Can a Physical Therapist Help Me?

Pain. 

What’s causing it? Will it go away? Am I making it worse? Who can help me? 

These are normal questions to ask when confronting pain, and unless you’ve dedicated years of your life to understanding it, it’s difficult to know the answers to all of these questions. Luckily, physical therapists dedicate themselves to finding the answers and solutions to the questions you have. 

Before you pick up the phone to make an appointment with your primary care doc, run through this quick checklist to see if you can skip the middleman and go straight to your physical therapist. 

#1. How did the pain start? 

Was there a specific mechanism of injury that occurred? Common scenarios include accidents, falls, or other strains felt during physical activity. Your physical therapist can run you through a series of exams to know if your injury requires further medical imaging. If not, then you’re in the right place and ready to get started on your rehabilitation journey. 

No specific mechanism of injury? That’s okay. Pain as a result of common conditions such as tendinitis, arthritis, and radiculopathy tend to come on gradually and seemingly out of nowhere. These are trickier, since there is not one specific accident or injury to blame. Your physical therapist is highly trained to search for and identify the cause of these symptoms. If any “red flags” arise during your exam, your physical therapist will know exactly who to refer you to. If no red flags are seen, then you just so happen to be in the right place at the right time. 

#2. What does your pain feel like? 

Is your pain dull, achy, sharp, shooting? These different pain sensations often give insight into the type of injury or condition that you are dealing with. 

Muscle strains or other muscular dysfunction can oftentimes feel sharp, especially with specific movements. Conditions such as tendinitis or arthritis tend to cause dull/achy pain, depending on how severe your condition is. Shooting or zinging pains are usually as a result of nerve dysfunction. With all this being said, there is never a one size fits all scenario when it comes to pain. These different sensations can come, go, and change within a variety of conditions. 

Through a series of questions and exams, your physical therapist will be able to get a better idea of your specific condition and create an individualized plan of care to begin attacking the root cause of your symptoms. 

#3. What makes your pain better or worse? 

This is an important question to ask yourself. Pain that can be attributed to specific movements or scenarios, such as bending, twisting, sitting, standing, lifting, or walking, is likely musculoskeletal in nature, and something that your physical therapist is more than qualified to address. 

Pain that seems to have no rhyme or reason should be further assessed by your physical therapist to find the root cause of the issue. If a root cause that can be addressed by your PT is found, then you will be well on your way to solving the problem. If the root cause requires further medical evaluation, then your PT will direct you to the appropriate health care provider. 

Conclusion

Physical therapists are not only qualified to identify and treat most causes of pain, they are also qualified to identify causes of pain that may require further medical evaluation. Most states allow direct access to your local physical therapist, which means that no physician referral is required to undergo an evaluation and/or treatment.