Health & Wellness by Southern California Aquatic & Physical Therapy
Health &Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
Southern California Aquatic and Physical Therapy
JULIE BERGMANN , PT , OCS , TPS Getting To Know The Southern California Aquatic &PT Team
Julie’s story may be like yours. She discovered the benefits of aquatic rehabilitation through her own recovery needs. As founder and owner of Southern California Aquatic
In October 1995, Julie was the first private practice physical therapist in Orange County to open and own a physical therapy clinic with an on-site indoor therapeutic pool. Julie specifically designed and built the pool for aquatic rehabilitation. Fast-forward to 2005. While Julie was training for the Pacific Coast Triathlon, she began experiencing severe foot pain. That summer, Julie was diagnosed with tarsal tunnel syndrome. For over 2½ years she was on and off crutches. Julie could not resolve the debilitating pain she felt in her foot. After two surgeries, a staph infection and CRPS symptoms, Julie committed herself to perform aquatic therapy exercises in the clinic pool every day. She was finally able to walk again without severe pain. Today, Julie still strongly believes the power of warmwater physical therapy is what has enabled her to return to all of her everyday activities. “It helped my mind and body to heal.” Julie’s commitment to recovery allowed her to compete in the 2010 Pacific Coast Triathlon, and she continues to still have a very active lifestyle. Julie can relate to the pain, the feelings of hopelessness, and all those “Am I crazy?“ moments of dealing with disabling chronic pain. She encourages you to not give up and become your own advocate – the answers are out there. Don’t accept “you just have to live with it”. You CAN feel better!
and Physical Therapy, Julie suffered an injury to her hand and elbow that required multiple surgeries. Because of the pain and swelling caused by the injury, she was unable to work or perform even minor tasks for more than 5 months due to the healing process. Julie was amazed at how much performing exercises in warm water strengthened her arm and entire body without increasing pain. In fact, the pain and swelling reduced beyond her expectations as she improved each day. Julie quickly learned the value of exercising in warm water, and made the decision to provide the community with a healing rehabilitation environment. Early in 1993, Julie began networking around the country with other aquatic physical therapists. After taking several intensive courses, Julie founded Southern California Aquatic Therapy.
www.socalaquatictherapy.com
Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body
Southern California Aquatic and Physical Therapy
INSIDE: • How To Take Care Of Your Back • Heart Healthy Recipe • February Is National Heart Month • Patient Success Spotlight OVERCOME BACKPAIN&GETMOVINGAGAIN! Is Back Pain Slowing You Down?
• Poor coordination of the abdominal, pelvic and back muscles.
Is back pain causing you to move a little slower and more cautiously? If left untreated, chronic back pain can lead to long-term spinal, joint, and possibly nerve damage. Back pain is one of the most common physical complaints that people suffer from and more than 80% of the US population will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime. Back pain can interfere with your ability to bend, kneel, lift, reach, do work and enjoy time with your family. Not to mention, it can make you down right irritable and affect others around you. Why Do I Have Back Pain? Back pain occurs for a number of reasons, but has a few simple root causes: • Weakness in the spinal and core muscles of the trunk. • Poor posture and strain on the spine from slouched sitting. • Repetitive injury to muscles around the spine from improper lifting. of the spine, hips and muscles of the thighs.
Most people don’t seek treatment soon enough and continue to suffer with a nagging ache or pain in their back. They may even feel symptoms travel to the buttocks and legs. Many people feel that not much can be done for back pain and use medication to numb the pain to get through the day. However, medication mostly masks the pain and does nothing to address the root cause of the problem. Solutions to Back Pain. Treating back pain starts with determining the true cause. A thorough evaluation of your movement, strength, posture and joint mobility can tell a lot about the true origins of your pain. Only then, can the proper plan be formulated to get you out of pain quickly and back to the activities you love. Whether you just tweaked your back or have been suffering for a long time, seeing one of our spine specialists can help you return to a more active and pain-free life.
www.socalaquatictherapy.com
HOWTO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BACK
1. Keep a Good Posture When you are standing, imagine a string through the top of your head lifting you straight up. This puts your neck, shoulders, spine and hips in natural alignment. While sitting, make sure you sit back in the chair with your feet on the floor and your lower back supported. Your shoulders should not slouch when sitting. Avoid soft couches when you can. 2. Lift Properly Picking things up is a normal part of our day. Even if you pick up something light, your back muscles have to lift the weight of your upper torso and control that movement. Make sure you always face what you need to pick up, squat keeping your spine straight and push with your leg muscles.This helps reduce the excessive pressure on your spine. 3. Stay Flexible Flexibility is key to maintaining a healthy back. By keeping your body flexible, the normal forces of movement and lifting can be distributed across the spine, rather than focused onto a few segments, which can then fail. An easy stretching routine everyday can keep you feeling great and put a spring in your step. 4. Stay Strong You have hundreds of muscles, which control the movement of your spine. Major muscles that support the spine are called your core and include your abdominal, pelvis, spinal and hip muscles. By keeping your core muscles strong, you support your spine and have the ability to easily control lifting, quick movements, bending and a lot more.
5. Physical Therapy Our physical therapists are medical experts in evaluating spine and body movement. By having a regular check up, you can make sure your body is in good condition to tackle the activities you love. If you have a history of back pain, injury or are currently experiencing aches and pains, we can analyze your problem and construct a treatment program that will work best for your individual problem. With soothing hands-on therapy and targeted easy exercises we can help you return quickly to feeling your best. Even if you suffer from severe pain we can help you get out of pain and living the life you deserve. Call us today to schedule an appointment.
Heart Healthy Chocolate Chia Pudding
February is National Heart Month!
INGREDIENTS • 1 Banana • 3/4 Cup rolled oats: blended to fine consistency (high in fiber and nutrients) • 2 Tbsp agave syrup (lower glycemic value than white sugar) • 2 Tbsp water • 3 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds ( high in fiber, heart healthy Omega-3 and protein) • 1 1/2 Cups milk or any substitute (almond, coconut, etc.) add a little more milk for a creamier consistency • 2 Tbsp Raw cocao powder (very high in anti-oxidants, great source of magnesium, chromium, and iron) INSTRUCTIONS
Did You Know? HeartDisease is the leadingcauseofdeath formenandwomencausing 1 in 4 deaths in the United States? New 2017 blood pressure guidelines from the American College of Cardiology: Normal blood pressure was
140/90 , normal blood pressure is now 120/80 . Please visit: www.heart.org for more information.
Place all ingredients in blender or food processor until creamy consistency. Let it sit over night for the flavors to blend. If you want to use it for a dessert that evening, let it sit for an hour or so in the fridge. Top with fruit, nuts or creamy yogurt. Enjoy! Get your fiber and nutrients while satisfying a chocolate craving!
February 2nd is Go Red for Women Day - Support women’s heart health by wearing Red! Let us help you to make better choices and move without pain to support your heart health!
CALL TODAY! 714.375.1755
Patient Success Spotlight
Practice News
Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run December 3, 2017. The clinic, clients and families raised over $1,000 to support research for arthritis which includes osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, juvenile, etc. We had a blast running and walking the 5K course and had some first place running winners in their age groups: a shout out to Michael Gomer, Carissa Chase and Jake Barber!
“This facility is top of the line, from the people who greet you to the therapists who provide physical therapy care. They are all professional and friendly. Julie is extremely knowledgeable helping me reach my goals after a very difficult recovery from surgery. I recommend this facility highly. Julie helped me to walk again!” – Linda J. I recommend this facility highly!
www.socalaquatictherapy.com
Aquatic Therapy
Ourclients reporta fasterand lesspainful recovery by initiating their treatment with aquatic physical therapy before progressing to land-based physical therapy. Southern California Aquatic and Physical Therapy provides a soothing and weightless warm water environment that promotes healing increasing strength and flexibility through functional exercises. Our facility is designed to optimize recovery: • Indoor 92 degree therapeutic pool on site • Salt water sanitization system • Dual handrail pool entry • Zero Impact Deep Water area • Pool depths from 3 1/2′ to 6 1/2′ • Aquatic equipment for resistance training • Easy access to the facility and pool
Aquatic physical therapy offers many benefits to speed healing, including: • Warm water relaxes muscles and promotes circulation, increasing blood flow to the areas of your body that need healing • Buoyancy and weightlessness allow the client to perform strengthening exercises without causing further damage to the injured area • Dual handrail pool entry • Less pain and fear with movement • Reduced swelling • Improved flexibility • Greater range of motion in buoyancy assistive environment Finally, the ability to performmore exercises with less pain increases our clients’ confidence and creates a positive outlook while assisting the healing process.
Benefits of Water Therapy Aquatic therapy is a highly effective form of physical therapy that encompasses the whole body, not just one injured area. For some patients, traditional land exercises are too painful, often because of a recent injury or surgery. For others, chronic conditions like fibromyalgia and arthritis have difficulty with traditional physical therapy.
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