Blog
Your physical therapy treatment should be done by someone who can “see the forest through the trees”
Is anyone familiar with the expression “can’t see the forest through the trees?” That concept keeps cropping as I discuss various aspects of physical therapy practice with friends and colleagues. So often we become focused on one area of the body and neglect to take a step back and remember that we are a complicated and interconnected person. Physical Therapists are THE musculo-skeletal experts and can provide comprehensive care for everyday aches and pains as well as post-surgical conditions. Our bodies are not simple and neither is our treatment. For example: Your knee hurts. Maybe you go to a practitioner who looks at your knee and tells you there is something wrong with it. They may order an Xray or an MRI to confirm their hypothesis. You may even be told that surgery is recommended to fix the problem. Maybe you are prescribed a medication to help with the pain. You take it and feel better but when you stop the pain is back. Or, it goes away for a few months then crops back up again. At what point in time do we as medical professionals decide to take a step back and treat you as a whole person? How often has someone involved with your care taken a step back and look at your hip, ankle, or even lower back to see what might be influencing the pain you feel in your knee? Current evidence supports the links between these areas and can help make your return to “normal” faster and long lasting. A Physical therapy consultation at Back to Motion is a great way to make sure your body is on the right track! Schedule an appointment to see if that nagging symptom you’ve been wondering about can be helped.
Just a bit of a rant from this weekend and talking about lots of unnecessary surgeries and failed bouts of PT that then succeed with another practitioner.
Carrie Lamb MSPT
Ouch – Now I Have a Bigger Pain in My Neck!
Over the last week I have been dismayed to see two well regarded television shows give well meaning, albeit misguided, information regarding the treatment of neck pain. The first was in regard to a young teenaged girl with general neck pain on a well known “The Doctors” talk show. The chiropractor consulted was focused on the shape of the young girls spine and directed her in exercises to reform a flattened curve her neck. Unfortunately, I know as a physical therapist that the exercises demonstrated would actually cause more pain and dysfunction in the long run by promoting an imbalance in the neck and shoulders and further compression of the spine in the neck.
The second was just this morning on one of the network morning shows. Again, the consultant listed chiropractic care and a “few simple exercises” as standard treatment of generalized neck pain. The “simple exercises” were demonstrated in a way that recruit incorrect muscles and could cause future pain and dysfunction. I am saddened that physical therapy was not included. Physical therapy treatment addresses both skeletal and muscular dysfunction as well as correct performance of specific exercises. The physical therapy approach provides a more holistic approach for lasting relief.
I guess this just proves the cliché that you can’t believe everything you see on TV. If you have neck pain, please seek the advice of a professional, preferably a physical therapist (like those of us a Back to Motion) rather than adopting generalized exercises presented by well meaning, but misinformed, TV shows. A physical therapist can give you a comprehensive evaluation of your specific dysfunction and guide you through an appropriate exercise and care regimen that will keep you pain free for years to come as well as resolving your current symptoms.
Lorienne Fisher, PT, DPT
The PT as the Patient
My hip has bothered me for a number of years but the last two years it had really started to impact me and my life. I stopped running to see if that would decrease the pain. It did for a while and then I started to have pain after walking for long distances. In the past 5 months a mile walk would result in me limping and being kept awake at night. After a change in insurance I decided to take to the plunge and see a doctor about my hip.
On October 4th I had arthroscopy surgery to correct a tear in some cartilage. The rehab was to be two weeks on crutches and then start some functional rehab. Well when I was in recovery my husband mentioned that I had a more extensive surgery then was anticipated. What that meant, 6 weeks on crutches with partial weight bearing. Not the news I wanted to hear.
Recovery at home for the first few days went pretty well. Not much discomfort and moving was cumbersome but manageable. I was wearing a hip brace and icing with the ice machine about every hour. The cold and compression felt great. Within the first week I was able to dress and shower myself, big steps. Due to circumstances at my clinic, the next week I had to go to work. Moving around the clinic and caring for patients while on crutches proved to be a challenge. Every night I would get home and tumble into bed. During this time period I was seen one time per week for PT. I wasn’t allowed to do much in the way of exercises so I was doing everything at home. Between working and managing at home I have to admit I was only doing my exercises about every other day.
The next obstacle was driving. The surgeon recommended no driving for 6 weeks. Well that wasn’t an option. My husband or the staff at Back to Motion was driving me to and from work. At week two I started to drive. Driving was comical; I was so far back from the steering wheel I looked like I belonged in Española New Mexico.
At Thanksgiving I was off of my crutches. I of course over did it as soon as I was off of the crutches. This resulted in quite bit of discomfort. I continued to only perform my exercises sporadically. I found myself wanting to do exercises that were fun and not the ones my PT wanted me to do. I was a horrible patient. From that point on my PT has hit a holding pattern until I can start to do more functional activity.
After the New Year I will let you know how the PT is doing as the patient. Hopefully better then I did in 2011.
Have a Happy New Year.
Patty
Non-believer to a big believer!
There is a song by the White Stripes called “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine”. This song talks about the placebo effect of medicine. Well to be truthful with you – prior to working with the clinicians at Back to Motion that is how I thought of physical therapy; I didn’t give it much worth.
I have been involved in the medical field for well over 20 years. In that time I have worked with many physicians who turn their noses up at the thought of physical therapy even though they know it works. Turns out they struggle finding a reputable physical therapist who they feel isn’t out to just bill insurance companies and make a profit.
Just like the doctors I have worked with I have seen some pretty “fly-by-night” operations out there – but I am here to say Back to Motion is not one of them. When I first took the position here I asked around about the reputation of Back to Motion and I heard excellent comments about the practice and clinicians.
Our clients are never rushed. They come in and are given quality, one-to-one personal care and professional treatment. They are shown how they can participate in their own care to gain further function and get back to their lives – whether it is running, walking their dogs, working in their yards, playing tennis, or playing with their grandkids. I have seen how in no time at all they are back doing what they love to do.
I am a convert! I love physical therapy and now understand the benefits of quality physical therapy care.
Brenda Shea
Administrative Assistant
Insights from the owner:
Hello! For those who don’t know me, I am Patty Pennell, owner of Back to Motion.
I wear many different hats in my work. Some of them I like and some them, well……. Like many physical therapists I had very little business training, so the hats I don’t like to wear are the ones that relate to business management. The hats I do like are patient treatment and management.
Of course one of the hats I like is treating patients. I have been at this so long that many of my patients seem like a part of my extended family. Over the years my patients have shared many things with me: births, deaths, marriages, graduations, children leaving home, children returning home, and all variations on the above.
I also work for the Women’s Tennis Association. This means that I treat professional women’s tennis players from all over the world at a variety of tennis tournaments. This hat includes prepping players for practice and matches, treating any injury they may have, as well as making court calls. It has been a steep learning curve because my athletic training abilities were limited at best. Now that I am almost done with my second year I finally feel that I have a grasp of all the skills required for the job. This has been a great opportunity. The one disadvantage is that it takes me away from my family and Back to Motion.
In the past, the most uncomfortable hat I’ve worn is that of management. It’s a pleasure to work with the staff at Back to Motion, and that team took many years to acquire. In addition to being very professional they are great people too. I am so happy that I can tell people that Back to Motion’s staff is great in every sense of the word.
The last hat that I wear is managing the provider contracts. Over the years I have watched the reimbursement rate drop. It is also taking more and more time from our staff to chase down payments from the insurance companies. Until that money is collected the physical therapist is working for free and the practice is carrying the financial burden, which makes it increasingly more difficult to keep a practice profitable. At Back to Motion we continue to work hard at providing a quality service without cutting corners.
All-in-all the hats I wear are great. Some of them present challenges but many of them are so satisfying that I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I count my lucky stars for finding a profession that I love.
Did you say ribs? We can treat those!
Any of you who have experienced rib fractures or rib dislocations – you know they can be very painful! Think there isn’t anything you can do for this pain, think again. I have frequently used taping techniques to relieve pain and improve comfort in patients after fractured ribs or following rib dislocation. Taping does not heal the fracture, but will significantly help improve your sleep and decrease pain.
Taping can also help improve biomechanics of the shoulder and scapula for persons with shoulder pain. If you notice pain with those everyday activities, e.g. reaching for a shelf, combing your hair, putting on or taking off your shirt that never hurt you before, taping and physical therapy treatment can help. Simple muscle retraining and taping techniques can help decrease the pain and improve your function.
If you, or someone you know, fits this picture call us today. We can take care of you!! Dr. Sheri Morrow, PT
Insights from the Intern:
Hello, my name is Brendan Alex. I am a student physical therapist at Regis University. Currently I am participating in an 8 week clinical rotation at Back to Motion PT. This is my second clinical rotation and I can honestly say that I am really appreciating my time here! I have been gaining a lot of hands on experience and have had a great time interacting with all of the patients and the entire staff; even though it’s just me and “the girls”. Sheri (my clinical instructor) and the rest of the staff have made me feel very welcome and very much a part of the family.
As a student I ask a lot of questions and I feel as though each member of the staff is very receptive to answering any and all of them. My clinical instructor consistently strives to help me improve my critical reasoning skills in the diagnosis and treatment of our clients.
My most significant insights to date:
Back to Motion has a great staff because they really do care so much about the progress of their clients. My clinical instructor is extremely passionate about helping all of the clients she treats. I see this in the rest of the staff as well and can tell this makes a difference and helps improve outcomes for clients. While this type of care should be consistent at every clinic and care facility, I know through shadowing other therapists that this is not always true.
This clinical experience is helping me to recognize the day to day ups and downs that come with working in a privately owned physical therapy clinic. Without question the most positive aspect of working in this type of clinic is the freedom to really shape how the clinic is organized, to have the control to market and run the clinic in the way that will best serve the patients, and to allow the clinic to grow and be profitable. The negatives to owning a privately owned clinic revolve around the financial aspects of it, specifically dealing with insurance companies to ensure the clinic is sufficiently compensated following patient care. I have now been able to see first hand the realities of what it takes to be a profitable clinic and some of the tough decisions that must be made in order to ensure growth.
My goal is to work in this type of setting and from this experience I have been able to improve not only in my manual skills but also in my interpersonal communication with patients. I have learned there is a great deal of sensitivity in communication that must be taken when providing any kind of health care to ensure that patients truly feel as though they are believing the best care. I believe the staff at Back to Motion has been a great example to me to ensure that I will practice with this same degree of sensitivity and I look forward to taking this into my future clinical practice.
Our First Blog Post:
This is our first attempt at blogging. Although we are a bit daunted by this task we are excited about exploring this venue to provide our patients with useful insights and thoughts about physical therapy and related topics. All of our staff members will be contributing to the blog to keep it as fresh as possible. We would love to have some feedback from you. Hang on to your hats here we go…….
At Back to Motion Physical Therapy we have always prided ourselves on really developing a relationship with our patients. All of us think that this is an integral part of healing and rehabilitation. Yesterday when reading twitter I came across this article about a study that examined the effects of a physician’s empathy and clinical outcomes (Physician’s Empathy Directly Associated With Positive Clinical Outcomes; Academic Medicine). No surprise, the physicians who had more empathy and were able to express it, had better clinical outcomes. This is a case where science finally catches up to common sense. In healthcare we are under more and more pressure to practice “evidence” based medicine but the problem is what we know works clinically is not yet supported by evidence. It makes sense that people will get better when they are working with someone they feel like is listening. If you are involved with a healthcare provided you don’t feel like really understands the impact of your condition has on your life, switch! Healthcare is a partnership between you and your provider. Anything less should not be accepted. Be your own advocate and make sure you feel like you are being heard in the decisions about your care it is best said below:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” Maya Angelo
To Contact a Physical Therapist in our Denver Office:
Downtown Denver Physical Therapy Clinic
616 Washington St.
No. 100
Denver, CO 80203
303.832.5577
Fax 303.996.0390
We are located on the east side of Washington Street just 1/2 block north of East 6th Avenue.
click here for map and directions
Email Us
If this is not an emergency and you would like to contact us to schedule an appointment or make a general inquiry:
info@backtomotion.net
