There are many interventions a physical therapist uses to treat patients. Manual care, soft tissue work, muscle relaxation techniques, PNF, postural training, and good old therapeutic exercise. All of these interventions are used to help restore function to the body. If you have gone to physical therapy before and were given exercises to do at home, those in hand are the therapeutic exercises that the physical therapist picked out for you based on your diagnosis and how you were presenting during your treatment session.
According to the APTA (American Physical Therapy Association), they define therapeutic exercise as “the systematic performance or execution of planned physical movements or activities intended to enable the patient to remediate or prevent impairments of body functions and structures, enhance activities and participation, reduce risk, optimize overall health, and enhance fitness and well-being. Therapeutic exercise may include aerobic and endurance conditioning and reconditioning; agility training; body mechanics training; breathing exercises; coordination exercises; developmental activities training; muscle lengthening; movement pattern training; neuromotor development activities training; neuromuscular education or reeducation; perceptual training; range of motion exercises and soft tissue stretching; relaxation exercises; and strength, power, and endurance exercises.”
Physical Therapists select and prescribe therapeutic exercise based on examination findings to enhance overall well being. Exercises are implemented to improve breathing, increase muscle strength, power, and endurance, enhance postural control and relaxation, and improve sensory awareness, balance, and posture.
Therapeutic exercise is so much! And a trained eye that understands what movement should look like and what needs to be working and not working is so important. Physical Therapists have spent hours and hours in the classroom and in clinical training learning and practicing this to treat future patients. Continued education after graduation is also a requirement to advance skills and possibly specialize in different areas of the practice.
I personally have had the opportunity to work with various pieces of Pilates equipment to guide patients with therapeutic exercise. From seniors to pediatrics, rotator cuffs to low back pain, surfers to college athletes I have treated a variety of patients with all different sorts of diagnoses. My personal favorite thing to teach is breath work and deep core engagement. Breathe work and core engagement are fundamental skills to all movement, and if I can get you to breathe and engage properly then I can get you to move properly. The Pilates equipment allows for different exercises to be modified in range of difficulty from beginner to advanced and anything in between. Intensity and difficulty can be increased over time as the body adapts and grows stronger and more connected.
Most people who have experienced mainstream Physical Therapy see the PT for about 20 minutes and then an aid or assistant for the rest you of the time. That stinks! As a Physical Therapist I have worked in those environments and I hated it. I felt like I was missing out on the best part of treating. So, I look the leap and started my own private practice. I treat individual patients for the full time and I will never look back. It’s no one-size fits all or mill type practice. Each session is individually designed with that sole patient in mind. I not only love this way of treating, but my patients do as well. They get a full 60 minutes to go over everything and get thorough thoughtful care. It’s a win-win.
I currently work out of the ESO studio in Newport Beach where I also teach 2 classes a week. (“The Body” Mobility + Movement, Tuesday 7:30 am + Thursday 5:15pm). The ESO studio has beautiful equipment from Balanced Body and includes the reformer, tower, core align, wunda chairs, ladder barrel, MOTR’s, and so much more.
In order to provide patients with excellent, thorough, and unique care, I am not contracted with insurance companies. Therefore, I am considered "out of network" for physical therapy benefits. I provide you with a detailed bill (Super Bill), which you will then submit to your insurance company for direct reimbursement. I am happy to assist patients with this process.
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Megan Kelly is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and holds a Masters in Holistic Nutrition. She currently treats out of the ESO studio in Newport Beach where she treats patients and clients with manual physical therapy, Pilates, Yoga, holistic nutrition, and lifestyle changes to sustain a happy and healthy life.