Do you need physical therapy after broken foot?

So, you’ve broken your foot? That sucks! A broken foot can really put a damper on your active lifestyle. But fear not, we’re here to advise you on whether or not physical therapy is necessary for recovery. We’ll cover what physical therapy entails and when it’s appropriate to supplement the healing process.

What Is Physical Therapy?

Before we delve into whether or not physical therapy is necessary after breaking your foot, let’s first establish what physical therapy (PT) actually is.

Physical Therapy involves using exercise and other modalities such as heat treatments to restore movement, reduce pain and swelling, and support healing of an injured area. It employs trained therapists who use their expertise in biomechanics and kinesiology to assess where impairments occur so that they can help strengthen those areas through targeted exercises.

When Is PT Required for Broken Foot Treatment?

The answer is simple: It depends. Depending on the severity of your injury, surgery may be needed before pursuing PT which would only start once the surgeon has cleared you for activity/bearing weight . However if surgery isn’t required then below are indications that suggest seeing a therapist may be beneficial:

  1. Mobility Difficulty
  2. Pain/Discomfort while bearing Weight
    3.Walking with Limp

These issues might become more pronounced during weight-bearing activities like standing/walking/running.
If any of these symptoms persist beyond a few days up towards weeks or months then consult with your podiatrist

The Benefits of PT

There are numerous benefits that come along with receiving PT from skilled health-care professionals including many specialising specifically in muscoskeletal treatment :

  • Targeted Assessment –
    During an initial evaluation session ,the physiotherapist will evaluate every inch of the affected limb; measuring its range-of-motion (ROM), strength deficits needing correction , pain tolerance etc.With this information at hand they will be able to tailor the treatment program more accurately towards your specific requirements.

  • Pain relief –
    PT helps alleviate pain as the therapist uses various modalities and techniques such as applying ice or heat, performing massages (myofascial release), joint mobilization/manipulation etc.

  • Improved healing –
    Physical therapy can actually speed up recovery time by between 40% and 50%, according to studies. The exercise in PT helps proper circulation leading to tissue oxygenation allowing for faster wound healing/recovery time

Here are some right exercises that can benefits you may benefit from during physical therapy:

Heel Raises

By targeting the muscles running down your calf area through these rubber bands heelp raises offers a low-level form of resistance training vital for rebuilding strength after injury.
heel raise

Toe Flexes

These require minimal equipment; they can help limber-up foot musculature which get strained post-injury
toe flex

Ankle circles/Stretches:

Since it’ll primarily involve ankle joints, These concentric circle movements work the knee while engaging thigh muscle .Repetitions of this aid in building up joint strength if weak/malfunctioning because of immobility caused by fractures.

When Should You Start Physical Therapy?

If you’ve gone through viable non operative methods(including casting) with no substantial improvement then start physiotherapy immediately However, make sure your physician is on board first before starting any new therapy .

Patients with broken feet who have undergone procedures like surgery might not see immediate advantages from PT ,its advisable to wait out suggested recovery time frame given by the surgeon before starting physiotherapy

As a rule of thumb, It is recommended that you start PT within 1 week post-injury or as soon as it can be safely done(eg. once cast/boot usage has been cleared).

How Long Will You Need to Attend Physical Therapy?

Now this where we get more technical😀

The answer depends on several aspects eg. grade and location/extent of fracture , age/underlying health problem/s,and therapy frequency prescribed.Well calculated healing timeframe provided help determine how many sessions would suffice

On average, patients attend PT twice per week for around six weeks though This stretches to up towards ten if injury severity en prompts .

For children,especially those in developmental stages additional appointments might be scheduled so that progress checks can be conducted every few months or even weekly presuming parents and therapists concur.

Conclusion:

While it’s not always mandatory for broken foot treatment, PT does have its place when it comes to aiding recovery with minimal risk.

As long as your physician signs off on its appropriateness , physical therapy may enhance quality of life during recovery period . On top of speeding up the process through strengthening weakened musculature zone and optimising mobility range , physical recommendations made could lead to ongoing enhancement of affected compartmental structure.

So why wait ? Get started with finding a therapist now!

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