We’re smack dab in that point of the year between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and regardless of which side of the spectrum your role falls upon, you typically take the day to ponder how good of a job you’ve been doing in that capacity (especially when the presents aren’t all that great). Sure, you can order 5-star rated parenting books from Amazon and watch more Dr.Phil videos on the topic, but did you know there’s one place to turn that you probably haven’t considered? That’s right – physical therapy! Let’s find out why.
5 Ways Regular Physiotherapy Will Make You a Parenting Pro
1. Maybe Those Headaches Aren’t Caused by the Kids?
It’s easy to blame chronic headaches on the mere existence of children in the home, but before you belt out another verse of “keep it down, you’re giving me a headache” take note that there may be an underlying physical ailment at play. There’s a good chance that your chronic headaches and/or migraines originate from the neck and spine, at which point you’ll need a chiropractor to step in to perform spinal manipulation. There are also many other heartache triggers to consider, including your existing seating/standing/walking posture, receptive strain injury, teeth grinding tendencies, poor nutrition, dehydration, improper breathing, and stress (which ok, may be connected to the kids). All of these items can be effectively treated through regular physiotherapy. Read more on how physical therapy can eradicate chronic headaches. But don’t worry, you can still use it as an excuse to get the kids to keep quiet – we won’t tell.
2. Will Improve Your Quality of Life (and extend it)
When you’re in pain your quality of life is negatively impacted and your can’t parent as well as you want to. Of course, being under a cloud of painkillers and dangerous opioids is not the answer, especially if you want to set a prime example for your children. So how are you to address the chronic pains that come with adulthood? Physical therapy. The practice exists to effectively combat the acute and chronic pain that is caused by a wide variety of both common and uncommon injuries to muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints. It’s not just sports and activity injuries either, as physical therapy is applied to help with typical office and workplace (where you go to keep bread on the table) repetitive strain injuries to the lower back, hand/wrist and neck. Physiotherapy can also help prevent serious ailments that creep up as we get older, including stroke. and will protect you well into the senior years to come, because it’s never too early to start preparing for grandparenthood too…err, right?
In improving your physical health not just through bare minimum maintenance with your family doctor, you will be around a lot longer for your kids – and in the end, that’s what matters most to them even if they (teens?) don’t say it all the time.
3. You’ll Get More Sleep
Parenting and sleep have a converse relationship. And when they’re up, you’re up. There’s little that can be done about that until they get older and become more independent (although THAT may keep you up too). Therefore, it is essential that you capitalize on every opportunity to sleep and not toil away unsuccessfully in bed. Physical therapy can help make that happen by addressing sleeping (and waking) pains, can identify better sleeping positions for your physicality, and can contribute to a daily exercise regime that primes your body for a great night’s rest. View more on how physiotherapy can help improve your sleep, especially when you’re a parent.
4. You’ll Be More Fun for Them
By addressing the items above through physical therapy, you will be more physically fit, feel less (or no) pain, have more energy, and your body will perform much better at pretty much everything. What this equates, is more all-around awesomeness as a mom or dad. You’ll be able to actually keep up with your kids and their seemingly endless reserve of energy. You will be able to play along with them instead of sitting on the sidelines, and you’ll be up for organizing (and following through with) more outdoor activities, vacations, and other family-fun adventures that you simply didn’t have the physical “facilities” for before.
5. Will Help You Prepare for Your Kids Common Injuries Too
By becoming more in tune with your own body through regular physiotherapy (everything above) you will also become in more tune with your kids’ physical health and wellness. This is essential, because no matter how much you try to protect them, they are at constant risk of getting hurt during sports and other activities. In working with a physical therapist you will learn about injury prevention and can help them prepare (warm up, stretch, etc.) before getting out there to do what ever it is they do, be it basketball, football, skateboarding or any school sport they choose to play. And when they do get injured, you’ll already have established ties to a clinic, and you will be instrumental in ensuring that they follow-through on their physic-prescribed rehabilitation regime.
You can even get your kids involved in a proactive manner, as there are numerous benefits to starting physiotherapy at an early age for both young children and teenagers. After all, a family that does physiotherapy together stays together – that’s how the expression goes, right?
Want to learn more about how a physical therapist can help you become a healthier and more engaged parent to your child/children? Contact Absolute PhysioCare today for a friendly consultation.