What is therapeutic exercise?
Therapeutic exercise is a prescribed activity used as a treatment or preventive measure. It’s the whole basis for physical therapy: movement as medicine. Therapeutic exercise isn’t just one type of exercise — it refers to the full range of movement-based treatments you may experience in a PT clinic:
- Strengthening – Activate your muscles with resistance, weights or bodyweight to build up weakened tissue.
- Stabilization – Target deep muscles and tissues that support the major muscle groups and joints in movement.
- Balance – Focus on coordination and maintaining your center of gravity during movement.
- Flexibility – Improve elasticity and mobility through stretching and light movement.
- Endurance – Engage major muscle groups for extended periods of time to build stamina.
Why do I need therapeutic exercise?
Therapeutic exercise is used to restore function in your musculoskeletal system, correct impairments, relieve pain and reduce your risk of injury (or re-injury). You may need it rehabbing an injury, recovering from surgery, managing a chronic condition or improving your everyday activity and quality of life.
Each type of exercise, as well as the individual exercise, in your PT program works in combination with the others to improve function and promote healing. Therapeutic exercise can also help to:
- Reduce anxiety.
- Improve overall fitness.
- Boost well-being.
- Improve quality of sleep.
What should I expect from therapeutic exercises in physical therapy?
Using exercise as therapy involves repeated, regular activity to improve the function of a specific part of your body. So your exercise prescription will depend on your injury or condition, age, injury and overall health. Before beginning therapy, your PT will perform a physical assessment to get a baseline for your strength, stability, balance, mobility and range of motion. They’ll also gauge your level of pain or discomfort at rest and during movement.
Over the course of several appointments — and your own practice at home — you’ll progress through a series of therapeutic exercises designed to improve your condition and restore your function. Your therapy prescription will include specific instructions for each exercise, including:
- Number of days per week to perform your exercises
- Level of intensity (low, medium or vigorous)
- Types of different exercises to complete
- Amount of time or number of reps for exercise
Before starting your home program, your physical therapist will make sure you are comfortable with the movements and can complete them with proper form and within your pain tolerance. Over the course of your treatment, you’ll work through your program at The Iowa Clinic and at home until you’ve reached your goals in recovery or health.
What results will I see from therapeutic exercise?
The ultimate goal of a therapeutic exercise program is for you to get back to your everyday activities with full function and free of pain or other symptoms. You can expect to rebuild any lost mobility, range of motion, strength, flexibility or endurance — and even improve upon your previous capabilities in these areas.