The benefits of strength training

The body’s muscles play an essential role in your health and well-being. Your muscles not only help you move, but they help reduce your risk of injury and support your joints to ensure you stay active. 

A stronger you means a healthier you. Relieving joint or muscle pain, improving your balance and coordination, resolving injuries, and preventing future injuries are integral parts of our specialized physical therapy treatments. 

Strength training helps build muscle, reduce pain, improve mobility and overall function, and is typically used throughout the rehabilitation process. Whether you are recovering from an injury or an underlying condition causing you pain, strength training will help you get back to your optimum physical performance.

How strength training makes you healthier

Strength training is an integral part of rehabilitation and reaching your peak physical potential, but there are other health benefits, including the following:

• Improved strength: This is obvious, but improved strength allows you to perform daily tasks much more manageably, such as carrying heavy groceries or doing recreational activities and sports.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Strength training helps burn calories efficiently, reducing total body fat. This, in turn, helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and orthopedic conditions like osteoarthritis. 
• Decreased risk of falls: Multiple studies have demonstrated the benefits of strength training for reducing your risk of falls by improving your balance, coordination, and response to losing your balance. In addition, if you fall, you are less susceptible to serious injuries. 
• Reduces your risk of injury: Strength helps improve joint range of motion and mobility of your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. This provides additional protection against damage. What’s more, strength training can help correct muscular imbalances and take the load off of your body, decreasing your risk of injuries. Research has shown that strength training can reduce the risk of injury by up to 30%. 
• Improved heart health: Multiple studies have shown that regular strength-training decreases blood pressure, lowers cholesterol (i.e., total and LDL levels), and improves blood circulation.
• Helps manage your blood sugar levels: Strength training may also reduce your risk of developing diabetes by helping reduce and maintain blood sugar levels. 
• Improved mobility and flexibility: Weaker muscles tend to have less range of motion. Strength training increases joint range of motion allowing for greater mobility and flexibility. 
• Improved bone strength: Strength training is crucial for bone development by putting temporary stress on your bones, resulting in improved bone strength. Strong bones reduce your risk of osteoporosis, fractures, and falls, especially as you age.
• Improves brain health: Those who engage in strength training may have better brain health and protection against age-related cognitive decline.
• Promotes improved joint health: Strength training significantly improves joint pain and functioning during rehabilitation and preventative strategies. 

Strength training provides many health benefits, including lowering the risk of chronic disease, improving overall function, and reducing the risk of injury and falls. Furthermore, anything you can do to help your body achieve more of an ideal state is a step towards a healthier you.