Rehabilitation therapy, otherwise known as physical therapy or occupational therapy, benefits your mental and physical health in a number of different ways. When you pick rehabilitation therapy as a means of recovering from illness or injury, you are helping your body get back to its pre-injury norms. And because the therapy does not rely on prescription medication, you do not need to worry about drug side effects and dependency issues. Here are some of the ways rehabilitation therapy helps you.

7 Physical Benefits of Rehabilitation Therapy

When you undergo rehabilitation therapy the main reason for having the treatment will probably be the physical changes you seek. Rehabilitation therapy can be useful for many reasons, including the following:

• Stronger muscles
• Improved balance
• Improved flexibility
• Improved coordination
• Improved posture and gait

Stronger muscles result in better coordination, which helps with your balance and reduces your risk of falls. This is particularly important in seniors recovering from stroke or hip replacement operations.

• Less pain
• Fewer muscle spasms

The relief from pain is probably the main reason why people seek the help of a rehabilitation therapist. Reducing pain levels following an accident, illness, or surgery helps improve your quality of life and your mobility. When you are able to move more freely you can exercise and improve the general quality of your health, including your cardiovascular system and your lung function.

2 Psychological Benefits of Rehabilitation Therapy

While the physical benefits of rehabilitation therapy are vitally important, the benefits for your mind are also worth considering. Your mental wellbeing and health are important – after an accident or illness it is easy to become depressed or anxious. Relying on other people for physical and emotional support is difficult. Rehabilitation therapy:

• Improves your self-esteem and your self-confidence – working through a series of exercises and activities where you see regular progress shows that you are managing your condition and getting better. Extra mobility means you are more independent and can get back to your normal activities more quickly.
• Rehabilitation therapy improves your mood and can help to lessen the severity of symptoms of depression. Physical activity helps with feeling of depression, and the belief that you are managing your pain levels and getting back to a normal life give you hope for the future and less anxiety.