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1. Immediate and/or Swelling – If significant swelling occurs after an acute injury, you may have strained or torn something and it should be addressed immediately to reduce risk for serious impairments. Early intervention leads to faster results!
2. Achiness Starts Turning into Pain – When you notice that your aches and pains start to get worse, it is normally time to seek professional help. These aches are easier to fix when it comes to physical therapy and compensations haven’t occurred to cause other areas to begin hurting too. A good way to think about it is this: if there’s a small leak in your kitchen sink, it can easily be fixed with the proper approach. However, if you wait and choose not to fix it, it can damage the flooring and cabinets below leading to thousands of dollars in repairs. I always tell my patients, it’s easier to address impairments when they first occur versus waiting for them to get worse over time.
3. YouTube and Google Isn’t Working – There’s A LOT of information on the internet. I myself will attest to viewing YouTube videos for home DIY fixes. However, if you’re like me, you’ve had both success and failure when it comes to this approach. Unfortunately, not all of the information that you receive online is tailored for your specific ailments. You might be doing a great exercise that could help reduce your pain, but it could also be something that is adding to further damage which will make your symptoms last longer.
4. “I Want to Keep my Fitness Class Membership” – It is Bull City Physical Therapy’s belief that your physical therapist should not stop all of your activity, but help you modify it instead. If you have developed Tennis Elbow from Burn Boot Camp, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do all the cardio, core, and leg exercises. Having an injury doesn’t defer you from stopping all activity, however you need to know what activity you can still do. That is the valuable information that a medical professional can offer which will allow you to maintain your activities without stopping for injury.
Your fitness independence and capabilities are something that should never be taken away from you. If you’ve attempted any form of the previous statements and have had no benefit, contact a medical professional today!
– Dr. Colten Sullivan
Bull City Physical Therapy
