McDonald Physical Therapy News
 
"Stronger Every Day"
 
September  2013

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                     Contact us: (574)233-5754                  

Fran's Favorite Quotes

 

"Fall down seven times,

stand up eight"

  
   

Please stop by and see MPT

at the St. Joe County Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours!

September 18th

 4:00 pm-7:30 pm 

 

 

  

MPT's

Notre Dame Clinic

is open for the

school year-

St Liam Hall

Rm 229

 

Mon, Wed

 9am-6pm

 

Tues, Thurs, Fri

8 am-5 pm

 

Call (574)233-5754 for an appointment

 

  

 

Hello to all our friends! 

One of our physical therapists read my quote of the week, "Fall down seven times, stand up eight" and informed me that it should have read, "Fall down seven times- see McDonald Physical Therapy immediately!" This took me by surprise and made me think of one of my most recent patients.

She was 47 years young and said that she had begun waking up regularly feeling dizzy and nauseated. She was given antibiotics for a sinus infection. This did not help her dizziness. When she looked up or to the left she got extremely dizzy. She also had dizziness when she rolled over in bed at night. She was sent to us from her physician to hopefully overcome what was diagnosed as a vertigo problem.

This problem is often called a benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
(BPPV). In most cases it requires 1-2 visits and all is well. For this patient, we performed a very safe maneuver called Epley's. It takes as little as 60 seconds or as long as 5 minutes to perform. In this case, it took 60 seconds and 80% of her symptoms disappeared. We had her perform her exercises at home and saw her for one more visit a week later. She is so thankful and having no problems.

Sometimes it takes a little surprise comment to remind me of all the different kinds of patient issues we address. Although I rarely have mentioned vertigo and dizziness as a patient problem, I have treated two people in the last week. I hope, if you have any of these symptoms, you will walk in for an evaluation and treatment or at least, go to see your physician for an evaluation and referral to our clinic.
 
   
Enjoy!
Fran McDonald, PT DPT

 

 

Use Care When Its Time to Rake 

 

Fall is a beautiful time of year, but it also brings about work that is very physical. It is time to rake the leaves, put the patio furniture away and pull out the summer flowers. This can be demanding for the low back muscles that may not typically be required to do this type of work on a daily basis.

This is where physical therapists see the most injuries to the low back: When you ask your muscles to do a demanding job that it is not used to doing and that are not in shape to do, according to the staff at Cape Regional Physical Therapy.

 

As people age, bone strength and muscle elasticity and tone tend to decrease. The discs in the spine begin to lose fluid and flexibility, which decreases their ability to cushion the vertebrae. Pain can occur when, for example, someone lifts something too heavy or overstretches, causing a sprain, strain or spasm in one of the muscles or ligaments in the back. If the spine becomes overly strained or compressed, a disc may rupture or bulge outward.

 

Nearly everyone has low back pain sometime in their life. Men and women are equally affected. It occurs most often between ages 30 and 50, due in part to the aging process but also as a result of sedentary lifestyles with too little exercise. The risk of experiencing low back pain from disc disease or spinal degeneration increases with age. It could be exacerbated when you go to rake the leaves and bend or twist too much and pull or overwork the muscles.

 

Can this injury or condition be prevented?

As experts in restoring and improving mobility and movement in people's lives, physical therapists play an important role not only in treating persistent or recurrent low back pain, but also in preventing it and reducing your risk of having it come back.

 

Physical therapists can teach you how to use the following strategies to prevent back pain:

  • Participate in regular strengthening and stretching exercises to keep your back, stomach, and leg muscles strong and flexible
  • Keep your body in alignment, so that it can be more efficient when you move
  • Keep good posture-don't slouch!
  • Use good body positioning at work, home or during leisure activities.
  • Keep the load you are lifting close to your body
  • Ask for help when lifting heavy objects
  • Use an assistive device, such as a dolly or wheelbarrow, to transport heavy objects
  • Maintain a regular physical fitness regimen-staying active can help to prevent injuries

 

-Care Regional PT
               
                                
Stop the Therapy Cap! If Congress does not take action by December 31, 2013, the therapy cap will again be imposed on Medicare-covered physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology services. We need to take action NOW to ensure the cap does not go back into place.

Please contact your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor legislation to repeal the therapy cap once and for all. Follow this link and you can do this in a few easy steps!
                      STOP THE THERAPY CAP!