Move to Live Newsletter by Choice Physical Therapy
Move to Live Y O U R R E S O U R C E T O M O V I N G W E L L A N D L I V I N G L I F E
We’ve talked about this before. Lower Back Pain is a thing. It’s a thing that affects a lot of people. In fact, 80% of the population will experience back pain at one point or another in their lives. Furthermore, the best indicator for future injury is having a past injury. Therefore, once you’ve injured your back, you’re at increased risk for future back injury. (continued inside)
LOOKING TO LOWER YOUR LOWER BACK PAIN?!?!
www.choiceptny.com
Move to Live Y O U R R E S O U R C E T O M O V I N G W E L L A N D L I V I N G L I F E
INSIDE: • Increase Your Energy By Getting Up & Moving! • #ChooseToGiveBack
• Choice Physical Therapy News • Patient Success Story
LOOKING TO LOWER YOUR LOWER BACK PAIN?!?!
(continued from outside) Most of us have heard the age old saying: NO PAIN, NO GAIN! Here at Choice we prefer: Know pain, know gain! That’s right, if you have an understanding of what’s going on and know what type of pain is ok and what type of pain isn’t, you have a much better chance of making positive gains! Your lower back (or lumbar region) can be very complicated as it’s surrounded by many bones, joints, discs, ligaments, and muscles. Like other areas of the body, we’ve learned that pain in the lower back needs a two part assessment: 1. We need to figure out which tissue is injured and is causing the pain • Usually this is a muscle strain, related to arthritis of the spine, or could be related to irritation of the disc or nerves in your back 2. We need to figure out what surrounding areas aren’t doing their job and therefore putting increased stress on the lower back region Luckily, as humans we tend to compensate in similar ways making it easier for people who study back injuries to uncover common themes. We’ve learned that incorporating a basic “set of rules” can significantly help in reducing lower back injuries.
• Most people with sore backs feel like they always need to “stretch it out”. The lumbar spine itself should be mostly stable (it’s supposed to move but most of the time it’s moving excessively which causes injury...the muscles surrounding it go into a protective spasm which gives you the sense that you always need to stretch them out. It’s a short term band aid and not addressing the underlying issue, most of the time) • Your mid back (aka. Thoracic spine) should be fairly flexible however due to our common tendency to sit most of the day we stiffen up in the mid back. Increased stiffness in the mid back forces us to ask for a bit of extra motion from the lower back. A bit of extra motion, day after day, week after week, month after month...you see where I’m going with this. • Lastly, our hips are ball and socket joints. They are meant to handle a HUGE amount of motion compared to other joints in our bodies. Just like our mid back, our hips also tend to tighten up due to sitting, footwear, etc. If you can keep your mid back and hips flexible while maintaining muscle memory & strength through your core muscles you should be much more resilient to that nagging lower back pain. Don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our Doctor’s of Physical Therapy and we can help you figure out the right mix of exercises and hands on work to get your back feeling like you’re 21 again!
Happy August! Have a great month! Joe
www.choiceptny.com
INCREASE YOUR ENERGY BY GETTING UP & MOVING!
Do you feel sluggish or fatigued, as if it’s difficult to motivate yourself to get moving? Do your sore muscles or achy joints just add to that lack of motivation? If so, your body may be experiencing some physical problems. Living a sedentary life is one of the main reasons why people report having low energy or feeling chronic day-to-day aches. Long car commutes, desk jobs, watching T.V. once you get home from work… many people live their lives this way, with very little physical activity. While it may not seem like it is making an impact at the time, this type of sedentary lifestyle can damage your body over time. Why is physical activity so important? When you don’t participate in frequent physical activity, your muscles begin to weaken and over time they can even begin to atrophy. Inactive lifestyles also cause joints to become stiff and can alter the physiological chemical processes within your body. In fact, your circulation and lymphatic systems can slow down, which can pose harmful risks. These systems work in producing and excreting toxic wastes (such as cholesterol) and these wastes can build up when the systems aren’t functioning as efficiently as they should. Lack of movement and poor posture are the causes of several types of pain, including lower back pain, neck pain, hip pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, and headaches. A slumped posture can even change the shape of your spine over time, in addition to closing your shoulder joints and tightening up the tissues around your hips. These consequences can cause severe pain and may result in a host of other problems if lifestyle changes are not made.
CONTACT CHOICE PHYSICAL THERAPY TODAY TO FIGURE OUT HOW A CONSISTENT EXERCISE PLAN CAN INCREASE YOUR ENERGY AND HELP YOU LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFE!
PAT IENT SUCCESS STORY
EXERCISE ESSENT IALS
HELPS LEG PAIN
www.simpleset.net
HAMSTRING STRETCH Stand with one leg on a medium sized stool as shown. Keeping your back straight, slowly lean forwards from the hips. Hold for 3-5 seconds and repeat 5 times.
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CHOICE PT NEWS
Orthopedic Clinical Specialist on “board” at Choice Physical Therapy (no pun intended) Huge Congratulations in order for Dr. Tom Plowinske, PT, DPT, OCS for passing his board cer tification in Orthopedics, in July. Orthopedic Clinical Specialists are recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as individuals whose clinical specialization in orthopedic physical therapy demonstrates knowledge, skill and experience exceeding that of an entry level physical therapist. Great job Tom!
www.choiceptny.com
#CHOOSETOGIVEBACK: CPT MASKS!
Our CPT Masks arrived early August and we were pleased to link up with our neighbors Hope 7 Community Center with all donations to benefit their fall school programs. Hope 7 has remained open throughout the summer offering summer school programs/camps for local children providing a free lunch and snack daily!
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