What do you think of when you hear physical therapy? Most individuals may have experienced or know of someone who experienced physical therapy with a pastinjuryor surgery. This is the bread and butter of what we do as physical therapiststhroughrehabilitating individuals back to what they love to do; however, most people do not know the benefits of seeing a physical therapist for “prehabilitation” or “wellness checkups” prior to a possible or potential injury from occurring.
Just as one goes to the dentist for a biannual checkup for prevention of possible future dental issues, physical therapy has and can be an option for the public in addressing possible musculoskeletal impairments, muscle strength deficits, and range of motion deficits in the body. As most of us all know, exercise has been suggested to aid in multiple health benefits such as preventing chronic disease, boosting mental health, increasing overall longevity, reducingrisk of cardiovascular disease, and improving bone health – just to name a few. As orthopedic physical therapists, we are trained and knowledgeable in rehabilitation and appropriate exercise prescription following injury and/or surgery, but we are also trained in injury prevention by providing patients and clientsresources for reducing their chance of an injury.
As spring is approaching and we are gearing up for the beautiful Montana summer, physical therapy may be of benefit to you or someone you know to increase your chances of a healthy, active, and injury-freeyear. It is typically easier to address these possible impairments before an injury may emerge versus after an injury has occurred. Most everyone, including you, may benefit from a “biannual checkup” with physical therapy!
Matt Schumacher, DPT, MTC, CAFS, CSCS received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND where he was recognized as a nominee for Outstanding Student Award in his physical therapy class demonstrating excellence in academics, volunteering, and servant leadership. Following graduation, he received training from Gray Institute with a Certification in Applied Functional Science (CAFS). Matt also completed a rigorous year-long program with Evidence in Motion (EIM) achieving his Manual Therapy Certification (MTC) gaining advanced training in mobilization and manipulation techniques for common diagnoses of the spine and extremities. Matt specializes in assisting individuals following post-operative rehabilitation, sports medicine rehabilitation, and orthopedic injuries/ailments of the spine and extremities utilizing advanced knowledge and skill with manual therapy and appropriate exercise prescription.
Learn why your posture matters, how it can lead to health concerns, and what you can do to improve yours now.
Please bring your older kids! Learning to optimize posture at an early age can have life changing results.
With the popularity of personal electronic devices, poor posture is an increasing problem. People of all ages are at risk for developing a multitude of musculoskeletal problems, including neck pain, back pain, headaches, shoulder impingement, elbow tendonitis, thoracic outlet syndrome, TMD, etc.
David Coletta, MPT, CMPT specializes in the treatment of back and neck pain, spinal issues, whiplash, headaches, TMJ/jaw pain, postural dysfunctions and professional bike fitting. As the founding owner of Excel Physical Therapy, David established Excel PT in 2001 on the principles of specialization, advanced education and customer service. He enjoys finding long-term solutions for his patients — solutions that involve a fine-tuned combination of manual manipulative therapy and a targeted exercise program that address even the most difficult patient presentations.
A new multicenter prospective study (good evidence!) shows physical therapy is very effective in the treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tears. In the October issue of the “Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery”, JE Kuhn et al. showed that people with full thickness rotator cuff tears that were not the result of trauma (their injury was not the result of a fall, or blow to the shoulder) did very well with a 6-12 week course of physical therapy. People with rotator cuff tears had improved pain-levels and shoulder function after 8-15 visits of physical therapy. Furthermore, after a 2 year follow-up less then 25% of people elected to get surgery for their torn rotator cuff. The authors conclude that “Physical therapy is effective in the nonoperative treatment of atraumatic full-thickness rotator cuff tears…” and “…physical therapy is highly effective in alleviating symptoms.” This means that if you have a rotator cuff tear that was not the result of trauma you could save a lot of time and money by pursuing physical therapy instead of surgery.
Reference:Kuhn JE, et al. Effectiveness of physical therapy in treating atraumatic full-thickness rotator cuff tears: a multicenter prospective cohort study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2013; 22(10) 1371-1379.
Questions? Contact Jason for more information how physical therapy can help you at 406.556.0562.
“Sit up straight, don’t slouch!” Those words echo in my head close to the spot where I can almost feel the slap on the back of my head from my mother’s hand as she reminded me to sit up straight at the dinner table.
As a physical therapist, I can now appreciate the benefits of maintaining appropriate posture. Almost daily, I see patients with neck, back or shoulder pain. The majority of these patients have noticeably bad posture. We all do. It’s a constant battle between aging, our bodies and gravity. We must work to maintain appropriate posture or our bodies “slouch” into the easiest position, succumbing to the force of gravity and our office chair.
From a mechanical standpoint it all makes clear sense. Keep in mind, that it is scientific fact, that our entire body is related. One system affects the other. If our shoulders are “slouched” forward as we sit at our office desk, our neck must then extend to compensate so that we can continue to view the computer or look forward. The vicious cycle continues to take its toll. The muscles across our chest get short and tight, adapting to this poor posture. In return, the muscles between our shoulder blades and on our back become elongated and weak, further adding to the problem. This affects the mechanics of our shoulders. It also alters the mechanics of our middle and low back.
Simply put, poor posture places additional stress on your spine and the muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissue surrounding it. There is a solution however! Sit up straight. Here are few recommendations to sit properly and some simple exercises you can do on your own to address your posture.
1) You may have to alter your work station to make it more posture and ergonomically friendly.
2) Try a towel roll for lumbar support
Make a towel roll with a (6-8) inch diameter
Place behind low back
Sit up with shoulder blades down and in your back pockets
3) Stretch the muscle across the front of your chest.
Adam Groves, DPT specializes in the treatment of back pain, neck pain, whiplash, general orthopedic conditions, and vestibular or balance disorders. He received his doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in St. Augustine, Florida. Training under the instruction of Dr. Stanley Paris at St. Augustine’s highly regarded manual therapy program, Adam developed his specialized, comprehensive treatment approach.
Prior to completing his doctoral education, Adam received his Bachelors of Science in Education, with a major in Exercise Science from the University of Tennessee. There he worked as a student athletic trainer with men’s athletics, and focused on physical wellness, conditioning and athletic performance.
Excel Physical Therapy’s Jason Lunden, DPT, SCS wrote the following Move Forward Guide for the APTA. We’re sharing it with you here. Click here to see the original article on the APTA website.
Physical Therapist’s Guide to Shoulder Dislocation:
A joint dislocation is a separation of 2 bones where they meet at a joint. Joints may dislocate when a sudden impact causes the bones in the joint to shift out of place. Because the shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body and has such a wide range of motion, it is more likely to dislocate than any other joint in the body. Dislocations are among the most common traumatic injuries affecting the shoulder.
A shoulder dislocation most often occurs during contact sports, but everyday accidents such as falls can also cause the joint to dislocate. Athletes, non-athletes, children, and adults can all dislocate their shoulders.
A dislocated shoulder usually requires the assistance of a health care professional to guide the joint back into place. After the joint is realigned, physical therapists direct the rehabilitation of your shoulder as you recover, and can help you prevent reinjury.
A shoulder dislocation requires immediate medical attention, especially if you have:
numbness in your arm or hand
discoloration of arm or hand
cold feelings in your arm
What is a Shoulder Dislocation?
The shoulder includes the clavicle (collar bone), scapula (shoulder blade), and humerus (upper-arm bone). The rounded top of the humerus and the cup-like end of the scapula fit together like a ball and socket. A shoulder dislocation can occur with an injury such as when you “fall the wrong way” on your shoulder or outstretched arm, forcing the shoulder beyond its normal range of movement and causing the humerus to come out of the socket. A dislocation can result in damage to many parts of the shoulder, including the bones, the ligaments, the labrum (the ring of cartilage that surrounds the socket), and the muscles and tendons around the shoulder joint.
Physical Therapy as a Means for Prevention 
