by stretchmobility | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
Pain Is Your Brain’s Way Of Telling You Something Is Wrong, Not Unlike The Check Engine Light In Your Car
When the check engine light comes on in your car, you immediately know that the car engine needs your prompt attention in order to prevent further, often bigger, issues. In order to ensure the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of our vehicles, you have to provide regular maintenance.You change your oil, regulate your tire pressure, replace old tires and wiper blades and stay on top of regular maintenance to ensure that your cars are reliable enough to sustain their purpose.
But what about our bodies?
More often than not, (due to busy schedules or tight budgets) we eat processed foods, drink sugar laden beverages and rush around constantly. We keep our bodies fueled with poor quality foods and often sit for long hours in front of a computer or television screen. In the midst of our chaotic schedules, we often seek what’s most convenient—like fast food to eat, and less than supportive shoes to wear, and we spend most of our time focusing on everything we have to accomplish in a day rather than taking a second to listen to what our bodies are telling us. Regular stress and neglect can wear our bodies down and cause larger problems down the road. Fortunately, our body has a way to inform us of when something is wrong, this convenient signal is known quite well as pain. However, many of us ignore pain and consider it to be normal or insignificant. Although some pain may be fleeting and insignificant, the vast majority of pain is an indicator that something is wrong and requires the attention of a specialist in order to be resolved.
Do you know when your body is alerting you to get checked out?
Usually we go to the doctor when we are pain, sit in a waiting room full of other sore, sick people only to receive medications that will temporarily help us feel better by masking the pain. Or, we ignore injuries and put off seeking help until we can no longer function in our daily lives or jobs. By that point, we’ve ignored our body’s “check engine light” for so long that our only solution is to mask it with more medications or even undergo extensive surgery.
What are some common injuries that cause pain?
Herniated Disc- Discs are found between each vertebrae in your spine. They act as a cushion to prevent the bones from rubbing together. A herniation can occur with undue stress is placed on the spine causing the disc to burst or leak. This herniation causes pressure on a nerve and can cause the nerve to be injured or irritated. Disc herniation is found most in the neck and lower back.
- Scoliosis– A curvature of the spine opposite your natural curve. A normal spinal curve is distorted with scoliosis, causing a side shift of bones and the other structures in the spine. With this shift, the muscles try to balance usually causing myofascial restrictions that create a holding pattern to prevent pain.
- Arthritis/Osteoarthritis– Arthritis can affect the spine and other joints in the body. As you age, the friction from gravity, and poor posture as well as how your body corrects itself can cause pain. You may find that you are stiff after sitting or when waking.
- Muscle and ligament injury– These are the most common injuries and are usually caused be performing a task in poor posture when muscles are weak and the joints do not have their proper range of motion. Most of these injuries heal with in a few days to a couple of weeks.
- Osteoporosis- Called in the medical field “The Silent Killer.” As you age, the rigidity of the bone is weakened causing fractures to occur. You do not usually know that you have fractured until after the fracture happens and you have muscle pain from the fracture.
- Tendonitis– This is an inflamed tendon. Your tendons attach to your muscles and then to your bones. Usually these tendons are strained and become inflamed, causing pain with movement or walking.
- SI pain- Sacroiliac dysfunction “Literally a pain in your butt,” causing intense pain when standing or going from a sitting position to a standing position. The pelvis is usually rotated in one position causing this inflammation.
- Plantar Fasciitis– The plantar fascia is found in the arch of your foot. Pain is usually most intense when waking in the morning, usually causing you difficulty in bearing weight. In most cases plantar fasciitis can be prevented and healing can start with the use of properly fitted orthotics.
- Sciatica/Low Back pain– The nerves in your low back are affected by the vertebrae shifting and pressing on the nerve. You will feel this in your butt and running down the back side of your leg. Long periods sitting can cause more pain.
- Carpal tunnel/tennis elbow– These are typically overuse injuries that stem from prolonged poor positioning and overuse. Numbness/pain occurs due to the inflammatory process. Weakness and loss of muscle usually occur in more chronic cases.
- Headache/Migraine– Usually related to weakness in the upper back and increased myofascia in the neck. Diet can effect headaches. Headaches are very complex and require one on one attention as they are usually more chronic in nature.
We have an “indicator signal” in our bodies for a reason, not unlike the one we have in our cars. These signals are there to help us, and are not meant to go unattended. If you have muscle or joint pain—no matter how mild or intense— the best alternative is to seek an evaluation from a licensed Physical Therapist.
How can we help?
At Stretch Physical Therapy & Total Wellness, we specialize in resolving, relieving, and preventing pain. A simple trip to our local physical therapy clinic can often help you avoid costly trips to the doctor and expensive surgeries. At Stretch, we offer pain relief and physical therapy. We thoroughly assess the area of pain to accurately locate the root cause of the problem. We, then, tailor a plan of care for you in order to start fixing (not masking) that problem. In fact, the earlier you seek treatment, the shorter the time necessary to resolve and put an end to the pain. Call us today if you experience any sort of pain. We’re here to help.
by stretchmobility | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
Choose Physical Therapy first for Spinal Stenosis
Here is a good article that shows that Physical Therapy treatment for Spinal Stenosis is as effective as the more popular decompression surgery. In healthcare today, surgery seems to be the first option. If you are looking to prevent or fix your spinal stenosis without an expensive surgery or the use of pain medication,then read this article.
PT and Surgery Equally Effective for Spinal Stenosis
Physical Therapy is a great non surgical option for those clients who prefer not to undergo surgery. Stretch Physical Therapy & Total Wellness in West Chester Township Ohio has helped many patients avoid and cancel surgeries.
What can you expect from an appointment with a Stretch Physical Therapist? Learn more about what stenosis is and how to start healing from the pain. If you have any questions about the article or how we can help you heal quickly with simple exercises and manual therapy, call us Today at 1-513-874-8800.
by stretchmobility | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
Myofasical Release Benefits
Myofacial Release is a technique used to help relief pain. In 90% of our Physical Therapy patients we are seeing improvement in pain with as little as one treatment of myofasical release.
What is fascia: fascia is found in every body. It is like the covering/casing that is common when we eat hot dogs or sausage. Your body has fascia that covers the muscles under the skin. Facial restrictions become a problem with injury and dysfunction. As a pain becomes more severe our bodies use facial bands to help the body compensate and stay out of pain. These bands if left for too long, can cause severe weakness and over time restrict proper movement causing a person to lose function and mobility.
Benefits of Myofasical Release Therapy: While working with our clients in Physical Therapy we are finding Myofascial release to be a major component to healing and pain relief. By working to see where the root cause of the pain is coming from, we have found greater success in our treatments with the use of MFR in conjunction with other manual therapy techniques.
Who Benefits from myofascial release: Anyone who has myofasical bands that are keeping there muscles from moving and contracting as they should. Pain is usually an indicator that something is wrong. Our therapists are trained on Manual techniques to help you fell better FAST and reduce unneccessary surgeries and medications that have harmful side effects.
To learn more about myofasical release and if you would benefit from this technique call us today. 513-874-8800.
by stretchmobility | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
The answer is “YES”
At Stretch Physical Therapy & Total Wellness we are saving people money everyday. How? It’s easy: Call our office at 513-874-8800, we can typically see you within 24 hours. We will perform a comprehensive exam on the pain you are experiencing. We will let you know immediately if you need to see your doctor for possible xrays. If you have pain that is re-producible then we can get you started on decreasing your pain as soon as your first visit. Saving you time and money, you don’t have to see your doctor then come to see a PT.
by stretchmobility | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
Are your parents as Risk for Falls? Here are some simple tests!
- Can they stand with their feet together for greater than 10 seconds without holding on?
- Can they stand Tandem ( one foot in front of the other) for greater than 10 seconds without holding on?
- Can they stand on 1 leg without the use of their hands?
If you answered no to the above questions, then they are at risk for a fall this year! Falls can be prevented.
- 1 out of 3 people age 65 WILL FALL THIS YEAR!
- 1 out of 2 people age 80 or older WILL FALL THIS YEAR!
- If you have fallen, you will fall again within the next 6 months unless you correct the problem.
- Females are at greater risk of falling.
Information taken from CDC web site
Why is balance so important?
BALANCE IS REQUIRED FOR MANY OF LIFE’S TASKS SUCH AS
- GETTING UP FROM A CHAIR
- CLIMBING STEPS
- RUNNING
- PARTICIPATING IN SPORTS
- AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT – EVEN WALKING
We Can Help!
We offer 2 programs at our clinic.
- Post Fall Physical Therapy
- In Home Fall Prevention Program
For those who want to continue to achieve results to prevent falls we offer private pay programs that are One on one with with our Fall Prevention Specialist 2-3x/week. This program will build on the foundation that you gained in Physical Therapy and help you to continue to build strength, balance and flexibilty.
Have difficulty with Transportation and wish to have one of our fall prevention coordinators come to you? We offer Fall Prevention at your home in West Chester and Fairfield areas currently.
Our current patients have NOT fallen since starting our program. With this program we are helping clients stay at home and not have to move into assisted living facilities! Saving families thousands of dollars a month!
Stop the falls TODAY, don’t let a fall cause you/or your parents to lose their independence.
Call Now 513-874-8800 !
Kim Nartker PTA, owner of Stretch Physiacal Therapy & Total Wellness
Having worked with seniors for 15+ years, she has experianced a gap with seniors in the area of falls. Seeing a need for fall prevention she developed a fall prevention program. Currently Physical Therapy is the only option offered to our community after a fall. Kim has seen that Physical therapy alone is not a complete solution. Physical Therapy focuses on getting a senior back to where they were before they fell. What about what caused the fall? Can’t we prevent future falls?
With those questions in mind, Kim developed a fall prevention program at Stretch Physical Therapy and Total Wellness. Kim reports “with our one on one fall prevention services we have seen a huge reduction in falls.” We have also benefited the spouses of our clients, as they are able to discuss their caregiver concerns with other caregivers at our facility. We have also been able to help clients stay home and not move into an assisted living facilities. This has helped our clients save money monthly on costly assisted living facilities that do not prevent falls!
Our Fall Prevention Coordinators are trained by Kim and our Physical Therapist. They follow an evidence based care model that has been proven to reduce the risk of falls.
by stretchmobility | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
Should I attend a yoga class to improve my flexibility?
I am getting more complaints from patients that are coming in for shoulder pain and back pain after being told by their doctor to start Yoga.
Flexibility is one of the 4 recommended components of a well rounded exercise routine as you age. Although most of us jump right into a yoga class thinking that there are no precautions. My clinic is seeing a lot of injuries from large group yoga classes. Now dont let me scare you, many people that start a yoga routine are not injured. But I often am asked by those that are, “How can I gain the flexibility that I need without the risk of injury”?
Well, that is actually a great question. Our bodies change as we age. Our muscles are not as strong as they were when we were younger. Our joints dont have the synovial fluid that it used to. Causing us to require stretching to maintain proper mobility. Most of us work at professions that require sitting over a long period of time, thus, causing poor posture that increases our risk for injuries. So back to my patients question.
We recommend a stretching class. One that is instructed by a professional that understands each persons deficits and knows when a client is at risk for an injury. We have started Stretching classes at our facility in West Chester Township Ohio to help people improve their flexibility without the risk of injury. Our classes focus on total body stretching working towards yoga poses and getting our clients into a more high level Yoga class. It is important to start in a small group setting to understand how your body should feel with the proper stretching and make sure that you are not putting yourself at risk for an injury.
If you have any questions on how you should stretch and avoid injury, call us today for more information. (513) 874-8800!
Happy Stretching!
