Can Physical Therapy Help With Weight Loss?

Did you know that physical therapy can actually help you lose weight?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 70% of Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity is a risk factor for many conditions, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers, so it’s essential to do something about it.

Most people think that if you are overweight, you should just exercise, but sometimes it is not that simple. When you are overweight or obese, it can be difficult to execute all of the weight loss ideas and exercises or even to move at all, and this is where physical therapies come into play.

Improves Flexibility

When you are overweight or obese, moving around is difficult, and you may have trouble getting up or downstairs or doing even the simplest of movements. Over time, this means that you will move around less and less, which slowly decreases your flexibility and increases your weight.

Physical therapy helps to improve your flexibility so you can move around again. Your therapist will work with you on stretching exercises, as well as helping you regain your range of motion.

It is important to start small, so your therapist will evaluate you and suggest exercises accordingly. Over time, you will be able to move on to more intense stretches, which will help your muscles to recover from their shorter state.

When you increase your flexibility like this, it also means that you will be able to move around more freely in your daily life, which will allow you to start trying out other weight loss ideas too!

Reduces Pain

A lot of people who suffer from obesity experience pain. When you are overweight or obese, it can be hard on your body to carry all that extra weight. Let alone the back problems that come along with being overweight. Pain can actually prevent you from moving around at all, which means you won’t lose any weight by not moving.

But wait- physical therapy can help with pain too!

Your therapist will conduct special exercises to work out all the tight muscles in your body. Therapists can help you target the right areas, so you do not aggravate your body even further. By doing this, they will release the tension that is causing your pain so you can start moving around again. This way, you can increase your quality of life and spend more time exercising and less time in pain.

Increases Activity Level

Physical therapists can also help you increase your activity level. You will complete exercise in your therapy sessions, and your therapist can also give you weight loss tips to use at home!

For example, many people have a hard time going up and down stairs. Your therapist can show you simple exercises that will help strengthen your legs so that it will be easier to walk up and down stairs. You can then practice these at home and in your everyday life.

Over time, these minor changes will help you become more and more active. Eventually, you will be able to walk up flights of stairs in the mall instead of taking the elevator. You will be able to hike to the top of a mountain with ease instead of taking the car. All of these things will add up, and you won’t even notice how much more you are exercising!

Increases Strength

When you are overweight, it is hard to build up your strength. If you are sedentary most of the time, your muscles are atrophying, which means they are deteriorating. If your muscles are weak, you will have trouble doing simple movements, which keeps you from losing weight.

But thanks to physical therapy, you can prevent further muscle atrophy and totally rebuild your strength. This way, you can execute exercises properly so that you can lose weight and keep it off.

Your therapist will work with you to find the right exercises for your body so that you can build up your strength safely. They will help you set goals and also suggest activities that are safe to do at home, which means you can continue to strengthen your muscles even if you are not in the gym.

Corrects Posture

When it comes to how physical therapy helps to reduce weight, posture is a big one. When you are overweight, you may slouch or otherwise not stand up straight due to muscle weakness. While this may be fine for a little while, it can cause problems later on. If you do not correct your posture now, you may suffer from back and neck pain as well as muscle pains.

There are special physical therapies to help you correct your posture to keep you healthy and pain-free. Exercises like hip flexor and door frame stretches can help you to relax your muscles and regain the correct posture. Additional strength training for your back muscles will help reduce strain on your neck and shoulders, which will keep your head up straight.

Your posture can also affect how much weight you can lose. When your posture is correct, you will use more of your muscles in the right way to perform exercises correctly. This means you will lose more weight in the long run when you improve your posture-how awesome is that?

Improves Balance and Coordination

When you are overweight, your balance can be affected, and this is because it becomes more challenging for you to move around quickly with extra weight. Also, your center of gravity shifts over time when you are overweight, making it harder to balance.

To help improve your balance, physical therapy will provide you with exercises that help you gain control over your body and improve your coordination and reaction time. This way, you can move more quickly and easily without losing your balance.

Conclusion

Physical therapy can equip you with weight loss tips and the knowledge you need to build muscle, relieve pain and improve your general health. While you should continue to work hard, your therapist can help you reach your goals safely and quickly. The more you improve your skills, the easier it will be to lose weight and become healthier. So don’t give up! If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. Visit 24-7 Home Health Care to learn more about topics like physical therapy and healthcare!

Medical Disclaimer: All the content available on the website is just for informational purposes. It’s not a substitute for any Professional advice. Don’t take it personally. As a medical student, I’m just trying to use my information through my content, and please keep in mind it’s not written by a professional doctor. Use the data just for educational purposes.