All posts in Physical Therapy Tips

It is general knowledge that, as we age, our sensory systems start to decline. This includes sight, smell, temperature regulation and balance mechanisms.  It’s important to have good balance because if it declines, you are at a higher risk for falling.  And falling, results in injuries that can greatly affect your life.

Exercises that Challenge your Balance

What many people don’t know, is that you can work on making your balance stronger, just like you do a muscle: by exercising it!  What physical therapy aims to do, is find exercises that challenge your balance system, so that your body must learn to adapt to certain situations and re-train itself on what to do.

Static and Dynamic Exercises

Physical Therapists can provide both static and dynamic exercises for you, depending on what is most challenging.  Exercises can be very simple and integrated during daily routines- like balancing on one leg while brushing your teeth.

If you are having trouble with your balance, come in to Nick Rinard Physical Therapy and have an assessment by a physical therapist! 503-244-6232

This is a question that seems to be in debate.  At our clinic, we advise our patients to come in for treatment as soon as possible when experiencing pain in order for the fastest results.  I have experienced push-back from other health care practioners who want the person to “rest” for 4-6 weeks before starting therapy.  The problem with this? There are many things a person can be doing immediately after the MVA to facilitate healing and prevent dysfunction.  All too often, we see people 6 months or longer after the MVA. If the patient has not been given anything to work on for exercises at home, the picture is this: limited, painful movement of the spine or joint, global weakness, and poor posture that becomes painful if corrected.

What does therapy look like in the first few weeks after an MVA?

Here at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy, we see a lot of patients who have suffered an MVA. In fact, we see it so much we have a protocol for it that is very successful for treatment.  Don’t wait! Start healing and feeling better today!

Osteoporosis is the leading cause of fractures resulting in billions of dollars being spent in the healthcare system. As a physical therapist, it is important to educate the public on information for reducing the risk of fracture, which is a frequent and possibly serious co-morbidity of osteoporosis. The public is subjected to multiple commercials advertising medications that can help fight osteoporosis.  What they may not know, is that simple exercise alone can improve your bone density, decrease your risk of fractures and doesn’t come attached to a list of adverse side effects.

Facts:

• Osteoporosis is a bone disease that leads to decreased mineral content and bone density, resulting in a weakening of the bone
• The incidence of this disease has been shown to increase with older age
• Worldwide, 50% of women over the age of 60 will have an osteoporotic fracture, an incidence rate that is larger than the combined incident rates of heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer.
• One study from 1992 had a worldwide projection that osteoporotic fractures would affect one-third of all men during their lifetime by the year 2050.
• Primary risk factors for osteoporotic fractures include low bone mineral density, deterioration of bone, older age, Caucasian race, female sex, lower body weight and AN INACTIVE LIFESTYLE.

What can you do?

• Exercise can decrease the risk of an osteoporosis related fracture by 50%
• One study found that weight bearing exercise for 20 minutes a day can positively affect risk factors associated with osteoporotic fractures among elderly women.  The exercises for the intervention group included: jumping, dancing, walking, strengthening, and balance exercises.  The exercise group had increased leg strength as well as improvement in walking speed and endurance, as compared to the control group. In a long-term follow-up study, the same authors found that the above intervention decreased mortality in women with osteopenia (a precursor to Osteoporosis).
• A bi-weekly exercise routine developed by your PT can increase your bone density.
• Muscle contraction and mechanical loading deform bone and stimulate activity of osteoblasts, the cells which build bone.It is, therefore, not surprising that these interventions improve bone mineral density.

Want to learn more?

• National Osteoporosis Foundation fact sheet. http://www.nof.org/node/40
• International Osteoporosis Foundation fact sheet. www.dolcera.com/wiki/images/Osteoporosis_factsheet.pdf
• Browse this website: www.iofbonehealth.org

LOW BACK PAIN—What you should do while waiting for your first physical therapy appointment…

SITTING:

Sit as little as possible.  Standing or lying down are preferable to sitting when in acute low back pain.  If you must sit, sit only in a straight backed chair with good posture.  Avoid couches or soft chairs.  Use a towel roll to support the natural curve of your spine.

BENDING:

Do not bend forwards as in touching your toes when in acute low back pain—even if it feels like you are doing good by  “stretching” the muscles of the low back.  Rather than reaching down to get things, squat down using the legs and keep the back absolutely straight.

LYING:

Try to lie more on your stomach rather than on your back.  Avoid the temptation to lie on your back with the head and knees propped up—this just rounds the back more and places inappropriate stress on injured structures.

EXERCISES:

You should stay normally active–in other words try not to stay in bed for long periods.  Move around, take walk if you can.  Do not do the knees to chest exercise you may have learned before.  This is an advanced exercise and usually not appropriate for acute conditions.  It is better in most cases to lie on your stomach and work towards supporting yourself on the elbows.

NO!	YES!