Don’t Let Yourself Become an Opioids Statistic – Discover Natural Relief Today

Relieve Your Pain Naturally with the Help of Physical Therapy

You’ve got so many things you want or need to do today – but they’re going to have to wait until you get your pills. Prescription opioids are powerful drugs that can cause pain to subside for hours at a time.

Unfortunately, they can also cause serious new problems in your life, from the risk of overdose to the stifling grip of addiction. If you’ve been depending on opioids just to make everyday life tolerable, it’s time to find a safer, healthier, less frightening alternative.

Thankfully, physical therapy can help you govern your pain without drugs, giving you a chance to break away from your reliance on opioids.

How can physical therapy help me find relief?

Physical therapy can help you deal with your pain so you don’t need opioids anymore. Of course, only high doses of opioids should be discontinued under professional medical supervision (to prevent a potentially dangerous withdrawal).

In the meantime, however, our physical therapist can work with you to address the biomechanical problems that caused your pain in the first place.

Here are just a few of the physical therapy modalities that can help you conquer your pain:

  • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) uses electrical energy to block pain signals to nerves.
  • Laser therapy can ease pain caused by injuries, arthritis, muscular strain, tendinitis or neuropathy.
  • Massage therapy can control painful muscle spasms, help the tissues expel inflammatory substances, and direct more blood and oxygen to an injury.
  • Exercises can increase your pain-free range of motion, strengthen the muscles that support your body, and increase blood flow to reduce inflammation.

Physical therapy may not help you to feel that immediate relief in the same way pain medication would, but it will help you to feel gradual improvements in your experience of the pain so that you can eventually start to live your life free of discomfort.

A physical therapist can also help you discover relief through:

  • Targeted massage: Your physical therapist can identify the area that may be causing the pain and utilize massage techniques to reduce tension in that particular area, thereby helping to alleviate pressure in your joints and reduce pain.
  • Hot and cold therapy: The combination of hot and cold therapy can help to reduce swelling and alleviate pain, and when used in combination with other natural strategies can be a great source of relief from chronic pain.
  • Deep stretching: Your physical therapist can guide you through specialized stretching techniques that will target the source of your pain, thereby helping to improve your range of motion and support the development of muscle mass in the area of your pain.
  • Weight lifting: As you begin to experience tension relief and decreased swelling in the targeted area, your physical therapist can then guide you through the process of building muscle mass to support a full and healthy recovery.

The dangerous reality of the opioid epidemic

Many people who become addicted to opioids were first prescribed by a medical doctor to treat acute or chronic pain. The problem is, opioid medications:

  • Can be highly addictive
  • Only hide symptoms of pain—they don’t address the underlying causes, which makes opioids less cost-effective over time
  • Are associated with an increased risk of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms and depression

The opioid epidemic is a very real (and very deadly) problem. It’s believed that some 2 million Americans suffer from an opioid use disorder such as addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 130 people die from opioid overdoses every day here in the U.S. Since 1999, the number of opioid-related deaths has multiplied sixfold.

So, why are opioids so dangerous? These drugs prevent pain by attaching themselves to the brain’s opioid receptors. They can also cause both drowsiness and an intense high at high doses. This can cause a psychological dependence on the drug – but the trouble doesn’t stop there.

The brain and body become accustomed to a given dose of the opioid, creating a drug tolerance. As a result, you end up in need of larger and larger doses, not just to achieve the same degree of pain relief, but also to prevent agonizing withdrawal symptoms. Eventually, the dose you need could be a fatal one.

Even if you are not addicted to opioids, your chronic pain may force you to continue taking opioids on a regular basis. Unfortunately, opioid drugs block pain messages temporarily, but they do absolutely nothing to address the underlying health challenges that are causing your pain.

Find natural pain relief treatments today!

Physical therapy is a clear and positive alternative to the dangers of regular opioid use and abuse.

If you’re ready to curb that daily opioid habit, start by asking our physical therapist for a safe, effective pain management plan!

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Fighting Chronic Pain with Physical Therapy

Treat Your Chronic Pain Safely With Physical Therapy!

Any pain that lasts longer than three months is classified as “chronic.” When people have chronic pain for a long time, it can become a downward spiral. As a result of the pain, they become more inactive and sedentary, and more often than not, their health worsens. People with chronic pain may even turn to extreme options, such as surgery or addictive painkillers, to try to find relief from pain. If you have chronic pain but want a non-invasive, non-addictive relief option, it’s time to get in touch with our office and learn about physical therapy!

How can physical therapy help me find relief?

The course of therapy recommended by your physical therapist will be tailored to meet your specific needs and objectives. After an initial consultation and examination, your therapist will do their best to work with you on methods to begin to overcome your chronic aches and pains.

This is going to start with education. Your therapist will explain how your pain developed and what can be done to relieve it. The goal will initially be to manage pain, so that you can eventually get back to enjoying your normal routine.

Exercise, stretching, and flexibility are all part of physical therapy. Becoming stronger and more flexible over time will make it easier for you to move around with less pain. This is going to be a slow and gradual process – exercises will focus on the slow, steady and gradual improvement of your strength and flexibility.

Manual therapy is a specialized type of massage that physical therapists are trained to perform. These techniques will be used to mobilize tight joints that contribute to pain, and to manipulate soft tissues for relief. This technique may be very therapeutic when dealing with chronic pain.

Finally, posture and body mechanics training will be a major part of your physical therapy. Learning how to use correct posture at home, at work, and at rest can help to relieve pain and prevent recurrence of pain. All these treatment modalities will help you return to normal life without invasive surgery or painkillers.

What should I know about chronic pain?

As stated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,

“While acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself, chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years.

There may have been an initial mishap — sprained back, serious infection, or there may be an ongoing cause of pain — arthritis, cancer, ear infection, but some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage. Many chronic pain conditions affect older adults.

Common chronic pain complaints include headache, low back pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, neurogenic pain (pain resulting from damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself), psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of damage inside or outside the nervous system).

A person may have two or more coexisting chronic pain conditions. Such conditions can include chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, interstitial cystitis, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and vulvodynia. It is not known whether these disorders share a common cause.”

Chronic pain affects each person differently. In many cases, the pain continues long after the body is healed of injury or a surgical procedure.

The good news is that physical therapy is not a one-size-fits-all approach to pain relief. Your physical therapist has many tools and techniques at their disposal to help relieve and overcome chronic pain.

Chronic pain has a number of symptoms associated with it, apart from the fact that the pain lasted more than three months.

Here are some of the symptoms associated with chronic aches and pains:

  • Weight Gain and Additional Problems: People with chronic pain may put on too much weight, which can lead to a host of added problems, from diabetes to heart disease.
  • Reduced Circulation: Remaining inactive due to chronic pain reduces your circulation, which means your cells are not receiving a healthy amount of blood and oxygen. This can cause tissues to degenerate and leads to feelings of constant fatigue.
  • Reduced Fitness: Inactivity due to chronic pain can cause your muscles to weaken and shrink. This can have profound physical effects over time, such as impacting your sense of balance.
  • Stiffness: Muscles and joints may feel stiffer when suffering from chronic pain.
  • Activity Avoidance: People with chronic pain become fearful of normal activities. The fear of additional pain can cause people to withdraw from normal physical activities that they enjoy.

Ready to get started?

If you have suffered from chronic aches and pains, take the first step today to overcome your condition.

Call our office to schedule a physical therapy appointment.

Stress Headaches Putting a Damper on Your Day? Try Physical Therapy For Relief

Headaches of any kind can put a major damper on your day, sucking the fun out of planned activities and making it difficult to concentrate on work or anything else that requires your attention. While many people turn to over the counter medications as a means of addressing the lingering pain associated with headaches, these medications do very little to help the headache actually go away. If anything, they’re just a band-aid!

Headaches are pretty common. Most of us will have a handful of them a year on average. Unfortunately, some people experience them almost daily. The worst news that a large percentage of the population faces headaches at such a frequent rate that going a full day without a headache may start to feel like an unattainable dream. They also believe that their headache pain is something they must battle on their own.

Solving the mystery of how to overcome regular headaches comes down to understanding why the headaches are forming. In many situations, physical therapy can be used to reduce the frequency and severity of chronic headaches. However, you must be able to identify what is causing your headaches before physical therapy will be able to help. To learn more about physical therapy for tension headache pain, contact our clinic today.

What kind of headache are you suffering from?

There are several predominant types of headaches, and step one of treating your headache is identifying what type of headache you are experiencing. Common types of headaches include:

  • Stress-related headaches
  • Migraine headaches
  • Cluster headaches
  • Tension headaches
  • Nutrient-deficient / dehydration headaches

How physical therapy can help your headaches

Physical therapy for headaches will often incorporate a combination of massage therapy, guided stretching and muscle training, and additional therapeutic techniques, like hot and cold therapy and chiropractic adjustment.Working with a physical therapist can help you to address chronic pain associated with tension, stress-related, and migraine headaches.

Headaches can be identified based on how frequently they develop, the severity of the pain, and where in the head the pain is experienced. Physical therapy is often recommended for headaches that develop with regular frequency—at least once or twice per week.

Physical therapy is a much safer, healthier alternative to most of the treatment methods out there. If you have a choice between a natural and effective long-term solution to your pain, and a temporary fix that may cause harm to your health in the future, which one would you choose?

Why you should kick headache medication

While many people turn to medication for headache relief, medications merely dull the pain of the headache. It doesn’t address the source of the problem. It doesn’t make it go away. Most likely, you’ll be taking pain medication for the rest of your life without receiving long lasting relief.

So, what does physical therapy do for those suffering from chronic headaches? Physical therapy reduces the likelihood of headaches returning in the future by correcting the issue that caused the problem in the first place.

Therapists address the problem head-on (no pun intended!) by using targeted massage and stretching can alleviate tension in the neck, back, and shoulders.These methods can reduce the severity of tension headaches. Stress related headaches are often associated with tension, as well, while migraine headaches could be the result of an imbalance of hormones or nutrient deficiency. Your therapist will be able to determine if you’re dealing with either of these.

You can start working to reduce the pain of headaches at home by following a few simple strategies. Engaging in healthy activities like daily yoga practice can help you to alleviate tension, which can also help to reduce the severity and frequency of your headaches. Drinking plenty of water can help to reduce your risk of dehydration, which, like other nutritional deficiencies, can frequently lead to headaches.

Are you ready to get back to living a normal life?

With the help of a therapist, you can learn how to prevent or even eliminate tension and migraine headaches altogether. There’s no reason you need to continue scheduling your life around your headaches — you deserve much more than that!

Don’t deal with headaches any more often than you have to. Contact our clinic today to learn more about our therapy services, and how they may benefit you.

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Kick The Pain Meds To The Curb: How Physical Therapy Can Provide Relief

People struggling with chronic pain are affected in different ways. Take a moment to think about how your chronic pain affects you. Does it cause you to have a hard time getting out of bed or climbing stairs? Maybe you find yourself feeling stressed, distracted, and depressed at work.

You might wake up in the middle of the night or struggle to fall asleep because of pain. If you’re like many of the 50 million Americans dealing with chronic pain, you may even struggle with something as simple as getting dressed. Having to deal with chronic pain can lower your quality of life faster than you think.

There is a solution, however. Decades of research show physical therapy is a safe and effective way to alleviate pain and improve function for people living with conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, and more. Our physical therapist team urges you not to despair in the face of chronic pain. Contact our clinic today to learn more about how we can help diminish your chronic pain symptoms — without using harmful medications.

The problem with prescription medication

If you haven’t already heard, there’s an opioid epidemic going on in our nation right now. Pain-relieving drugs are among the most popular (and profitable) types of medications within the pharmaceutical industry. Sometimes, medications are appropriate in a comprehensive pain management plan, however, the overuse of pain medications is creating significant problems for many Americans.

Take for example, over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen. These can cause potentially serious side effects including liver damage—especially if they are taken chronically. Unfortunately, a lot of people lean on these kinds of medications for relief because they work quickly, however, they’re simply a band-aid covering up a more serious condition.

Prescription medications like opioids are highly addictive, which increases a person’s risk for drug dependency, tolerance, withdrawal, overdose, and abuse. The problem with opioid medications is so severe in our country that it has been declared by some health officials as an epidemic. For instance, at least 130 Americans die every day of an overdose on prescription or illicit opioids including hydrocodone, oxycodone, heroin, and fentanyl.

Both over-the-counter and prescription pain medications can also come with several negative side effects. These include nausea, vomiting, constipation, and dizziness —signs and symptoms which can be just as disruptive as the original pain condition!

The good news? Many individuals are able to decrease or eliminate their pain without the use of medication, by beginning a customized physical therapy treatment program.

How can physical therapy provide pain relief?

If you are fed up with drugs that are costly, ineffective, and problematic—or wary of the drugs’ addictive qualities—you may want to consider turning to physical therapy as a way to improve your pain and get to the root cause of your condition.

Here are just a few things a physical therapist can do for you if you’re thinking of making a change:

  • Education about at-home pain relief strategies like deep breathing, visualization, and body mechanics training so you can feel more in control of your pain and avoid making the issue worsen.
  • Education about the mechanism of pain, so you have a better understanding of the neurological, psychological, and physical elements of your condition.
  • Corrective exercises and stretches that increase strength, endurance, mobility, and postural awareness—all of which can correct underlying factors contributing to your pain.
  • Manual therapies like joint mobilizations and massage to improve circulation and alleviate stress and pain.
  • Non-invasive pain modalities like electrical stimulation and cold laser therapy, to trigger healing at a cellular level, reduce inflammation, and alleviate physical and mental tension.

A physical therapist is able to help you relieve, resolve, and understand your pain. They can help you regain control of your health and support you as you make lifestyle changes that promote a healthier, stronger, leaner, and more comfortable body.

Some people falsely believe that physical therapy is only useful for people after they undergo an extensive operation. Physical therapy can benefit people of all ages and backgrounds. At your first physical therapy appointment, your therapist will do a complete assessment of your condition, ask you questions about your medical history, and find the underlying cause of your pain through diagnostic tests. From there, a customized treatment plan will be created to address your condition!

Are you ready to learn more about the benefits of PT?

Unlike pain medications, the goal of physical therapy treatment isn’t just to mask your pain. Our physical therapist staff is here to offer a solution to your pain and help you get back to living a more fulfilling, happy life. Contact our clinic today to learn more about the benefits of physical therapy, and kick your pain medications once and for all.

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5 Ways to Stay Active at Your Sedentary Desk Job

Finding ways to stay active can be difficult regardless of your weekly schedule, but when your nine-to-five grind means sitting at a desk for 40+ hours every week, the idea of developing an active lifestyle can seem almost laughably unachievable! On average, most of us spend eight hours a day at a desk, two hours a day driving, and somewhere between six to eight hours each evening in bed! This doesn’t even count the time we’re probably spending on the couch or sitting at the table for a meal. Spending one hour at the gym every day could still mean spending 23 hours every day in a sedentary position.

Finding ways to be more active during your workday could help you to add significantly more activity to your day, thereby helping you to live a more active lifestyle. Searching for even 30 – 60 minutes of time to fit physical activity and exercise into your daily schedule may seem challenging on its own, but when you break down how much that amount of activity can improve your overall lifestyle, you have to start to ask if that is even enough. So, how much physical activity are we really fitting into our schedules?

If you are struggling to find ways to break away from your sedentary lifestyle, there’s a simple solution to your problem: physical therapy! Physical therapy can help you learn a few basic activities that you can try at home, but what’s stopping you from incorporating these healthy activities into your work day?

Staying active during your work day

  1. Invest in an ergonomic standing desk or chair. Swap out your traditional desk and desk chair for healthier alternatives, such as a standing desk, or an exercise / stability ball instead of a desk chair.
  2. Stretching. Try doing basic stretches at your desk. You can easily try breaking down a problem while standing up and stretching for a few minutes without having to take your mind off your work. This is a great way to get your blood flowing, which could get those creative juices flowing, thereby actually helping you to solve issues that may leave you feeling stressed or stumped while crouched at your desk.
  3. Take breaks to walk around. Take a 5 minute break every hour to walk a lap around the office. This could be a great time to go and make copies, to take a quick lap to talk with a co-worker rather than send an email, or to stretch your legs for a few minutes so that you can clear your mind before heading to a meeting.
  4. Bring in a bit of small workout equipment to keep at your desk. This can include a lightweight dumbbell, which you can use to do some minor lifting while sitting at your desk, or even something like a resistance band. There are some fun gripping devices that work similarly to stress balls, helping you to work on developing a stronger grip without even standing up.
  5. Try the “half-hour” challenge. Set an alarm on your phone or computer to go off every 30 minutes. Once it goes off, you will have to complete a two-minute physical activity challenge in your office space. You can try walking or jogging in place, doing jumping jacks, lunges, push-ups, or even wall sits.

Working out every day for one hour really isn’t enough in the long run. Try to be creative and find new ways to make yourself get up out of your chair during the day. We totally understand that after an hour of sitting, you might lose track of time and not be fully aware of how long you’ve been inactive, but it’s important to be mindful of your body’s needs throughout the day. Being active throughout the workday is a great way to get started with living a more active lifestyle.

Once you start incorporating activity throughout your day, you may find you have more energy to incorporate it into your non-working hours, as well. As you become more active, remember to stay hydrated!

Keeping a large water bottle on your work desk and taking regular sips throughout the day can help you to stay hydrated and energized, not to mention refilling your bottle is yet another excuse to get up and get moving!

Ready to rise to the challenge? Call us today

Staying active throughout the workday can help with improving muscle strength, supporting weight loss efforts, and even with overcoming pain from stiffness that often comes along with a sedentary lifestyle. Inactivity is known to cause pain and inflammation over time. You can, and should, avoid future problems at all costs! Take care of your body, and it will reward you over time.

To learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and improving your overall well-being, consult with a physical therapist.

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Discover Lasting Relief for Your Hip and Knee Pains

Are You Living with Hip and Knee Pains?

The knee is considered to be a hinge joint while the hip is a ball-and-socket joint. They are both complex joints with a network of muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and cartilage – all working together to keep you moving.

With these many moving parts, it’s not surprising that as we age or engage in strenuous activity, we sometimes experience pain. If you suffer from hip or knee pain, it can make it difficult to do even the most basic daily activities.

Understanding the causes of hip and knee problems is often the first key to effective treatment. A physical therapist can help you reduce or even eliminate the amount of pain you’re experiencing if you’re struggling with hip or knee pain.

What can I expect from a PT treatment plan?

Physical therapy may offer a non-invasive solution for both hip and knee pain. Your physical therapist is likely to begin with an evaluation. In the case of knee pain, the evaluation would probably focus on the area from the hip to the foot. Evaluation of hip pain is also likely to include a spinal evaluation.

For both types of pain, the assessment may include a range of motion and strength measurements. Your physical therapist may also perform gait and mobility tests. An individualized physical therapy program would then be developed to meet your specific needs.

Physical therapy can improve your joint function while also easing your pain and stiffness. Our physical therapist can prescribe exercises aimed at addressing your specific condition, such as:

  • Mini-squats
  • Heel-to-buttock-exercises
  • Hip rotations
  • Knee lifts
  • Leg lifts
  • Step exercises
  • Hamstring curls
  • Hip flexion, extension or abductor exercises

The American Physical Therapy Association states that early rehabilitation for certain types of knee pain is associated with a lower use of opioids and knee surgery. Various types of exercises are often used to reduce pain in the hips. Passive methods, such as icing or heat treatment, could also be used to eliminate pain.

Sometimes soft tissues and joints in the hip or spine must be manipulated to restore proper movement and reduce pain. A variety of exercises and stretches are also used to treat pain in the knee. Other treatments that your physical therapist may use include ultrasound or electrical stimulation.

What do additional treatments look like?

Surgery: Recovery from surgery can be painful and extensive. There’s always the chance of infection and sometimes surgery simply doesn’t produce the intended results. While surgery may be effective in some cases, it’s not without its drawbacks and should be used as a last resort.

Pain Medication:Prescription pain meds are sometimes used to treat knee and hip pain. Medication normally doesn’t solve the issue, but only temporarily reduces the pain. Medications, even over-the-counter meds, can be addictive and expensive.

So, why am I experiencing hip/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. Some common causes of knee and hip pain are as follows:

Knee Pain: Injuries that include torn cartilage or damaged ligaments can cause knee pain. Fractures, tendinitis, and knee bursitis are all common knee injuries. Medical conditions such as arthritis or gout can cause mild to severe knee pain. You may be experiencing stiffness or swelling in one or both knees. It might be difficult to stand, walk, or fully straighten your knee. Sometimes knees will make popping or crunching noises.

Hip Pain: Hip pain can be caused by a variety of medical conditions as well as from certain injuries. Inflamed tendons from over-exertion or an athletic injury can cause temporary or chronic hip pain. Tendinitis, dislocation, sprains, and pinched nerves can all contribute to or be the cause of hip pain. Hip pain may also result from repetitive injuries or poor posture.

Get started on a treatment plan today!

It is important to follow all the instructions of your physical therapist, including any stretches or exercises that can be done at home.

Your physical therapist can conduct a thorough examination of your  body, pinpoint the areas in your hips and knees where you’re struggling with pain, and create a customized program to treat your particular condition.

Physical therapy can help you find lasting relief from pain in the hip or knee! Contact us today or visit our office in Dublin, GA to find out for yourself.

Stress-Related Headaches Can Be Bothersome – Fortunately, PT Can Help

Discover Relief for Your Headaches Today!

Headaches are a common issue that can plague everyone from pre-teens to retirees. However, when recurrent tension or stress-related headaches make it difficult to get through your day, physical therapy may be needed to provide long-lasting pain relief.

Physical therapy can help you overcome stress-related headaches. In fact, as stated by Choose PT,  “There is effective treatment for almost every type of headache.” Working with a physical therapist can help you identify tension-reducing exercises and help you find long-term relief from headaches without the need to rely on pain medication.

Our experienced physical therapists have the skills needed to target the root cause of your headaches. Additionally, they can create a tailored treatment plan that is safe and effective. Tired of dealing with irritating and painful headaches? Keep reading to learn how to benefit from physical therapy.

Why am I experiencing headaches?

The most common type of headache experienced by adolescents and adults is tension headaches—sometimes referred to as stress-related headaches. This type of headache occurs when the muscles of the scalp and neck are tensed and then contracted.

Stress is the easy answer to this question, but in reality, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Stress can manifest itself in all kinds of ways; however, finding ways to deal with stress is not always an option.

Stress can build from a wide range of activities, and some of those activities may be things that you really enjoy doing, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t weigh on you, creating an added level of pressure that can manifest in painful headaches.

If you have tension headaches, you will most likely feel that the pain begins at the back of your neck before it rises to the top of your head and eventually causes pain and discomfort behind your eyes. It’s also common to experience tension headache pain in your cheeks, jaw, and even down your shoulders.

Some common causes of a tension headache include:

  • Anxiety and depression
  • Fatigue
  • Arthritis
  • Poor posture
  • Hair pulled back tightly
  • Stress

Other common types of headaches that may cause recurrent pain and discomfort include sinus headaches, caffeine headaches, migraine headaches, hormonal headaches, post-traumatic headaches, and cluster headaches.

Stress is a common trigger for tension and migraine headaches. Rather than stressing ways you can avoid stress, it may be more helpful to think about strategies that will help ease headaches once you develop—as well as stress-reduction techniques that may prevent stress from reaching your head first.

How can a physical therapist help?

Physical therapy can help to reduce the pain associated with headaches while working to restore proper function and a full range of motion in the neck and shoulder areas.

Typically, there are 2 different types of physical therapy treatments that are ideal for relieving chronic headaches, these include:

Active Therapies

  • Range-of-motion exercises
  • Low-impact aerobics
  • Pain relief exercises
  • Muscular releases
  • Strengthening exercises
  • Stretching

Passive Therapies

  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Ultrasound
  • Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or TENS
  • Ultrasound
  • Massage therapy
  • Alternating heat and ice therapy

Depending on the severity and cause of your headaches, our physical therapist may suggest a combination of physical therapy treatment methods to provide pain relief. However, because each person responds differently to headache pain, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no “one size fits all” treatment plan.

Because physical therapy targets the muscles and joints, it is an effective treatment option for those who experience tension headaches or stress-related headaches, and headache pain that radiates down into the jaw, neck, and shoulder areas.

Over time, our physical therapist aims to not only reduce your pain but hopefully prevent recurring headaches altogether. The primary goal of physical therapy is to not only provide pain relief but to increase mobility, improve posture, and help strengthen the muscles that control your neck, shoulders, and upper back areas.

With all physical therapy treatment plans, our patients will receive helpful educational information that will help them to complete pain relief exercises at home to supplement in-office visits.

Consult with a physical therapist today!

If you or your loved one have had recurrent headaches, you can find quick and effective pain relief with regular physical therapy.

Are you interested in learning more about the many benefits of physical therapy for tension headaches? Call us or visit our office in Dublin, GA today and be sure to schedule an initial consultation with one of our friendly physical therapists!

Sprains and Strains Can Be a Pain – But Physical Therapy Can Help

Have You Recently Sustained a Sprain or Strain?

There you are, walking through the park on a bright summer day when suddenly you find a hole with your foot. Before you know it, you are in pain, collapsed in a crumpled heap, hoping no one saw your graceful fall.

What do you do? How do you know whether it is an injury that will go away on its own, and when should you call a physical therapist? The best way to find out is to contact one today to find out if your sprain, strain, or ankle pain warrants more attention.

Defining sprains and strains

As stated by Medline,

“A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament. Ligaments are tissues that connect bones at a joint. Falling, twisting, or getting hit can all cause a sprain. Ankle and wrist sprains are common. Symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, and being unable to move your joint. You might feel a pop or tear when the injury happens.

A strain is a stretched or torn muscle or tendon. Tendons are tissues that connect muscle to bone. Twisting or pulling these tissues can cause a strain. Strains can happen suddenly or develop over time. Back and hamstring muscle strains are common. Many people get strains playing sports. Symptoms include pain, muscle spasms, swelling, and trouble moving the muscle.

At first, treatment of both sprains and strains usually involves resting the injured area, icing it, wearing a bandage or device that compresses the area, and medicines. Later treatment might include exercise and physical therapy.”

If you think you may be in need of physical therapy intervention for your sprain or strain, don’t hesitate to contact us. One of our physical therapists will evaluate the injured area to determine the best course of treatment for your needs.

How can I benefit from physical therapy for a sprain or strain?

Interestingly enough, working with a physical therapist has more benefits than simply regaining your strength after an injury.

These medical professionals are highly trained movement experts who not only can help you recover from a sprain or strain, they can help you prevent injuries in the future. A physical therapist also offers drug-free pain relief that keeps you mobile and strengthens your body.

Physical therapy for a sprain or strain typically follows three steps. In the acute phase of the injury, pain relief is one of the primary goals. Severe sprains or strains are often painful.

If surgery is warranted to reconnect a ligament or tendon or repair a muscle, pain management will often make the difference between a patient who works hard in therapy and one who does not.

A physical therapist will offer several pain-relieving techniques—ice, heat, ultrasound, TENS, massage, and stretching. They will also teach patients how to administer these treatments on their own.

In the second phase of physical therapy, your physical therapist focuses on healing the injury. Typically, the first two phases go hand in hand as your physical therapist works to help you regain motion in the joint where the sprain happened or the muscle that is strained.

Once the injury has healed, a physical therapist will move on to preventing future injury. Once you have sprained a joint, you are more likely to do it again without proper therapy.

The same goes for strains. Strengthening muscles around an injured area can often keep you from experiencing future problems.

Understanding the differences between sprains and strains

When it comes to ankles, this is one of the most commonly asked questions of a physical therapist. It’s actually much easier to differentiate between the two than you might think.

But before we can talk about the difference between a sprain and a strain, you need to know the difference between a tendon and a ligament. Tendons are strong, fibrous tissue that connects bone to muscle. Ligaments are similar types of strong connective tissues that bond one bone to another bone.

A sprain happens when the ligaments of a joint (your ankle, knee, wrist, elbow, etc.) are twisted so violently that these strong connective tissues are stretched or slightly torn.

Typically, with a sprain, the joint remains in place. A sprain can be mild resulting in only a few minutes or hours of pain, or it can be more severe, requiring physical therapy or even surgery.

A strain happens when the tendons that connect a muscle to bone are stretched or slightly torn. There are two types of strains—acute and chronic.

Acute strains happen as a result of an injury. You may slip on ice and fall, straining a muscle in your leg while you try to balance yourself. Chronic strains happen when you perform the same motion over and over.

Gymnasts, tennis players, golfers, and other athletes are likely to develop strains when they are not properly conditioned, do not stretch, or use improper equipment.

Contact us for relief

For more information or to find out more about physical therapy’s effects on sprains and strains, contact us today.

Is Your Sciatica Causing You Discomfort? Here are 3 Indicators that Physical Therapy is Needed

Did You Know Physical Therapy Is Proven to Help with Sciatica?

Each of your sciatic nerves runs from either side of your lower back down to each of your legs. That’s why a classic sign of sciatica is having a shooting pain on one side only.

While compression of one of your sciatic nerves can literally be a “pain in the butt,” it doesn’t always require medical attention.

Yet sometimes physical therapy is your best bet to banish sciatica symptoms. So how can you tell when to go it alone, and when to call a physical therapist? These guidelines below will explain what exactly sciatica is and how physical therapy can help you find relief.

Sciatica, explained

As stated by Move Forward Physical Therapy,

“Lumbar radiculopathy (also known as sciatica or radiculitis) is a condition that occurs when a nerve in your low back is injured, pinched, or compressed, causing pain or other symptoms that can extend from the low back to the hip, leg, or foot. Lumbar radiculopathy can be caused by sudden trauma or by long-term stress affecting structures in the back. It most often affects people aged 30 to 50 years. Risk factors for lumbar radiculopathy include repeated lifting, participating in weight-bearing sports, obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyles, and poor posture. The majority of lumbar radiculopathy and sciatica cases recover without surgery, and respond well to physical therapy. Physical therapists design individualized treatment programs to help people with lumbar radiculopathy reduce their pain, regain normal movement, and get back to their normal activities.”

To learn more about how to recognize when your sciatica is in need of physical therapy intervention, continue reading below.

1. When the pain is a response to an injury

Mild sciatica can build up over time, and it may even go away on its own. But when you have an onset of classic sciatica symptoms following a car accident, serious fall or sports injury, contact a doctor and a physical therapist.

The symptoms are more likely to be severe because of the greater impact on the area surrounding the sciatic nerve. It’s important to determine the severity of nerve damage. Your medical team needs to evaluate the need for surgery, steroid injections or prescription drugs.

Of course, even if your injury requires more aggressive treatment, physical therapy is often recommended as part of the recovery plan. Your physical therapist can help you with surgery rehab. He or She can also focus on extending the benefits of your injections and sciatica medication.

For many people with persistent or severe sciatica, physical therapy can be a lifeline. You’ll be taught targeted moves that strengthen your lower back. Strong muscles support the area around your sciatic nerve and can prevent future injuries. You’ll also work on improving your posture to keep sciatica symptoms at bay. Increasing range of motion is also part of physical therapy for sciatica.

2. When your symptoms begin to become severe

If your sciatic nerve becomes seriously compressed, the resulting symptoms can go from uncomfortable to quite painful – and even embarrassing.

You may become weak and numb on one side. Sometimes, even getting your leg or foot to move becomes impossible. If the pain hits you suddenly, and with great intensity, it’s probably time to visit a physical therapist to begin easing the pain.

Another telltale sign? The sciatic nerve can become compressed in the area that controls bladder and/or bowel function.

If you lose control of either or both of these functions, you’ll obviously want to get professional help. Visit a doctor to rule out other problems. She will likely run tests, as well as refer you to a physical therapist.

3. When your home remedies fail to work

There are plenty of things you can do at home to ease a mild sciatica flare-up. Alternating with cold and heat is a classic treatment for sciatica symptoms. Use an ice pack, followed by a heating pad, for about 15 minutes per application.

Sleeping with a pillow between your knees can also help. If you can’t get comfortable during the day or at night, try a reclining chair to redirect the pressure from your lower back. Going for walks often helps ease sciatica pain, because “babying” your condition can actually make it worse.

Yet while these methods may help with mild sciatica, there are times when a physical therapy session is a far better strategy. One sign that you should consult a physical therapist is if your home treatments are having little or no effect in reducing the pain and restricted motion.

Another is if the symptoms persist for at least a week. Of course, the worsening of pain is the most important sign that physical therapy is needed.

Ready to get started?

Contact us today to speak with an experienced physical therapist about how to manage – and even banish – painful sciatica flare-ups.

It’s Time To End Your Battle With Chronic Joint Pain

If your joints have been bothering you for a few months, know that you’re not alone. Joint pain plagues an increasing number of aging, often arthritic Americans. As a matter of fact, a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in 2002, about 10.5 million people in the United States said they battled severe joint pain, but by 2014 that number had jumped to 14.6 million. That’s a pretty big leap, and it certainly leaves a lot of room for concern. The question now is, what exactly can be done to combat the painful effects of this ever-growing condition? The answer just might be physical therapy. If you have chronic joint pain, don’t ignore it or assume it will go away on its own. Give our office a call and set up an appointment with one of our certified physical therapists.

What is chronic joint pain?

Chronic joint pain refers to “discomfort, aches, and soreness in any of the body’s joints.” Joint pain is common, but thankfully doesn’t usually require a hospital visit. The joints form where the ends of two bones meet, such as the elbow, knee and hip. Its components stabilize the joint and allow it to move freely. The joint components have a capsule, which is a sac that holds the joint. It’s filled with synovial fluid for lubrication.

There is also cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in the specific joint. Chronic joint pain lasts for months and can even last a lifetime. Pain may range from moderate to severe and can be extremely debilitating. If you’re dealing with chronic joint pain of any sort, don’t bank on it to heal itself without medical attention!

Causes of chronic joint pain

One of the most common causes of chronic joint pain is arthritis. This includes rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis progresses slowly and typically affects the knees, hips, hands and wrists. It can cause inflammation, pain and fluid buildup.

Other common causes of chronic joint pain are:

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Osteoporosis
  • Overuse of a joint
  • Tendinitis
  • Bursitis
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Rickets
  • An injury
  • Gout

The symptoms of chronic joint pain generally include stiffness, inflammation and tenderness around the joint area, decreased range of motion and decreased mobility. If your joint pain persists for more than three days, it’s time to see a physical therapist for a thorough examination in order to determine the root cause of your pain.

How can physical therapy help chronic joint pain?

Physical therapy is a safe, holistic, and effective way to combat chronic joint pain conditions. A physical therapist will custom tailor a therapeutic exercise program to strengthen your body, increase your mobility and reduce pain. According to Verywell Health “Physical therapy for joint pain focuses on maintaining joint function and range of motion, strengthening muscles surrounding the joint, and minimizing joint stiffness and pain. Depending on your condition, your physical therapist may recommend a walking aid, brace, or splint to improve your functioning.”

A physical therapist will focus on the surrounding area of the joint pain. Strengthening and weight-bearing activity increase joint lubrication. For example, if you suffer from knee pain, the treatment plan will address impairments at the hip, ankle and lower back. All of these areas contribute to knee control and proper knee mechanics.

Your physical therapist may choose to utilize manual therapy to increase your mobility and to decrease your pain. This will likely include soft tissue mobilization and joint stabilization. Soft tissue mobilization is a hands-on technique that is used on muscles, fascia and ligaments. It breaks up any existing adhesions.

The goal is to reduce swelling, decrease pain, restore functionality and improve range of motion. If at any time your physical therapist recommends a stretch or exercise that is uncomfortable for you to perform, let them know! Honesty is key to a successful treatment outcome; they will be able to adjust the exercise so that you can complete it comfortably.

Are you seeking pain relief for chronic joint pain?

If you’re seeking relief from stiffness and chronic joint pain, call us today to make an appointment. Our physical therapists can help you! We use research-proven treatments for quick relief and help our patients get back to their normal lifestyle. Contact our clinic or visit us in Dublin, GA for a one-on-one consultation and evaluation, and get back to leading the life you love, free of pain and joint discomfort.

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