Corrective Exercise

At PAARTS we use corrective and therapeutic exercise to help restore you to normal function. As with any exercise program, the goal of therapeutic exercise is to leave you feeling healthier and stronger than when you began.  Corrective exercises maintain, reestablish or increase the mobility of joints and soft tissues.  Individualized programs designed at PAARTS help you to develop and enhance your coordination and control of individual muscles, increase your muscular strength and endurance, and promote overall relaxation and relief of body tension. Programs can be implemented prior to surgery which will facilitate a quicker recovery following surgery, also known as “pre-hab;” and revamped for you following surgery for your “re-hab.”

What is corrective exercise?

Corrective (also known as therapeutic) exercise programs incorporate a variety of activities that help you regain or maintain your strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, or stability. Whether you have been injured, experienced an illness or surgery, or simply notice you are losing your physical capabilities, therapeutic exercise can prevent impairment and disability while improving your overall fitness.

Therapeutic Exercises has a purpose – it helps you move better!

• Range of Motion exercises increase the range of motion in your joints and soft tissues. Activities may be active, passive or assisted; each designed to help your joints move better, without discomfort.
• Muscle Performance is aimed at increasing power, endurance and muscle strength; it is essential to good balance and stability as well as bone and joint health. Resistance exercises and endurance exercises are designed to increase muscle strength without injury.
• Posture has a direct impact on muscle strength, balance and a tendency toward injury. Posture exercises are aimed at correcting poor posture, not just when you exercise, but in your life in general which can alleviate aches and pains.
• Balance & Coordination are critical components of daily activity. Every time you stand, walk, sit, brush your teeth, cook a meal, or take care of your daily activities, you are challenging your coordination between the muscular and skeletal systems in your body.  Balance and coordination exercises are so important, especially after an injury or illness. If you cannot balance, if you lose coordination, you lose the ability to do the things you love and potentially the ability to care for yourself.
• Relaxation is part of therapeutic exercise.  It is important to re-educate muscle on correct firing patterns for efficient movement, and it is also important to help them relax.
• General Health is enhanced through physical activity.  Exercise is important to help the body’s other systems. Exercise has the ability to optimize your body’s cardiovascular, nervous, muscular, and endocrine systems, and even help with digestion.  Exercise increases the demands on your body and, as a result, your body compensates by increasing muscle tissue, vascular networks, neural connections, and efficiency. An example of how exercise increases general health in seen in the effects of aerobic endurance training.  Aerobic training increases the demand on the heart to pump blood throughout the body to deliver oxygen and fuel and remove carbon dioxide and other wastes.  At the same time, your lungs try to increase the intake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide. To meet this increased demand your body will begin to build muscle tissue in the heart and increase the vascular networks throughout out your muscles and lungs. These changes help your body to meet the higher level of demands allowing the heart to pump harder and the lungs to work more efficiently. You will notice these changes because you will be able to exercise for longer periods of time or at higher intensities before you become fatigued. Exercise enhances your nervous system through the creation of new neural pathways resulting in increased communication between your central nervous system and muscles. These new connections often results in better coordination in the musculoskeletal system. Additionally, exercise creates positive changes in hormone production. Regulation of hormones such as testosterone, insulin, and growth hormone, help maintain the integrity of muscle, bone, and connective tissue. Likewise, exercise can influence digestion by relieving constipation and promoting healthy nutrient absorption at rest.

How does corrective exercise help to relieve pain?

When you treat pain with rest and medications, you allow the supporting muscles to weaken, which causes greater pain and further decrease in function of the area.  At PAARTS we believe your body has an amazing ability to heal when techniques are implemented that facilitate your natural healing processes.  We are able to evaluate your body’s function, strength and range of motion as well as your pain levels when you perform basic skills. Then we create a customized plan, including therapeutic exercise that can strengthen weak areas, restore function to injured and healing areas, and reduce your overall discomfort.  You can experience pain free living with greater strength and endurance than before.