Helpful Information

One of the first things I ask when is seems treatment is taking too long, or not working, is “what’s is the client’s home program like – and are they educated?” The next question is “what treatments are they using?” This relates to what I want to talk about today because the misconception is that more is better. In fact it is exactly the opposite, and over-treatment can be a problem – making sure that a simple approach is taken often results in the best outcomes.

There are many ways that you can prolong the need for such a surgery. Some people choose medications and injections, but we think that physical therapy is a drastically under utilized resource that could prolong patients from having to consider something as invasive as surgery for quite some time.

The fact of the matter is that although there are all true, in the end they are just excuses that we tell ourselves. With the amount of disease there is an increased concern for people to start healthy living, and more importantly – taking care of our bodies.

A new school year has begun, which for all the parents out there it means the start of sports one more. This got me thinking about physical activity in relation to youth, and so I decided that I would share with you some of the ways to make sure our young athletes are kept healthy and injury free.

I am sure that you won’t be surprised to head that your physical therapist will start be asking you lots of questions about your health and the condition that made you decide to seek help from him/her. Remember – detailed information about you and your condition is exactly what he/she needs, as it will help which treatments are right for you.

Just like most things when you go to see a physical therapist for the first time you might be a little nervous, simply because you are not sure what to expect. The best thing you can do is remember that we are here to help you – and make each visit as comfortable as possible.

Your bones are connected at joints and a rubbery substance called cartilage coats the bones at these joints which helps to reduce friction when you walk and move around. In addition another protective oily substance (called synovial fluid) is also contained within the joint, and it’s job is also to help ease movement. When these protective coverings break down, the bones begin to rub together during movement which causes pain – this is osteoarthritis.

Over-training is a concern for all people that are participating in any form of physical fitness, whether it is simply recreational, elite athletes, or people exercising to lose weight and stay in shape. Before I get into it I should explain what over-training is. So – over-training injuries happen when you are doing more activity or exercise than what your body is normally used to. They can happen to anyone who increases intensity or changes the type of physical activity they are doing.

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is an injury to the knee commonly affecting soccer players, basketball players, skiers, gymnasts, and other athletes.Most ACL tears are the result of non-contact injuries; where others are in fact the result of direct contact (player-to-player, player-to-object). Also – this injury most commonly affects women, in fact women are 4-6 times more likely than men to experience an ACL tear in their lifetime.

It is not surprising to hear that after a major injury or illness, you might need some help with walking and moving around in general – especially if you’ve had surgery, fractured a bone or are generally feeling weak.

Those things, along with balance issues, will cause you to lose normal use of your legs, which is where a mobility device may be necessary. It is important for you to know what your options are so that you can continue to live life comfortably and maintain your independence.

That being said I thought it would be beneficial to talk a little bit about the different kinds of mobility devices that are used in physical therapy.