Personal Narrative: Physical Therapy Helps Rehabilitate Injuries

Injuries Need Extra Care: Physical Therapy Helps Rehabilitate Injuries
Athletics are important to society but have a cost. This cost is an injury that may require special treatment such as physical therapy. Injuries come in many forms and occur in many other body parts such as the foot and the lower leg. These injuries are not the end of the world; however the injuries to the foot and lower leg may be detrimental (“Physical Therapy”). There are many ways to prevent injury, but if one occurs physical therapy helps correct and strengthen the injured body part. Physical therapy helps rehabilitate an injury as demonstrated by personal experience. Injuries occur as we age, but also occur from participation in athletics. The common causes of
I have experienced physical therapy multiple times for injuries involving my foot. I have been in and out of a boot since I was in eighth grade. I was participating in recreational soccer and was attempting to run track, and one day I went and told my parents I was experiencing pain in my left foot. I was having trouble walking on my foot, so my parents took me to a doctor. The doctor did not know what was wrong and referred me to a specialist. The specialist put my foot in a plaster cast and told me to use crutches. I did not know how to properly use crutches, so I had my first experience in physical therapy learning how to use crutches. The therapist taught me the propper way to use crutches to go up and down the stairs. After the cast came off, I was back in physical therapy learning how to strengthen my foot, so I could return to participating in soccer. While in therapy, I was using modalities and strengthening exercises, so I would not have to return. Even though I was doing what I was taught in therapy, I was still experiencing pain in my foot. The specialist I was seeing referred me to another specialist because physical therapy and the course of treatment were not working. The specialist I was seeing found the problem in my foot when I was a sophomore, I had a pinched nerve that required surgery, and to follow up with more physical therapy. The physical therapy helped for a short amount of time. I was able to return to soccer and was also in physical therapy to help strengthen my foot when it was re-injured. I had partially ruptured my Achilles tendon when I returned to playing soccer and was still in physical therapy, so I had to stop therapy until my foot healed. Once it healed, I was back in therapy to help heal and strengthen my foot. I had to use exercises from past therapy to help strenghten my foot to return to normal activities. In the process, I ended up with Achilles tendonitis