How It Can Benefit You
The brain has an incredible ability to adapt to adversity and help the body recover, or at least better manage, even the most debilitating of conditions. If you have recently suffered a neurological injury or been diagnosed with a neurological disease such as Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis, the impact on your everyday life can be severe. Often experiencing significant mobility issues, patients with these conditions can suffer even greater losses in quality of life which compound the negative effects.
Fortunately, neurological physical therapy has been shown to often yield remarkable improvements in patients. This form of treatment is specifically designed to regain some level of independent movement and motor function, as well as building confidence in a patient’s balancing abilities.
5 Things to Know About Neurological Physical Therapy
Neurological physical therapy offers benefits to a wide range of potential patients suffering from neurological issues. Here are 5 things to know about this type of therapy, how it benefits patients and what kind of conditions it is best at treating:
- More strength: A key focus in neurological physical therapy is muscle strengthening in areas which may have been injured, weakened, or experience chronic pain. This can take the form of extension exercises, weight training and other techniques aimed at directly targeting areas which need improvement. Working to increase strength decreases the likelihood of further injury and can help improve a patient’s overall quality of life.
- Better endurance: Taking the form primarily of what we call “gait training,” this practice is all about improving a person’s ability to walk independently. Focusing on movement and body posture, this may also incorporate mobility aids such as walkers. Gradually, these exercises work towards enabling the patient to walk for more sustained periods of time.
- Improved balance: This goes hand-in-hand with gait training and focuses on developing techniques for improved balance in a patient who may be prone to conditions like vertigo or frequent falling. By working to better control balance, the risk of recurring injury is reduced and the patient’s confidence in their own ability to walk can be significantly improved.
- Who can benefit: Anyone who has experienced a neurological injury or been diagnosed with a neurological condition, may be a candidate for this form of physical therapy. We often see patients who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, spinal or brain tumors, as well as those who have recently experienced events such as a stroke.
- Are you a candidate: If you are finding that a neurological condition or injury is directly impacting your quality of life, then you may be a candidate for neurological physical therapy. Some of the factors which often impact quality of life for our patients are dizziness, balance issues, difficulty walking and difficulty performing exercise routines which would otherwise improve strength.
Like all forms of physical therapy, neurological physical therapy is about enabling a patient to improve their quality of life and regain some level of independence. In this profession, we see injuries and conditions as setbacks which can be properly managed with the right therapies.
At Medical Rehabilitation Centers Of Pennsylvania (MRCP), we leverage the body and mind’s incredible ability for adaptation and strengthening, using physical therapy to help each of our patients reclaim some of their mobility and strength. With over 40 years in treating patients, we are deeply committed to working closely with individuals and tailoring programs specifically to their needs and goals.
Discover how MRCP can help you to regain control of your mobility. Contact us at the location of your choice, or complete our online form and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.