Low back pain is a common condition that affects many people, and it can be caused by a variety of factors. One phenomenon that is often seen in individuals with low back pain is called “centralization.” What is Centralization? Centralization is the process by which pain and symptoms move from the periphery of the body to the central area, such …
Around the Curve: Physical Therapy for Scoliosis
If you’re like me, you remember scoliosis screenings growing up–and you also probably had no idea what they were looking for. Scoliosis is a condition in which the spine is abnormally curved, often in the shape of an “S” or “C.” Curves are greater than 10 degrees are classified as scoliosis. The cause of scoliosis is unknown. However, as a …
Research Sheds Light on Early Physical Therapy for Back Pain and Sciatica
Sciatica – a Pain in the Butt! If you have had sciatica, you know how painful it can be. Sciatica is kind of a “catch-all” term used to refer to pain that refers down the leg and is caused by an irritated nerve or neural structure. Most commonly, sciatica is associated with back pain. Despite how common sciatica can be …
More Frequent Physical Therapy Reaps Benefits for Spinal Stenosis
We’ve written a lot about spinal stenosis. It’s a condition that we see often and care about improving in our community. In fact, we’re currently running two ongoing research studies on spinal stenosis (send us a message below for more info). Physical Therapy Can Help Spinal Stenosis? If you have spinal stenosis, you may be wondering how to treat it. …
Physical Therapy First for Low Back Pain Reduces Opioid Prescriptions by 85%
Background Low back pain is really common. In fact, almost everyone has low back pain at some point in their life, and about 1 in 4 people you know have had low back pain in the past 3 months. With low back pain being so common, it’s important to have information about the best place to start care when your …
The Forgotten Condition That Could Be Causing Your Hip Pain
Why Physical Examinations are Important Hip pain is commonly seen in physical therapy. Hip pain could impact your ability to walk, golf, twist in the car, get out of the car, get out of a chair, and so on. However, it might be somewhat surprising to find out that it can often be difficult to determine the cause of your hip pain. This …
The Crazy Thing Research is Telling Us About Spinal Stenosis
Lumbar Stenosis is a radiographic diagnosis. The word “lumbar” refers to the lower back and “stenosis” means “narrowing.” Usually, when an x-ray or MRI finds that you have stenosis, it means that the passageways for nerves in your spine are smaller. However, it is important to keep in mind that this narrowing can happen without pain. It is common to …
Part III: What Do Airplane Crashes Have to Do with Unnecessary Surgeries?
The New Healthcare: A 3 Part Series I’m sure you remember it, even now. Earlier this year, a woman was sitting in her seat on a Southwest airliner, a model known as the CFM56, when the window she was seated next to suddenly burst open. She died. It was the first in-flight fatality in the 47-year history of Southwest Airlines. …
Manual Therapy: What is it and Why Should You Care?
I’m just returning from a visit to the annual conference of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) in Reno, Nevada. The wonderful thing about the AAOMPT conference is that you’re constantly surrounded by physical therapists that have contributed so much to our profession and are on a continual journey of lifelong learning. I’ve been to the conference …
Part 2: Why Time Matters in Healthcare
The New Healthcare: A 3 Part Series Let me describe my last doctor’s visit. It was for what I thought was a trivial condition (I had a red patch of skin that hadn’t gone away for months) and so I went online and scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist. I chose one that had signed a contract with my …
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