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Patrick Brown
Mrs. DeBock
English 4
6 February 2016
The Importance of Attending Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy is a type of treatment needed when someone has a serious injury and
struggles to do an everyday task like walking or running. After a surgery procedure, chances are
that the patient is experiencing pain, swelling, loss of motion and bruising following the
procedure (Hudon). Many doctors, after a surgical procedure, would advise the patient to attend
physical therapy to help the recovery run more smoothly. Physical therapy is the framework in
rehabilitating a serious injury any person has suffered and missing the opportunity to repair ones
body with physical therapy is one of the worst things someone could do to their body
(Stensdotter). Attending Physical therapy is a crucial process an individual should attend to in
repairing their body because it is one of the most important components in the recovery process,
not attending the physical therapy sessions can actually hurt and lengthen the injury and lastly if
a patient does not attend physical therapy, he/she puts themselves at risk of catching other
diseases.
Moving and doing activities for your body after a surgical procedure is exactly what
physical therapy is and it also turns out to be the most important thing an individual can do to
help their body get back to what it was before the injury/surgery. Physical therapy involves
certain movements that can help improve the blood circulation, which is responsible for
delivering fuel throughout the body (Hudon). This can help decrease the amount of swelling to
the injury which increases how easy it is to move the injured part of the body. Movement is so

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crucial because it also increases the healing process by getting blood flow to the injury. The
exercises in physical therapy that are provided will help increase the strength of the injury than if
you stayed in bed all day without motion, which many people think is the best way to recover
(Hudon). At the end of the day the more strength you have on the injury, the less chance there is
at re-injuring it.
An ACL injury negatively impacts performance in single-limb tasks for the ACL-injured
leg. Evidence from different studies show reduced performance for the injured leg, compared to
the intact leg (Stensdotter). In a single limb stance on the injured leg, or standing on one leg, 5
years after injury, non-surgically treated subjects showed increased postural sway compared with
stance on the uninjured leg and compared with individuals with uninjured knees (Stensdotter). If
a patient ignores physical therapy they put themselves at risk at long term injuries including the
risk of reinjury. If a patient does not perform in physical therapy, they will suffer from constant
pain throughout the recovery process and may not be able to perform as they did before they
suffered the devastating injury. In most cases, people who take place in physical therapy perform
the same or even better as they did before the injury (Stensdotter).
Furthermore, if a patient does not want to perform physical therapy, they put themselves
at risk at other diseases. Knee osteoarthritis is usually a very common condition among U.S.
adults 60 years and older, but occurs with patients with a torn ACL who do not take place in
physical therapy. When a patient do not take place in physical therapy, the knee stiffens up and
the blood flow slows down tremendously, helping cause pain and inflammation of the joint
capsule, impairing muscular stabilization, and reduces the range of motion of the knee, which
helps cause the disease (Tanaka). Studies show 80% of people suffer from knee osteoarthritis

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when having a torn ACL. In many of those cases, the disease was found much earlier when those
patients had not participated in the physical therapy suggested for them (Tanaka).
Overall, physical therapy is not something an individual should take lightly, but should
take it very serious and with the utmost attention. Many athletes and people believe that if they
just stay off the injury and let it sit and heal it will fix itself, which is not the case. Those people
will suffer a painful and agonizing recovery. Doctors know what they are saying when they tell a
patient to attend to physical therapy, it gets you back to the physical condition you were at before
the injury had occurred. In conclusion, attending physical therapy is a crucial process an
individual should attend to in repairing their body because it is one of the most important
components in the recovery process, not attending the physical therapy sessions can actually hurt
and lengthen the injury and lastly if a patient does not attend physical therapy, he/she puts
themselves at risk of catching other diseases.

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Works Cited
Hudon, Anne, Mathieu-jol Gervais, and Matthew Hunt. "Knowledge Translation And
Implementation Special Series. The Contribution Of Conceptual Frameworks To
Knowledge Translation Interventions In Physical Therapy." Physical Therapy 95.4
(2015): 630-639. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
Stensdotter, Ann-Katrin, et al. "Deficits In Single-Limb Stance More Than 20 Years After ACL
Injury." European Journal Of Physiotherapy 15.2 (2013): 78. Advanced Placement
Source. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
Tanaka, Ryo Ozawa, Jun yaKito, Nobuhiro Moriyama, Hideki. "Effects Of Exercise Therapy On
Walking Ability In Individuals With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review And
Meta-Analysis Of Randomised Controlled Trials." Clinical Rehabilitation 30.1 (2016):
36-52. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 10 Mar.