Preventive Care & Education

Preventive Care

Preventive care helps reduce the risk of developing musculoskeletal issues before they escalate into serious injuries or pain by:

• Detecting and treating health problems and injuries at an early stage.
• Improving overall health and well-being.
• Prolonging life expectancy and reducing healthcare costs over time.

Types of Preventive Care:

1. Early Intervention: This involves screening individuals for potential issues such as muscle imbalances, poor posture, or limited range of motion before these problems become significant.
2. Assessment and Education: Our licensed physical therapists conduct a thorough evaluation to identify risk factors and educate patients on proper body mechanics, posture, and movement patterns to help prevent injuries.
3. Customized Exercise Programs: Based on individual needs, our physical therapists design targeted exercises to strengthen specific muscle groups, improve flexibility, and enhance stability.

Examples of When Could Preventive Physical Therapy Be Used

Here are a few purposes for a preventive physical:

• Before a sports season or after an extended period of inactivity.
• After an intense training period.
• To assist with weight loss or muscle strengthening via an exercise program.
• Helping older people protect against falls and improve daily management of chronic conditions.

What Does Preventative Therapy Consist of?

Preventative physical therapy will consist of:

• Exercises to address the weak muscles, impaired movements, or lack of flexibility and range of motion identified in your screening exam.
• Targeted exercises to increase neuromuscular control and hypertrophy.
• Stretches to increase flexibility, and reduce muscle tension.

How can I get started with my preventive physical therapy care?

You can visit us without a physician's order as a direct access physical therapy patient. After the first visit, your therapist will work with your doctor to review and approve the plan.

You can also start with your physician and him or her to complete a referral to physical therapy.

Patient Education

How does education help the patient?

Patient education gives patients the knowledge and skills to understand, manage, and improve their health conditions.

How do we educate our patients?

Effective patient education requires an assessment of the patient's needs, learning style, and cultural background. By understanding these factors, we can tailor our teaching methods to enhance information retention.

Berryville Physical Therapy and Wellness offers educational resources designed to empower patients to make informed decisions about their health and actively participate in their care. Our therapists work with you to help you understand your specific medical conditions and the treatment plans available for them.

The first step is to evaluate the patient's understanding of their condition and identify what they wish to learn. Some patients may require time to process new information, develop new skills, or implement lifestyle changes, whether short-term or long-term.

The following are some of the steps Berryville Physical Therapy and Wellness takes to educate our patients:

1. Assess the patient: We assess the patient's knowledge about their condition and clearly identify what information they need. It's essential to recognize that some patients require time to adjust, acquire new skills, and implement necessary lifestyle changes.
2. Learn more about the patient: Learn about the patient's daily activities, knowledge, and health beliefs so that we can come to an agreement with our patients on realistic learning objectives.
3. Adapt to the patient's learning style: Ask patients how they prefer to learn: visually, audibly, or by doing. This way, we can select resources that provide information in a manner each patient can understand, such as illustrated flyers, brochures, or videos.
4. Be realistic. Focus only on what your patient needs to know, not on what is nice to know.
5. Respect our patient's limits. We offer our patients only the amount of information they can handle at one time.
6. Involve the family: Educate the patient's family or caretaker to help ensure they retain the information.
7. Use the teach-back method: Ask the patient to repeat what you taught them to confirm their understanding.
8. Provide clear information: Use written, audiovisual, and computer-based materials.
9. Encourage questions: We answer questions appropriately and provide follow-up on the treatment plans to make sure they are still effective.
10. Consider cultural differences: Be aware of the cultural practices, beliefs, and values that influence health behaviors.