Have you ever broken a bone as the result of a fall or accident?
If you have, then you will agree that it is a very stressful event. It happens unexpectedly and fills us with worry about the length of the healing process, the pain, and the possibility that we won’t recover fully and that our daily activities will be affected.
You don’t need to be afraid. At RiteCare, we help you understand the process as we give your body what it needs to heal itself quickly and with minimum stress.
Bone healing is a natural process. Your body is fully prepared to heal itself when it comes to fractures. All you need to do is to give the bone optimal conditions to do so.
These conditions require help of healthcare professionals, of course. If needed, doctors will order an X-ray. In some cases, an MRI or CT scan may also be required. After examining your scans, they may need to re-align and set the broken bone. Immobilization of the affected bone could require casts (most common), metal plates and screws, intramedullary nails or external fixators. Typically, the fractured bone area will be immobilized for 2-8 weeks. If a broken bone has been aligned appropriately and immobilized, the healing process can start.
After the bone has healed, it is necessary to begin regaining muscle strength and flexibility in the affected area. Depending on which bone has been broken, your physical therapist’s goals are to help you:
- Reduce Pain and Swelling. Your physical therapist may apply diverse types of treatments and electrothermal modalities, like specialized massage, electrical stimulation, and cold packs to decrease aching and swelling.
- Improve Your Mobility. Your physical therapist will choose specific activities and treatments to help restore mobility. These might begin with “passive” motions that your therapist performs for you to gently move a specific joint, before progressing to active exercises and stretches that you do yourself.
- Increase Flexibility. Your physical therapist will possibly use manual therapy to allow your joints and muscles to move without restriction and with less discomfort. These methods can include stretches and therapeutic massage techniques.
- Increase Strength. If your physical therapist finds any weakness in your arm or hand muscles, your therapist will teach you the correct exercises to steadily restore your strength and agility. You might use equipment, such as therapy bands, therapy putty, and hand weights to help strengthen your arm, for example.
- Improve Endurance. Restoring your muscular endurance is vital after a fracture. Your physical therapist will prepare a program of activities to help you recuperate the endurance you had before the fracture, so you can go back to your daily activities.
- Learn a Home Program. Your physical therapist will prescribe you a strengthening and stretching workout to perform at home. These exercises will be individualized depending on your fracture area; if you do them as shown by your physical therapist, you may speed up your recovery.
- Return to Activities. Your physical therapist will establish your activity goals and use them to set your recovery plan. Your treatment program will support your goals in a safe, fast, and effective way. Your physical therapist will show you exercises, training activities, and other techniques and drills to help you accomplish your goals.
- Speed Recovery Time. Your physical therapist is trained and experienced in choosing the best treatments and exercises to help you safely heal, return to your normal lifestyle, and reach your goals faster than you are likely to do on your own.
If you have sustained a fracture and are in need of an expert physical therapist, RiteCare Physical Therapy in Hialeah is at your service. Our specialized physical therapy programs are designed to meet your needs.
Our programs combine medical care with rehabilitation services to help re-establish the functional, physical, cognitive and behavioral skills required to live as independently as possible. Physical, occupational, therapies will be provided under the supervision of physicians and nurses.
If you are not sure if physical therapy in Hialeah is an appropriate form of treatment for your specific injury, please schedule an appointment so that our trained medical staff can evaluate your condition and prescribe an appropriate course of treatment.
Our convenient urgent care walk-in location in Hialeah makes us accessible.
Learn more about physical therapists in Hialeah here.
Sources: https://www.moveforwardpt.com/InteractiveBody.aspx
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/fractures-broken-bones
