The act of locating the best Denver physical therapist can be a challenge, as there are seemingly endless numbers of clinics to sift through in order to find the one that fits your needs. Often times, you will be looking for a clinic after a serious accident and perhaps insurance will play a key role. Or perhaps you will have to pay out of pocket and you will be looking for a clinic that not only fills your specific injury needs but will also provide you will affordable services. Unfortunately, physical therapy can often be an expensive service to utilize, as clinics must meet their own financial needs during the course of business. If you’re seeking a new Parker physical therapist, here are some of the most common injuries these practitioners treat.

Runner’s Knee

One of the most common injuries a Parker physical therapist will see in their practice is when an individual has suffered from a runner’s knee. This is when someone who is a regular runner will begin to deal with aches and pains around their knee area as a result of regular use of their legs. Perhaps they ran too much in a short period of time, maybe their shoes and insoles weren’t up to par, or it might have just been an issue of poor form when running. Whatever the case, runner’s knee can be a pain for someone to overcome, as it can literally leave you on the sidelines for months at a time. 

Runner’s knee is the result of a misalignment of the knee cap, requiring repeated exercises to help straighten out the condition and return a runner back to their former selves. One major way a Parker physical therapist will help an individual struggling with this condition is to give them a series of exercises that help to strengthen the knee and begin to support the cartilage and muscle surrounding the knee cap. A physical therapist may also provide a person with quadriceps massages in order to stretch out muscle fibers as a way to alleviate contractions that are pulling the kneecaps up. 

Pulled Muscle

Another extremely common injury that a Parker physical therapist will see on a regular basis in their practice is that of a pulled muscle. This is when sudden and severe forces stretch the muscle fibers beyond its capacity. In more ideal circumstances, only a few of the muscle fibers will tear, leading to what is called a pulled muscle. However, if all of the muscle fibers have torn then it is referred to as a full-blown muscle tear, something which is much more challenging to recover from (though certainly within the realm of possibility). For this reason, it is vitally important to remember to regularly stretch before and after intense workouts to avoid this situation from playing out.

Individuals who are inflexible and attempt to try exercises that leave them open to muscle pulls and tears should always work their way into such activities to prevent the possibility of developing a serious injury. If you end up becoming injured with a muscle pull or tear, you should definitely think about treating this condition with ice, allowing your muscles to relax and reduce swelling in the affected area. If you are struggling with an excessive amount of pain as a result of this injury, you should also consider taking anti-inflammatory medication to reduce the negative effects of such a condition. Repeated stretching exercises will allow you to re-lengthen your muscle fibers and allow you to return to action once your muscles have healed.

Ankle Sprain

Anyone who has played sports or simply lost their balance and dealt with a sprained ankle knows how debilitating and painful a sprained ankle can be. If you are especially active in a sport and you’ve experienced a sprained ankle, it can set you back from your activity for months at a time, leaving you to rehab for an extended period of time. Quick movements or a loss of balance can lead to you sprained your ankle, which is when your ligaments become partially or fully torn as the foot rolls to the outside instead of landing on your sole. Your ankle will swell up and turn discolored as a result of your injury while also preventing you from putting significant amounts of weight on it during your recovery period. 

If you’ve recently experienced an ankle sprain, one of the things your physical therapist may recommend is plenty of rest in the beginning, combined with regular icing, as well as the right amount of stretching and eventually exercises that are appropriate. You shouldn’t necessarily just sit around and not put any pressure on your ankle, as this can actually prolong your recovery and cause you to be off of it for a longer period of time. 

Working the ankle muscles can allow you to strengthen the areas around the injury, providing you with needed relief from this type of injury. Instead of remaining like a bump on a log for months at a time, you should steadily return to move your ankle as you feel comfortable. As always, you should consult with a trusted physical therapist to help guide you in this process. 

If you are in need of physical therapy or have questions about what physical therapy consists of, contact Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness today and we will be happy to assist you with your first steps towards recovery. We have an extensive team of qualified physical therapists and specialists who care deeply about their clients and go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the highest quality treatment in the industry. If you are looking for a therapist who will carefully assess your individual needs and formulate a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness is your preferred choice for the physical recovery process.