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UNDERSTANDING THREATENING AND NON-THREATENING PAIN The Mind-Body Connection
annoying. But unless your headaches are frequent or severe, you also know it’s not something to be concerned about. Rather than jumping to the conclusion that something is terribly wrong each time you get a headache, you take ibuprofen and go on with your day. We should take a similar approach to some other types of pain in our daily lives. If you do an exercise and have back pain but recover within a couple of hours, we know that pain didn’t do any further damage. At that point, you have to make the decision to keep moving forward with your exercise. If you stop exercising anytime something hurts, you’ll never break through the pain barrier. The stronger you get, the less pain you feel. As PTs like to say, motion is lotion. We don’t expect anyone to figure this out on their own, which is why you need a physical therapist. A PT can help you understand and identify threatening vs. non-threatening pain and provide you with safe challenges. With their help, you can avoid making your pain worse, while also working through an aggressive treatment plan. You should seek help from a PT not only because you don’t deserve to be in pain, but also because exercise is linked with good mental health. Mental health is an important driver of a person’s overall well- being, so being able to exercise (or not) can make a world of difference. The mental and physical cannot be separated; they’re intimately connected.
Pain theory has advanced a lot over the decades. Though there is still much to be discovered, we understand better than ever before what causes pain and how to treat it. Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day, so I want to take a moment to discuss what we’ve learned about how our mental response to pain can affect our overall outcome. Of course, no one at PT Pro would ever say the pain is all in your head — at least, not how people usually mean it. The pain you feel is real, and when you say you’re in pain, we believe you. There’s no such thing as fake pain; even phantom pain is real, in the sense that the sufferer actually feels it. But when you feel pain, you are undoubtedly having both a physical and emotional response in your brain. So, how you react to that pain can have a big impact on your recovery. Specifically, it matters whether or not you perceive your pain as a threat. Some pain is definitely warning you of damage being done to your body, but other pain is not a sign of increased damage and should be worked through.
While I hope my work improves my patients’ mental health, doing this work improves my mental health as well. It allows me to have deep connections with people one hour at a time, getting to know them, learning about their families, hearing about their opinions, or just finding out their favorite restaurant. These conversations restore me so I can give each patient my best. At PT Pro, we want you to feel safe and know we’re listening to you. We understand pain and the toll it can take on your life. Our goal is to strengthen your muscles and joints so you can live life more fully — mentally and physically.
Think about headaches. We all get them at least occasionally; they hurt, and they’re
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CORN MAZES DATE BACK TO ANCIENT GREECE? A Historical Look at This Wacky Fall Tradition
GARDEN ART TO GET LOST IN Mazes formed from bushes began popping up European gardens in the 17th century. They were a popular artistic feature of upper-class gardens in England, more for looking at than solving. One famous example is the half-mile-long Hampton Maze, which was planted in 1690 and still stands today. THE CORN MAZE: AN AMERICAN INVENTION Garden mazes eventually hopped the pond to America but didn’t become interactive puzzles until Don Frantz, Creative Director of the American Maze Company, came on the scene. In 1993, Frantz created the “first ever cornfield maze for private and public entertainment” to attract college kids in Pennsylvania. Today, every small-town corn maze is a descendant of his “Amazing Maize Maze.” To learn more about that wacky history, visit AmericanMaze.com.
THE MINOTAUR AND THE MAZE Have you heard of Theseus and the Minotaur? This ancient Greek legend tells the story of the hero Theseus, who ventured into an elaborate maze to kill the half-man, half-bull imprisoned there. The monstrous Minotaur was known to eat heroes, and the labyrinth was known to trap them, but Theseus managed to slay the Minotaur and find his way home with the help of a string that he unspooled as he walked. This story isn’t the first recorded example of a maze or labyrinth — according to the World History encyclopedia, “[L]abyrinths and labyrinthine symbols have been dated to the Neolithic Age in regions as diverse as modern-day Turkey, Ireland, Greece, and India, among others” — but it’s perhaps the most famous ancient tale. If you’ve ever navigated a Halloween corn maze staffed by ghouls and ghosts, you can see the parallels!
Exploring a corn maze is a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall season with friends and family — but who came up with the idea of wandering around a corn field for fun? As it turns out, outdoor mazes are an ancient tradition, and the American corn maze of the ‘90s sprouted from the mazes of 17th-century European gardens. Don’t believe it? Here’s a quick tour of corn maze history.
EXERCISE OF THE MONTH Wasn’t Me!
Why: The “wasn’t me” exercise is important for engaging the muscles in your shoulder blades and rotator cuff. Doing this regularly can help decrease issues in your shoulders and neck and really help with efficient posture. How: Draw your shoulder blades diagonally toward your opposite back pocket WITHOUT lifting your rib cage, keep elbows as close to your sides as possible WITHOUT letting them be behind your trunk, then open your palms out to the side as far as you can … Just like you’re telling someone “It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it.”
Hold this for 15–20 seconds. Repeat three times, do 3–5 times per day.
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FROM TRAINING TO THERAPY Rebecca Jergens Loves Helping People Move
Inspired by AmbitiousKitchen.com
Rebecca Jergens has spent her entire career helping people move. She began her path to physical therapy by working as a personal trainer. For four years, she worked one on one with clients to help them meet their fitness goals. “I then wanted to expand my knowledge and understanding of how the body works,” she remembers, “and I became interested
BREAKFAST SWEET POTATOES
Finish the end of sweet potato season strong with this must-try breakfast recipe!
Ingredients
• • •
1 banana, sliced 2 tsp chia seeds
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2 medium sweet potatoes 2 tbsp of your preferred nut butter
in PT. I shadowed at a PT clinic and absolutely loved it.” Having been bitten by the physical therapy bug, Rebecca gained her doctor of physical therapy from Temple University in 2015. She’s now been a physical therapist for six years and loves her work. Her background as a personal trainer — as well as her experiences participating in basketball, rowing, tennis, cross-country, and triathlons — gives her a different type of insight into helping patients with their recoveries from sports injuries. When working with patients, she says, “I enjoy the one-on-one time,” particularly “explaining the reasons why they’re in pain and guiding them toward recovery and back to the things they want to do.” When possible, she also likes to be creative with the exercises she prescribes, which allows her to find the best treatment fit for each patient. Rebecca joined PT Pro three months ago and appreciates that her new job allows her to spend 55 minutes with each patient, explaining, “It’s a good amount of time to do manual therapy techniques, focus on exercise techniques, and provide in-depth education.” She also enjoys having access to the Pilates reformers and the blood flow restriction training, noting, “They’re great tools that can aid in someone’s rehab process.” When she’s not helping patients meet their physical therapy goals, Rebecca finds lots of ways to keep herself active. “My husband and I enjoy running, biking, hiking, and weightlifting,” she says. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, drinking a good cup of coffee, and spending time with her cat. Rebecca loves working at the PT Pro facility, especially “the ability to work in the gym with the garage doors open and the fresh air wafting,” she says. Most of all, she loves the team atmosphere: “Everyone is committed to helping their patients reach their goals.”
Cinnamon and salt to taste
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and cover a medium baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 2. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes and bake on the prepared sheet for 45–60 minutes. 3. Once cooled, split the sweet potatoes down the middle and top with nut butter, banana, chia seeds, cinnamon, and salt.
“Give light and people will find the way.” –Ella Baker
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How You Perceive Pain Matters
Corn Mazes Date Back to Ancient Greece?
Exercise of the Month
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Meet PT Rebecca Jergens!
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Breakfast Sweet Potatoes
How PT Can Help With Urinary Incontinence
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Physical Therapy Can Help Have you ever had an unexpected bladder leak? Maybe it happens when you exercise, laugh, sneeze, or cough; maybe it seems to happen for no reason at all. If you experience bladder leaks with any regularity, you have urinary incontinence. You’re not alone; approximately 13 million people in the U.S. suffer from this condition. It’s an embarrassing occurrence that can reduce your confidence and limit your social life. The good news is that it can often be treated with the help of a physical therapist. Urinary incontinence is most commonly reported among women due to weakening of the pelvic muscles after childbirth. Weakened muscles can also result from pelvic trauma, aging, or a lack of exercise. While women report urinary incontinence more frequently, men can also experience it and, in fact, may underreport their symptoms. In many instances, working with a physical therapist can reduce or even eliminate your symptoms. There are several types of urinary incontinence, so your physical therapist will need to determine which one you have to design an effective treatment plan. They will start by taking your history and performing a physical examination on your EXPERIENCING BLADDER LEAKS?
pelvis, hips, and back. In some cases, they may also request diagnostic tests from your doctor. Depending on the cause of your urinary incontinence, your physical therapist may teach you relaxation, coordination, or Kegel exercises. Your treatment may also include manual manipulation of internal pelvic muscles by your physical therapist. As this is an intimate process, your PT will confirm your comfort level before beginning this type of treatment, and you may decide to wait for several sessions before starting manual therapy. Many people who have bladder leaks try to hide and manage the problem without seeking professional advice. This is a mistake, because physical therapists are familiar with these conditions and can provide you with judgment-free care. There’s no reason to suffer in silence — schedule an appointment with a physical therapist today to start reclaiming your life.
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