If you’ve been injured in an accident, your doctor may prescribe physical therapy. And there’s a good reason for that: You probably need it. There is only so much a doctor can do for your injury, and recovery in a large part will depend on what you do afterward. This is where physical therapy comes into play. Whether you’ve broken a bone, torn tendons and ligaments, or have suffered soft tissue damage, you will likely benefit from physical therapy. You may undergo surgery to fix the main problem, but often times your ultimate recovery is going to depend on your longer road to recovery, which will likely include physical therapy.
Actually, going to physical therapy is going to depend on you. It is important to go and continue going to physical therapy for two key reasons: (1) it will help you recover much more quickly and fully and (2) your legal claims will benefit from doing so.
Physical therapy can help speed up your recovery, by helping you regain strength, mobility, range of motion and function in the affected area. Physical therapy can also help your mental health by boosting your mood as you get on your way to taking back control of your life. In addition, physical therapy is also helpful to prevent further injury. When your body is in a weakened state, you are more vulnerable to falling or causing even more strain. Your muscles are weakened from lack of use, and you may need to retrain your body to help maintain your balance and full body health. Keeping up with your physical therapy can help avoid the need for future surgeries as well. And as your body recovers, your pain level will also hopefully decrease, which will eliminate the need for prescription pain medicine, many of which can be addictive and lead to more problems.
There is another important reason why people injured in an accident who are seeking compensation for their injuries should continue going to physical therapy. When you are seeking legal compensation, insurance companies will look for any reason to devalue or even deny your claim. If you stop treating with physical therapy, insurance adjusters may try to claim that your injuries are not as severe as they actually are and may claim the compensation you are seeking is less than it should be. Insurers not only question the validity of your claim, but they will also argue you are not trying to improve your condition by stopping treatment.They’ll say, “How bad could your injury really be if you aren’t seeking treatment?”
So, be proactive about your medical treatment, including going to and continuing to go to physical therapy. It is important to both your health and recovery as well as helping you obtain the maximum compensation you deserve by keeping the insurance companies from questioning your valid and severe injuries. Recovery can be a long process but see it through to the end. It will go a long way toward both helping your ultimate physical recovery and getting the just compensation you deserve.
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