Using Physical Therapy To Rebuild Strength

Your strength levels naturally change over time.

For instance, there may be some strength based activities you performed with ease as a teenager that have become more and more taxing as you age.

Starting to lose strength can feel stressful, especially as you’re getting older.

But you’re not alone in this experience.

There are hundreds of little activities we do on a day to day basis, but what happens when they start to get more difficult?

Age is only one of the possible reasons that you might experience periods of lessened strength.

Maybe you’ve been managing pain that limits your mobility, or you’re recovering from a recent surgery.

There are many causes for loss of strength, but you don’t have to worry about the loss being permanent.

Injuries are a common reason you may have lost strength recently, especially sports related injuries.

This article will focus on a physical therapist’s role in strength training.

Surprised that physical therapy is a great way to start out building up strength?

Continue reading to learn why physical therapy is actually a great idea for strength building.

What Causes You To Lose Strength?

You may have noticed that you’re not as strong as you used to be.

Maybe you never quite recovered from that old ankle injury, or you’ve gradually noticed that lifting objects feels more and more difficult.

There are so many setbacks we can experience to our physical health.

We talked about a few of them above, but there are other health concerns that can decrease our strength as well.

Orthopedic conditions are a primary example.

For instance, physical therapy for osteoarthritis often focuses on the loss of strength that can happen.

According to a 2019 study by Shorter et al., muscle wasting is a common experience amongst osteoarthritis patients.

Physical therapy for rheumatoid arthritis is similar.

Additionally, people experiencing increasing frailty frequently report a loss of strength as a primary symptom.

Finally, recovering from a surgery significantly impacts strength.

For instance, a 2022 study by Hogenbirk et al. found that 39% of patients experienced post surgery muscle loss following a major abdominal cancer surgery.

Sports related injuries, neural damage, and pain that causes you to move differently can also cause strength loss.

Maybe you’ve experienced a long term condition like chronic pain that led to some muscle waste.

Or perhaps you’re just feeling the effects of aging.

Physical therapy can assist you in recovering your strength, in part or in full.

If a recent injury has impacted on your physical capacity, physical therapy can also help you build up the strength to compensate and work around it.

We can also provide different pain management techniques.

When To Use Physical Therapy vs A Personal Trainer For Rebuilding Strength?

The difference between a physical therapist and a personal trainer is one of physical therapy’s most frequently asked questions.

So we’ll briefly go over the differences here.

Any personal trainer will usually agree that you’ll want to make sure you’re medically clear and healthy enough before you start your strength building journey.

Physical therapy is a safer place to start to slowly build yourself back up.

Yes, personal trainers can help you build strength, but they won’t have the expertise to guide you in your recovery from injuries or medical complications.

Personal trainers aren’t going to know about rehabilitative exercises, or exercises that are suited for conditions and injuries.

A personal trainer could accidentally push your body past its limits because they don’t have the experience in rehabilitation that a physical therapist would.

The exercises might even be similar, but your physical therapist can assess you to determine if you’re ready for them before giving the suggestion.

Your physical therapist has more specific expertise, which will help you build up your strength slowly and healthily.

Physical Therapy Approaches For Rebuilding Strength

After giving you a thorough assessment and deciding where you’re at, your physical therapist will design routines based around your needs.

Whether you’re trying to build your strength to make your daily life easier or want to improve your athletic performance, we’ll be there for you every step of the way.

Here are just some of the ways physical therapy can help rebuild your strength.

1. Rebuilding Strength For Everyday Life

Your core strength is important, especially when it comes to preventing injuries.

If you’ve lost any of your core strength you may notice effects to your day to day functioning.

A physical therapist will assess how you can best strengthen your core by prescribing certain exercises.

This will help you with your posture, which will make most of your daily activities easier.

Core strength building can also help prevent pain when you’re walking and running, allowing you to improve your fitness even more.

2. Rebuilding Strength For Return To Athletics

If you’re an athlete who’s recently taken a bit of a break, you may want to have a physical therapist assist you in getting back on the court or field.

Physical therapists have all the keys to the joints and muscles to target for specific activities.

They can also help if you’ve had a recent injury, to make sure you gain back all of the strength you had before without reinjuring yourself.

RELATED: Physical Therapy For Sports Hernia

3. Rebuilding Strength After An Injury

Even if you’re very careful, no one is immune to the occasional injury.

Whether from a repetitive strain injury, a car accident, or an injury related to falling, accidents happen.

Your physical therapist will not only help you get your strength back after your injury, but can also target your exercises to help reduce risk of recurrence.

Muscles have a reaction that follows a pattern similar to a chain reaction; if one area is off, others will follow.

We’ll help you build things back up in a healthy way, making sure your muscles complement each other.

Book Your Appointment With Capitol Physical Therapy Today

Losing strength, whether due to aging, injury, or illness, can impact your confidence, mobility, and quality of life.

If you’ve noticed certain areas of your body are feeling weaker than usual, it’s a good idea to work with a physical therapist as soon as possible.

With the right support, you can rebuild that strength safely and effectively.

At Capitol Physical Therapy, our team will assess your needs and create a personalized plan to help you regain muscle, improve function, and feel more capable in your daily activities.

Whether you’re recovering from surgery, managing chronic pain, or returning to sports, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Book your appointment with Capitol Physical Therapy today and start your journey toward a stronger you.