Why See a Physical Therapist for a Broken Bone

When you break a bone, the healing process is just the beginning of your road to recovery. While the cast keeps your fracture stable, the real work starts with physical therapy, ensuring that your muscles and joints are ready for action as soon as the cast comes off.

I am Lauren Masi, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. I’m also the owner and Clinical Services Director of Bay Area Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy. Today, we’re going to talk about why you should see a PT for a broken bone.

How Do Broken Bones Heal?

First, I obviously can’t claim that I can heal the bone itself. The bone is going to take time to heal after a break, and usually that will take about six to eight weeks. Depending on where that broken bone is, your doctor may have extended the cast above or below the break to immobilize your joints and prevent excessive motion. 

Why is it important to keep the area around the broken bone immobilized? Because we have muscles that cross over that healing fracture. We don’t want those muscles to be pulling because it could change the alignment of the bone and affect how it heals. But the problem with this is that your muscles start to get weak when you don’t use them. That’s where physical therapy comes in to help. 

When Should You Start Physical Therapy for a Broken Bone?

People will often ask me, “Do I have to wait for the cast to come off before I can start physical therapy?” And the short answer is no, you don’t have to wait. But we do always want you to check with your doctor first to make sure physical therapy won’t negatively affect your healing process. 

We often see people who come in for broken bones about two to four weeks before their cast actually comes off. This lets us start to work with them on strengthening and moving the areas above and below the immobilized muscles so that, when that cast does come off, you’re ready to get back into full strengthening of the area as quickly as possible. 

Again, it does depend on where the broken bone is. If it’s in one of your legs, you might be told that you cannot bear weight on it for a certain amount of time. You might be on crutches and have to keep the pressure off. In that case, your physical therapist will work with you to be able to strengthen in non-weight bearing positions. We will certainly work within the confines of your doctor’s recommendations. 

Reach Out to Bay Area PT for a Consultation

We are here to help get you back on track and back to normal as quickly as possible after a broken bone. If you need our assistance, please reach out today for a consultation or to set up an evaluation. You can reach us at (925) 284-3840.

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