Myths and Misperceptions About Physical Therapy

Physical therapists can do a world of good for many people. The problem is, many people don’t seek out a physical therapist when they should. They may have the wrong idea of what happens or why they would really need it. Fortunately, there are answers to these.

These are some of the myths that linger about the physical therapy field – and how they have been debunked.

You Have To Be Injured

People operate under the assumption that they can only see a physical therapist if they need help stretching their muscles or making them stronger after they have been injured or have had surgery. That is not the case – they can see one to build up their body against trouble as well as having it be put back together later.

A physical therapist can be quite useful at being able to assess a patient and see if there are harbingers are problems down the road. Does he or she work a job or do things that create potential conditions for things like carpal tunnel, for example? If that is the case, the physical therapist could give strengthening or flexibility exercises to keep that at bay.

You Need a Referral

There are restrictions that vary from state to state about what a physical therapist that has not been referred can do. For example, New Yorkers can go to a physical therapist for a limited amount of visits, but some types of procedures, like spinal manipulation, need a referral. The physical therapist must be over 21 and explain in writing that insurance may not cover parts of the PT. 

Only three states – Missouri, Alabama, and Mississippi have extremely stringent rules about what age groups can use physical therapy. 

Any Health Care Professional Can Provide PT

The people who believe this are not totally to blame. Physical therapists do have certifications for a lot of different specialties –  which then leads some to believe that EVERYONE has certifications for different types of physical therapy. Licensed physical therapists are the only ones that can do it.

Surgery is Still the Final Outcome

There is the thinking that doing physical therapy as a preventative measure is a fool’s errand and that ultimately, the best solution is to go the surgery route and then build up from that.

While that may be the case sometimes, it’s still better to try PT. One example is professional baseball pitcher Masahiro Tanaka – many people were saying he should have Tommy John ligament replacement surgery to fix a partially torn tendon in his elbow. He chose to do physical therapy instead. That was in 2014. He just completed the ‘19 season, having thrown over a thousand innings since then.

It may be unfair to compare elite athletes to everyday people, but it still stands that physical therapy can prevent surgery.

You Can Do Physical Therapy By Yourself

While YouTube has many self-help videos in all kinds of areas like exercise, yoga, and self-defense – this is NOT a resource for people to do their own physical therapy. Each person has a unique situation and there is no one-size-fits-all regimen. Trying this will almost certainly lead to needing to see a real physical therapist.

Perhaps then one can make a YouTube video of WHY one should not try to do their own physical therapy.

Physical therapy, like many areas of medicine, have to deal with their own falsehoods. Other debunkings include it NOT always being painful and insurance DOES cover visits. Weeding through them and doing research can be quite beneficial for all involved. 

The staff at Phoenix Physical Therapy Rehabilitation, whether it’s at their Bay Ridge, Rosedale, or brand-new Levittown locations, have heard these misconceptions voiced at one time or another. They will be glad to go over them during a session. 

Published By:
Phoenix Physical Therapy
Rosedale Location
23520 147th Avenue, Suite 1,
Rosedale, NY, 11422
Levittown Location
2920 Hempstead Turnpike,
Levittown, NY 11756
Brooklyn Location
7510 4th Ave., Suite 3,
Brooklyn, NY, 11209
Phone: (347) 733-1916