Both physical therapy and gym have a common thing for a human being to elevate his physical fitness level to the next level. So when you go to a gym, the trainer will provide you different types of exercise including warm up, stretching, strengthening, an strength training. But when you go to a physical therapy, he will have a different form of assessment and evaluation according to body type and he will make a tailored treatment session according to your condition.
For example, if I had a lower back pain problem then a physical therapist will perform the movements according to my body type and how much movement I can perform in sitting, standing position will be checked first, then accordingly he will make a treatment plan for me. Then with the help of electrotherapy modalities and exercise therapy a proper treatment rehabilitation is given to me so that I can perform and increase my movement day by day without any discomfort.
But if you go to a gym having back pain then trainer will suggest you not to lifts heavy weight, just perform simple and basic exercise and go home. So both the aspects are different from each other.
Related to back pain what type of stretching and strength training should I do has to be precised by a professional physical therapist not a gym trainer. It doesn't mean that a gym trainer is of no use to me, if you have a weak back or weak muscles of your leg then a gym trainer will help you in building those muscles and developing the stamina accordingly.
Overcoming from a back pain by a physical therapist help us to move in the direction of doing gym and lifting weights and also increasing the strength of back muscles and overall cardiovascular fitness.
Going for a membership of gym is much cheaper than going for a physical therapy session but both play a different variety of role for our health level fitness. If you want to lose weight or gain weight then gym membership is helpful in getting into that required amount of body shape, But if you have any sort of injury regarding from your neck muscles to sprain ankle and if you are unable to do daily activities independently then physical therapy will help you in that condition.
Here are some conditions in which physical therapy should be the first line of treatment, they are listed below:
*Cervical pain
*Knee problems such as ligament tear, arthritis or spastic muscle around the joint
*Frozen shoulder
*Lower back pain specially help for L4-L5 region
*Tennis elbow
*Ankle sprain or strain
*Mid back pain or muscle spasm
*Wrist pain or injury of the wrist
If you have any of the above problem you can go to a physical therapist rather than going to gym.
Physical therapy and gym both have a common thing that is strength training but when to do strength training is more important to choose which is better for me according to my body type.
The correct form of doing exercise in a gym is that you should start of first with 20 to 30 minutes of warm up exercises including treadmill, cross trainer, static cycling and afterwards some stretching exercises.
Then only your body is ready to perform the strength training exercise accordingly. Doing gym on a regular basis will develop your muscle mass and conditioning so that your body becomes more stronger day by day and in any sort of injury your body will recover soon as compared to normal individual.
In a physical therapy session when you go to a physical therapist keep one thing in mind that a physical therapist is a professional medical healthcare professional in which he has a thorough knowledge and understanding about each and every body part.
Now if you have any musculo-skeletal pain or deformity, for example cervical pain then in that condition a physical therapist will first do the assessment part actively and manually, then he will check the range of motion, the type of muscle whether it is flaccid or spastic, the range of cervical movements.
Whether the movements are restricted or free then accordingly he will make a tailored physical therapy treatment session so that your neck movements become pain free and he or she will perform some manual hands on technique including stretching and mobilization just to get that pain free movement of your neck.
So I have I hope after reading this article it is clear that which is better physical therapy or gym according to your body type and the condition which you have.
Taking a gym membership is much cheaper than going for a physical therapy session but reading the above article it should be clear that when I should go to a physical therapy session and when to go for gym. Both are different but both play a significant role for our healthy lifestyle and well being.
I will put physical therapy on the upper hand as compared to gym because if you are having a knee repair surgery then physical therapy will help you to gain the amount of movement which is required for your daily activities. From getting out of the bed to sitting position then from sitting position to standing position and then walking, this whole amount of movement is essential and physical therapy plays a major role from rehabilitation of knee repair surgery.
From the second day of knee surgery you can start your physical therapy but cannot start for a gym session, the importance and beauty of physical therapy is that it will help you to gain your knee function and 100% recovery, so that now you can push yourself for a gym session and membership.
It cannot be wise versa, which means that after knee repair surgery you cannot go to a gym and instantly perform strength training. In that case knee rehabilitation physical therapy place a major role for your overall recovery.
If you like the above article informative and helpful, then please let me know in the comment section.
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