Massage as Healthcare

A recent Mayo Clinic post has validated the use of massage to help in conditions such as:

• Anxiety
• Digestive disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Headaches
• Insomnia related to stress
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Paresthesias and nerve pain
• Soft tissue strains or injuries
• Sports injuries
• Temporomandibular joint pain

It is important to understand that not all massage is equal.  A massage from a ritzy spa will have less therapeutic affects when compared to a massage from a skilled Doctor of Physical Therapy.  A medical professional with the ability to manipulate soft tissue (muscle, tendons, fascia) is a valuable tool in the battling pain and other chronic pain issues.

Big companies offering more on-site health care for employees

An increasing trend in health care is employer sponsored, on-site clinics for employees.  These healthcare professionals include physician, physical therapists, chiropractors and nurse practitioners.

Kinesio Taping

Kinesiotaping is a popular tool used by healthcare professional like physical therapists.  It is a cotton strip with an acrylic adhesive that is used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders.  The tape is used in therapy to relax overused muscles and in rehabilitation to facilitate underused muscles.The elastic properties can also be utilized in a mechanical fashion to limit or encourage a specific motion at a joint.  There is very little evidence that Kinesiotaping does as it advertises.  More clinical trials are in the works, but overall the benefits of Kinesiotaping are ambiguous at best.

Chronic Pain

As a physical therapist, I work a lot with chronic pain.  Its one of the hardest patient types to work with, simply because the origin of the symptoms are deep rooted and often psychological in nature.  A new study out of Northwestern University suggests that ones emotions play a HUGE roll in the chronic pain cycle.  ""The research involved 40 volunteers who had all suffered an episode of back pain lasting one to four months.

Four brain scans were carried out on each participant over the course of one year.

The results, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, made it possible to predict with 85% accuracy which individuals would go on to develop chronic pain.

The nucleus accumbens teaches the rest of the brain how to evaluate and react to the outside world.

Prof Apakarian said it may use the initial pain signal to teach other parts of the brain to develop chronic pain.

''Now we hope to develop new therapies for treatment based on this finding,'' he added.""

Spinal Manipulations

Usually, the term ''spinal manipulation" has people immediately thinking of chiropractors.  From there the camps are divided evenly.  Those who understand the benefits of spinal manipulations, and those who dread the thought of it.  What most people don't realize is that physical therapists (PTs) are also manipulators of the spine.  They perform the same, or similar, spinal adjustments that create the ''cracking'' sound and free up movement for patients.  The biggest difference between chiropractors and PTs is that PTs have a multitude of interventions in their tool box, where as chiropractors have only manipulation.  Additionally, PTs offer home exercise programs to help maintain the newly found movement from a manipulation.  Either way, the realm of spinal manipulation is not nearly as dangerous as some think.  No one has ever become paralyzed, had a stroke or died due to a manipulation of the neck. 

Synthetic lubricant injections for arthritis

As a physical therapist who treats osteoarthritis of the knee on a daily basis, I've for quite some time questioned the efficacy of synthetic lubricant injections in the knee. Normally the body's joints are lined with articular cartilage to prevent bone on bone movement. Also, a fluid called synovial fluid is produced to act as the lubricating "oil" within the joints. As we age, both out cartilage and synovial fluids are reduced. This is particularly common in the weight bearing joints such as knees and hips. Physician have for years used a synthetic lubricant to help decrease pain and improve movement in joints. A common brand name is Synvisc. A new study found in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggest there is no functional improvement of the knee, and statistically little decrease in pain when compared to a control group. Moreover, those subjects who did receive synthetic lubricant injections were found to have more likelihood of other orthopedic issues.

Ergonomic Evaluation of desk workstation

Ergonomics are an essential aspect of any desk jockeys' well being.  Sitting for 6+ hours a day at desk with bad posture and poor positioning can lead to low back pain, hip, knee pain and upper back and neck pain.  Having an ergonomic evaluation by a physical therapist is a great way to figure out whats wrong, and develop a plan to correct it.  These evaluations can be done in person, or by simply supplying a picture of yourself sitting at your work station.