This is a question that we empower our clients and patients to ask themselves when they come to us experiencing pain or physical issues. 

Dr. Andrew here, and I want to tell you about a friend of mine who came to me a few years ago for some advice about her mom’s knee pain. 

She’d torn her meniscus a few years prior, and was experiencing a pain that limited her mobility throughout her daily life. These are the types of problems that we solve here at Physio Room, and I am always happy to try and assess these issues. 

Her orthopedic doctor prescribed periodic cortisone injections in her knee to subside some of that pain. BUT, this method simply wasn’t working for her body. Her doctor was just delaying the inevitable knee replacement that she’d need after a few more years of this pain.

I started asking questions. I wanted to know if it was an acute tear due to a twist or a slip or if it was an injury. Or did her knee just start hurting? How old was she? Was there knee locking or patching or any sensations other than pain? 

I was trying to figure out if it was actually the meniscus that’s causing the knee pain. 

I believe that physical therapy should have been one of the first solutions to the knee issue that this woman was facing. Cortisone shots are an outdated method. 

Repeated cortisone injections are actually not healthy for the same joint or for our body in general; it delays and limits our body’s natural healing processes. 

Yes, they’re great at reducing pain. Yes, they can be great for diagnostic procedures to help determine if the area you’re putting the injection is, in fact, the area of the source of pain that can help rule things in and rule things out. But repetitive shots will not rehabilitate the body or fix that pain.

My friend’s mother received conflicting information, and ultimately didn’t know what other options she had.

I wish, as a healthcare professional, that other healthcare professionals would stop using negative, limiting language, and speak on the positive side of things. Instead of mentioning what patients can’t do anymore, we should instead focus on what they CAN still do. And what they’ll be able to do if they take control of their own care.

There could have been many reasons as to why this woman was experiencing this knee pain. It may not have only been the meniscus tear. Her general health could have been affecting her pain. 

How we eat, how we sleep, how we manage our stress, and how we manage our activity level have just as much if not more to do with our pain level than just having a meniscus tear.

You have to be the advocate for yourself or for your family member, and ask the challenging questions and be willing to push back and not just take the answer that is given to you. 

It was pretty clear to me through the conversation with my friend that her mom had not been thrilled with how her situation was being managed.

But she just didn’t know any better.

She was just expecting that the provider was going to direct her in what was the best course of care for her in that situation.

So for yourself, when you have something that’s bothering you, I am giving you permission to ask challenging questions to your providers to do your own research and come to those appointments with thoughts and ideas and not just expect that person to know what’s best for you. 

Because as a provider, we have a lot of great ideas, but nobody knows your body better than you do. No surgeon, no physician, no physical therapist, no chiropractor knows your body better than you do. And you know how it feels better than anyone else.

Want to hear more about Taking Control of your Own Care? Listen to my full podcast episode on The Code here.

The post Take Control of your Own Care appeared first on Physio Room.

Your environment, including the people who you surround yourself with, is the clearest indicator of who you are and who you are becoming. I was thinking about this quote one Sunday as I was prepping my lunches for the upcoming week. It makes my mornings really easy for me each day of the work week. I just reach in the fridge, grab my stuff, throw it in my lunch bag and hit the road without having to do a lot of preparation on a daily basis.. because my environment is stronger than my willpower.

Is what you’re doing in your daily life serving you towards accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself? Are you setting yourself up for success? That’s one of the things we talk about with clients all the time in our office at Physio Room; setting themselves up for success!

So let’s take food prep for example. If you’re prepping your food in advance, you’re taking the guesswork out of what your meals are going to be throughout the week and you are much more likely to stick to whatever your dietary plan is for that week. That’s because the decisions are already made for you. Like, “oh, yes, I’m eating this for lunch every single day because I prepped it.”

Now, I have a little bit of variety built into mine. I sort of altered some of the ingredients and the spices in some of my meals so that they don’t taste exactly the same and to prevent me from getting bored. But a lot of the decision making is gone for me. So now the likelihood that I’m going to stop at a fast food place or on the way home because I’m hungry is virtually eliminated.

It’s virtually zero. Because unless I go through the food significantly faster than I planned on, I already know what I’m going to eat for the week. So I’m not going to get what we call “decision fatigue”. And I’m sure you’ve all been there. Say you’re at a party or something and you go into that party hungry and there’s a bunch of really good food, healthy foods, vegetables, fruits, proteins, and things to choose from.

But then there’s that dessert table sitting there too, and you’re hanging out at the party. You nibble on some fruit and nibble on some vegetables, and you’re making really good decisions early on. But how hard is it to keep that up? The decision fatigue starts to set in and the more decisions you have to make, the harder it is to continue to make the really, really good, healthy decisions over and over and over again.

If you can set your environment up so that those decisions aren’t really there, you’re going to be so much better off.

Here’s another example with people who exercise on a regular basis. Part of their lifestyle is that the people who are the most consistent with their exercise routines are the ones who work out in the morning. Now, you might say, “Andrew, my lifestyle and my responsibilities don’t accommodate me working out in the morning. I would have to wake up at 04:00 a.m. in order to do that.”

And that might be very well true.

I’m just saying what the statistics show and it’s that the people who are the most consistent with their workouts and not missing them are the ones who work out in the morning. Well, one of the reasons is.. it doesn’t allow to hit the fan throughout the day that derails your plans to go work out. Say, for example, I’m planning to work out after work. I get up, get dressed, go to work, have a normal day, and then I drive home. I’m planning to get home, change clothes, and then go do my workout.

But right when I get home, the phone rings and it’s something that I have to take care of right at that moment. It’s a semi emergency. Maybe it’s not a real significant emergency (like someone’s health or anything like that) but something very pressing distracts you from what your plan originally was. So say that takes you an hour to take care of that issue from that phone call. What’s the likelihood that you’re still going to change into your workout clothes and get your workout in that you had planned on?

Maybe, maybe not! But now, your environment is making it challenging for you to prioritize your workout and you will need to rely much more on your willpower.

Remember, your environment is stronger than your willpower every single time.

Your willpower is like a muscle and eventually it’s going to fatigue and you want to be able to fall back on your environment when you need to.

If you’re looking for some guidance, our team at Physio Room can definitely help you. We are more than healthcare providers. We’re your support system! We’re here to make your life better and set you up for success. Contact us anytime. 

The post “Your environment is stronger than willpower.” appeared first on Physio Room.

So you want to be a runner? Go out, let the sun and breeze hit your face, and cruise down the path without a care in the world. Sounds nice. Maybe you have a race in mind. You’re going to run a local 5K/10K and have a nice after race beer. You’ll get your T-shirt, finisher’s medal, maybe even brunch with some friends on the way home. These are the ideal scenarios, but not always how things play out.

It’s no secret that running is one of the most popular forms of exercise around the globe. Every year, millions of people lace up their shoes and go run. The unfortunate reality however, is that the vast majority of those people wind up injured every year as well. What follows is often worse, those nagging injuries get ignored or trained around and lead to even more issues.

Let’s take a closer look at one of the more popular races, the marathon (26.2 miles).

– There are approximately 30 million regular runners in the US.

– There are over 1,100 marathons held each year in the US.

– ~90% of marathon runners sustain an injury during training.

– Each year, ~80% of runners sustain an injury that forces them to stop running.

– There is an inverse relationship between the cost of a running shoe (the US running shoe industry rakes in about $4 billion a year, by the way) and the likelihood of a runner getting injured. In other words, the more expensive your running shoe, the more likely you are to get hurt. “So which shoes should I buy?” you might ask… Well, that’s a topic for another day. My recommendation for now, just wear what is comfortable to you and don’t worry about the price, brand, features, or what your friend is wearing.

So now you might be wondering, how can you make sure you are able to run without being injured? Great question! Because let’s be honest, telling a runner to stop running is like telling them to stop breathing or telling a fish to stop living in water… That’s just crazy!

There actually is a way for you to run, enjoy it, get good at it and even stay healthy. Our running checklist below is a good place to start.

In this checklist we dive into the 12 essential areas that can impact your ability to run effectively. From head to toe, warm up to cool down, we’ve got you covered. To see our complete list click the link below!

Stay tuned for more running related posts as the weather continues to warm up!

Stay safe & stay healthy, 

Andrew

The post Running: Expectations vs. Reality appeared first on Physio Room.

COVID-19 Is changing the way we do business and is changing the space where you work from. If you’re “working from home“ for the first time, then you are not alone. With the new stress of working in a new environment comes new pains and aches that are preventable. Do yourself a favor and set it up properly from the beginning, claim your FREE “work from home” consult.  

If you have started slouching on the couch while working, overreaching at the kitchen table, or rounded forward with your head reaching towards the screen, then we should talk about your new “office” space.  Our desks were not made for us, they were made for anyone. Dr. Chris, owner of Physio Room, is here to show you how to make your desk adapt to you and not the other way around.

#1 Chair Set-Up

Most desks are set up at 30 inches and will be too tall or too short for some, and we need to adjust the chair height to accommodate. The first thing that you should set up is the chair height to your desk, this allows your elbows to be flexed at 90°. If you have to raise your chair up too high, then you may need a foot rest to keep your feet flat on the floor. Having your feet flat on a surface allows your knees and hips to maintain a 90° bend.  Knees and hips bent to 90° allows for a more natural position that will not overly stress your lumbar spine and help prevent low back pain. 

#2 Monitor Set-Up

We have all seen that coworker rounded forward like the hunchback of Notre Dame with their chin and head protruding forward getting sucked into their computer screen like a scene out of Poltergeist. Don’t do that. 

If you can set your monitor up at eye level and keep the monitor within an arms distance, then you will be able to maintain normal postural alignment. This will reduce the amount of repetitive strain on your neck muscles and allow you to avoid unnecessary headaches and neck pain.

If you are using a laptop, then it would be a good idea to use a kickstand to elevate the screen to eye level and have a remote keyboard to use. If your monitor is too low or too high, then this will put a kink in the spine and create a fulcrum point that will overly stress the cervical spine and create neck pain. This can lead to increased nerve irritation and numbness and tingling.

Dual monitors. If your work requires two monitors, then position yourself to be in the middle of both monitors so you can use your eyes to scan left and right and not have to turn your head significantly to one side or the other. When we see office workers in the PT clinic with neck pain that have dual monitors, we often see the mistake of keeping one monitor directly in front and having the other monitor offset resulting in a slight head turn consistently throughout the day.  That leads to a repetitive strain on those tissues and increased risk for irritation and injury.

Mouse and phone position. Keeping the mouse and phone close to you so that you can rotate your arm with your elbow at your side and reach the phone and mouse without reaching from the shoulder. 

Proper phone use. If you were going to be on the phone frequently, then it is recommended that you purchase a quality headset. Otherwise, you should hold the phone in your non-dominant hand so that you are able to write information down with your dominant hand. This allows you to write down the information without having your shoulder shrug up into your ear and avoiding unnecessary stress and strain on the nerves and joints in your neck.

#3 Create A Movement Rich Environment

Every 10 to 15 minutes, you will slip back into a default posture no matter how perfect you set up your desk. There is actually no such thing as “good posture”.  A “good posture” is a constantly changing posture.  We were not designed to sit static for periods of time. 

Here are the top 4 desk exercises to perform throughout the day.

#1. Chin Tucks x15 reps and one 30 second hold

#2. Upper Trapezius Stretch – x 60 seconds each side

#3. Scapular Retraction – 15 reps

#4. Pelvic Tilt – x15 rep

#5.  Lastly and most importantly, get up, move around, go get a drink of water, and try to get in 10,000 steps per day.

#4 Set Your Desk Up Correctly Today!

As an ergonomic expert and a doctor of physical therapy, I would like to help you set that up. I would like to offer you an absolutely free consult to assess your current “work from home” set up during this Covid Crisis.  We can set up a zoom call and look at exactly where you are sitting/standing and provide our feedback on what you could improve.  

The post Ergonomics Expert Explains How To Set Up Your New Office Space. appeared first on Physio Room.

A highly effective method of applying a distraction force used to relieve neck pain for individuals suffering from arthritis, herniated and/or bulging discs, cervical muscle strains and spasms. 

What Does Traction Do For Your Neck?

Cervical traction equipment works by gently pulling the head away from the neck. By doing so: 

1. The muscles along the spinal cord begin to relax and gradually stretch, along with ligaments around the spine.
2. The intervertebral space of the spine expands, which brings blood flow, circulation, and nutrition to the areas which were being compressed.
3. Increased circulation helps to oxygenate muscles, nerves, tendons, and ligaments, which leads to decreased pain and increased mobility.

Pinched nerves are released. Herniated and bulging discs reduce. pressure is relieved. 

What Is a Cervical Traction Device and What Makes The Neck Hammock Different?

In the past, individuals could only receive traction at a physical therapist’s office. But these visits are often time consuming, inconvenient, and costly.   

Today, there are many at-home cervical traction devices, but most are complex, cumbersome, bulky, expensive, and potentially injurious.  

What is needed is an easy to use, compact, non-marring, effective traction device that minimizes discomfort and avoids potentially injurious stresses, while giving the patient ultimate relaxation and pain relief. 

And that’s how and why The Neck Hammock was created!

Can The Neck Hammock replace physical therapy?

While The Neck Hammock achieves many of the same benefits of physical and massage therapy, it is not meant to replace these modalities.

The Neck Hammock is meant to be a compliment to these therapies, which can be used every day to help relieve pain and protect against future injury. 

Can anyone use The Neck Hammock? 

The Neck Hammock is ideal for:

• Office workers
• Students
• Athletes
• Shift workers
• Laborers
• Drivers
• Bodyworkers 

Do not use The Neck Hammock if you have:

• Acute Cervical Injury 
• Spinal Instability 
• Spinal Hypermobility 
• Neck Tumors 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis 
• Osteomylelitis
• Under age of 16
  
  Consult with your Doctor or physical therapist to see if Cervical Traction equipment is right for you

What does neck traction help with and what are some of the symptoms that the Neck Hammock helps to improve?

The Neck Hammock is a non-surgical treatment option that uses uses cervical traction to provide fast neck pain relief, and a faster recovery from neck injuries, without the need for medications or surgery.  

• Neck, head or shoulder pain 
• Tension headaches
• Poor posture
• “Upper back Hump” aka Dowager’s Hump 
• Herniated, compressed or bulged discs 
• Pinched nerves 
• Cervical neck and muscle spasms
• Osteoarthritis 
• Physical and Mental Stress
• Muscle tightness
• Decreased range of motion and mobility of the neck
• Poor sleep due to anxiety and restless thinking before bed.
• And others

If the Neck Hammock treatment works on my symptoms, will I have to use it forever?

The analogy that we like to use relates to stretching. If you have tight hamstrings and stretch them once, you are going to get immediate relief. But if you don’t continue some sort of a maintenance stretching program, your hamstrings will become tight again. The Neck Hammock works similarly in that it’s a fantastic maintenance tool that helps promote spinal hygiene and joint mobility. This is what makes it an effective long-term solution to your neck pain and tension headaches. The frequency and duration of use truly depends on the person. As you become more mobile, you will need to use less and less.

What is the Neck Hammock made of?

Fabric Composition: 80% polyester, 20% spandex

How far should the top of your head be from the wall/door that the Neck Hammock is attached to? 

There is no exact number as the objective is to feel a comfortable, gradual stretch and much of it depends on how it feels for you. Ideally, we recommend that the base/pad of the Neck Hammock be approximately 2-4 inches off the ground when assembled, however, as for the distance between the hammock and the y-axis (e.g. wall or door), it will also depend as to which angle feels relaxing and comfortable for you.

1. If you are seeking a more aggressive stretch, scoot away from the wall or door. Start more conservatively and see how your body responds after 1 session.
2. If the stretch is too much, move back towards the wall or door.
3. Your body is very smart, it knows what it likes and doesn’t like. If the stretch feels too strong, then it probably is. Adjust the tension based on Your needs.

You can also check out the instructional video on our how to use page to help you set and adjust the Neck Hammock: Click Here

Should you start off with 15 minutes 3 times per day, or start slowly, e.g. 5 minutes at a time?

It mainly depends on the person using the device. We recommend starting at 10 minutes at one instance and working your way up from there. If your neck is in a bad shape, you may need to use it 2 – 3x per day up to 15 minutes (allow at least an interval of 4 hours in between sessions and a strict maximum of 15 minutes per session) at a time but as your range improves and the pain or discomfort subsides, then you can also decrease the frequency and duration of the stretch. However, should the 15-minute duration give you either a headache, or feeling of dizziness/nausea, or back pain, then you may need to decrease the time and place the pad more towards the middle of your neck.

We like to compare this in improving hamstring flexibility. If you have REALLY tight hamstrings, then you are probably going to need to stretch them 2 – 3x a day for a few weeks to see significant physical change. If you have relatively flexible hamstrings, then you probably only need to stretch them 3 – 4x per week.

Should the back pad inside the Neck Hammock go against the middle of your neck or at the top of your neck cradling the skull

This depends on your body as your neck will have a preferred position. We recommend trying both (placing the pad at the back of the head/base of the skull OR at the middle of the neck) and do what feels best and most comfortable for you.

For example, if you know that you text a lot or usually do things that keep your head in a downward position for extended periods of time, your neck probably needs to restore its natural “C-curve” so moving the pad to the middle of your neck will help restore that natural curve.

On the other hand, if you have a desk job, travel a lot, or sit all day, you can probably benefit from the neck hammock most by having the pad under the base of your skull for general neck traction.

The post Why the Neck Hammock? appeared first on Physio Room.

Physio Room opened doors a little over one year ago and we are excited to be growing our dedicated team. We currently staff 2 PTs, a front office manager and a marketing/social media director. We are looking to hire an additional PT to help continue to grow and manage the Highlands Ranch location. 

PTs working with our clinic are passionate about fitness and about providing our unique brand of individualized care. PTs are asked to teach workshops on a monthly basis and hold a high degree of active community involvement. We are looking for an enthusiastic go-getter who wants to work with the owner to build this unique business, not someone only interested in working within the business and for the owner. An ideal candidate wants to work for a high-energy and innovative company, has a strength/conditioning/performance background, strong manual therapy skills and is looking for an amazing opportunity to learn and grow personally and professionally alongside our team. 

Bonus if interested in women’s health/pelvic floor physical therapy as this would be a big asset to our company.

Please send your resume with attached cover letter and references to Chris Robl: chris@physioroomco.com

We look forward to you joining the team!

The post We Are Growing! Are You our Next Physical Therapist? appeared first on Physio Room.