As a physical therapist, I am often asked by patients, "which exercises are the most important?" My answer to them is always the same, "they are all the most important."Progression is the name of the game, and being on a comprehensive program addressing all limitations is the way to ensure recovery or manage issues. The body is complex and made up of several systems that work together to maintain normal function and allow us to do what we want with our bodies. Physical therapists primarily work with the musculoskeletal system, but can also produce some effects in the cardiovascular and neurologic systems. If any of these systems are weak or impaired, it will change the ability of the other system to perform optimally. For example, a patient who has had a recent heart attack will be challenged performing stairs, not due to his legs being weak, but because his cardiovascular system (CVS) is impaired. With adherence to the appropriate program, this patient should hopefully improve his CVS and thus improve his ability to perform functional tasks, such as stairs.
If a patient is seeing a physical therapist in an outpatient setting, like Joint Ventures, it's probably safe to say that his/her musculoskeletal system is the system that is not working properly. This could be due to poor body mechanics, acute injuries, or maybe just overuse. If you are a person that enjoys pushing it to your maximal capacity, the risk for injury becomes higher. This is when it becomes important to be on a comprehensive program addressing the underlying factors to the injury, with the goal being to reduce the RISK of injury. There is no physical therapy program on earth that can PREVENT injury for the athletic population. That's an important concept to understand when you are pushing and challenging your body. The safest way to reduce the risk of injury is to progress properly.
This doesn't mean that you can't push and challenge yourself. I've met several people along the way that are in their later years, and still pushing the limits. If you want to be one of these people, it's important to be on a program that will help prevent the risk of injury. If it's too late and you are already dealing with a problem, let your physical therapist know your goals in hopes of tailoring something for you.
If you have questions about exercise programs, please email me at Mike@JointVenturesPT.com.