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No one wants to live in pain, and no one should put their health at risk to be pain-free. Opioids mimic the chemicals in your body, helping relieve pain, but they do not help your body heal. Long-term consumption is not a good solution for managing pain. There are better options than opioids.
Seeing a physical therapist can provide long-lasting pain relief without the risk of harmful opioids. Physical therapists work to get to the root of your problem, the source of your pain. As professionals trained in the science of movement, we help get your body moving, releasing natural endorphins. The side effects include improved mobility, strengthened muscles, and decreased pain. Opioids are a dangerous risk. Physical therapy is a safer way to manage your pain. If you are ready to try a better option, give us a call today at 540-459-1386. We would be happy to share how we can help you live a pain-free, active life without the use of opioids. The chronic presence of stress hormones inhibits healing. Our thoughts and emotions can even exacerbate physical pain. Do you recognize when stress is adding to your physical pain? Being attentive to your body is essential for optimal wellbeing. We offer two suggestions to help reduce pain, tension, and stress.
Did you know that when your body is off-balance, you are more prone to sickness and pain? Our daily choices and way of life significantly affect how we feel. Our bodies need balance.
Balance is the body's ability to maintain its center of mass even during movement. Balance is maintained by multiple systems in the body working together. Our bodies are strongest and happiest when we drink enough water, keep our blood sugar steady, sleep consistently, get sunlight and use our muscles. Are you maintaining balance for your body? Are you drinking enough water? Water flushes toxins and lubricates joints. Drinking water can boosts energy and strengthens the immune system. Are you eating healthy foods that promote healing? Maybe consider limiting caffeine, as it can amplify the body's stress response. Are you sleeping? Sleep is a time of rest and repair. Setting a sleep time and wake time may be helpful as brains love routine. Consistent sleep helps set your biological clock. Are you getting outside and soaking up some vitamin D, which is critical for physical strength? Nature can be very healing and positively affect our mood, attention, and concentration. Are you moving your muscles? It can be hard to move when you are in pain. Exercising even low impact can strengthen your body, lubricate your joints, improve your range of motion and flexibility, stimulate blood and flow and reduce stress. Your body has many ways of telling you that something is off-balance, and pain is one of them. Take time to rebalance. If you need more ideas and would like to talk with a professional, give us a call at 520-459-1386. While the aging process is complicated, it is still possible to live life to the fullest. We may not stop the aging process, but we can help stave off many age-related problems through physical therapy.
Here are 4 things that we want you to know about aging well:
While many headaches are harmless and resolve over time, more frequent and severe migraines can impact your quality of life. When headaches or migraines affect your ability to perform daily activities, it may be time to see a physical therapist who can provide several effective treatments.
Physical therapists can decrease the intensity and frequency of headaches and migraines, making you less dependent on medication. In addition, after seeing a physical therapist, your function and mobility will improve and your quality of life. At Rainey Pain & Performance, we use a variety of treatment methods to ease headache pain. The most common treatment methods we use include: Neck manipulation- often, people associate this with chiropractors, but we too can perform manipulations as physical therapists with additional specialized training. Deep neck flexor training- there are small muscles just in front of the top of the cervical spine that often need help to function properly. So let us help you train those small muscles. Dry needling- small acupuncture needles are inserted in muscles around the head, neck, or face, drastically reducing tension and pain. Let us help you reduce your headaches or migraines that are debilitating your life or maybe are just frustrating and annoying. Schedule your appointment today! 520-459-1386 A DROP-IN BLOG POST
Is It PTSD? When you have PTSD, it’s hard to feel safe. The traumatic event – natural disaster, combat, sexual assault, accident - can take hold, and you find you can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe you have nightmares and trouble sleeping. Maybe you feel on edge and unsettled or don’t find pleasure in things you used to enjoy. Maybe you feel it’s just easier to be alone. Feelings like these are common after going through a trauma. For most people, they pass in a few weeks or months, but for others they are long lasting. PTSD symptoms fall into four categories: reliving or re-experiencing the event, avoiding things or places that remind you of the event, negative changes in beliefs and feelings, and hyperarousal or being on guard. For someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, they need to have symptoms in all four categories. PTSD symptoms can happen at any age, and they come and go. Only a mental health care provider can diagnose you with PTSD. And, knowing if you have PTSD is the first step to getting effective treatment. So, it is important to talk with a doctor if you think you have symptoms. There are effective treatments even if you have been living with symptoms for years. Keep in mind that you’re not alone. And, there are treatments that will help you feel better and take back control of your life. Be the advocate – take that first step for yourself. Learn more about PTSD symptoms at the National Center for PTSD. The PTSD Coach app and PTSD Coach Online can also help you learn about PTSD symptoms and practice skills to manage those symptoms. You can even track your PTSD symptoms in the app. The PTSD Treatment Decision Aid is another online tool that can help you decide which treatment is best for you. Other useful resources are the Understanding PTSD and PTSD Treatment booklet, and the National Center for PTSD’s whiteboard videos. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.PTSD.VA.GOV Therapist/Patient Alliance - At Rainey Pain & Performance, we are passionate about relationship building. We believe that a critical factor in the success of any treatment is the therapist-patient alliance. When there is a sense of collaboration, trust and support, treatment is much more effective. What contributes to a therapist-patient alliance? Listening is where we begin. We understand that each person's pain is unique and want to hear your story and the factors that are contributing to your pain. We genuinely care about how you are doing, and throughout your treatment plan, we collect and share outcome data with you because we want you to see your accomplishment and growth. Education and communication are fundamental aspects of our job and are essential for a positive therapist-patient relationship. Communication occurs in our clinic and through multiple methods like our newsletter, social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram), and our newly updated website. We want to make sure all your needs, questions, and concerns are met. When we build alliances we notice our patient's ability to perform daily activities increases, pain levels decrease and overall health improves. We extend an invitation to build a relationship with us and look forward to listening, reporting outcomes, sharing our knowledge and consistently communicating to build a strong alliance and see improvement in your health and wellness. Headaches are pretty common, but that doesn't mean you have to live with the pain. Here are five tips for helping with headaches.
1. Drink Water Your headache could be caused by dehydration. It's important that you're drinking plenty of water on a regular basis. The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that women drink 11.5 cups of water per day and men drink 15.5 cups. However, this will vary for each individual and can change depending on the time of year, where you live or how much you exercise. 2. Take a Nap You can fight off headaches with a regular sleep schedule. Most adults need an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Some headaches will go away with a nap, but making sure you are getting a regular amount of sleep on a nightly basis can help prevent headaches in the future. 3. Essential Oils Some essential oils can help with the pain of a headache. Lavender essential oil can help with sleep, stress and headaches. Place a couple drops of lavender oil on your upper lip and under your nose. Peppermint essential oil can help with headaches by being rubbed onto your forehead. 4. Caffeine Caffeine works like a double-edged sword. Drinking a small bit of caffeine can help relieve headache pain, but drinking too much caffeine regularly can also be the cause. A headache is even more likely to be caused by caffeine withdrawal. Lessening your caffeine intake or cutting cold-turkey can cause headaches in someone with a caffeine addiction. 5. Physical Therapy All of the above tips help many people! If they cure your headaches you can treat them on your own and you don't need to see anyone. If they don't help you enough then seeing a Doctor of Physical Therapy is the next step. Most headaches are not due to serious causes. Your physical therapist will screen if it is and get you to the right place. Most often, they can treat your headaches and even migraines extremely effectively with manual therapy (including manipulation and dry needling), exercises or stretches, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Contact Rainey Pain & Performance by calling (520) 459-1386 or visiting www.raineypainandperformance.com/contact-us.htmlcom/contact-us.html. There are many reasons why your jaw could be hurting. And there are a variety of causes of your jaw pain. It can be tough to know who to see first if you don't know the reason. Some people see a physical therapist first; some see a dentist first; some see their primary care first. Whoever you see, if you don't agree with their assessment, then go get a second opinion.
Dental Issues If your jaw is hurting, it could be caused by a problem with your teeth. You could have a cavity or abscessed tooth. You might have a cavity if your teeth feel sensitive or if it's painful to bite down or eat anything sweet, hot or cold. Your next step is visiting your dentist. However, be aware that muscles can refer to the teeth. Some people end up having teeth pulled and still have the same pain because it wasn't a tooth problem! Heart Attack Jaw pain rarely always equal a heart attack but pain in the jaw can be a signal of a heart attack. If your jaw pain is not associated with talking, eating, yawning, or kissing, then it may be pain from your heart. During a heart attack, pain can often be referred to a different part of the body. TMJ Disorders Temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are where your jaw connects to your skull right in front of your ears. A TMJ disorder could be the reason for pain in your jaw joints or jaw muscles. TMJ disorders (TMD) can be caused by grinding your teeth, injuring the jaw, arthritis, inflammation, or the jaw not aligning properly. TMJ disorders can worsen by biting your nails or chewing gum. TMD is treated best by physical therapists because they have the greatest number of interventions at their disposal. Plus, their interventions are the most conservative! Your physical therapist will discuss your habits with you, including eating habits and other activities that could be causing you more pain. They will need to assess your posture, neck and jaw range of motion and strength. A physical therapist can help you to regain normal jaw movement and decrease your pain. Manual therapy (including dry needling and joint manipulation), specific exercises and education can help decrease your pain and increase your movement. If you are suffering from jaw pain and need guidance or treatment, contact Rainey Pain & Performance. Our team of physical therapy doctors is dedicated to helping you decrease your pain and increase your performance. Call us (520) 459-1386 or find us at https://www.raineypainandperformance.com/contact-us.html . May is National Arthritis Awareness Month. According to the CDC, Arthritis is the most common cause of disability among adults in America. It limits everyday activities for millions of people. If you don't have arthritis, chances are someone you know does.
Unfortunately, there is no cure yet for arthritis. We are very grateful for organizations like the Arthritis National Research Foundation and The Arthritis Foundation who actively support and pursue cures. However, there are a lot of current treatments that help arthritis. Physical therapy is one of them. Our physical therapists are excited when someone comes in with arthritis because of how much improvement these patients typically see. Patients seeing progress motivates us! The most common interventions included targeted exercise for range of motion and increased tolerance to load, joint manipulation, and dry needling. Many people walk out the first day with noticeable relief of their arthritis pain. Another interesting fact is that arthritis is often considered the cause of pain as people age. However, there can be many other factors that affect the pain and arthritis may not be the primary cause. We will give you a thorough evaluation to determine how much arthritis plays a role in your pain to provide you with the best treatments. The first steps in conquering arthritis are learning the facts, understanding the condition, and knowing that there is help along the way. Schedule an appointment today. |
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