(formerly Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy of Portland, PC)
Do you call a friend?
Do you wait it out?
Do you hit the over the counter medicine aisles?
Do you call your doctor?
Do you go to the urgent care?
Do you look up a physical therapist near you?
Interested to know what your “go to” is!!
More“I came after severe back pain. I was not able to bend over, walk for extended time, or sit without pain.
Right away I had better results from doing the exercises I was shown then I had ever had with my previous therapist.
I feel like we went at a good pace and throughout my treatment I have been able to increase my overall activity and quality of life.
I have been given the knowledge and tools I need to manage my pain on my own and my back pain has greatly improved!”
Danielle
MoreNOW is the BEST time to get the treatment you need for your aches and pains and…
…get better before your insurance deductible or health savings account renews.
Get the most out of your dollars.
The end of the year is FAST approaching.
More quickly than we expect.
With an average number of visits of just 6-8, you can complete treatment before the end of the year and make the most of your health care benefits.
Don’t hesitate– call 503-244-6232
Schedule your evaluation today!
MoreChallenges of our unstable economy is that our community must face unpredictable health care coverage and bizarre terms insurance companies use to deny patient visits.
Patients discover, often way too late, that their insurance does not cover them when they need it most.
Health insurance plans are misleading patients with vague terms such as “medical necessity” and “prior-authorization”.
With these terms patients can suddenly find themselves with unexpected health care costs, after having the impression they were covered.
It is up to patients to get wise to their health insurance loop holes.
Our patients have found, regardless of all costs, that the quality of care Nick Rinard Physical Therapy gives exceeds all else.
We strive to simplify patients’ decisions by providing fast, efficient care that guarantees results.
MoreIn the past, we used to go to a doctor we had known for most of our lives -for everything.
They saw us at our worst and would send us off to a place that was best suited to get us better.
All that has changed in the last 10 years. No longer are you with a doctor, but you are guided by a corporation of doctors. You are scheduled to see someone in your group of OHSU, Legacy, Providence, or Kaiser just to name a few in the Portland area. If your doctor leaves, you stay and get a new one and now when they refer you out, it is to another specialist in the same corporation– whether they can get you better or not.
It is the people around you who know you best. Your friends and family are the new source of advice. They want to always see you at your best– trust their recommendations in Nick Rinard Physical Therapy!
Getting patient results for the last 20+ years.
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We want you to know that we appreciate you, and that despite all the changes that have happened to healthcare (and those to come) YOU are still still our first priority. We are committed to your PT being as effective as possible, and are still working hard to get you better in an average of 6-8 visits! Call 503-244-6232 for your Evaluation or Free Consultation RinardPT patients get Results:Don’t take our word for it
Clinical Conversations NOW at RinardPT.com
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Lateral epicondylitis, more commonly known as “tennis elbow,” is a pathology that is familiar to physical therapists and the general public. What is lesser known is “pseudo tennis elbow,” a mechanical problem with a very simple solution! Unfortunately, therapists whom are not familiar with the utilization of mechanical diagnosis may unknowingly miss this common elbow derangement. As a therapist practicing the McKenzie method of mechanical diagnosis, I have diagnosed BOTH of my current elbow pain patients as derangements (or pseudo tennis elbow).
Portland area patient presented to physical therapy with intermittent right elbow pain, worsening over the last 3 months. Patient reported difficulty with gripping, lifting, carrying and global limited function of the right arm. Patient described symptoms as “variable” meaning he could perform a task that produced his elbow pain. Then, perform the same task or movement again without experiencing any pain at all! This variability of pain is the hallmark of a derangement and should not be misdiagnosed as a tendonitis (also called tendinitis), which would indicate inflammation (in which case pain would be constant). Patient rated worst elbow pain as a 6/10.
Objective findings included pain with passive elbow flexion and extension as well as pain with active wrist extension and with gripping a tennis ball. Because of my experience as a mechanical therapist, I am familiar with a technique called a mobilization with movement (MWM), developed by Brian Mulligan (a colleague of Robin McKenzie). The mobilization provides a lateral force over the ulna at the elbow joint. While the patient applied this force, he was able to grip the tennis ball PAIN FREE! This same technique was applied for other painful baselines and achieved the same results of ABOLITION OF ALL PAIN! This ability to turn symptoms off with a mobilization indicates an elbow derangement and the MWM is used as the treatment strategy.
The patient was asked to perform the MWM utilizing the lateral glide while gripping a tennis ball to be performed 10-20 times every hour. The theory is that this mobilization is re-positioning the joint in order for it to articulate correctly, resulting in improved range of motion and strength after. The patient returned to the clinic the next day with reports of at least 25% improvement! Objective findings were retested and nearly all baselines had improved in less than 24 hours! The patient returned 1 week later and reported an 85% overall improvement with symptoms.
Don’t be misdiagnosed! Straightforward pathologies which require one exercise to treat are commonly missed with standard treatment. This results in extra physical therapy visits, and more of your time and money. It is worth your time to see if your pain has a MECHANICAL component, otherwise a simple solution may otherwise be missed.
If you are experiencing elbow pain and are living in the Portland/Vancouver metro area, get the best results by calling us today at 503-244-6232 to schedule a physical therapy evaluation.
MoreI recently had a follow up appointment with a patient of mine. “Sam” came to our clinic after having failed attempts of treatment from standard Physical Therapy and chiropractic care. His past physical therapist had given him generalized stretching with little to no benefit, and by the time I evaluated him, Sam admitted that, “(he) was not impressed with his therapy treatment.” He had heard about Nick Rinard Physical Therapy, and he was hoping to get the results he desired with us.
During his initial evaluation, Sam presented with limited, painful movements in several motions of the shoulder. The most painful motion was the motion of putting the arm behind him (like he was going to scratch in between his shoulder blades). Incidentally, this was also the motion which initially caused his pain three months ago.
I had Sam passively stretch into the painful motion. This was not a random decision. It was a clinical decision based off of his baselines and has been clearly documented and researched by the works of Mark Laslett. As Sam repeated this movement, the pain dissipated and all of his baselines improved. Sam continued to perform this exercise until his next visit, at which, he reported 95% improvement.
Sometimes the exercise required to fix the mechanical problem is counterintuitive (moving into the pain). A trained mechanical therapist is able to recognize these pain patterns and can make a clinical decision as to what exercise should be performed and interpret the results.
MoreBy MiKayla Sanocki, SPT
Did you know a back problem can cause symptoms such as pain, decreased strength and decreased sensations into the thigh, calf, ankle or foot? Physical therapists trained in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) here at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy can determine during the evaluation if any of these lower leg symptoms are coming from your back.
Check out this bizarre clinical presentation we treated at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy:
The patient came to physical therapy for an “ankle sprain” that occurred 3-months earlier. She stated she woke up unable to put any weight on her right foot. The pain had remained constant in her ankle, so bad at times that she couldn’t walk! Upon further questioning, the patient revealed what she had been doing the day before: She had driven 2 hours, on her way home from helping clean a house. During the drive she had discomfort in her buttock and hamstring that made her want to pull the car over to stretch. She did not remember any trauma to the ankle, however, but the ankle pain was the only pain she was experiencing now.
Her ankle pain has caused her to quit running and yoga — two of her favorite activities.
During the mechanical evaluation we found that certain directions of low back movements decreased the pain in her ankle. After being sent home with 1 simple exercise to perform every waking hour – which she did perfectly – she returned within 24 hours reporting 90% recovery in pain! Over the next week we were able to progress her exercises and now the patient reports no ankle pain at all. In only 4 visits we were able to abolish her ankle pain, and she is now getting back to running and yoga!
The patient reports, “I now have the tools to prevent the return of my back and ankle pain”.
In contrast to MDT, traditional PT would not have uncovered the spinal cause of the patient’s ankle pain. Treatment would have been ineffective since it would have focused only on trying to treat the symptom.
Do you know if your pain in the legs or arms could be coming from the spine? Come see us at Nick Rinard Physical Therapy and find out!
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Why Wait?Too often, we get patients in our office who have been in pain for months (or almost a year in Michael’s case! Read his story below). If your pain is not improving on its own, there is NO NEED TO SUFFER! It could take just 3 visits, like it did for Jane, and you can have the tools to treat your pain and get back to living your life to the fullest. Most of our patients are able to self-treat their problem in just 6-8 visits. Get the tools you need now. Are you currently suffering from pain or injury? RinardPT patients get Results:Don’t take our word for it
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Remember to “SPRING FORWARD” by one hour on Sunday, March 9th! |
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