Physical therapy is care that seeks to reduce your pain and improve your movement and function so that you can live your best life.
Maintenance physical therapy is, then, about maintaining a specific standard of living.
While maintenance therapy becomes more important as we age, it can also be important for people with chronic pain or degenerative diseases as their mobility, strength and independence may be threatened to varying degrees, depending on the severity of their condition.
Maintenance physical therapy should always be performed under the supervision of a certified physical therapist. As with any other physical therapy, you should be assessed and evaluated before any treatment plan is put into place. Your treatment plan should be regularly reviewed and updated in accordance with your current health and fitness levels.
Truthfully, we might all benefit from maintenance therapy , whose primary goal is to prevent deterioration of your current quality of life.
However, there are certain groups that can benefit from this form of routine therapy more than others:
- Seniors
- Sufferers of degenerative diseases; such as,
- Alzheimer’s
- Parkinson’s
- Sufferers of autoimmune diseases; such as,
- multiple sclerosis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- Those with chronic pain; such as,
- fibromyalgia
- non-specific lower back pain
- Those who have suffered a concussion or with post-concussion syndrome
- Those who have recovered from a major accident/joint surgery/injury
What exactly are the benefits of maintenance therapy?
Well, largely that depends on your goals!
Maintenance physical therapy can help you:
- prevent loss of strength
- prevent loss of mobility
- prevent loss of flexibility
- prevent recurrences of pain
- prevent deterioration of bones and joints
- prevent complications of chronic conditions
- maintain energy levels
- maintain your current level of independence
Ultimately
Maintenance therapy is a form of preventative medicine for those at risk of the deleterious effects of age and disease. It isn’t the right choice if you have recently suffered an injury, were in an accident or are recovering from surgery, for this you would require rehabilitation therapy to bring you back to your previous standard of living. However, if you are afraid that you are at risk of losing your strength, mobility, flexibility or just your ability to lead the life you are currently living due to age, pain or disease, then maintenance therapy is likely for you.
To book a session with one of our therapists, please don’t hesitate to email us! We are here to help, whether your goals are to maintain or rehabilitate in nature, we have the tools and professionals for you.
