Suffering From Sciatica Pain? Contact Us Today for Pain Relief!

If you've been diagnosed with sciatica, it's likely that your doctor has prescribed physical therapy treatment. This is usually prescribed as part of a multidisciplinary sciatica treatment plan. Understandi

How Does Physical Therapy Work?

Physical therapy near LAX is a type of treatment that uses both active therapies and passive ones to enhance the movement of the body. In general, active treatments are those that require you to be physically involved. Passive treatments are those that don't require much participation on your part. Let's take a look at examples for both forms of treatment so that you can get a better idea of what to expect during your first visit to physical therapy for auto accidents near LAX.

Active Treatments
Easing your sciatica pain can be done by active therapies. The best physical therapists near you will teach you multiple therapeutic stretches and exercises. These are aimed at increasing your range of motion and muscular strength. Your active treatment programs will be prescribed after the physical therapists near LAX take into account your history and health.

Some forms of active treatment that are usually prescribed are strengthening exercises, flexibility movements, and aerobic conditioning. These exercises are shown to you by the physical therapist. This way, they can ensure that you're doing them correctly to strengthen your muscles. Doing strenuous exercises incorrectly can drastically increase your risk of pain and put loads of unneeded stress on the spine.

One form of active therapy that you may be prescribed is hydrotherapy. This happens at some physical therapy near LAX centers who have the right equipment. This is a form of active, gentle exercise that uses the resistance of the water to strengthen the muscles. If you're currently finding regular exercises too painful to perform, hydrotherapy can be a great alternative that can alleviate pain during active therapy. 

Passive Treatments
As you learned above, passive treatments are those that require little effort on your part to perform. The intent of these exercises is to alleviate painful soft tissue tension that is in your body. This, in turn, assists you in relaxing. Passive therapy is usually performed prior to active treatments since they loosen up the body.

There are many different passive treatments that may be prescribed. The first of which is deep tissue massage. The best physical therapists near you will incorporate this into your regular visits. Deep tissue massage works to release muscular and fascia tension in areas of the body that provide direct restriction to the sciatic nerve. These are the low back, hips, and buttocks. Your therapist will provide direct pressure to the soft tissues of your body to alleviate the tension.

The next type of passive therapy commonly used by physical therapists near LAX is hot and cold therapy. Your therapist will know how to utilize these therapies to ensure the best results possible. Heat is intended to get more blood to the various areas of your body. When your blood flow is increased, it allows for more nutrients and oxygen to problem areas of your body. Cold therapy, on the other hand, works to slow down blood circulation to specific areas of the body. This is readily done to reduce inflammation, pain, and muscle spasms in the body.

How Can Physical Therapy Help You?
As you've discovered, physical therapy for auto accidents near LAX comes along with many different active and passive forms of treatment. This type of therapy can work to reduce pain and inflammation in your body. It will also help to enhance your range of motion, strengthen your muscles, and improve your overall posture. This type of therapy should be utilized as a long-term approach to managing your sciatica pain.

What To Expect From Your First Physical Therapy Treatment?
One of the biggest fears of any sort of medical treatment is knowing what is going to happen during your visit. We're going to share with you how a typical first visit will go with your therapist. This will help to alleviate any stress and/or anxiety that you have associated with seeking the assistance of a physical therapist.

When you first meet your physical therapist, they're going to want to get to know you and your pain complaints. They'll do a review of your medical history, lifestyle habits, and so forth. Be honest while answering all of these questions as the more accurate you can relay information to your physical therapist, the better course of treatment they can recommend to you.

Apart from your medical history, they're going to want to know about your sciatica symptoms. This could be things like what triggers them, how often you experience them, and so forth. Once this is documented, they'll do their own physical exam. This will involve a series of movements that will take your body through different ranges of motion. This helps the physical therapist to learn what areas of your body need to be targeted and with which forms of treatment.

What Should You Wear To Your Appointment?
As revealed above, you'll be going through various movements and therapies when at your visits. Therefore, it's important that you wear something that is comfortable to move around in and doesn't restrict your natural movements. Loose clothing is always recommended and tying up hair can help to keep you comfortable throughout your active therapy sessions.

How Long Will Treatment Take?
In general, physical therapy takes time. Don't expect to only go into a couple of visits and be done. As you learned, these sessions are all about strengthening your muscles and enhancing your range of motion. The body naturally takes time to do this. Therefore, you can expect to be going for multiple weeks or even months at a time. Each treatment session will likely take around an hour. Contact our chiropractor near LAX today!