Bone Health: What You Should Know

Healthy bones can help you stay strong and active throughout your life. If good bone health is achieved during childhood and maintained, it can help to avoid bone loss and fracture later in life. For healthy bones, it is important to maintain a physically active lifestyle and eat a balanced diet with plenty of calcium, vitamin D, and perhaps other supplements as needed. Physical therapists can design a unique program for you to help keep your bones healthy.

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that affects both men and women (mostly women), usually as they age. It is associated with low bone mass and thinning of the bone structure, making bones fragile and more likely to break.

Some people are more at risk for osteoporosis than others. Not all risk factors can be changed, but healthy habits and a proper exercise routine designed by your physical therapist can keep bones healthy and reduce risk. Risk factors* include:

  • Age: More common in older individuals
  • Sex: More common in women
  • Family History: Heredity
  • Race and Ethnicity: Affects all races. In the US, increased risk for Caucasian, Asian, or Latino
  • Weight: Low body weight (small and thin)
  • Diet, especially one low in calcium and vitamin D
  • History of broken bones
  • Menopause
  • Inactive lifestyle
  • Smoking
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Certain medications, diseases, and other medical conditions

Physical therapists can help prevent osteoporosis and treat its effects by designing individualized exercise programs to benefit bone health, improve posture, and enhance core stability and balance. Most of these exercises are simple and can be done at home with no special equipment.

Bone Health Begins With Good Posture

Physical therapists recommend good posture and safe movements to protect bones from fracture during daily activities. Using proper posture and safe body mechanics during all activities protects the spine against injury. Here are some tips:

  • Keep your back, stomach, and leg muscles strong and flexible.
  • Do not slouch.
  • Use good body positioning at work, home, or during leisure activities.
  • Ask for help when lifting heavy objects.
  • Maintain a regular physical fitness regimen. Staying active can help to prevent injuries.

Fight Fracture with Fitness

Inactivity is a major risk factor for osteoporosis. The right exercises and good habits can keep bones strong and prevent or reverse the effects of osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, is an important way to build and maintain healthy bones. Muscle-strengthening exercises have been found to stimulate bone growth and can help prevent and treat osteoporosis. These types of exercises are best if started early in life and done regularly. However, it is important to remember that you can begin exercising at any age and still reap great benefits.

If you have osteoporosis, are at high risk for a fall or fracture, or have a medical condition, affecting your ability to exercise, do not begin an exercise program without first consulting your physician and a physical therapist.

Avoid exercises and daily activities which round the spine, such as sit-ups, crunches, bending down to tie your shoes, exercise machines that involve forward bending of the trunk, and movements and sports that round and twist the spine.

Physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement.

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source:choosept.com/health-tips/bone-health-what-you-should-know

Long COVID Sounds Awful! What Can Be Done?

Recently we introduced you to Long COVID and all of the challenges it brings. This month we’re going to talk about what physical therapists can do to help people living with Long COVID. Early in the pandemic, therapists started seeing people with what would later be known as Long COVID. They noticed that some of the symptoms people were describing overlapped with conditions they had treated before. Specifically, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis better known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) also caused severe fatigue and delayed symptoms after activity. Because of this overlap, the current treatment for Long COVID is heavily based on what we know works to manage these diseases. Here are a few of those strategies.

PACING

The first strategy that can help manage Long COVID symptoms is pacing. This is simply doing less activity than you have energy for. By keeping bouts of activity short with lots of breaks, pacing can help avoid severe fatigue immediately after activity. It can also avoid the delayed “crash” of  PESE. A useful metaphor is to think of your energy level as a battery. When you do activities, you drain your battery. When you rest, you charge it back up a little bit. Physical therapists can help patients learn how much energy is in their “battery” and work to teach them strategies to conserve it. When used effectively, pacing can help patients with Long COVID accomplish more with less fatigue and less bouts of PESE.

WHAT ABOUT THIS PESE THING?

Post-exertional symptom exacerbation is a disabling and often delayed exhaustion disproportionate to the effort made. Patients are referring to this as a “crash”. PESE is very common in people suffering from Long COVID. 75% of people who have Long COVID have PESE after 6 months. The activity that brings on the crash is something that the person could easily tolerate before their COVID-19 infection. Things like taking a shower, walking, attending a social activity, or even being in a high sensory environment with flashing lights and loud noises may all now trigger a crash.

HEART RATE MONITORING

Another strategy that comes from ME and CFS management is heart rate monitoring. With the huge number of wearable devices that monitor heart rate, this is becoming an easier strategy to use than ever. Heart rate monitoring uses your heart rate as a gauge of how hard your body is working. It’s based on your resting heart rate, which should be taken after you’ve been lying down, relaxed for at least 20 minutes. First thing in the morning before you get out of bed is a great time to measure your resting heart rate. Once you have your baseline, the goal is to keep your heart rate within 15 beats of your RHR while you’re doing activities. This keeps your heart rate below the threshold at which your muscles start to produce lactic acid. Build up of lactic acid is what gives you “the burn” when you’re working out really hard. It also causes your muscles to fatigue more quickly – by keeping activity light enough to avoid lactic acid, we can also reduce fatigue.

EXERCISE

What about exercise? Sure, lots of people think about exercise when they think about PTs. But exercise can make some diseases worse. For people living with Long COVID, CFS, or ME, “toughing it out” or “pushing through it” won’t make them stronger. It will cost them days of their lives – leaving them barely enough energy to get out of bed or complete basic tasks. For long-term, sustainable recovery, the first goal of rehabilitation of these folks is to stabilize and manage their symptoms. Using pacing, heart-rate monitoring, and other strategies like breathing exercises can stop the fatigue cycle and start to get the body responding to activity more normally. Only then can we very gradually and cautiously introduce exercise into the mix, monitoring symptoms during and after activity to make sure we don’t overdo it.

As we learn more about the pathology behind Long COVID’s symptoms, rehabilitation will surely change and improve. But people who are living with Long COVID can’t afford to wait until science figures everything out about their disease. Fortunately, physical therapists have training and strategies that can help improve their lives right now.

Light Exercise, Not Bed Rest, Can Speed Concussion Recovery

Contrary to long-held wisdom, teen athletes recover from concussions sooner if they do light aerobic exercise rather than resting in a dark room, new research suggests.

Instead of so-called “cocoon therapy,” new research-supported therapy has young concussion patients getting out of bed and doing protected exercise earlier.

“What the research found was that adolescents were having a hard time recovering from sports-related concussions if we completely shut them down,” said study author Dr. Travis Miller, from Penn State Health Sports Medicine.

Treatment for teens with a suspected or diagnosed concussion typically begins with 24 to 48 hours of relative rest, followed by cautious exercise.

“Patients usually start with light cardio, such as walking, the elliptical or stationary bike. I wouldn’t put someone on their normal bicycle, where they could fall and injure their head,” Miller said. “As symptoms subside and days roll on, you can increase the intensity and duration of exercise.”

Young athletes may want to rush their return to full activity, but that’s not a good idea because they may develop chronic symptoms — such as headaches, foggy thinking and difficulty concentrating — and may be more susceptible to further concussions.

“We recognize they want to return [to full participation] as fast as possible. We, as sports medicine professionals want that, too. We grew up loving to play. We’ve been trained to get you back in the safest way possible,” Miller said.

“It is important to make sure symptoms are successfully resolved, and we are meeting all the guidelines for recovery before stepping back onto the court, field or rink,” he said, emphasizing that this will reduce chances of a repeat concussion.

Choose Carousel for your concussion protocol treatment including Variable Speed Reaction training using our state-of-the-art Korebalance System.

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Six Ways the U.S. Military Has Shaped the Physical Therapy Profession

15 Ways the US Military Has Shaped the Physical Therapy Profession

The physical therapy profession and U.S. armed forces have a long and collaborative relationship, one that includes a formal partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Following are a few accomplishments of our women and men in uniform.

The military introduced the country to physical therapy.


 Credit: U.S. Army Photograph.

On April 16 1947, President Harry S. Truman, posing here with Major (later Col.)
Emma Vogel, far right, and other senior officers, signed Public Law 80-36,
establishing the Women’s Medical Specialist Corps (WMSC) in the U.S.

The first physical therapists were reconstruction aides (“re-aides”), civilian employees of the Medical Department of the U.S. Army during World War I who rehabilitated injured soldiers and taught them how to adapt to everyday life after injuries and amputations.

After WWI’s end, as the military cut back on the number of aides, the first physical therapists took their knowledge to the civilian population, working for the U.S. Public Health Service, industrial accident clinics, orthopedic surgeons’ offices, hospitals, and schools for children with physical limitations.

The U.S. Army was key to the process of standardizing procedures.

According to Col. Emma Vogel, one of the first re-aides, prior to WWI very few physicians performed physical therapy procedures, which were looked upon with suspicion by many of their colleagues. It was not a defined discipline with clear standards or guidelines, and there was no research being conducted. Vogel, who later became the first chief of the Women’s Medical Specialist Corps in 1947, wrote that as a result of the success of the re-aides, “civilian practice in this field was given a tremendous impetus” and the Army played a key role in “stabilizing and standardizing physical therapy procedures.”

After WWII, thousands of soldiers were treated for amputations, spinal cord injuries, and other injuries. As a result, some hospitals began to specialize in treating specific populations, allowing for study of effectiveness of patient care, including wound healing, prosthesis fitting, gait analysis, progressive resistance exercise, and constant current stimulation. Severe injuries that would have resulted in immobility during WWI now had a much better prognosis.

Some of the first African American PTs were trained at Fort Huachuca.

The success of Emma Vogel’s 1941 War Emergency Training Course of WWII led to the launch of several more across the country, among them the Special Women’s Medical Service Corps Program for African-Americans at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, which was set up in 1943 to serve the all-black unit. Some of the first graduates included Edythe F. Bingham, Ruth R. Jones, Bernice P. Lockhart, Lillyanne Plummer, Anna L. Rogers, and Valjeanne Taylor.

Military therapists served with honor, even behind enemy lines.

Like their WWI predecessors, WWII therapists served stateside as well as overseas. Metta Baxter, stationed in Italy, was a prisoner of war and received the Legion of Merit. Helen Filbert and Bella Abramowitz Fisher received Bronze Stars for their work in the Dutch East Indies and Okinawa, respectively. Brunetta Kuehlthau and Mary McMillan were captured and held at an internment camp in Manila, Philippines — where Kuehlthau continued to treat patients. These heroes and their colleagues did not gain full commissioned status until 1944.

During the Korean Conflict, several military PTs were recognized for exceptional service, including Major Ethel M. Theilmann, with the Legion of Merit; and Captain Mary Torp and Major Elizabeth C. Jones, with Bronze Stars. During the Vietnam War, 47 Army PTs — including at least three men — treated soldiers, civilians, and POWs in three of the four combat zones.

The military was the first to train physical therapist assistants.

Late in WWII, the Army recognized the need for formally trained enlisted staff to assist PTs in the clinic. Previously, enlisted men were informally trained to help in the clinics but were needed in combat roles. In 1945, the Army approved the first formal program of instruction for the new classification of “physical therapy technicians.”

The military leads the way in direct access and team-based care.

Since the 1970s, the military has allowed soldiers with neuromusculoskeletal disorders to see a PT without referral from a physician, expediting recovery for more minor conditions and freeing up physicians to treat patients with traumatic injuries—which is especially important during combat. Rather than relying on old models of care, the military health system evaluates what needs to be in place for successful outcomes and what resources are needed to achieve them. Military PTs treat patients within a multidisciplinary team of providers, offering a model for the private sector in the shift toward value-based care.

To all our military PTs and PTAs and their families, past and present, thank you for your service.

This post features content originally published Nov. 11, 2019. We’ve included a few updates in this revision, and believe it’s a relevant tribute to our armed forces.

Article
Date: Friday, November 6, 2020

For Some Patients, COVID Just Won’t End.

We know there is a lot of variation in how COVID affects people. Some feel like they have a
bit of a cold, some feel like they have the flu, and some end up in the hospital. No matter the
symptoms, we tend to think that people get sick, get better and recover, then move on.
Most of the time, that’s what happens, but for about 10% of people who get COVID, the
experience is different.

So Why Won’t It End?

Long COVID is defined as ongoing symptoms for more than 12 weeks after the initial
infection. Exactly what those symptoms are varied. There’s currently a list of over 200
possible symptoms – but most people have the 3 most common. Those are: extreme fatigue,
post-exertional symptom exacerbation, and problems with memory or concentration –
commonly referred to as “brain fog.”

Extreme Fatigue:

The extreme fatigue associated with Long COVID affects the ability to complete daily tasks. It
causes severe tiredness that you can’t get rid of with rest or sleep. It’s also not related to
doing some physically demanding task.

PESE:

Post-exertional symptom exacerbation, or PESE is a disabling and often delayed exhaustion
disproportionate to the effort made. Patients are referring to this as a “crash”. The activity that
brings on the crash is something that was easily tolerated before the COVID-19 infection.
Some examples would be taking a shower, walking, attending a social activity, or even being
in a high sensory environment with flashing lights and loud noises.

Brain Fog:

“Brain fog” isn’t a medical condition. Instead, it’s a term used by patients to describe thinking
that is sluggish or fuzzy. In severe cases, people describe it as feeling like their brain shuts
down. They could be in the middle of a sentence and not be able to think of anything more to
say. They could be at work doing a task they’ve done a thousand times and be unable to
think of the next step. Just like the extreme fatigue and PESE we’ve already described, the
brain fog associated with Long COVID is disabling and affects every aspect of daily life.

We’re still learning exactly what causes Long COVID and how best to manage it. What we do
know is that Long COVID has an ongoing effect on patients. It touches every part of their
lives. We also know that we need to learn more about this condition, but we are treating people
who have it based on the training and facts we have to date!

Concussion Q&A and How We Can Help!

Did you know?

  • A concussion is a type of brain injury.
  • Imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, are not able to diagnose a concussion.
  • Most concussions (90%) are not associated with a loss of consciousness.

What is a concussion?

A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury or mTBI. It occurs as a result of a direct blow to the head or a blow elsewhere to the body where the force is transmitted up through the head (think about whiplash and how the brain is bouncing around inside the skull). Loss of consciousness does not always occur. In fact, most people who have a concussion do not lose consciousness.

So, what really happens?

The impact on the brain causes the brain cells to stretch and become damaged. The damage to the brain cells causes them to release neurotransmitters, which are the chemicals of the brain that allows it to function normally. The imbalance of these chemicals causes the brain to have to work harder and requires more energy, resulting in an “energy crisis” within the brain.

What are the signs and symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of a concussion can occur immediately or hours to days following the injury and include¹:

  • Emotional: anger, sadness, nervous or anxious, irritability
  • Mental: confusion, feeling foggy, poor memory, poor concentration
  • Physical: headache/migraine, clumsiness, dizziness or loss of balance, nausea or vomiting, fuzzy or blurry vision, sensitivity to noise or light
  • Sleep: feeling tired, trouble falling asleep, trouble staying awake, too much or too little sleep

What is the recovery time?

A typical concussion will fully resolve in less than 3 weeks with minimal intervention, with significant improvement in the first 7-10 days. In about 20% of concussed people, a concussion takes greater than 4 weeks to resolve. A second concussion before fully recovering from the initial injury can have detrimental effects, including prolonged recovery, permanent brain damage, and even death.

How can physical therapy help?²

Physical therapists are part of the multidisciplinary team capable of helping people return to their normal activities and lifestyles after a concussion. Physical therapists will complete a comprehensive assessment and are highly qualified to address and implement:

  • Orthopedic issues and pain from the injury
  • Balance, dizziness, and vestibular/vertigo problems
  • Visual and ocular motor problems
  • Concussion Protocol using Korebalance System

What is the Korebalance System?

A state-of-the-art system uses the latest in virtual and interactive technology, offering high-tech balance assessments and rehabilitation.

How it Works:

It’s the world’s first balance training system incorporating Variable Speed Reaction training together with cognitive interaction; it delivers a higher quality of physical therapy by allowing us to customize programming and gradually adjusting difficulty levels and tasks over the course of treatment.  Korebalance® uses visual, vestibular (inner ear) and proprioception (knowing where the body is in space) to find or create new pathways in the brain, improving balance.

eye  ear  foot

What it Does:

  • Improves balance, stability, coordination & posture;
  • Improves agility, reaction time and motor control;
  • Improves confidence for seniors decreasing fall risks;
  • Trains the body to respond to an unstable environment (real-life activities);
  • Rehabilitates concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s), and associated dizziness;
  • Keeps athletes on the field.

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¹ “Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 Mar. 2019, www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/symptoms.html.

² Mucha, Anne, and Susan Whitney. 4 May 2020., MedBridge Education. https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/certificate_programs/11026-concussion-assessment-medical-management.

 

Lymphedema. What is it? How can physical therapy help?

The lymphatic system collects lymph fluid (excess fluid, proteins, and other substances) from the body tissues and carries it back to the bloodstream. Lymph fluid moves slowly through lymphatic vessels and passes through lymph nodes as it returns to the bloodstream. Swelling occurs when the normal drainage of fluid is disrupted, and lymph fluid accumulates in the body tissues. This can be due to a blockage or surgical removal of lymph nodes. This results in large amounts of lymph fluid collecting in the tissue.

Lymphedema can be a hereditary condition. Most often, however, it results from blockages in lymph vessels caused by infection, cancer, and scar tissue due to radiation therapy or the surgical removal of lymph nodes.

You are at greater risk for lymphedema if you:

  • Had surgery to remove your lymph nodes in the underarm, groin, or pelvic area.
  • Received radiation therapy to your underarm, groin, pelvic region, or neck.
  • Have scar tissue in the lymphatic ducts, veins, or under the collarbones, caused by surgery or radiation therapy.
  • Received taxane chemotherapy.
  • Have cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes in the neck, chest, underarm, pelvis, or abdomen.
  • Have tumors in the pelvis, abdomen, or chest that put pressure on your lymphatic vessels and/or lymphatic duct and block fluid drainage.
  • Have inflammation of the arm or leg after surgery.
  • Are older.
  • Have a poor diet or are overweight. These conditions may delay recovery from surgery and radiation therapy and increase the risk of lymphedema.

Signs and Symptoms

With lymphedema, you may have:

  • Swelling in your arms, legs, shoulders, hands, fingers, chest, or neck.
  • Skin that feels tighter, harder, or thicker than normal in the affected area.
  • Aching, tingling, or a feeling that your arm or leg is heavy.
  • Weakness in your arm or leg.
  • Inability to move certain joints, such as your wrist or ankle, as freely as usual.
  • Pitting (indentation) in the tissues of your limb (made by pressing a finger on the skin that takes time to “fill in” after removing the pressure).
  • Clothing, rings, bracelets, or shoes that fit tighter than before.
  • Repeated infections in your arm or leg.
  • Joint pain.
  • Difficulty doing your daily activities.

If you have fever and chills, and your limb with lymphedema is red, swollen, or painful and feels warm to the touch, you may have an infection. Contact your doctor.

How Is It Diagnosed?

Your physical therapist will review your medical history and medicines and perform a thorough physical examination. They also will gather the following information:

  • Your actual weight compared with your ideal weight.
  • Circumference measurements of your arms, legs, chest, and neck.
  • How well you’re able to do activities of daily living. These include bathing and grooming, dressing and undressing, or walking, eating, and drinking.
  • Whether you have a history of edema, radiation therapy, chemotherapy treatments, or surgery.
  • The amount of time between surgery and when you first noticed the swelling in a limb.
  • A history of other chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease, or phlebitis (inflammation of the veins).

How Can a Physical Therapist Help?

Your physical therapist will serve as an important member of your health care team. They will work closely with you to design a treatment program to help control the swelling and meet your goals for returning to your activities.

In the early stages of lymphedema, when the swelling is mild, it often can be managed by techniques that encourage lymph flow such as:

  • Compression garments.
  • Exercise.
  • Elevation of the affected limb.

For more severe swelling, your physical therapist may use a treatment plan called complete decongestive therapy to help improve the flow of lymph fluid. This includes:

  • Manual lymphatic drainage, which feels like a light form of massage.
  • A personalized exercise program.
  • Compression bandaging to help reduce your swelling.
  • Providing you with information on skin and nail hygiene to reduce the risk of infection.

Your physical therapist will carefully monitor the size of your affected limb throughout your treatment sessions. Once the size of your limb has decreased to the desired measurements, your physical therapist will help you begin to take over your own care and will:

  • Develop a safe and sensible personalized exercise program for you to do on your own. This program will help you increase your physical fitness without overly straining your affected arm or leg.
  • Update your compression garments to ensure they fit properly and best meet your needs.
  • Educate you about how proper nutrition and diet, and skin and nail care can help reduce your risk of infection.

Can This Injury or Condition Be Prevented?

Some risk factors for lymphedema, such as treatment for cancer, cannot be avoided. If you have had your lymph nodes removed, or received radiation or certain chemotherapies, but you don’t have lymphedema, you might still be at risk for developing it. Your physical therapist will help you identify factors that may increase your risk for lymphedema. They will provide you with suggestions for managing these risks so that you can reduce the likelihood of developing it.

Your physical therapist will:

  • Design a safe and sensible individualized home exercise program to improve your overall fitness and help you avoid a weight gain that can increase your risk of lymphedema.
  • Develop a safe and sensible exercise program that will avoid straining the affected limb and help you reduce the risk of developing lymphedema following surgery or infection.
  • Periodically assess the size of your limb and, if there is an increase in limb size, provide conservative, early intervention to help prevent further swelling.
  • Help you maintain good skin/nail care and hygiene.

Poor drainage of the lymphatic system might make infection of your arm or leg more likely. Even a small infection could lead to serious lymphedema. You can help prevent infections from occurring by avoiding cuts and abrasions, burns, punctures, and insect bites on your affected limb.

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choosept.com

Five Reasons to Choose Physical Therapy Early for Pain

If you experience an injury or develop pain, seeing a physical therapist early can help you address and manage your symptoms. Physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement. A physical therapist can help you:

  • Get better safely and without fear of causing further injury.
  • Stay physically active and avoid the cost and potential risks of surgery and prescription opioids.
  • Recover as soon as possible.
  • Avoid other problems caused by changes your body makes to avoid pain.
  • Achieve your goals.

Acute Versus Chronic Pain

Acute pain. Typically, the first two to three weeks after an injury is called the acute phase. During this phase, it is easier to diagnose and treat pain.

Chronic pain. Pain lasting longer than three months is considered chronic. Identifying the cause of chronic pain is more complicated, and treating chronic pain takes longer.

A recent study, published in May 2020 in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, found that people who get physical therapy early after the onset of low back pain have much better results than those who wait. Other studies, such as an October 2015 article published in JAMA, and a July 2020 article published in The Mental Health Clinician, have shown that early physical therapy improves disability and decreases pain and reduces the need for medication.

Seeing a physical therapist early, in the acute phase of pain or injury, often leads to the best results. Here are five benefits of seeing a physical therapist early if you experience pain.

1. Get Better Safely, Without Fear of Causing Further Injury

Pain may cause you to avoid activity for fear of causing more damage. After a thorough evaluation your physical therapist will design a personalized plan of care based on your needs and goals to:

  • Improve and manage your pain.
  • Safely improve movement, function, and quality of life.
  • Recover from injury and prevent future injury.

Physical therapists often work with other members of your health care team to ensure the best possible care.

2. Stay Physically Active To Avoid the Cost and Potential Risk of Surgery and Prescription Opioids

When an injury or pain occurs, our body enters protection mode. Often, people in pain avoid moving altogether. But avoiding all activity can delay recovery, and lead to new problems.

To recover from most causes of pain, it’s important to keep moving. An active lifestyle that is appropriate for your condition can help you manage symptoms and decrease or eliminate pain. A physical therapist will help you:

  • Understand your pain.
  • Set realistic expectations for recovery.
  • Prescribe exercise specific to your condition, needs, and goals.

A physical therapy program may help you avoid or delay surgery and can help you properly prepare for surgery, if required. Physical therapy also is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a safe and effective alternative to opioids for the management of most non–cancer-related pain. A physical therapist can help you understand the use of any medication that is best for your condition and show you safe ways to reduce your pain.

3. Recover as Soon as Possible

Those who seek care within two weeks of an injury or onset of pain may require less care. In addition to treating your pain, your physical therapist will help you better understand your symptoms and provide strategies to manage your pain and recovery, as soon as your condition allows.

4. Avoid Other Problems Caused by Chronic Pain

When pain lingers, we may develop new movement patterns to avoid it. As a result, you may develop additional issues that require more time and effort to treat and reverse. Problems that may develop include:

  • Stiffness.
  • Loss of strength and endurance.
  • Increased sensitivity to and frequency of pain.

Seeing a physical therapist at the onset of pain may prevent it from becoming chronic.

5. Achieve Your Goals

Movement is crucial to your health, quality of life, and independence. For some people, pain makes movement a challenge. Your physical therapist can discuss your goals and work with you to develop a program to achieve them so you can get back to your desired activities or sport as soon as possible.

Physical therapists are movement experts. They improve quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement.

Contact us directly for more information and to schedule a FREE consultation.

source: choosept.com

 

Undergoing Surgery? Prehab Before You Rehab!

Evidenced-based research shows that as few as 1 to 2 sessions of pre-operative physical therapy can reduce post-operative care by 29% for patients undergoing a total hip or knee replacement; this could be a  $1,000 + per individual!

The Facts

Between 2012 and 2050 the number of Total Knee Replacements (TKAs) performed annually in the United States alone is expected to increase by 855%, equating to 2,854 procedures per 100,000 US Citizens over 40 years of age; prevalence was higher for women of 50 years of age.

Globally, hip and knee osteoarthritis (the most common form of arthritis when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time) was ranked as the 11th highest contributor to disability among almost 300 health conditions.

Pandemic Era Hospital Stays Are Shorter

First of all, no one wants to stay in the Hosptial longer than necessary. Second, you most likely won’t be able to during the Pandemic anyways. Finally, depending on the type of surgery – some are outpatient which is why rehabbing is crucial to helping you prepare for the best post-operative health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Components of Care

Pre-operative physical therapy can be as little as 1 to 2 visits. However, for more acute cases we suggest a minimum of 6 to 10 visits. This way we can complete a full motor function and strength training program while you are awaiting surgery which will increase optimal post-surgical outcomes of associated inactivity and decline for maximum recovery. Your sessions will include:

Thorough Physical Evaluation

Extensive Patient Education

  Pain Management

Customized Pre- & Post-Surgery Plan for Elective/Non-Urgent Procedures

Results

Post-operative outcomes could be achieved in a shorter period of time by maintaining a higher level of training and fitness before your surgery to be able to fully resume outpatient rehabilitation; possibly eliminating admission into respite or residential care, or home health therapy if there are no post-operative complications.

 

For Critically Ill Patients, Leaving The ICU is Just the Beginning

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on intensive care units and critically ill patients. Most of the focus has been on survival, which is the first goal. Someone heading into an intensive care unit is very ill, possibly being kept alive by a ventilator or some other piece of medical equipment. But surviving the ICU is only the first chapter.

The second one is much longer, and it tells the story of recovery after the ICU. Being that ill has far-reaching effects. Significant losses of physical, mental and cognitive abilities after discharge aren’t uncommon. This group of problems is called Post-Intensive Care Syndrome or PICS. It’s a serious issue that’s now recognized as a public health burden.

The effects of PICS are wide-reaching. Physical declines can lead to serious difficulty completing basic daily tasks like getting to the bathroom, preparing a meal, or walking to the mailbox. 50% of ICU survivors still have limitations in daily activities 1 year later, showing how serious and long-lasting this problem is.

Mental health issues are common for ICU survivors. They show significant rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD. These conditions have a real impact on the quality of life after leaving the ICU.

ICU survivors also commonly show declines in cognitive abilities. 77% have cognitive impairments at 3 months post-discharge and 71% have impairments 1 year out. Cognitive issues can take the form of poor memory, slower thinking, difficulty making decisions, or difficulty concentrating.

An important professional in combating PICS is the physical therapist. They typically begin seeing the patient in the ICU. PTs are vital in getting the patient up and walking early. A progressive exercise program is also started as soon as it’s safe for the patient.

While PICS isn’t totally preventable, recognizing the losses that remain after discharge from the ICU is an important step. Involving physical therapists and other rehab professionals early helps combat the effects of PICS and allows patients to return to higher-quality lives.