How Physical Therapy Saves Money

Who doesn’t want to save money? Your health is one of your most important possessions and certainly deserves a high value, so it’s reassuring to discover that not only is treatment under a Licensed Physical Therapist an extremely effective solution to many forms of physical pain and dysfunction, it’s also a viable way of actually saving money while restoring your health. Let’s explore how our Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida can help you avoid surgery, reduce and even eliminate the need for prescription painkiller drugs, and help you recover more quickly to return to productive work and a fulfilling lifestyle.

Let’s face it–surgery is expensive. It’s also invasive, involves anesthesia, if not full sedation, and typically requires a lot of recovery time to heal the incisions, let alone the operated-on tissue itself. Physical therapy involves none of these things. What if you could achieve the same or better results without the exorbitant price of going through surgery? Many scientific studies have shown that physical therapy can work just as well, and with fewer complications. For example, spinal stenosis, meniscus tears and osteoarthritis, and rotator cuff tears all have associated studies demonstrating effective treatment from physical therapists rendering surgery unnecessary. Before assuming that your only option is going under the knife, schedule a consultation with a Licensed Physical Therapist to find out what about less drastic and less expensive options.

Physical Therapists seek to correct problems without drugs. 15 years ago, the total cost of prescription pain medications for one year in the United States was $17.8 billion, much more in terms of total expenditure, and have increased greatly ever since. A survey of current prices of opioids will encourage you to rather invest in getting better and not requiring meds instead of perpetually relying upon the temporary relief of drugs that come with long-term side effects without actually correcting the problem. Researchers at Boston University analyzed over 67,000 patient records and found that even low levels of physical therapy before or after surgery can lower the odds of chronic opioid use. In fact, they even revealed that the longer a patient waits to start physical therapy, the greater the eventual odds of chronic opioid use.

Physical Therapists are experts at creating an exercise program that someone with pain or mobility limitations can still use to regain lost strength and return to an active, productive life. If you’re already at the point of requiring surgery, it should be illuminating to find out that exercise therapy before and after major surgery has been shown to augment postoperative outcomes by improving functional status and reducing complications.

With the example of something so common as low back pain, not only is physical therapy cheaper than surgery or injections in the short-term, it’s likely to save on treatment costs for at least a year after initial diagnosis, with average savings of 18% over treatments that begin with injections and over 50% over treatments that begin with surgery. The bottom line is that physical therapy can save you money. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida’s team of doctors, therapists, and assistants are Bradenton and Sarasota’s premier providers of treatment dedicated to helping you move without pain! Find out what we can do for you by scheduling a consultation. You can reach us at (941) 264-1414, email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or drop us a line via our contact form.