What Is Upper Cross Syndrome/Lower Cross Syndrome?
Upper cross syndrome and lower cross syndrome are terms heard within the world of medicine that, on the surface, sound a little intimidating. However, each term simply refers to muscle weakness and tightness in certain areas of the body that may be contributing to pain and/or reduced functional level. Each “syndrome” entails two predominant areas of muscle tightness and two predominant areas of muscle weakness. Often times, these limitations occur as a result of impaired posture and can lead to pain. Once identified, both upper cross and lower cross syndromes can be effectively treated and managed with physical therapy care.
What is Ischiofemoral Impingement?
Ischio-what? Ischiofemoral impingement (IFI) is a rare cause of groin or posterior hip pain. This diagnosis is named after the body parts which are involved. The ischium is part of the pelvis and the femur is the big bone of your upper leg. Ischiofemoral impingement means the ischium and the femur are pinching something causing impingement. IFI is a rare diagnosis, but recently has become a common topic of research and conversations.
PT for Pain: Make the Most of Your Deductible
The end of the year often means the resetting of health insurance deductibles (the amount you pay for health care costs before your insurance plan starts to pay). If you’re like me and have met your deductible for the year, now might be the time to address issues that have been plaguing you over the past year and beyond.
The Faces of National Physical Therapy Month
During National Physical Therapy Month, we recognize our hard-working therapists and the positive impact they have on our patients’ lives. Throughout the month of October, we’ve highlighted 30+ members of our team across our social media channels to showcase their expertise. Read below to learn more about our clinicians, their specialties, some of their favorite patient stories and the impact they’re making in providing quality care to our patients.
Say No to Pain Killers, Say Yes to Physical Therapy
We are all too familiar with pain; it is truly one of the unfavorable guarantees that we have in life. Whether it be emotional or physical pain, we learn at a young age that pain is a reality that we all must face. In fact, there is a direct link between our physical pain and emotional wellness. Often times, emotional stressors are manifested in our physical ailments. Just as often, we find ourselves with physical impairments that can trigger certain emotional responses affecting our moods and perspectives.
Low Back Pain in Young Adults
Low back pain is one of the most common ailments treated in outpatient physical therapy clinics today. Back pain can be debilitating and negatively affect quality of life to a large degree, and as a younger individual, it is something that is not often thought of as a potential injury. Yet, low back pain is fairly common in the younger population; up to 10-25% of the population in their late teens to early 40s report back pain. In this age group, low back is commonly described in the research as “non-specific back pain,” meaning back pain does not have a known cause or correlation to MRI or X-Ray imaging. Most acute, non-specific back pain usually resolves on its own within 6 weeks and with appropriate rest, good nutrition, light activity and a positive outlook, you can help manage the severity of your pain.
3 Reason to See a PT When You’re Not Injured
For most people, physical therapy is only considered after an injury or surgical procedure. Unlike medical doctors, dentists and eye doctors, people do not consider going to a physical therapist for yearly check-ups. However, if you are training for a particular event, interested in finding out your injury risk level for specific sports, want to improve your balance or are considering seeking preventative care to decrease risk of age-related issues, physical therapy may be the best option to consider. Physical therapists are trained to be movement experts. They evaluate their patients based on functional movement screens, strength testing, range of motion measurements and special tests to determine muscular deficiencies and imbalances. Discussing goals during your first session with your therapist will allow for performance of a specific exam and creation of a unique exercise program built for you. Here are three reasons you may want to consider seeing a physical therapist even though you may not be in pain or have an injury.
What I Love About Being a Physical Therapist
I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I have been in practice for over three years and I have loved every minute of it. There are many aspects of my job that I love, and I am finding new things about it that I love all the time. It is a career that has allowed me to combine many of my interests into one: helping people, fitness, healthcare, anatomy and much more. I have even had the opportunity to help students with their therapy careers and serve as a clinical instructor. Everyone has different reasons for why they love being a PT, and here are mine.
