Let’s admit it – we expect pain as we age! When we are young, our bodies seem to be able to get away with anything. We can run, jump, play, fall off our bikes, jump on a trampoline, and basically run ourselves ragged without any further complications. We go to bed and wake up feelingContinue Reading »
Physical Therapy utilizes art and science to create a specific program for restoration of each patient’s physical function. Later blog articles will focus on the ART while this article is focusing on the SCIENCE. Physical Therapists are passionate about finding, confirming, and using optimal treatment strategies for their patients. We are greatly indebted to theContinue Reading »
Thank you for walking with me through this blog series on chronic pain. I hope you have found it useful in discerning the optimum path for your health and wellness. This post is a general review of what we have covered. Chronic pain includes pain that has not resolved in a normal, timely manner. In general,Continue Reading »
(formerly known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) occurs after a trauma to the distal part of the extremity or after direct injury to the nerve. CRPS is associated with distal extremity pain and swelling, with the pain being disproportionate in time and degree to the injury. Patients may also have increased bloodContinue Reading »
Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) involve pain and dysfunction around the TMJ (your jaw) and jaw muscles. The National Instititue of Dental and Craniofacial Research performed a 3 year study to identify biopsychosocial and genetic risk factors in the development of TMD. Potential risk factors for first-onset TMD were identified with older age, African American, pain onContinue Reading »
Myofascial pain has been estimated to be the source of pain in 85% of patients attending a pain center. Fibromyalgia affects 4-12% of the population. Both of these are rather “new” diagnoses in our medical system and there has been a great deal of research done recently. Let’s dive into understanding WHAT these diagnoses meanContinue Reading »
Manual Therapy is the art of knowing what tissue needs to be moved in which direction combined with the science behind the biomechanics of the body. Manual therapy may include soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilizations, joint manipulations, and teaching self-mobilization exercises. But it also includes the knowledge of WHICH tissues to move to obtain optimumContinue Reading »
One hundred million adults in America suffer from chronic pain. This is greater than the number of individuals affected by diabetes, cancer, and heart disease combined! The evidence on chronic pain and what decreases symptoms or improves outcomes for this population is plentiful. However, clear and decisive answers on what should be done to decreaseContinue Reading »
The research indicates what Physical Therapists have long known – education is the key to rehabilitation! Education becomes even more important as we discuss chronic pain. Every PT has stories of patients they were able to treat quickly, who had good long term results. We thrive on those patients and we are just as happyContinue Reading »
As we are talking about chronic pain in this series of blog articles, it is critical to talk about how our body chooses to move in response to pain. Let’s take an example of a sprained ankle. When someone sprains their ankle they may start to walk with their foot turned out to the side. Continue Reading »
