A Complete Guide To Physical Therapy For Stroke Patients At Home
Source: FlintRehab Tools To Spark Recovery

What you’ll find here
7 tips and resources to accelerate physical therapy for stroke patients at home.
There’s a lot of information about stroke recovery out there, and it can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and tedious to gather.
So we did all the gathering for you, this article is chock full of the solid advice you need to achieve a successful recovery at home.
First, Advice from a Therapist
One of our favorite therapists gave us some valuable advice for all stroke survivors continuing their therapy at home.

You can read the advice in detail here, but here’s a short synopsis:
First, you need a schedule. If you don’t schedule your exercises, then you cannot keep yourself accountable and exercise consistently, which are 2 key ingredients for success.
Second, you need to adopt a new mindset by deciding that you’re doing this thing until it works.
No half-heartedness allowed. If you find yourself saying, “I’ll try this new regimen, but if it doesn’t work I’ll quit,” then you’re setting yourself up for quitting.
Persistence and open-mindedness are absolutely essential.
If you keep this mindset and utilize the following 7 steps, you’ll be on your way to a successful recovery at home.

1. Don’t Let the Plateau Stop You
   Once you end rehab at the clinic and begin pursuing rehab at home, you may see your results slow down.
   It’s important not to let this discourage you. A plateau is simply a slowing down, not a stopping.
   Recovery will only stop when you stop. A great way to bust through a plateau is to shake things up and add variety to your regimen.
   This gives your brain the stimulation it needs to recover.
2. Don’t Let Paralysis Stop You
   Post-stroke paralysis can be discouraging, but again, don’t let it stop you.
   There are tons of stories of stroke survivors who overcome post stroke paralysis even when the doctors say there is no hope.
   Read up on all the available options for post-stroke paralysis, and try everything you possibly can until you find something that works for you.
   Most importantly, never give up hope.
3. Know the Difference
   For those who have the ability to move their paralyzed limbs with their nonaffected limbs, then passive rehab exercises may help you regain movement.
   The difference between active and passive exercise is this:
   During active exercise, you perform a movement on your own. During passive exercise, you help yourself perform the movement when you cannot do so on your own.
   Why bother assisting yourself? Because passive exercises can help restore movement in your limbs – even paralyzed limbs – because it still triggers neuroplasticity, the mechanism that your brain uses to rewire itself.
4. Don’t Fall for the Nocebo Effect
   Don’t let someone’s opinion about your recovery deter your efforts.
   When someone tells you that you can’t do something, you may fall under the nocebo effect, which is the opposite of the placebo effect.
   Instead of believing in positive outcomes, you begin to believe in negative outcomes, which unfortunately can turn those negative outcomes into reality.
   Therefore, if someone tells you that you can’t achieve a full recovery, ignore them.
   You’re much better off believing in a full recovery than settling for someone else’s limiting beliefs.
5. Become Your Own Expert
   Every stroke is different and therefore every stroke recovery is different, making it impossible for medical professionals to understand your situation perfectly.
   YOU know YOU best, which means that you should take the reins for your recovery – especially when starting rehab at home.
   If you feel inclined, check out our Guide to Becoming a Stroke Recovery Expert so that you can equip yourself with the knowledge you need to achieve that full recovery.
6. Treat Spasticity the Right Way
   Spasticity is a HUGE roadblock that deters many stroke survivors from pursuing recovery at home. Don’t let misinformation fool you.
   Even if your muscles are paralyzed with spasticity, there are ways to regain movement by utilizing the following 3 tactics:
   1. Mental practice
   2. Passive exercise
   3. A little bit of creativity Although your results will come slowly – they will come as long as you persist in your efforts and never give up.
7. Take 30 Extra Seconds
   Wilting motivation is the biggest struggle that survivors deal with once they start doing rehab at home. ​
   ​ A great way – that’s backed by neuroscience – to get yourself to stick to your regimen is to visualize yourself sticking to your regimen.
   ​​ Visualization can change your brain​​. ​​And making the decision today to exercise tomorrow makes you far more likely to actually exercise.​
   ​ Since the only way to improve movement is through exercise, we highly recommend ​ developing this essential 30 second habit​​.​
   ​ You’ll see how 30 seconds a day can make a world of difference.

Lastly, Consider Bringing (Cheap) Therapists into Your Home
Just because you’re doing rehab at home doesn’t mean you can’t call upon the help of a professional therapists – and we have just the therapists for you.
We’d like you to meet Barbara, Lili, and Cassi. They’re our licensed therapists that guide all our at-home rehab exercise videos on FlintFit.
With their help, you can create an at-home regimen that you can stick to – so that you can continue recovery at home without losing motivation.

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​ Is A Full Recovery From Stroke Actually Possible?
Source: FlintRehab Tools To Spark Recovery

YES, a full recovery from stroke is possible!
The extent of that possibility depends on 2 things: the severity of your stroke and your ability to embrace the radical concepts in this article.
And we argue that the second factor plays a heavier role than you may think.
So first, let’s dig into who this applies to, and then we’ll get into how.

Who Can Achieve a Full Recovery?
Typically, those who suffered minor stroke have a higher chance of achieving a full recovery.
This doesn’t mean that someone who suffered a bigger stroke can’t achieve the same full recovery.
However, it will take them more time and hard work – two factors that you can’t get around.
But instead of digging into time management and motivation, we’re going to dig into the misunderstandings that prevent you from taking action in the first place.
So, let’s dig deeper.

Believing Matters
First and foremost, you have to believe in a full recovery – no matter what anyone tells you.
Why would we encourage such stubbornness? Because the simple act of believing that a full recovery is possible will motivate far more action than believing otherwise – and action is the #1 thing that will get you better.
This motivation comes from the placebo effect, where simply believing in the good side effect of something (like a sugar pill) will actually make you experience the side effects (like the sugar pill cured your cold!).

If that sounds too soft and sugary to be true, then let’s consider the detrimental effects of the nocebo effect.
The nocebo effect occurs when you believe in the bad side effects of something (like a limited recovery) and because your beliefs fuel your thoughts and actions, you don’t even attempt to achieve that goal! Try to do the opposite.
By choosing to believe in a higher recovery, you will be more likely to take the necessary action to get there.

Compensation vs Convenience
Another factor that will affect the extent of your recovery are the compensation techniques that you use.
Compensation techniques are the adaptive ‘shortcuts’ that you use to make things more doable after stroke.
For example, reading on a Kindle is a compensation technique for reading a book.
And there’s nothing wrong with using compensation techniques. Compensation is absolutely necessary during recovery because it helps you perform tasks that are essential for living.
However, these compensation techniques can prevent you from fully using your muscles, which is necessary for a full recovery.
So it’s important to recognize when you need to ditch the compensation techniques and start doing things the hard way.

How do you know when you’re ready to ditch the shortcuts?
When you find yourself using them for convenience instead of necessity.
This requires consistent reflection. Perhaps you can start asking yourself, “Do I still need to be using this shortcut? Can I try going without it today?”
Sometimes the answer is no, and that’s absolutely okay. You can keep rehabbing until you can say yes.
And when the answer is yes, try doing things the hard way (remember, it’s good for you) to get that much closer to a full recovery.

A Full Recovery Is a Marathon
In the beginning, you may feel motivated to pursue your recovery with gusto, initially giving rehab your 150% because you want a full recovery NOW.
But you should resist extreme action.
Recovering from stroke is like running a marathon. If you burn yourself out in the early stages, then you won’t have any energy left for the long stretch ahead.
Instead, take things at a steady pace.

On days where you want to push yourself extra hard, try to resist. Save the energy for tomorrow, otherwise you risk burnout.
You will find days of great progression, and there will be days where you may go backward a little.
Remember that everything averages out in a steady, upward line of progress as long as you’re focused on the marathon.
And when you’re also focused on expanding your beliefs and working past compensation techniques, you’ll have all the resources to achieve your highest recovery.

Neuroplasticity Source: Stroke-Rehab.com

You can ask many different experts, and neuroplasticity will be explained in many different ways. The purpose of this website is not to get into technical jargon that overwhelms the stroke patient but rather to educate persons about stroke rehabilitation in simple laymen terms. In stroke recovery, neuroplasticity basically refers to theability of the brain to rewire or reorganize itself after injury.
Various studies over the past decade have shown that the adult brain can "rewire" itself when damaged. Studies have also shown that the adult brain can create new neurons, a phenomenon called neurogenesis. These new neurons require support from neighboring cells, blood supply, and connection with other neurons to survive.

Certain requirements must be met during rehabilitation for neurogenesis and plasticity to actually change the brain. Rehabilitation involving neuroplasticity principles requires repetition of task and task specific practice to be effective.
What this means for the stroke patient is that going to see your therapist for a one hour visit (or even a 3 hour visit) is not enough to lead to neuroplastic changes in the brain. Patients need to think of physical, occupational, and speech therapy as an adjunct to stroke recovery.
It's up to the patient to make the most of recovery by continuously using the injured parts of the body and mind outside of therapy sessions in everyday life.

A good comparison would be how one learns multiplication. A teacher doesn't just show a multiplication table a couple of times to her students for the concept to be mastered. Instead, students have to practice over and over to learn and master multiplication.
A child doesn't learn how to walk overnight. It requires much practice. A baseball player doesn't become elite just by playing a few games of baseball.
You must take control of your stroke recovery process and be willing to invest a lot of time and energy if you want to see change especially with moderate to severe stroke.
It's also important to keep using a skill once you have mastered it - use it or lose it as you often hear in rehab.

Please note that plasticity doesn't mean that one can practice every task over and over and accomplish them all. Stroke is much more complicated than that.
Different parts of the brain control different body functions and the brain adapts better to some areas of damage more than others. Scientists have identified certain areas of the brain that yield neurogenesis but have not identified it in all areas of the brain.
If you want to learn more about your specific stroke, ask your neurologist specifically what areas of your brain were affected. The neurologist will also be able to tell you what problems you can expect because of that damage (e.g. speech deficits, vision deficits, dizziness, difficulties with balance, etc.)
You can further improve your rehabilitation by specifically targeting the weaknesses caused by your stroke.

In my opinion, neuroplasticity doesn't necessarily change exercise and therapeutic activities done in stroke rehabilitation but rather emphasizes that more repetition and task specific practice is needed. Probably the most commonly used therapy that is based on neuroplasticity is constraint induced therapy.
Constraint induced therapy involves limiting the movement of the non-affected or stronger arm and instead using the affected or weaker arm more frequently and intensely. There has been some positive research results with constraint induced therapy, however, it requires much effort and patience from the stroke patient.
Some other treatments that may help with brain reorganization include interactive metronome, brain retraining software and websites, mirror box therapy, and robotic and gait devices that assist with movement repetition.

Research is still needed in the area of brain plasticity and stroke rehabilitation. Scientists have demonstrated that brain reorganization can occur, but only limited rehab treatments have been developed that address neuroplasticity.
The stroke patient, however, armed with the knowledge that brain rewiring occurs with repetition, can improve their rehabilitation outcomes by application of this concept in their daily lives. Remember, therapy is an adjunct to recovery.
You cannot go to therapy sessions and expect positive outcomes without applying what you have learned on a consistent daily basis.

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​ Stem Cell Therapy is safe for Stroke patients; study shows
Source: ScienceDaily.com
Materials furnished by: Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

A multicenter trial looking at whether a single dose of millions of adult, bone-marrow-derived stem cells can aid stroke recovery indicates it's safe and well-tolerated by patients but may not significantly improve their recovery within the first three months, researchers report.
However, the trial does provide evidence that giving the therapy early -- within the first 36 hours after stroke symptoms surface -- may enhance physical recovery by reducing destructive inflammation as well as the risk for serious infections and that these benefits might continue to surface many months down the road, they report in the journal Lancet Neurology.

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and the leading preventable cause of disability, according to the American Heart Association.
"There is solid evidence from our basic science work and now some indicators from this phase 2 patient trial that giving these stem cells can safely help dial back the body's immune response to stroke injury that can ultimately further damage the brain and body," said Dr. David C. Hess, stroke specialist and chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
Hess, corresponding author of the study, said next-phase trials already are being planned that make time-appropriate adjustments.

The study at 33 centers in the United States and the United Kingdom from October 2011 to December 2015 included 129 adults with moderately severe strokes.
A dose of 400 million cells were given to a handful of patients to establish safety, the dose was then increased to 1,200 million cells for the majority of patients. About half of patients received a single dose of the stem cells while the remainder received placebo.
Patients in both arms were able to also have received standard stroke therapies, including the clot-buster tPA and/or an endovascular procedure to retrieve the clot.

While the study made several adjustments along the way to enable better enrollment, it was an early adjustment in the timeframe for giving the therapy that may have impacted results, Hess said.
Trial leaders extended the timeframe for therapy from the original 24 to 36 hours -- which was suggested by previous animal studies -- to 24 to 48 hours.
That adjustment was in response to limited hours at some centers to thaw and otherwise prepare the cells for patients as they qualified for the study.
Now cell developers have reduced thaw times from 6 hours to 30 minutes and made the process much easier, which should enable tighter timeframes for giving the treatment moving forward, Hess said.

Although the primary analysis of results was done at 90 days, about 80 percent of study participants were followed for a full year.
It was those longer-term results, particularly in the small number of patients who got therapy early, that suggested the cell therapy group might be more likely to continue to recover, with reduced disability and fewer infections one year out than the placebo group, investigators write.
The multipotent cells, dubbed MultiStem, were developed by the international biotechnology company Athersys Inc., which also funded the clinical trial.
Doses given in the study were the largest ever given in a human cell therapy trial. Side effects in a minority of patients included bad breath, fever, chills, nausea and vomiting.
Death and other serious adverse events were no different in the treated versus untreated patients.

The fact that the cells are scalable and require no tissue typing make it a potentially widely and rapidly available therapy for stroke patients, Hess said.
"The cells are 'off the shelf' and ready to go," he said. "One donor of these cells provides hundreds of thousands of doses to patients."
Researchers like Hess, who have studied the cells, believe they primarily work by modulating the body's immune response, which can go a bit haywire following a stroke.
An immune response is definitely needed to help the brain heal and to remove debris generated by dead or damaged tissue.
But there also may be a secondary response that includes immune organs like the spleen, beginning to shrink in size within the first hours after symptoms of stroke arise, Hess said.

The spleen, an organ typically about four inches long and found just to the left of the stomach, is an important immune system regulator that filters blood and stores immune cells.
Shrinkage that follows a stroke prompts it to quickly dump activated immune cells that can go to the brain and worsen inflammation and damage there, Hess said.
Ironically, patients can then experience what is termed a more generalized "immune exhaustion" that puts them at increased risk of infections, like pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
"Some inflammation is good, but in a big stroke, it almost always overshoots," Hess said of this second neuroinflammatory response.
"We think this secondary neuroinflammatory process is preventing the natural healing tendencies of the body."

The researchers found patients receiving cell therapy had lower blood levels of inflammatory signals called cytokines as well as other drivers of the immune response such as circulating lymphocytes and a subset of lymphocytes called regulatory T cells.
"We think cell therapy prevents this early egress of cells from the spleen that go to the brain and, by doing that, they also prevent the later exhaustion of the spleen and immune system," Hess said.
Researchers note that they are not certain that the blood levels they measured correlate with tissue levels and they did not measure the spleen size of study participants.
However, they plan to look more closely at both in future studies and already have animal evidence the cell therapy reduces spleen shrinkage.

In an accompanying commentary, Dr. Steven C. Cramer, from the Departments of Neurology, Anatomy and Neurobiology and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, reiterates the need for new stroke therapies that can improve outcomes for a large percentage of stroke patients and views cell-based therapies as "attractive candidates.
" Cramer also notes that therapies like stem cells take time to produce clinical results and that expanding the timeline for delivery of therapy to enable study enrollment took these cell therapy researchers past the timeframe that proved effective in animal studies.

Early animal studies, led by former MCG neuroscientist Dr. Cesario V. Borlongan, pediatric neurologist and professor emeritus Dr. James Carroll and Hess, indicated that the cells would be most beneficial if given within two days of an ischemic stroke and they could reduce death of cells in the vicinity of the stroke's core, that were also injured.
Phase three studies -- which are among the final steps in seeking Food and Drug Administration approval -- are planned in the United States, the United Kingdom as well as Europe and these studies will limit the therapy window to 18-36 hours, Hess said.
Studies also are planned in Japan, where there is also an aging population and a keen interest in regeneration and cell therapy -- that includes Nobel Prize-winner Shinya Yamanaka who transformed mature cells into induced pluripotent stem cells that can basically become any cell type.

The upper age limit of the phase 2 cell therapy study also was extended from 79 to 83 during the trial and to patients who received both the clot-buster tPA and endovascular treatment to remove the clot, instead of one or the other, because of the large number of centers also performing the clot-removal technique to restore blood flow and ideally reduce stroke damage.
It's likely the cell therapy would also be an adjunct to one or both of those therapies if it becomes approved for general use.

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What Is New In Stroke Research?
Source: BioMedCentral.com
An update from the 1st European Stroke Organisation Conference.
Alice Ridgway 29 April 2015

A stroke is often described as the brain equivalent of a heart attack; blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, leading to cell death and potentially life-threatening brain injury.
The two main types of stroke are ischemic, where an artery to the brain is blocked, and hemorrhagic, when a blood vessel ruptures.
Every two seconds someone has a stroke, and one in six people will suffer a stroke in their lifetime. Stroke is the third leading cause of death worldwide, with over 6 million people dying from strokes each year.
With an aging global population, the incidence of stroke is set to rise. These sobering statistics demonstrate its huge global impact, and emphasize how essential it is that we continue to further our understanding of stroke, with the aim of better prevention, treatment and management.

Earlier this month I attended the European Stroke Organisation Conference, held in Glasgow. Involving over 2,000 scientists, researchers, clinicians, healthcare professionals, and patients, this was the first annual meeting held by the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) covering exciting new research into stroke prevention, treatment, management and recovery.
An array of topics were covered over three days of fascinating talks and sessions, including updates on European clinical trials, rehabilitation and recovery, advances in imaging, experimental and translational medicine, and language and cognition in acute stroke.

The role of immunity, and combating free radicals
One particularly interesting aspect of the meeting was an update on developments in experimental and translational stroke medicine.
Dr Costantino Iadecola, Director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College, introduced ‘Stroke research at a crossroad: Where are we headed?’, providing us with an overview of some problems we face in research, and what we now need to do.
Dr Iadecola described some systemic responses to stroke, such as the key role of immunity and the infiltration of blood-borne cells into the post-ischemic brain.
With its protective-, destructive- and repair-promoting role, the immune response can be thought of as a ‘double-edged sword’; both making things worse and better in terms of the outcomes of ischemia.

Dr Iadecola also discussed the issue of post-stroke dementia; one third of patients have persistent cognitive decline post-stroke, and we know very little of the mechanisms involved.
Questions still remain such as ‘What does stroke do to the progression of pre-existing dementia?’. He concluded by arguing the importance of obtaining more data on these areas to support our ideas and move away from speculation, and that we still have a lot of work to do.
Dr Ángel Chamorro from the University of Barcelona continued with a presentation on ‘A radical approach to counteract free radicals in acute stroke therapy’. Free radicals, or reactive oxygen species, are produced following ischemic stroke, causing cellular damage.
To date, over 1,000 neuroprotective drug candidates have failed to show promise in reducing this damage in stroke, but Dr Chamorro argued that we should keep going; neuroprotection and counteracting the damaging effects of oxygen is an important avenue of research.
He discussed new findings demonstrating that uric acid could improve glucose-driven oxidative stress in human ischemic stroke, and concluded by saying that for him, uric acid is a very appealing new drug candidate in stroke.

The long term effects and improving rehabilitation
Depression, cognitive impairment, impaired motor function and balance, and visual and communication problems have all been reported as long-term outcomes of stroke.
Around one third of people who survive are left with a permanent disability. Another interesting aspect of the meeting was an update on some of the research taking place into rehabilitation and recovery, and what we could do to improve the lives of those who have had a stroke.

Post-stroke depression
Suicide is a rare but serious outcome of stroke, yet post-stroke depression and suicide is a relatively under-studied topic.
Dr Marie Eriksson and colleagues presented a socioeconomic and nationwide perspective on this from Sweden, giving us an overview of data analysed from Riksstroke, the Swedish Stroke Register.
Looking at over 220,000 stroke patients, Eriksson and colleagues found that suicide was more common in men than women, and saw that there was a 5-fold inreased risk of suicide in patients under 55 years of age with post-stroke depression, in comparison to the general population of Sweden.
Socioeconomic position was also associated with an increased risk of suicide, for example having a lower income, or living alone. Dr Eriksson concluded by emphasising the importance of noticing these risks and considering suicide interventions in high risk groups, as part of post-stroke care.

Physical rehabilitation
There was also an array of presentations on the work being done to improve physical mobility after stroke, including a talk from Dr Friedhelm Hummel on research aimed at understanding the brain networks involved in motor function recovery in the hand.
Meanwhile, Dr Lucy Jones from the University of Strathclyde presented on an early study looking at whether 3D visual feedback technologies could assist upper limb rehabilitation in patients, by allowing them and their therapists to assess their movement in real-time.

Another fast-developing area of research in rehabilitation is the use of robotics. Dr Hermano Igo Kreps from MIT gave us a fascinating insight into the way that robotics are helping clinicians to be more effective and efficient in delivering patient care, and showed some exciting videos of the new robots under development to assist recovery of leg and ankle movement post-stroke.

• Rehabilitation Therapy After A Stroke
  Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term adult disability, affecting approximately 795,000 people each year in the U.S. The very word "stroke" indicates that no one is ever prepared for this sudden, often catastrophic event.
  Stroke survivors and their families can find workable solutions to most difficult situations by approaching every problem with patience, ingenuity, perseverance and creativity. Early recovery and rehabilitation can improve functions and sometimes remarkable recoveries for someone who suffered a stroke
• World Confederation For Physical Therapy
  WCPT is pleased to be partnering with Physiotherapyexercises.com – freely available web software produced by physical therapists that enables PTs around the world to generate exercise programmes for their patients.
  Physiotherapyexercises.com currently contains over 1,000 exercises for people with different injuries and disabilities. Each exercise is illustrated and has accompanying explanatory text.
  The library of exercises continue to grow through the support of sponsors.
• Neuroplasticity
  You can ask many different experts, and neuroplasticity will be explained in many different ways. The purpose of this website is not to get into technical jargon that overwhelms the stroke patient but rather to educate persons about stroke rehabilitation in simple laymen terms.
  In stroke recovery, neuroplasticity basically refers to the ability of the brain to rewire or reorganize itself after injury.
  Various studies over the past decade have shown that the adult brain can "rewire" itself when damaged.
• Limb Movement Regained Years After Stroke Study Shows Therapy 5 Years After Stroke Helps Patients Recover Movement of Limbs.
  Regaining lost movement may be possible many years after suffering a stroke thanks to intensive stroke rehabilitation therapy and help from new robotic aids.
  A new study shows people who had lost significant strength in arm movement due to a stroke were able to achieve modest gains in limb movement and function as well as an improved outlook on life after undergoing intensive therapy an average of five years after their stroke
• Simple Techniques Can Help Memory After Stroke
  Memory loss is something that everyone experiences at times, often increasing with age or a neurological problem such as a stroke.
  Understanding how memory works is the first step to using simple techniques to improve.
  Most memory problems are due to lack of attention, so the information never gets processed in a meaningful way (encoded) and never makes it to storage.
  Making a conscious decision to pay attention is the first important step toward improving memory skills. Then simple techniques can help you process information so it stands a better chance of making it to storage for retrieval.
  Here are some techniques that will help you encode and store information.
• Best Exercises for Stroke Recovery (With Pictures)
  Before we get into the exercises, though, we’d like to explain why you should focus on repetition while exercising.
  (Hint: It can help seriously speed your recovery along!)
  The Best Exercises All Revolve Around One Thing
  Repetition is incredibly important during recovery because it activates Neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the mechanism that your brain uses to rewire itself after injury. It’s how neurons form new connections in your brain.
  These new connections help restore movement in your body (among numerous other functions). And in order for neuroplasticity to take place, you need repetitive practice.
  Each time you repeat an exercise, you strengthen the connections in the part of your brain that controls that movement. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.
  So focus on good repetition and you’ll set yourself up for success.
• An Overview of Physical Therapy
  Physical therapy is a healthcare specialty that includes the evaluation, assessment, and treatment of individuals with limitations in functional mobility. Physical therapy services are provided by physical therapists, who are professionals licensed by the state in which they work.
  Physical therapists (or PTs, as they are commonly called) are required to have a master's degree or a clinical doctorate degree from an accredited institution and must sit for a licensing exam to practice.
  They are trained to assess your condition and help you regain maximal functional mobility and independence.
  Physical therapists use a variety of treatment modalities and techniques to help you move better and feel better; treatment is very personalized. Choosing physical therapy has been shown to help you recover quickly and safely, and it can save you money due to decreased overall healthcare costs.
• The 8 Best Physical Therapy Methods Explained
  ​ From breaks to bruises to bursitis, physical therapists have a special knack for assessing the human body and helping restore it back to optimal performance.
  Armed with cutting edge equipment and a huge background of knowledge, PTs can help diagnose and treat many common ailments and movement disorders.
  But despite having a slew of cool toys (laser therapy anyone?), their most useful tool for treatment may be their hands.
  Learn more for the need-to-know on the most popular treatment options for whatever injury might come along.