Sometimes when pain occurs, you can immediately identify the cause. For example, a new pair of shoes may cause a sharp pain in your heel, or an old chair at work may cause your back to grow sore and uncomfortable as time goes on. But there are other situations in which pain develops, and the cause is unclear.
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DETERMINING THE ORIGIN OF YOUR PAIN Time To Get Out of Pain and Enjoy An Active Lifestyle
“If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” - Roald Dahl
Newsletter
Determining the Origin of Your Pain Time To Get Out of Pain and Enjoy An Active Lifestyle
Sometimes when pain occurs, you can immediately identify the cause. For example, a new pair of shoes may cause a sharp pain in your heel, or an old chair at work may cause your back to grow sore and uncomfortable as time goes on. But there are other situations in which pain develops, and the cause is unclear. Different types of pain can tell you different things about your body and your overall health. Sometimes, a pain in your arm or your leg may have little to do with an actual issue in your armor leg.
Physical therapists are like well-trained detectives when it comes to identifying the causes of pain. A physical therapist knows the way that the nervous system works, making it possible to identify the potential causes of pain, even if the pain is manifesting itself in an unusual or seemingly inexplicable way. Whether you are suffering from pain in your head, your back, your neck or anywhere else in your body, working with a physical therapist can help you find the relief you are looking for. Physical
therapists are trained in identifying and treating the cause of your pain, giving you the opportunity to shift away from the ongoing use of pain medication and instead find relief with a series of strategies that include stretching, muscle building and flexibility training. Find out how you can relieve your aches and pains for good. Call us today for more information! (804) 249-8277
“You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first!”
Trail Mix Fun Facts: Trail mix is a type of snack mix, specifically a combination of dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes chocolate, developed as a food to be taken along on hikes. • Trail mix has been eaten by Native Americans for thousands of years, and originally included buffalo meat. • August 31 is National Trail Mix Day. • The combination of nuts, raisins and chocolate as a trail snack dates at least to the 1910s, when outdoorsman Horace Kephart recommended it in his popular camping guide. • Some believe that trail mix was first invented in 1968 by two California surfers who blended peanuts and raisins together for an energy snack. • In Australia and New Zealand they call trail mix Scroggin. • Trail mix is also called GORP (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts or Granola, Oats, Raisins, and Peanuts) • According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the verb gorp, means “to eat greedily”. • Trail mix is featured in Jack Kerouac’s iconic 1958 novel The Dharma Bums. “Self-care is never a selfish act - it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.” - Parker Palmer
Your mind will always believe everything you tell it.
Feed it Faith. Feed it Truth. Feed it Love.
TRAIL MIX RECIPE
INGREDIENTS • 1 cup raw almonds • 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 2 tbsp unsweetened dried cranberries, chopped • 2 tbsp vegan dark chocolate chips • sea salt for taste
• 2/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds • 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
DIRECTIONS Chop any large ingredients if necessary to make everything about the same size. Give the dried fruit a light sprinkle of sea salt before you mix it in (it sticks better), or sprinkle the whole mix with salt if you prefer. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Patient Spotlight “I started working with Andrew early in the year before lumbar fusion surgery and he helped me
PracticeNews Next step to a Healthier Me in 2019
tremendously. Pre-surgery he helped me manage the pain and he also recommended books and articles to educate me on the problems. Post-surgery he walked me back to a much stronger position. This was my 5th or 6th trip through PT and I really noticed a difference at VCSST.”
VCSST February Monthly Challenge - Love Yourself! Not in a selfish, nobody- else-matters kind of way but in a way that
nourishes your soul. It allows you to get out of your own way and lets you move forward with a positive perspective. Look into the mirror and pay yourself a compliment each day - out loud. Talk to yourself gently, like you would talk to someone you really care about. Forget the flaws, feelings of unworthiness or blemishes of character. Make yourself smile or even laugh out loud. Lucille Ball said “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
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Understanding Your Pain Find out where your pain is coming from!
When you meet with a physical therapist to understand where your pain may be coming from, one of the first things you’ll do is have a conversation about your pain. How long you’ve been experiencing pain, where it developed and how the pain manifests itself are all very important distinctions that can help shed some light on what may be causing your discomfort. Here are a few things you may want to consider before heading into physical therapy: • Consider exactly where the pain occurs in your body, and research what the different parts of the body are called so that you can have an accurate and helpful conversation about your pain. For example, back pain has a lot of different differentiations, and lumbar pain (which is in the lower back) is frequently caused by factors different from what would cause upper-back or neck pain. • How does the pain feel when it develops? Is it a lingering ache? Is it a sharp stab? Is it more of a tingling feeling? Each of these sensations are actually associated with different types of problems, so describing your pain appropriately may be helpful in determining the best treatment methods for your body’s needs. • What do you think may be causing the pain? Of course, it happens that a pain will develop, and you are dumbfounded as to why, but more often than not, there is something that you think could be influencing it. If the pain started around the same time as a change in environment or life circumstances, then it is worth telling your physical therapist about the association.
• Another thing to consider about your pain is whether or not it develops at particular times of the day or year. There are plenty of situations when someone begins to experience pain when the weather starts to change, and it turns out that the pain is a result of arthritis and inflammation. There are other situations in which the pain will develop as a result of prolonged sitting or the opposite — such as when things get crazy at home or at work, and you find that you are not getting as much sleep as usual. Considering any changes in your daily habits or environmental factors can be very helpful in determining what is causing your pain. Regardless of where your pain is, how long you’ve been dealing with it, or how intense the pain feels, the smart thing to do when pain develops is to speak with a physical therapist. Working with a physical therapist can help you finally get a step ahead of your pain, finding treatment options that are designed to provide you with long-term relief instead of temporary relief from medication. For more information about physical therapy for overcoming bodily pain, contact us.
Call today to understand how you can beat the pain. (804) 249-8277
The Importance of Physical Therapy
The therapists at VCSST are health care professionals who diagnose and treat people of all ages, from youngsters to the elderly, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. We examine you and develop a plan of care using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. We work with you to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles. VCSSTcan help improve your walking and balance abilities. Our therapists determine what areas of the body you are having difficulty moving. We
perform neurological, vestibular, balance, and orthopedic evaluations. We then put together a comprehensive plan to get you back to walking confidently and without limitations. It is never too late to improve gait and balance, even if people use a cane or walker to get around. When your confidence is restored, exercise can be increased and incorporated more into your daily life, which improves your cardiac and mental health. Furthermore, there are many types of pain and inflammation that can be reduced by physical therapy. For example, chronic pain in the back, shoulder, or knee can be reduced by our team of skilled therapists. We can help you manage your health, including cardiachealth, over the long term.
To love yourself is to understand you don’t need to be perfect to be good.
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