How We Use Them to Customize Your Rehab Experience

Many physical therapy plans boil down to the same general concepts. These building blocks make the foundation of recovery and include old thought processes as well as new trends. Understanding them could be crucial to your recovery. That’s why we want to take a moment and explain the different modalities that comprise all exercise regimens.

Aerobic Exercise
Classified aerobic by their use of oxygen, jogging and Zumba are great examples of cardiovascular training. Exercising aerobically expands the capillaries of the lungs and promotes proper circulation, as well as healthy blood pressure.

Anaerobic Exercise
Powerlifting, sprinting, and other types of exercise that involve short bursts of high-intensity movement are defined as anaerobic. This translates to “without air,” and it’s the basis of the muscle-building workout. Unlike aerobic activity, these workouts rely more on muscle strength than cardiovascular endurance.

Static vs. Dynamic
“Static” and “dynamic” simply describe whether or not the exercise requires movement. Static stretches, in which you extend the muscle and either hold the position or relax slowly, are typically characteristic of anaerobic workouts such as heavy weightlifting. Dynamic movements are often found in active exercises like running or certain types of CrossFit.

In physical therapy, complete reliance on any one of these modalities limits the overall effectiveness of a recovery plan. Depending on the nature of the recovery, an individualized program will require varying degrees of involvement from each category. For example, when you’re recovering from a knee injury, you will begin with many anaerobic exercises until the muscles around your joint are strengthened appropriately. To understand how we use these concepts to develop a customized program that’s right for you, give us a call or stop by the clinic today.