HowCan I Tell If I Need Physical Therapy?
Are you moving like you should be? Your hips andkneesareessential toeverydaymovement; whether you are sitting, standing, walking or running, you need your hips and knees in great shape. Sometimes, when your hips and knees are in pain, it can cause you to change the way thatyouaremoving,causingyou tochange the flow and pace of your gait, which is the way that you walk. Other times, prolonged pain can cause you to stop doing movements that are indicative of healthy joints. Ifyou’veexperiencedanyhiporkneepainand are considering whether physical therapy is a good choice for your health needs, consider the following: • From a standing position, are you able to lean over and touch your toes? If so, then this indicates that you have proper hip and low back flexibility. If not, then you may need to improve your flexibility and joint range
of motion, and physical therapy could be helpful. • In a sitting position, can you comfortably cross your legs, leaving your ankle to rest comfortably on the opposite knee? If this is painful,oronekneeconstantlymustbe lower than the other, then this may be indicative of knee concerns that could be addressed with physical therapy. • From a standing position, with your feet planted flat on the floor, can you push your body into a squatting position? You should be able to squat all the way down so that your buttocks are almost touching your heels. If you aren’t able to do this, then physical therapymaybehelpful in improving your range of motion. • Standing near a wall or countertop, arrange your feet so that you are standing with the
heel of one foot touching the toes of the other, as if on a balance beam, and see how long you can stand still. Can you balance for 10 seconds? If not, then physical therapy may be able to improve balance and coordination. The goal of any physical therapy program is to restore range of motion and improve flexibility and strength while reducing the general experience of pain. Unfortunately, hip and knee injuries often tend to linger. Every movement relies so heavily on the hips and knees that it makes it difficult to allow these joints to actually rest following an injury. Physical therapy provides targeted exercises that support the joints with precise movements that help reinforce strength and range of motion.
Why the Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) Method Helps
Eating Right Never Tasted So Good! Current research suggests that approximately 25% of the populations in the developed world experience chronic pain. In the US, it is currently estimated that approximately 116 million Americans have persistent pain. Treating people with chronic pain is difficult and poses significant challenges for clinicians. PNE is relatively new and describes an educational intervention that aims to reduce pain and disability by explaining the pain experience to a patient. Equal time is given to educating the patient about their pain, while treating underlying ailment relating to that pain. PNE sessions are accompanied by prepared visuals, examples, metaphors, and workbooks with reading/question- answer assignments to better help each patient understand the pain they are experiencing. In all cases PNE is preceded, combined, or followed by various therapeutic activities, including; • Manual Therapy • Soft Tissue Massage
• Neural Tissue Mobilization • Spinal Stabilization exercises
• Home Exercises • Circuit Training • Aerobic exercise
Current best evidence research indicates that when a clinician educates a patient about the neuroscience of their pain experience and the patient truly understands it, they experience less pain over time, have less disability, move better, and perform better with rehabilitation with better outcomes.
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