 Conservation is about the care and protection of our resources so that they can persist for future generations. What about our bodies? Do we use our bodies efficiently and care and protect them so they, too, can last long enough to impact future generations? This year's theme for Earth Day, which takes place on April 22, is Restore our Earth. Our bodies rely on the wellness of the earth, clean water and air, healthy soil, limited toxins and pollutants, and a vibrant ecosystem. Taking care of our earth and our bodies are important to our well-being. Sometimes, our actions endanger our earth, just as harmful actions can endanger our bodies. As we advocate for conserving Mother Earth remember to carefully preserve and protect your body as well.
 We just ended Women's History Month, where we celebrated women's achievements and accomplishments. Michele Gran, Global Volunteers' co-founder and vice president, reminds us that "Throughout history, the central role of women in society has ensured the stability, progress and long-term development of nations." Women are essential.
At Rainey Pain & Performance, we enjoy advancing and advocating for women's health. We know that there are many issues that women deal with silently—incontinence, bladder issues, pelvic pain, effects of childbirth, and menopause, to name a few. We believe in listening to women and providing a safe environment where we work together. We educate on exercise plans for before and after childbirth. We help improve pelvic muscles' function, body mechanics, and flexibility. Seeing a physical therapist can help with urinary incontinence, and other bladder issues, which we know can be stressful and embarrassing. Menopause can mean significant changes. We can offer solutions that improve strength and balance and help maintain bone density. We believe in empowering women to understand their bodies and work together to improve and care for their wellness.  At Rainey Pain & Performance, we strive to keep your body healthy and free from pain. But we can't do it alone. Healthy living begins with personal habits. One of the most important personal habits is staying hydrated. Hydration is critical for physical activity. Muscles, blood, organs, and cells are primarily made up of water. Water flushes toxins, transports nutrients, regulates body temperature, helps with muscle soreness, cures headaches, and boosts the immune system. Water comprises up to 60% of your body. You need water!
To make the most of your visit with our physical therapists, drink water before and after your session. It's important to replace the fluids you lose from performing physical activity, and staying hydrated aids in the body's recovery and healing process. Let us work together so you can feel your best.  COVID-19 is brief and mild for most people, while some continue to struggle with symptoms for many weeks, even months after. This has been referred to as Long-COVID.
Long-COVID's primary symptoms include:
Additional symptoms include:
If you are experiencing debilitating symptoms and need support in your COVID recovery call us! We want you to get back to feeling normal, increase energy, and less pain—no more exhaustion.  February is American Heart Month. A healthy heart is central to good health. As you strengthen your heart, you improve your oxygen flow, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduce the risk of disease and strokes.
Did you know that seeing a physical therapist can improve your heart health? As trained professionals, we can guide you through exercises designed individually for you. Exercise creates a greater sense of well-being, which increases the heart's ability to pump blood. We can help you evaluate your lifestyle and suggest beneficial changes, which can slow or even reverse heart failure progression. Working with a physical therapist can maximize your heart health, allowing you to continue to enjoy your life and the activities you love to participate in.  Do you know how many breaths you take per day? It's around 20,000. Your lungs are working hard! Have you ever thought about the quality of your breathing? It may be more on your mind as we are dealing with COVID, with can cause lasting lung damage.
Respiration plays a role in overall health. As physical therapists, we use a whole-body approach, so breathing plays a role in our care. Seeing a physical therapist can help improve your respiratory function. We engage your respiratory muscles through techniques like diaphragmatic breathing, visualization, and relaxation. We provide written instruction and pictures. Through exercise, we help to increase endurance, strength, and lung capacity. Manual therapy may be used to increase rib expansion. We can help you bounce back quicker whether you are suffering from long-term respiratory impairment or a result of COVID. Come see us and improve your breathing.  Covid-19 has shaken our world. It's a pandemic that has dramatically affected all of us. We feel great sadness as we think of all those who have lost their lives due to the virus. We offer our sincere condolences if you have lost someone dear and close to you.
If you've had the virus, you know that recovery is a continuing journey. You may have quickly recovered from the COVID symptoms but still do not feel back to your regular health. Bed rest can complicate the musculoskeletal system and leave you with decreased strength and atrophy. Due to isolation and quarantine, limited physical activity may have caused increased fatigue, weakness, and reduced balance. Hospitalization can lead to decreased endurance and reduced lung capacity. We are here to help if you are struggling in your recovery or need extra support to return to optimal wellness. How do we help? With you, we identify what the limiting factors are. For instance, maybe this made your arthritis pain worse, and we need to focus on that. Perhaps you just have decreased energy, so we need to focus on that. Whatever you are struggling with, we will make the focus. We want you to return to your prior functioning levels. We need you healthy and well. We have already lost too many precious souls. If your recovery is not progressing or you'd like to speed it up, please come see us, and together we will develop a plan to get you back to maximized wellness.  As we approach the holiday season, some of you may worry about keeping up with your physical therapy and staying healthy and well. We want you to enjoy the festivities, traditions, fun, and family. Here are some tips to help you avoid pain during the holidays:
 Do you experience any of the following:
When you come to see a physical therapist, we start by evaluating and observing. We will spend time looking at the upper portion of your spine, near your neck, and figure out how well the jaw is functioning, checking for any abnormalities. We will then carefully evaluate your jaw movement and examine the muscles, disc, and joints. When you come to see us, our goal is to decrease the pain you are experiencing and restore your jaw's natural movement. We do this through various treatment methods. Carefully selected jaw and neck exercises, dry needling, and joint manipulation are some of the treatments that are most helpful for TMJ. https://www.raineypainandperformance.com/tmj.html  This time of year, even amidst the chaos, there's much to be thankful for. Taking time to express gratitude can lead to greater happiness and even improve physical health. Grateful people are known to experience fewer aches and pains. Gratitude even helps reduce toxic emotions. It doesn't matter what the season is, taking time to be grateful is a good practice.
At Rainey Pain & Performance, we are celebrating 4 years of business. We credit our success to our community. We are so grateful to the people of Sierra Vista who have helped us grow. Thank you for trusting us with your health. Thank you for engaging with us. Thank you for participating in our wellness challenges and other events. Thank you for referring us to your friends and family. Thank you for sharing feedback with us that helps us improve the patient experience. We look forward to more years of serving you and expressing our gratitude to all of you. We love decreasing pain, increasing performance, and expressing gratitude! https://www.raineypainandperformance.com/community.html |