types of limitations. For many people, it can be a significant improvement in their ability to live life to the fullest.

Rock Valley Physical Therapy Can Help You

These are just some of the types of physical therapy available from the highly experienced professionals at Rock Valley Physical Therapy. With our comprehensive experience and dedication to providing highly customized solutions to meet our client’s needs, we are confident we can help you to get the type and level of care you need.