What is the difference, anyway? Is all exercise the same? Do we need to do it everyday? Sometimes it gets all mixed up. If I do Yoga, do I need to do Pilates too? And if I do a spinning class, does it work for osteoporosis? If I have high blood pressure should I do only aerobic exercise, because hand weights might make my blood pressure go up? What about kettle ball training; can I do them if I have a shoulder problem? And what about exercising when I have cancer, am I allowed to or not? How about swimming everyday if I want to lose 50 pounds fast? And what if what I like to do is waterski but it hurts my knee, should I just not do it ever again? These are the many things that go through our minds when we think about exercise. It can be so overwhelming we may never try anything new or we might just give up and go back to doing nothing.

This is where the physical therapists come into the picture. You see we are the movement specialists in the medical team. We are trained to study movement and then we specialize in the best way to teach people how to return to the lifestyles they desire. We are lucky. We get to be the people who help other people learn to exercise. Everyday we teach people how their body moves and if it is isn't moving right then we show them what to do to get it moving correctly. The physical therapist can watch someone walk across a room and tell whether their muscles are firing in the right sequence. And then if they aren't firing in the right order they know just what to do.

It is an amazing gift to watch someone who couldn't get up out of chair suddenly learn how to do it in less than five minutes. Many times it is a sequencing problem or a motor planning issue that inhibits a person from being able to do something as basic as rolling over in bed. We love the smile that comes over our patient's faces when suddenly they can look over their shoulder when they are driving or they can run a half marathon when last year they couldn't even walk a half of a block.

So when you decide that your physical health is of great value to you and you want to take the next step, you may need to make a visit to see your physical therapist. Because as you can see exercise comes in many forms and your physical therapist can make all the difference in the world by helping you have a customized plan to meet your goals. They know the best care for your body because they understand how to work around your limitations. Please don't wait. Your physical therapist knows the difference and so should you.

Sheree DiBiase, PT, can be reached at Lake City Physical Therapy, PA (208) 667-1988. She is a mom to three teenage boys and she knows what it is like to try to find enough time in every day for exercise. Please join us for our free exercise class on May 16, 2012. Learn tips, ideas and talk to our team of therapists about your exercise program.