Year: 2022

Myths About Physical Therapy

Licensed Physical Therapists specialize in helping you move without pain. Whether your pain was caused by an accident or injury, age-related arthritis, or is part of your post-surgery recovery, Physical Therapy Doctors are experts in assessing and treating people like the individuals that they are. That means no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to helping you with your specific needs. In spite of the sundry benefits personalized sessions with a physical therapist offer, many people do not seek their expertise because they have been misguided by some common, though erroneous, beliefs. Let’s debunk some of these myths about physical therapy.

• Don’t You Need a Doctor’s Referral to See a Physical Therapist?

Here in Florida, patients have direct access to physical therapy services, which means you do not need a doctor’s referral or any particular imaging (x-ray, MRI, CT, etc.) or exam results to schedule an appointment to see how we can help you.

• Isn’t Physical Therapy Only for Recovering from Accidents and Surgeries?

Physical Therapy Doctors and Licensed Assistants can not only help you post-accident and post-surgery, they also know how to treat all manner of back and joint pain, even if it’s caused by poor posture, prolonged sitting, or age-related degeneration. They can even help with vertigo/dizziness and balance disorders. See if any of these common difficulties are problems you are facing. Not only is it not reserved for post-surgery, physical therapy started early enough can often eliminate the need to even undergo surgery in the first place; and that’s without pain drugs.

• Physical Therapy Treatment is Painful, Right?

Our motto is “Helping You Move Without Pain.” That means the point of physical therapy is all about minimizing your pain and discomfort, not causing more of it! Therapists work within your threshold to help you heal and to restore movement and function, and they do it without the need for prescription opioids.

• I Won’t be Able to Use My Insurance.

Most insurance companies do offer physical therapy benefits. They are aware of the efficacy of time spent with a licensed physical therapist and so they often cover treatments. Even apart from insurance, physical therapy can reduce health costs by enabling you to avoid surgery or prescription pain drugs.

Hopefully this clears up some of the most common misunderstandings about physical therapy. If you have any other questions, we’d be happy to set the record straight. Please give us a call at (941) 264-1414, email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send us a message. We’re located in Bradenton, so we happily serve people from all around Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida makes your recovery our priority, and we do it in a scientifically-sound, expert manner in a clean, state-of-the-art facility. Schedule your appointment with our friendly staff today!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sunday, May 8 is Mother’s Day and the beginning of National Women’s Health Week 2022! National Women’s Health Week (NWHW) encourages women to make their health a priority and take care of themselves. There are vast resources of information provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services specifically geared towards helping women take control of their health, but in this article we want to focus on a specific problem that is more common in women than men after age 45: Arthritis; because not only is it NWHW, May is also National Arthritis Awareness Month.

Women aged 50-60 years may be 3.5 times (350%) more likely to develop hand arthritis than men in the same age group.They are 40% more likely to develop knee arthritis than men, and 10% more likely to develop hip arthritis. Why it is that women are more susceptible is not completely understood, but some of the reasons may involve hormone levels, as risk of developing arthritis increases significantly after menopause. In spite of normal age-related changes, there are steps we can take in the prevention and treatment of arthritis. Several of the recommendations that Health & Human Services makes to achieve better health during NWHW are the very same recommendations to prevent or alleviate problems with arthritis. Let’s walk through a few key points.

• Maintain a Healthy Weight

Not only does maintaining a healthy weight lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure, it also decreases stress on load-bearing joints such as the hips, knees, and ankles. Obesity is associated with low-grade, systemic (body-wide) inflammation, and inflammation may contribute to the development of arthritis in any joint, including non-weight-bearing, such as in the hands.

• Get Moving and Stay Active

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, physical activity can reduce pain and improve function, mood, and quality of life for adults with arthritis. For general health, each adult needs 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity and 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity per week. Most people don’t know where to begin, especially if they are already dealing with painful, mobility-limiting arthritic conditions. This is an important consideration that brings us to our next point.

• Schedule Your Annual Physical and Other Health Appointments

In addition to general health assessments conducted by your primary healthcare provider, more specific activity routines and joint-health concerns are the specialty of licensed physical therapists. Physical therapy doctors understand better than anyone how to devise a health program that safely works within your current limitations while simultaneously increasing your strength and mobility. In fact, our motto at Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida is “Helping You Move Without Pain.” Our physical therapy doctors and assistants treat back and joint pain without turning to surgery except as a last resort and without prescribing pain medications that merely mask pain symptoms instead of rehabilitating the underlying weaknesses.

Thinking of getting the mother or grandmother in your life a gift this Mother’s Day that will contribute to a healthier lifestyle? If one of your lovely ladies suffers from pain stemming from arthritis, an accident, or injury, consider setting an appointment for her with a Licensed Physical Therapist right here in Bradenton at Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida. We’re conveniently located for access from all around Manatee and Sarasota Counties. Give us a call at (941) 264-1414, email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send a message on our Contact Form. We’re your non-surgical back and joint pain specialists!

Osteoporosis Can be Prevented and Treated

The NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center informs us that osteoporosis is a disease of the bones that develops when bone mineral mass and density decreases, or when the quality or structure of the bone changes. This can lead to a decrease in bone strength that in turn can lead to an increase in the risk of bone fractures. Sadly, this condition affects more than 200 million people worldwide. In fact, in the United States alone, osteoporosis and/or low bone mass in the hip joints or lower back affects 53 million older adults, and more than 80% of these are women. As common as it is, it need not be viewed as inevitable, let alone untreatable if already present. Bone is living tissue, and as such is constantly being broken down and replaced. That’s good news, because although the osteoporotic condition is what happens when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the loss of old, there are beneficial practices we can elect to engage in that contribute to healthy bone mass rebuilding and preservation.

Osteoporosis is sometimes called a “silent” disease because it often doesn’t cause any symptoms until it contributes to a bone fracture. This is why it is so important to establish patterns of a healthy lifestyle even if you haven’t been diagnosed with the problem. A nutritious diet rich in calcium contributes to bone regeneration and strength, and vitamin D from moderate amounts of sun exposure or supplementation also plays a significant role in bone health because it helps your body absorb more calcium. Check with your physician before adding supplements or vitamins to your diet.

A sedentary lifestyle is a big risk for developing osteoporosis. Often, people lead inactive lives not because they aren’t willing to engage in some form of health-generating exercise, but because they already are experiencing the limitations of pain, and don’t know where to begin in a safe manner. An exercise or rehabilitation program is best left to the design of those whose expertise is in prescribing the right movements, not just feeding you into a cookie-cutter, one-size-all routine.

Many scientific studies have shown that being proactive about your long-term health is an investment that pays dividends of more years of productive activity doing the things you enjoy. The physical therapists at Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida are experts who specialize in assessing individuals and crafting treatments and exercise routines that are specific to people’s most direct needs. Our doctors and assistants know how to work within a person’s current abilities while enabling them to increase their strength, restore their balance, or recover from osteoporosis-related injuries. Physical therapy is an effective, non-drug, non-surgical method of not only dealing with osteoporosis, but clearly contributing to all-around wellbeing, as it doesn’t temporarily mask pain with medications, or only isolate specific problem areas to the exclusion of your whole-body improvement. Physical therapy actually addresses root causes of pain, weakness, and imbalance, setting you up for a strong recovery. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida are dedicated to helping you move without pain! If you are in the Bradenton or Sarasota area, find out how we can help you. Give us a call at (941) 264-1414, email Info@PTDoctorsFL.com, or send us a message.

Celebrate a World of Flavors!

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has deemed March 2022 as National Nutrition Month. This year’s nutritional emphasis is on embracing the global culture of cuisine by encouraging people to allow their palates to explore healthy foods from around the world. Experimenting with new shades of color and novel flavor combinations can contribute to a healthy lifestyle, so open your mind to trying some of what this wide world of varying cultures has to offer. Check out the Cuisine section under the “Browse Categories” drop-down menu on this helpful database provided by the USDA. It’s loaded with interesting meal ideas from around the world, including a huge vegetarian section for those who prefer a plant-based diet.

Americans on average tend to overdo some of the less healthy options when it comes to mealtime. The U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting added sugars and saturated fats to the food and drinks of those age 2 and older. Of course one meal won’t make or break a person’s health, but to establish useful guidelines that will be conducive to the development of health-optimizing habits we can learn from the USDA’s My Plate program. My Plate personalizes a plan for you based on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. It helps you create meals with the right amounts from each of the food groups consisting of fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. Of course it has lactose-free, vegetarian, seafood allergy, and other personal dietary options to take into consideration for your plan. There’s even a free app for IOS or Android, so wherever you go you’ll always have access to information for delicious and nutritious food offerings. You can get started by taking a short quiz (really a simple assessment) about your current habits that will assist you with the right first steps. For further nutritional education, there’s no shortage of resources offered by My Plate, including videos, graphics, and fun tools.

If you want to specifically target particular vitamins and minerals as you peruse the many cultural food offerings from around the globe you can cross check individual ingredients for their nutritional content with this handy guide to what’s in food. It has the facts on vitamins and minerals from A to Z. Alternatively, you can search more by food name at the USDA’s Food Data Central. It zeroes right into the specifics of what you’re looking for.

If you don’t want to go out on a limb and try cooking your own ethnic dish, consider visiting a new restaurant that represents that nation or culture’s culinary offerings. Dining out can be more challenging when monitoring a healthy intake of food than preparing it yourself, but with a few easy preemptive strategies you can still celebrate a world of flavors without compromising your healthy initiative.

A healthy diet goes a long way in contributing to a healthy life, but diet alone, unfortunately, can’t repair muscular imbalances, weakness, or joint pain caused from accidents, arthritis, or dysfunctional movement patterns. To accurately assess, treat, and repair problems with your neck, back, or limbs you need an experienced and educated professional. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida are Licensed Physical Therapists and Assistants who specialize in helping you move without pain. Augment your nutritious eating with pain-free moving and get back to the things you enjoy doing. Call us today at (941) 264-1414, email info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or fill out our Message Form for more information or to schedule a consultation. Your non-surgical back and joint pain specialists are conveniently located in Bradenton to serve all of Manatee and Sarasota Counties.

How Physical Therapy Saves Money

Who doesn’t want to save money? Your health is one of your most important possessions and certainly deserves a high value, so it’s reassuring to discover that not only is treatment under a Licensed Physical Therapist an extremely effective solution to many forms of physical pain and dysfunction, it’s also a viable way of actually saving money while restoring your health. Let’s explore how our Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida can help you avoid surgery, reduce and even eliminate the need for prescription painkiller drugs, and help you recover more quickly to return to productive work and a fulfilling lifestyle.

Let’s face it–surgery is expensive. It’s also invasive, involves anesthesia, if not full sedation, and typically requires a lot of recovery time to heal the incisions, let alone the operated-on tissue itself. Physical therapy involves none of these things. What if you could achieve the same or better results without the exorbitant price of going through surgery? Many scientific studies have shown that physical therapy can work just as well, and with fewer complications. For example, spinal stenosis, meniscus tears and osteoarthritis, and rotator cuff tears all have associated studies demonstrating effective treatment from physical therapists rendering surgery unnecessary. Before assuming that your only option is going under the knife, schedule a consultation with a Licensed Physical Therapist to find out what about less drastic and less expensive options.

Physical Therapists seek to correct problems without drugs. 15 years ago, the total cost of prescription pain medications for one year in the United States was $17.8 billion, much more in terms of total expenditure, and have increased greatly ever since. A survey of current prices of opioids will encourage you to rather invest in getting better and not requiring meds instead of perpetually relying upon the temporary relief of drugs that come with long-term side effects without actually correcting the problem. Researchers at Boston University analyzed over 67,000 patient records and found that even low levels of physical therapy before or after surgery can lower the odds of chronic opioid use. In fact, they even revealed that the longer a patient waits to start physical therapy, the greater the eventual odds of chronic opioid use.

Physical Therapists are experts at creating an exercise program that someone with pain or mobility limitations can still use to regain lost strength and return to an active, productive life. If you’re already at the point of requiring surgery, it should be illuminating to find out that exercise therapy before and after major surgery has been shown to augment postoperative outcomes by improving functional status and reducing complications.

With the example of something so common as low back pain, not only is physical therapy cheaper than surgery or injections in the short-term, it’s likely to save on treatment costs for at least a year after initial diagnosis, with average savings of 18% over treatments that begin with injections and over 50% over treatments that begin with surgery. The bottom line is that physical therapy can save you money. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida’s team of doctors, therapists, and assistants are Bradenton and Sarasota’s premier providers of treatment dedicated to helping you move without pain! Find out what we can do for you by scheduling a consultation. You can reach us at (941) 264-1414, email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or drop us a line via our contact form.

The Importance of Breathing

Everyone knows everything about breathing, right? We all do it incessantly from the time we’re born for the entirety of our lives, about 22,000 times a day. We do it without thinking, without trying, never even considering it something worth our attention unless something happens to us that hinders it, and yet it’s the most immediately critical bodily function. It’s more important than food, water, shelter, rest, or any social interaction, as it pertains to staying alive, since none of those other necessities are even capable of being utilized without breathing air all day, every day, even while asleep. Despite the absolute ubiquity and simplicity of breathing, there really is more to be learned about it that can have a positive carryover effect into the rest of our lives.

Although just breathing in & out is basically the extent to which the majority of people go their entire lives, there are practical techniques we can employ to increase our health, both physically and mentally. Such practices have demonstrated clinical significance in the improvement of cognitive performance, and can reduce negative subjective and physiological consequences of stress. Slow breathing in particular has positive effects related to emotional control and psychological well-being. So what sort of breathing exercises can we do to help get stress under control and to relax? Let’s review an easy technique.

To engage in Belly Breathing:

1. Sit or lie in a comfortable position.
2. Place one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest.
3. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.
4. Breathe out through pursed lips as though whistling. Feel the hand on your belly go in, and use it to push all the air out.
5. Do this type of breathing 3-10 times, taking your time with each breath.
6. Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

There are many more somewhat more advanced techniques for you to try when you’ve had a little practice with the above, including 4-7-8 Breathing and the excitingly named Modified Lion’s Breath. For computer and smartphone users, there’s also no shortage of free apps to guide and help you keep track of your progress. If you prefer a personal instructor and/or a group setting, an assortment of local Manatee and Sarasota County classes are only a Google search away.

Your breathing capacity may have suffered if you can’t move around as much as you used to due to joint pain or injury, but you don’t have to let body aches take you out of the healthy life game. The pain experts at Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida know how to put together a treatment plan designed for your particular situation, and they do it without the need for surgery or prescription drugs. We even have breathing specialists like Cynthia Cantwell, who’s had 200 hours of Hatha Yoga teacher-training. To find out what our Physical Therapists can do for you, call us for more information at (941) 264-1415, email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send us a message here. Our Physical Therapy Doctors and Assistants are all about helping you move without pain!