Types of Physical Therapy Products

Have you ever been to a Physical Therapist? You’ll notice in your therapist’s office many different types of physical therapy products. Each with its own purpose. Physical therapists use a variety of techniques and products to help their patients rehabilitate and achieve pain relief. Each technique often corresponds with a specific product and by using both together, they can provide a lot of healing to the patient.

Products used in Physical Therapy include treatment tables, exercise balls, hand exercisers, resistance bands and ultrasound machines. Below we briefly go through what each product is and how each is applied in physical therapy treatments.

Treatment Tables

A Treatment Table is ideal for physical therapists to first examine a patient so that they set a plan of care. Its soft surface provides a comfortable place for the patient to either sit or lay. In treatment, a table is a great tool to use as a stable surface for stretching exercises. Depending on the model, the height of the table can be adjusted to suit different types of patients and exercises.

Exercise Balls

Balance training and stretching exercises are often used in physical therapy to rehabilitate patients. There are many ways to improve balance, coordination, flexibility and strength but the one product physical therapists recommend most is an exercise ball. An exercise ball can be used in a variety of ways to target specific body parts as well as the whole body. It is used by physical therapists to aid in stretching exercises and strength programs.

Hand Exercisers

Hand therapy is a big part of physical therapy in that it rehabilitates hand muscles in order to restore normal function and make hands stronger. The Digi-Flex® product line is a perfect selection of hand exercisers. Each one can strengthen individual fingers as well as the hand as a whole to restore normal function. Specifically, with the Digi-Flex® Multi® you can customize hand therapy by switching out its color-coded resistance buttons. These buttons switch out very easily so you can find the combination that best fits your needs.

Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are used in Physical Therapy treatments for strength and flexibility training. They are commonly used by Physical Therapists to help heal muscle injuries and strengthen other injured areas of the body. The resistance bands come in a variety of colors and these colors correspond to a resistance level as well. Usually it is recommended to start with the lowest level of resistance and build your way up to a more challenging resistance. These bands can be used in a variety of exercises in order to facilitate flexibility and strength training.

Ultrasound Machines

Therapeutic ultrasounds are used in physical therapy to heat the tissues of deep joints in order to achieve pain relief. A heated probe is put into direct contact with the skin to provide healing sound waves to muscle injuries or strains. The injured tissues and muscles can absorb this energy to heal.

Physical therapy is a safe way to help reduce pain and help muscles heal. Always consult your physical therapist or physician before engaging in any of these exercises or before experimenting with new products.

For information on these products and other physical therapy items, click here.