Read one writer’s experience with virtual physical therapy and how it helped her manage her chronic back pain.
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As a digital nomad, Im a big fan of remote work.
Since mid-2021, Ive become one of themillionsof Americansdealing with stubborn lower back pain.
physical therapist at Prehab Physical Therapy
How can you tell if its a fit for you?
Heres what to know.
How does virtual physical therapy work, exactly?
Its going to be a little different depending on where and how you seek care.
Physical therapy tends to heal through movement, whether thats strengthening exercises or mobility exercises.
Its about restoring your movement pattern so that you’ve got the option to be functional.
However, its also very possible that virtual physical therapy ends up costing you less.
I personally paid less than $300 a month (out-of-pocket) for Prehabs program.
More consistent communication
How often have you wished you could just text your doctor?
physical therapist at Prehab Physical Therapy
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The drawbacks of virtual physical therapy
1.
No hands-on treatment or cueing
This is one of the few downsides of getting virtual care.
Virtual PT is limited to auditory and visual cueing, Dr. Saint-Danic says.
This emphasizes the importance of coaching thehowand thefeelof exercises, he says.
In the same vein, another drawback is the inability to provide manual therapy (e.g.
massage), which can be effective in treating more acute or more irritable conditions, he says.
It can be created virtually, but its often stronger in person.
Who is virtual physical therapy a fit for?
Three main demographics come to mind as a good fit for virtual PT, Dr. Saint-Danic says.
And third, people who are in the mid-to-late phases of rehab for things like sports injuries and surgeries.
Dorian Saint-Danic, PT, DPT
Is virtual physical therapy effective?
It definitely can be.
Both virtual and in-person PT are effective in managing pain and improving physical performance, Dr. Saint-Danic says.
things like muscle strains and sprains), Dr. Contreras says.
(For more complex problems, like stroke recovery or neurological issues, the data is less clear.)
Physical therapy tends to heal through movement, whether thats strengthening exercises or mobility exercises.
Its about restoring your movement pattern so that you’re free to be functional, Dr. Contreras says.
When it comes to sharing your progress with your therapist, you better be honest, Dr. Contreras says.
By repeatedly evaluating our programming, exercise acts as both the assessment and treatment, Dr. Saint-Danic says.
The more feedback we have, the more individualized the process will be.
What seems to trigger flare-ups of pain?
If it was easy there would be no profession to help people through it, Dr. Contreras says.
Eannucci, Erica F., et al.
Suppl 1, 2020, pp.
10-16, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11420-020-09800-5.
Lang, Sabine et al.
Do digital interventions increase adherence to home exercise rehabilitation?
A systematic review of randomised controlled trials.Archives of physiotherapyvol.
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