“Will physical therapy help me with my leg pain?”
My legs have been hurting me for weeks, for no real reason. I'm not overexerting them in anyway and I pretty much live a sedentary lifestyle. Should I consider physical therapy?
7 Answers
First thing you should do is see your primary care physician so they can determine cause of the pain. Once that's known you can know what to do about it.
Physical therapy is a very appropriate place to start, but if that does not help and you are not getting better, and especially if you have any neurological symptoms at all, you need to see a doctor right away to get a more thorough diagnosis
Absolutely. Due to your sedentary lifestyle, there may be an underlying medical condition contributing to the development of your leg pain. Either way, your physician will most likely refer you to physical therapy.
Yes but you may want to see you PCP first for labwork and possible doppler ultrasound.
Yes.
Definitely consider physical therapy! Increasing your physical activity and promoting mobility of your body and legs may help reduce your pain and improve your overall functioning at home! A physical therapist can evaluate you to determine if you will benefit from physical therapy treatment, or if a referral should be made to better address your pain and condition.
Proper physical therapy should not only allow for immediate improvements, but also give you the knowledge and tools necessary to prevent the leg pain from returning. Correct treatments apply to any field (massage, chiropractics, acupuncture, etc.). However, exercising is the only way to guarantee the muscles maintain the necessary protection/stability. Although similar changes to the muscle occur with correct treatments of any type, for most people it is only a temporary change. Periodic "maintenance" sessions should not be necessary after physical therapy so that is the added benefit to take into consideration.
