Healthier Together: The benefits of physical therapy [Video]

The older we become the more prone we are to injury. To add insult to that…the harder it is to recover.

“As we age, we do not heal as well. We lose flexibility in our joints. We lose muscle mass,” said Dr. Mike Woodruff, Executive Medical Director for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah.

Woodruff said physical therapy can help more than you realize when recovering from injury – especially for seniors.

“Many people just think ‘rest, ice, elevate’ and then maybe, maybe I’ll need surgery. What a lot of people don’t know is that physical therapy, which is essentially strengthening your muscles, balancing the function of your muscles in your body, increasing the range of motion and flexibility. That can actually be a better approach for some patients and help them avoid surgery and help them avoid dangerous medications,” said Woodruff.

Hundreds of thousands of Utahns age 65 and older are estimated to have some …