Category: Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy Clinic in West BloomfieldBlogPhysical Therapy
By manish 0 Comments Back and Neck Pain, Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy

Get Rid of Your Chronic Back Pain! 5 Ways a Physical Therapist Can Help Relieve Your Pain

How Physical Therapy Helps You Triumph Over Chronic Back Pain

Does chronic back pain keep you from living the life you want? This debilitating symptom, which may be caused by a variety of underlying issues, may make you wish you could just spend the rest of your life in your recliner. Actually, however, you can conquer your chronic back pain by getting out of that recliner and scheduling a course of physical therapy. Here are five ways that our physical therapist at Premier Therapy Centers can use this healing modality to help you put chronic back pain behind you for good.

1. Physical Therapy Strengthens Back Support and Resistance

A weak back is more likely to be a painful back. Muscles that don’t adequately support the back and spinal column leave you with postural problems that lead to pinched nerves, chronic musculoskeletal strain, and an increased vulnerability to acute injuries. Weak back muscles also tend to become easily stressed and strained, becoming inflamed, stiff and painful as their default state. Physical therapy exercises designed to beef up the strength of these muscles can provide the back with the support it needs. You’ll stand with a straighter posture, experience less day-to-day discomfort, and resist future injuries more easily.

2. Physical Therapy Increases Flexibility

Pain and stiffness go hand in hand where the human back is concerned. Osteoarthritis of the spinal joints, hips or pelvis can cause chronic pain. Muscles and connective tissues in the back reflexively tighten up in the presence of pain, which only makes you stiffer. Stretches and other physical therapy exercises can lengthen those muscles, loosening them up and increasing your pain-free back motion.

3. Physical Therapy Can Ease Inflammation

Chronic inflammation often means chronic back pain. Arthritis, autoimmune disorders, facet joint strain, tendinitis, and other such problems can leave you in constant discomfort. A physical therapist can figure out what kinds of exercises can help to increase circulation and reduce inflammation gently and naturally. Other options may include inflammation-busting techniques such as massage therapy, cold laser therapy, heat applications, cold applications, and ultrasound therapy to boost blood flow and help the tissues expel inflammatory substances.

4. Physical Therapy Guides You Toward a Less Painful Lifestyle

You might be your back’s worst enemy without even realizing it. Chronic back pain can be related to numerous lifestyle choices. Sleeping on the wrong kind of mattress, carrying too much weight, doing too much awkward bending or twisting in your workplace — these and other innocent errors can spell ongoing problems for your back. A physical therapist can point out these problems and suggest some healthy changes.

5. Physical Therapy Can Remap Your Brain’s Pain Response

Physical therapy may do plenty of good for diagnosed conditions, but what do you do if your chronic pain is idiopathic — stemming from no obvious source? Even in this situation, a physical therapist can help you. Physical therapists can employ “brain rewiring” through mindful awareness techniques that enable chronic pain sufferers to stay calm in the face of their symptoms. Since pain is greatly worsened by accompanying anxiety, you can learn how to minimize the pain signals’ effects on your psyche, thus allowing them to fade into the background.

Are You Ready to Talk to a Physical Therapist?

Physical therapy could do wonders for your aching back, but only if you’re willing to take that first essential step. Contact Premier Therapy Centers today and schedule an initial appointment!

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By manish 0 Comments Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy

Does your desk job keep you sedentary? Here’s how to stay active during the 9-5!

One of the many benefits of physical therapy is that it helps show you how physical activity is medicine! Our physical therapy team at Premier Therapy Centers strongly believes that the human body was meant to move, and when it doesn’t, things start to break down. Unfortunately, the modern environment isn’t great for promoting regular physical activity. Many of us sit in chairs for most the workday, and we rely on computers and the internet to do the bulk of our occupational duties.

Incredibly, sitting for too long has been linked to a wide range of health problems—including vascular damage in the legs, heart disease, and early mortality. A 2018 research paper published in the American Journal of Nursing also found that sitting for too long (e.g., seven to eight hours per day) can have detrimental effects on your health even if you exercise regularly!

Want to stay more active during your day job? Try these five tips to get moving.

1. Invest in an Adjustable Stand Up Desk

If your workspace (and perhaps your office manager or human resources department) allows it, consider arranging your desk into an adjustable sit to stand workstation. The ability to stand more at work has been shown to boost productivity and psychological health in research studies, including 2018 randomized controlled trial published in BMJ.

2. Take Your Meetings and Lunch Breaks On the Road

Should we be choosing convenience over our health? Maybe not so often! Instead of shooting an email or text to your colleague, get up and walk to their office to deliver the message directly. Likewise, talk to your peers about taking more phone calls and meetings “in transit” (e.g., while going for a walk around the building). Of course, privacy matters, so you shouldn’t be discussing sensitive issues in places where people may overhear it. But even if you just try to take a few laps around the building during your lunchtime, you’ll definitely be getting yourself out of your seat more often.

3. Drink a Lot of Water

Drinking water keeps your tissues well-perfused, your joints well-lubricated, and your bladder, well, full! You’ll be naturally prompted to get up and walk more since you’ll need more bathroom breaks. So, keep a glass or steel water bottle at your desk and drink up!

4. Set Movement Reminders

It’s so easy to get caught up in your work. But sitting for more than an hour at a time can be hard on your body and can exacerbate or increase the risk of health problems like neck pain, back pain, and degenerative disc disease.

So, set a timer to go off at least once per hour. Use this time to take a brief movement break—a few stretches or exercises in your office or a stroll down the hall. A physical therapist can offer individualized guidance for improving your posture, optimizing your ergonomic set-up, and establishing a home exercise program—or work exercise program, for that matter! Our physical therapy staff is also trained in work hardening programs. We can help you heal from and prevent work-related injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica.

5. Wear a Pedometer

We know from research studies that wearing a pedometer encourages people to walk more throughout the day—by as much as a mile in some cases! Consider discreetly adding one to your work attire to inspire you to move more while you’re on the clock. Don’t feel like wearing a pricey gadget? You can buy inexpensive ones online or in retail stores.

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By manish 0 Comments Health and Wellness, Joint Stiffness and Pain, Physical Therapy

4 Things To Do if You Wake Up Feeling Achy

Why are you feeling so achy and stiff in the morning? Could it be an old, ill-suited mattress? An unsupportive pillow? A poor sleeping position? Do you have an underlying health condition like osteoarthritis? What about dehydration? Maybe it’s a combination of these issues, or maybe it’s something else entirely. Whatever the reason, a.m. stiffness is no joke! To get your day started in the right direction and help yourself feel more limber and energized in the morning, check out these four top tips from our physical therapy team.

1. Drink Up

Your body loses a lot of water at night while you’re sleeping, mostly through sweat and breath. So, it’s not unusual to wake up in the morning and be super dehydrated. Unfortunately, dehydration can contribute to stiff, sore, and achy joints and muscles since our tissues will lack the water they need to feel and function at their best.
Of course, we know many people prefer a fresh cup of java before anything else. But before you reach for your cup o’ Joe, first drink one or two cold glasses of water instead. This will refresh and energize you, replenish your body’s water stores, and may help your body. Bonus: drinking more water may help you lose weight, and we know obesity is associated with chronic pain.

2. Breathe!

Deep breathing is so powerful that it’s routinely used as a way to relax the body, alleviate tension and stress, and decrease pain. We encourage you to use your breath as a tool for relieving morning tension.
There are so many breathing exercises to choose from! A popular one is called box breathing (aka square breathing or 4×4 breathing). To do, breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale through your mouth for a count of 4, and hold for a count of 4 before breathing in again. Repeat for 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Get Moving

Some of us toss and turn more than others, but we all move our bodies less frequently when we’re asleep compared to when we’re awake. This may slow circulation and cause our tissues to become stiff, especially if we sleep in odd positions or have an underlying health problem like arthritis.

By the way: your achy back may not be just because of your mattress. Spinal discs become imbibed with fluid at night as we sleep horizontally (since gravity compresses our spines less in this position). While this is a normal physiological process, it can make our backs feel super stiff.

One of the best ways to stimulate circulation, increase tissue perfusion, and loosen up your connective tissues is to move! So, try to do some sort of physical activity soon after you wake up. This could be as simple as some stretches and exercises while lying or sitting on your bed, a gentle yoga flow, or even a brisk walk around your neighborhood.

Just remember to always consult with your doctor, physical therapist, or other appropriate healthcare provider before starting any new exercise routine. Speaking of which…

4. Consult With a Physical Therapist

If your morning achiness is severe enough to cause you stress or affect your daily life, it may be time to consult with a physical therapist. He or she can diagnose and manage many underlying health conditions. He or she can also offer tips on improving your sleep hygiene and posture, and prescribe interventions that will maximize your connective tissue health overall and help you feel and function better.

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By manish 0 Comments Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy, Post Surgery, Surgical Rehab

Do you have an upcoming surgery? 3 Reasons to attend post-surgical rehab for a better recovery.

Every year, our physical therapy team meets thousands of individuals recovering from surgery. Whether you’re undergoing a joint replacement, a back surgery, or some other procedure, we’re confident that working with a physical therapist can help you heal up and get back to your active lifestyle as efficiently and safely as possible.

Curious about why physical therapy is so important in the post-surgical window? We’ve got three reasons to pique your interest.

1. Control and minimize your pain.

A physical therapist can teach you exercises, provide manual interventions like massage, and implement non-invasive modalities that can work together alleviate your pain and even reduce your reliance on pain-relieving medications, including opioids. Many of the interventions we provide in physical therapy work directly on the central nervous system to help modulate pain signals being sent to your brain, while others help reduce inflammation, swelling, and stiffness.

Of course, pain is normal and expected following certain types of procedures, including hip and knee replacements, and taking your pain medication as prescribed can help you participate in your physical therapy more fully. So, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your pain medication options and not to stop or start taking anything without his or her input.

That said, research shows that physical therapy is a safe alternative or beneficial component to effective pain management in the post-surgical window. So be sure to talk to your doctor about setting up a referral to see a physical therapist, too!

2. Reduce the risk of complications.

Any surgery comes with at least some level of risk for complications including post-operative bleeding, infections, range of motion limitations, and hardware malfunction. Working with a physical therapist may help reduce the likelihood of experiencing a complication, which reduces stress, saves money, and protects your short-term and long-term health.

For example, physical therapists are skilled in teaching you safe ways to move and function in your daily life. If your surgeon requests that you follow certain precautions or activity restrictions for a while following your operation, your physical therapist can teach you how to follow these restrictions and progress or modify them appropriately as time goes on. Physical therapists can also prescribe and fit adaptive equipment such as walkers and braces to further protect your healing tissues and help you mobilize more safely.

Your physical therapist can also act as a supportive liaison between you and your surgeon and keep him or her updated with your progress and needs. This way, if any concerns arise there can be faster communication between all the need-to-know members of your medical team.

3. Accelerate your recovery.

Our bodies are incredibly powerful and capable of healing themselves. The type of non-invasive and drug-free services and techniques a physical therapist can offer can enhance self-healing power and work with the body—instead of just covering up symptoms. And by minimizing pain and reducing the risk of complications, your physical therapy team can help you stay on track during your recovery period so you can regain and maximize your strength, balance, range of motion, endurance, and overall function as quickly as possible.

It’s never too early to start seeing a physical therapist! Contact Premier Therapy Centers today to schedule an appointment for your post-surgical rehabilitation.

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By manish 0 Comments Health and Wellness, Natural Pain Relief, Nutrition, Physical Therapy

Dealing With Pain and Inflammation? Here’s How Eating Healthy Can Help.

A Proper Diet Could Be Your Key to a Pain-Free Life

Maintaining a healthy diet plays a vital part of any physical therapy routine. Proper nutrition is important, especially if you deal with chronic inflammation and pain. Eating the right foods can help your body recover from many different painful conditions.

Reducing stress, eating healthy meals, and getting regular exercise all work together to decrease pain. If you are interested in learning more about how to adjust your daily routine to improve your condition, contact Premier Therapy Centers to schedule a consultation with one of our licensed physical therapists.

What Is Inflammation Caused By? Is It Normal?

If you are feeling pain in any area of your body, it is safe to say that there is probably inflammation in that location. Inflammation is part of the body’s healing process, and it is also our immune response to getting sick or being injured. Your immune system is triggered whenever you receive a wound, have tissue damage, or an infection in your body. An injury cannot heal without inflammation, as crazy as that sounds!

However, if inflammation continues for too long, it can become a chronic condition, and you will need to see a physical therapist about it to discuss treatment options. Your physical therapist will be able to get the issue under control so that you do not suffer from worse outcomes, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and more.

Common methods of dealing with inflammation include cutting down on exercise and physical activity and taking medication. However, not getting enough exercise can put you in a worse position than you were in before the inflammation began.

Medications can also cause unpleasant side effects. Your physical therapist will be able to show you simple stretches and exercises to relieve pain, and also teach you about how diet and proper nutrition can benefit you more in the long run.

What Does An Anti-Inflammatory Diet Consist Of?

Inflammation does not have to rule your life. One of the best ways to combat inflammation? Taking a trip to your local grocery store! Patients report being able to successfully reverse their symptoms by eating healthy, anti-inflammatory diets.

Since the body is busy purifying itself during the inflammation process, eating a diet of anti-inflammatory foods that complement the removal of toxins can help speed that up! Some dietary suggestions include:

  • Avoiding Red Meat: Proteins in red meat require your kidneys to do a lot of extra work to process it. This slows your healing process way down if red meat is prominent in your diet! If you want to reduce inflammation, it’s important to cut back on how much steak, beef, sausage, bacon, and other red meats you’re having. Your maximum limit should be a single serving of red meat once a week. You don’t have to do away with meat altogether though — fish and chicken are fine for an anti-inflammatory diet! They go great with vegetables too.
  • Loading Up On Greens & Veggies: Vegetables are a necessary component of any healthy diet, but especially to an anti-inflammatory one. All vegetables are good to add to your plate, but Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are the best options.
    • It is also a good idea to load up on raw vegetables each day, preferably nine servings. If nine servings of veggies seem like a lot to you, no problem! You can substitute fruit for some of those servings to give yourself some variety. Limiting the number of processed foods you’re taking in will help immensely with inflammation.
  • Cutting Back on Dairy & Grains: There is no surprise eating tons of dairy products and grains like pasta and rice isn’t good for you. Avoid simple carbs and sugars as much as possible to make your immune response strong. That means no pastries, no white bread, and no donuts, which might feel like a struggle in the beginning, but your body will thank you for it later!
    • You can still have whole grains such as barley, oats, wheat, and brown rice. Dairy products should be limited as well, so make sure to cut back on cheese and milk. Opting for nut milk, such as almond or cashew, is a good idea.

Additional Ways To Reduce Inflammation

You should notice a dramatic improvement in your pain and inflammation symptoms pretty quickly after beginning (and sticking to) the dietary recommendations above. Another great way to combat inflammation is by losing excess weight, so that will also help.

Make sure to work daily exercise into your routine, and take time out of your day to manage your stress. Go on a long walk with your dog in the park, take up a yoga class, and consult your physical therapist about proper stretching techniques to reduce inflammation.

Contact Premier Therapy Centers today if you suffer from pain and inflammation. We can make an appointment for you to meet with a physical therapist and learn more about pain management, and how to get back to living a pain-free lifestyle.

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By manish 0 Comments Arthritis, Physical Therapy

Natural Remedies For Treating Arthritis

You Don’t Have To Turn To Medication For Relief

It is fairly common for people who suffer from arthritis pain to resort to expensive surgery, steroid injections, and prescription medications to cope with their pain. Sometimes, these treatments can actually benefit patients with severe arthritis. More often than not, the better route to go involves physical therapy and natural treatments.

Arthritis does not discriminate either, and although it tends to be found often in elderly patients, it can affect anyone at any age. According to a study on JAMA, “[rheumatoid] arthritis (RA) occurs in about 5 per 1000 people and can lead to severe joint damage and disability.” Arthritis is also one of the top causes of disability in America. If left untreated by a professional, patients suffering from arthritis can experience extremely painful symptoms for long periods of time.

If you want to learn more about how physical therapy can benefit you and decrease your arthritis pain, give our office a call today.

What Is Manual Therapy?

Manual therapy is part of physical therapy that involves hands-on treatment. This kind of treatment both pampers arthritis patients and eases their discomfort. Pain relief treatment in manual therapy often forms a large portion of a physical therapy session for someone with arthritis. Heating pads, ice packs, massage, and even certain kinds of machines all play a crucial role in relieving aching joints.

As mentioned above, your physical therapist may alternate between heating pads and ice packs to naturally relieve your pain. They might also use ultrasound machines to send soothing heatwaves deeper into your painful joints. Targeted massage techniques also boost circulation and create a warming sensation for areas affected by arthritis.

How Can You Build Your Range of Motion?

Stiff joints are no fun for anyone, but for people struggling with arthritis, a stiff joint equates to a painful joint. If a patient with arthritis attempts to push their affected joint out of its range of motion, they will inevitably experience many uncomfortable sensations.

These painful twinges can be downright agony to deal with on a daily basis, which is why it is important to increase flexibility and range of motion. This can be achieved through physical therapy. The range of motion treatment usually involves flexibility and strength exercises, which gradually allow your joints to become more limber and strengthen supporting muscles.

How Isolating Painful Joints Can Help

It is true that sometimes the best remedy for arthritic joints is to get some bed rest. However, it’s very impractical for many of us to take long bouts of rest in bed or at home away from work. There’s also the fact that not getting enough exercise or activity into your daily routine can worsen the condition by weakening your muscles.

Thankfully, there is a solution to this! Your physical therapist will know how to isolate a painful joint by bracing it. Bracing provides natural pain relief for patients with arthritis. Treatment may include wrist splints or neck collars, depending on the central location of your pain. No matter where your pain might be, there is a specialized treatment option for that joint!

How You Can Avoid The Pain

When living with arthritis, it is important to understand that if you don’t want to feel the pain you’ve always experienced, you will have to learn new ways to move around. It is not always easy to know what movements or actions bring on your painful twinges though — sometimes just standing up too quickly can cause arthritis in your knee joints to tense and twist in an unexpected way. This is why learning new ways to move is helpful; it can aid you in avoiding these unwelcome symptoms.

Your physical therapist can teach you which motions lead to discomfort, and show you how to avoid them and further protect your joints. These joint protection techniques can be as simple as carrying a purse with a particular kind of strap to take the pressure off your wrists.

Another example is getting out of your car or into the shower in a different way. Your physical therapist will make sure you have a solid understanding of what is and is not OK to do at home as far as keeping your joints unaffected.

Physical therapists don’t just focus on the big stuff though! If you have arthritic fingers, your physical therapist can show you how to carry objects with your palms instead of grasping them with your fingers. Physical therapy can also give you access to new gadgets and technology that make daily tasks much less challenging for you as well.

Learn More Today, Call Our Office

If you want to find new ways to combat your arthritis with natural remedies, call Premier Therapy Centers today to learn more. A physical therapist on our team can do a thorough assessment of you, and get you back on track to where you want to be: pain-free.

By manish 0 Comments Headaches, Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy Can Help Stress-Related Headaches

You Don’t Have To Live In Pain

Stress headaches are no joke, and sometimes, a pill just doesn’t cut it when it comes to getting rid of one. According to Choose PT, “most headaches are harmless and resolve on their own, although severe headaches that recur frequently can affect your ability to do your daily activities and can reduce your quality of life.”

Tension headaches fall into this category and involve the sensation of a “band of pressure” around your head, as well as tenderness and achy feelings. Stress headaches come from muscle tension and emotional stress. Luckily, physical therapy can provide relaxation and posture correction to alleviate symptoms associated with these kinds of headaches. Receiving therapy will not only give you relief from your current pain but also decrease the number of stress headaches you may experience in the future.

Physical Therapy Can Strengthen Your Upper Body Muscles

When it comes to keeping you supported throughout the day, your back, neck, and shoulders do a lot of the “heavy lifting.” These muscles will get overworked if they’re not strong enough. Physical therapy treatment for the neck and upper back muscles involves resistance training to build up the muscles.

For many patients, having strong upper body muscles means fewer (and less intense) stress headaches. Exercises to prevent these headaches might start with chin-to-chest nods to build up strength in your neck. Resistance bands and free weights may also be involved to build up your shoulder and back muscles. Your physical therapist will be able to do a full assessment of your abilities to find out which method works best for you.

Manual Therapy Can Bring Relief

Not all prevention techniques have to be done in your physical therapist’s office, but your physical therapist will know how to give a more targeted approach to your stress-related headache pain. Switching between hot and cold compresses is a very simple but effective strategy. These kinds of compresses can be used along with gentle electronic pulse wands to soothe muscles and ease the strain.

Manual therapy can also include targeted massage to treat your headaches. Soft tissue mobilization helps to relax tense muscles, and massage can provide immediate relief. Relaxing the muscles in and around the head can prevent the chain of events that result in painful contractions. Patients with chronic tension headaches report a dramatic decrease in overall pain after receiving manual therapy. They also experience headaches less frequently.

As an added bonus, people who get regular therapeutic massages report getting a better night’s sleep, which leads to less stress during the day. Physical therapy massage also helps ease the emotional stress that causes you to tense those muscles. Who doesn’t like getting a massage?

Your Flexibility Will Be Improved

The less pressure you put on the major muscle groups in your neck and shoulders during the day, the more you’ll be able to move those areas. This can also alleviate some of your stress headaches and make them easier to deal with. Your physical therapist can show you moves that will stretch your neck as well as loosen up your chest and shoulder muscle groups. Doing these stretches regularly helps limber you up overall and keeps your muscles from getting too tight.
Sit Up Straight!

Did you know that the ways we stand and sit can influence how much pressure we’re putting on our muscles? It’s true. Poor posture can compress the muscles and nerves in the shoulder, chest, and neck area. These are the areas that trigger painful tension headaches, so it’s important to make sure you’re checking your posture often and sitting up straight if you’re at a desk!

Your physical therapist will demonstrate to you the proper ways to move, stand, and sit. They will also be able to evaluate your posture and show you how you can improve it to place less stress on your overworked muscles.

There are many modifications a physical therapist might suggest for you to carry out at home or in your work station. Raising your computer monitor, getting a special computer chair with lumbar support, or even purchasing a rubber mat to stand on while doing dishes in your kitchen are all simple suggestions a physical therapist could make. All of these changes can have a positive effect on your posture.

What Are You Waiting For?

We all think we know exactly how to relax…until it comes to our health depending on it. Then we might need some help! So if you’re suffering from constant stress-related headaches and want to learn more about relieving the frequency and severity of your own, contact�Premier Therapy Centers to learn more. We can set up an evaluation for you to see one of our licensed physical therapists, and figure out a course of treatment to help you relax your muscles, sleep better, and get back to enjoying life without pain.

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By manish 0 Comments Back and Neck Pain, Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy

What do you think is causing your back pain? Could it be a herniated disc? Find out.

Has anyone ever told you they have a “slipped disc”? This term is actually a misnomer since discs don’t really “slip” but either degenerate, bulge, or herniate. Fortunately, a physical therapist can treat all these issues to resolve your back pain!

The latter condition, called a disc herniation, occurs when the outer layer of the disc tears. This allows the disc’s inner gel-like substance to leak out into the surrounding joint area. This ruptured disc tissue can then press on nearby structures, like nerve roots and joint spaces.

Could this be what’s causing your pain?

Top Signs and Symptoms of a Herniated Disc

Not all herniated discs cause pain, and even if they do cause pain they won’t all present in the same way. But there are some common signs and symptoms we see among our patients who come to us with this type of spinal condition. They include:

  1. Back pain and stiffness. This usually occurs right around the level of the herniated disc. There may also be overlying muscle spasms as a protective response.
  2. Pain, numbness, and tingling that radiates into an arm or leg. This happens if the herniated disc compresses a nearby spinal nerve root.
  3. Weakness in an arm or leg. Again, this is caused by compression of a nerve root near the injured disc. Many people notice foot drop (an inability to flex their ankle up), weakened grip strength, or frequent tripping or “clumsiness.”
  4. Pain that gets worse with certain movements. In many cases, forward flexion (bending forward in the spine) can cause a herniated disc to bulge even more out of place, which can increase pain or cause it to peripheralize (move farther down a limb). Meanwhile, backward extension (leaning backward in the spine) can cause the herniated disc to retract back into better alignment, which can decrease pain or cause it to centralize (move up a limb and closer to the spine).

Risk Factors for Herniated Discs

A herniated disc can happen to anyone, but you may be more at risk if you:

  • Sit a lot
  • Do a lot of frequent bending, heavy lifting, or twisting
  • Have a physically demanding job
  • Suffer a traumatic event, such as a fall or auto accident
  • Smoke
  • Are obese or overweight
  • Are male
  • Are between the ages of 30 and 50
  • Have a family history of disc and spine problems

What a Physical Therapist Can Do for Your Herniated Disc

Scientific evidence shows us that individualized physical therapy in addition to education and lifestyle advice is highly effective for reducing chronic back pain, including back pain caused by a herniated disc. In fact, it’s considered best practice to seek conservative treatment options like physical therapy long before undergoing any surgical intervention. And because physical therapy is non-invasive, it doesn’t expose the patient to potential risks and adverse reactions of surgery, including opioid addiction, failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), and post-operative pain, bleeding, and infection.

If you believe you have a herniated disc, we encourage you to see a physical therapist at Premier Therapy Centers. He or she can perform various tests and assess your history to make or confirm a diagnosis, so you’ll have a better understanding of what you’re dealing with. Then, he or she can prescribe customized interventions to alleviate your symptoms, heal the injured disc, and perhaps most importantly prevent recurring problems! Expect services such as:

  • Core stabilization exercises
  • Stretches to improve mobility elsewhere in the body, especially the shoulders and hips
  • Non-invasive modalities like electrical stimulation, cold laser therapy, and diathermy
  • Manual therapy, including massage and traction.
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By manish 0 Comments Health and Wellness, Hip and Knee Pain, Physical Therapy

Hip and Knee Pain Relief with Physical Therapy

There are so many causes of hip and knee pain, from excess weight to sports injuries, advancing age to repetitive motion injuries. Whatever the cause of your hip and/or knee pain, if you are experiencing it regularly you need to find a way to manage it. Many people use medications like anti-inflammatories to minimize their discomfort. However, these medications do have potential side effects, so it can be helpful to find other ways to relieve your pain. Physical therapy may be the solution you are looking for.

An Alternative to Daily Pain Reliever Use – Physical Therapy

If your doctor has told you to take pain relievers every day for your hip and/or knee pain, you should follow your doctor’s recommendations. But it also cannot hurt to ask about alternatives like physical therapy. Working with a physical therapist can help reduce or eliminate your pain in a variety of ways, including:

  • Identify the causes of your hip and knee pain. There may be one or several reasons why you are experiencing hip and knee pain. A physical therapist can examine your movement to help identify things that are contributing to your pain, such as poor posture, unhealthy walking patterns or unhealthy movement patterns at work. Once they identify these kinds of issues, physical therapists can tell you how to correct them.
  • Exercises to increase your strength. Loss of muscular strength can contribute significantly to hip and knee pain because the weaker your muscles get, the more stress is put on your joints. Physical therapy centers around specific exercises designed to target various muscles and strengthen them so that they better support your joints.
  • Exercises to improve mobility and flexibility.Often hip and knee pain can lead to loss of mobility and flexibility – which then increases the wear on your joints and leads to even more pain. Physical therapists can take you through exercises to improve your mobility and flexibility so that you can move your limbs and joints in the fullest range of motion that is available based on your body and circumstances.
  • Heat and ice therapy. Heat can be used to improve your mobility and decrease the amount of pain you are experiencing so that you can move more freely. Ice can also be used to lessen pain from your hip and/or knee as well as to reduce inflammation.
  • Ultrasound therapy. Ultrasound is used by physical therapists to apply heat deeper in your soft tissues to provide pain relief. The heat can improve circulation and aid in healing, which can ultimately reduce the pain you experience day today.

How Does Physical Therapy Reduce Daily Pain?

You may get pain relief when you are at the physical therapist and going through treatment, but what about when you go home? A major goal of your physical therapist is to heal your injuries over the long term. The various exercises and treatments they use with you will steadily improve your condition so that you experience less pain on a daily basis. As your body gets stronger and more mobile, you are likely to experience less pain in your hips and knees.

Should I Stop Using Pain Relievers?

If your doctor has prescribed you pain relievers it is best to follow the guidance of your doctor. However, you are welcome to discuss physical therapy with your doctor as well. If you find that your pain level has decreased through physical therapy, you can discuss reducing your pain reliever usage with your doctor.

Schedule an Appoint with a Physical Therapist

Please contact Premier Therapy Centers�today to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist for your hip and knee pain. We are standing by to assist you!

By manish 0 Comments Health and Wellness, Opioids, Physical Therapy

Reduce Opioid Consumption and Feel Better with Physical Therapy

Long-term opioid consumption is not a good strategy for managing chronic pain. In addition to the risk of addiction, opioids simply alleviate the symptoms (pain) of a larger problem. For very real, measurable improvement over chronic pain, physical therapy has been proven to be a much better option than opioids or other pharmaceutical painkillers. If you are considering opioids for pain relief but would like to explore other options first, contact Premier Therapy Centers to talk with a physical therapist.

Opioid Treatment is Not a Cure

The opioid epidemic in America has gotten so bad in recent years that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending that patients explore alternative options for pain relief. The CDC recommends that opioids now be considered as a “last option” for only the worst pain cases. Alternative and holistic pain relief methods, including physical therapy, are not as fast as opioids, but these methods do not carry the extreme risks of addiction and overdose.

It’s important that anyone suffering from pain should understand that opioids will not solve the underlying physical problem that is causing the pain. In fact, opioids can make the original problem even worse.

For example, suppose a person is suffering chronic pain several months after having shoulder surgery. The wound from surgery has long since healed, but the pain persists. If that patient relies on opioids to dull the pain, they run the risk of re-injuring their shoulder. Pain is the way the body tells us that something is wrong. With opioids removing the pain, that patient might be using their shoulder muscles incorrectly and ultimately making the underlying problem worse.

If that same patient were to work with a physical therapist on pain relief, they stand a much better chance of eliminating the pain entirely. Their shoulder could be healed through physical therapy, manual therapy, proper exercise, body mechanics and posture work — all without turning to addictive opioid painkillers.

Physical Therapy as a Long-Lasting Pain Cure

Researchers at Stanford University have shown that turning to physical therapy early on, as soon as a person is diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain, reduced the need for opioid pain prescriptions by 7 to 16 percent. Among patients who did require opioids for pain relief, the duration of using painkillers was reduced by as much as 10 percent.

Physical therapy helps patients to cure the source of the pain, rather than ignoring the source by dulling the pain. If a patient suffers from arthritis or any other type of chronic pain, a physical therapist can teach that patient the proper ways to move and utilize key muscle groups so that the pain source does not worsen. Another goal of physical therapy will be to strengthen muscle groups that support aching or painful parts of the body so that real healing can take place.

Your choice to pursue physical therapy will not be a quick solution to pain relief, in most cases. But your physical therapist will construct a customized plan that will produce measurable results in pain relief. Because the work will be geared toward curing the source of the pain, you can often eliminate the need for prescription painkillers or opioids.

If you suffer from chronic pain and want to know more about how physical therapy can help, call Premier Therapy Centers today to schedule your first appointment with a licensed physical therapist.