Preventative Measures to Decrease the Risk of Injury While Shoveling

It’s that time of year! With the winter months finally here, it is only a matter of time until we get snowstorms. No matter the amount, snow can pile up and be quite heavy. With shoveling snow, there can be an increased risk of injury due to carrying, tossing, bending, and lifting heavier loads. It is our goal to give you a few steps in order to decrease the risk of possible injury.

The first step to avoid injury while shoveling is warming up. Prior to heading outside, it is helpful to perform light exercise. Light exercise for 5-10 minutes is useful for priming the cardiovascular system and warming up the musculature required for shoveling. Some activities you can perform can include squats, hip hinges, and upper/lower body stretches.
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Trying to Understand Chronic Pain: An Introduction to Pain Neuroscience Education

Written by Shannon Hall, DPT

Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting more than 3 months. In the United States alone, it is estimated that of the 255 million adults, nearly 126 million of them suffer from chronic pain. That means that almost half of the population suffers from some form of chronic pain. Put into a dollar amount, roughly $560 – $630 BILLION dollars are spent on chronic pain treatment in the United States EVERY YEAR.

So why is chronic pain such a hard problem to solve?

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Preventing Back Pain Through the Holidays

As the holidays approach, it is no secret that following a healthy routine is hard to maintain. Between delicious holiday meals, family get-togethers, and traveling, maintaining a normal activity level can be hard to do.

Studies have shown that staying moderately active can reduce your risk of developing chronic lower back pain by up to 20%. Most sources report that being moderately active includes taking part in both cardio exercise, such as running, and strength training, such as lifting weights.

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How to Properly Wear a Backpack

It’s that time of year again – summer is now over and children all across the area will be returning to school. As students prepare for another year of learning, backpacks will be filled with school supplies, computers, and books. Most individuals simply think about the convenience-purpose of wearing a backpack and do not realize the significance of proper backpack use. What is the proper way to wear a backpack and does a certain wearing technique correlate to back pain in the future?

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Do you have a problem with falling? Maybe physical therapy is the answer.

As we begin to get older, keeping our balance can become harder. We may even find that we are more prone to falling. Falls are a serious concern for older people; not only can they cause bodily harm but they are costly as well. There are specific parts of the body that help regulate balance, thus preventing falls. Physical therapy can aid in detecting issues with the balance centers in our body and can strengthen those centers.

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What to Know About CBD (Cannabidiol)

Cannabidiol is a phytocannabinoid which was discovered in 1940. It is one of more than 120 compounds called cannabinoids in cannabis plants and accounts for up to 40% of the plant’s extract.  Many people use CBD oils and extracts to relieve symptoms of chronic pain as it is one of the compounds that produces medical affects without producing euphoric or “high” feelings.  Many people are more familiar with THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, which does produce a “stoned” feeling because of the receptors in the body that it affects, which Cannabidiol does not.

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Dry Needling as a Treatment for Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is defined as any pain that persists longer than normal tissue healing time following an injury (2 weeks or longer). People commonly develop chronic pain after minor or major injuries, anything from a fender bender to a sprained ankle to major trauma involving surgery.  Typically, we find that patient’s get stuck in a ‘pain cycle’ which can be very hard to break.

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Therapeutic Cupping for Increased Blood Flow & Pain Relief

Many of us were first introduced to therapeutic cupping during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. All eyes were on Michael Phelps, and many of us were surprised to see numerous red and purple marks all over his shoulders and back. The commentators went on to explain what these marks were a result of, and therefore cupping was brought into the forefront as a treatment to relieve pain or increase blood flow.

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Tips to Help with Sciatica Pain from Sitting

If you are required to sit for most of your workday, you may have experienced sciatica pain. Sciatica is pain that affects the back, hip, and leg and is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve. Compression of the sciatic nerve can be caused by arthritis or spinal stenosis but can also occur as a result of sitting for extended periods of time, especially with poor posture. Taking these simple steps during your workday can help relieve this discomfort.

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Cold Laser Therapy FAQs

The use of lasers in a therapeutic setting has been around for many years, starting with small studies conducted in the 1960s to test the use of lasers for pain relief.  Cold laser therapy has gained popularity recently in the therapy world since its first FDA approved trail began in 2002. This low-level laser has been shown to decrease swelling and inflammation in people with acute and chronic pain.  More recent studies involving Cold Laser therapy in combination with exercise have been shown to reduce pain levels in patients with Carpal tunnel syndrome and myofascial pain syndrome, among other common chronic pain conditions.

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