Farnsworth Orthopedic Physical Therapy

Orthopedic Physical Therapy

pain

Piriformis Syndrome

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If you’re struggling with a chronic pain in the butt, relief can be hard to find. This is true especially if you have piriformis syndrome. The dead giveaway that this is the problem you’re dealing with is hip and/or buttock pain on one side of the body along with low back pain that radiates down one or both of your legs.

What are we talking about?

Your sciatic nerve travels through your pelvis. It passes under the front surface of the piriformis muscle as it travels through the pelvis. It then cuts into two branches before going down each leg, branching out at the back of your knee to divide into the tibial and peroneal nerves. These nerves supply your lower leg and foot.

On the other hand, your piriformis helps externally rotate and abduct the hip. This is fancy talk for turning your hip outward and bringing your thigh outward while your hip is bent. For example, when your raise your knee and bring your leg out when getting out of a car. It also offers stability while you walk, run and stand.

Piriformis or Sciatica?

The problem is, piriformis syndrome is often mistaken for sciatica. Both conditions interfere with sciatic nerve function. Sciatica results from spinal dysfunction such as a herniated disc or spinal stenosis. Piriformis syndrome, happens when the piriformis muscle, located deep in the buttock, compresses your sciatic nerve. Your therapist is trained to be able to tell the difference. They will help you figure out what is going on and how best to treat it.

Let’s Treat It

We can treat piriformis syndrome through a combination of hands-on manual therapy techniques and an exercise program. Myofascial release of the piriformis muscle along with a stretching exercise can help relieve tightness and pain directly related to the piriformis. In addition to direct treatment of the piriformis, your physical therapist will address the underlying cause of piriformis syndrome. They may treat muscle imbalances of your hip and address lumbar spine issues.

 

If you feel this particular pain in the butt, come in and see us soon and we will have you feeling much better.

 

Written by Tom Farnsworth PT

Welcome to Thoracic Park

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What Is It?

The thoracic spine is the middle, and longest, portion of the spine. It unfortunately doesn’t have anything to do with Jurassic Park or dinosaurs.

Specifically, it consists of 12 vertebrae and 12 pairs of nerves that branch from it. It spans from the base of your neck to the top of your lower back. This area also contains the only vertebrae that attach to your ribs. The thoracic spine houses several attachments for tendons, muscles and ligaments making it crucial in your daily activity.  What it doesn’t have anything to do with, is a park for dinosaurs.

Disorders

You’ll be shocked to find out what can go wrong here (your spine, not an island inhabited by creatures brought back from millions of years ago).

Some common types of disorders include scoliosis, abnormal kyphosis, and fractures usually derived from osteoporosis. The ability to have your thoracic spine flex and extend in both weight bearing and non-weight bearing positions will help reduce the risk for injury.

It’s important to maintain the mobility of the thoracic spine, especially if you work a desk job.  By improving the mobility in the thoracic spine, your postural muscles can be trained and activate properly to reduce complications. Functional scoliosis, or non-structural scoliosis, happens with repetitive movements, and reduces mobility too. We treat this with physical therapy intervention to improve the mobility and postural control in the spine.

Crucial For Athletes and the Rest of Us

Thoracic side bending and rotation is also essential for athletes and those who are physically active like Jeff Goldblum.

These motions are crucial for overhead athletes like volleyball, water polo and baseball. They are also important for athletes that require more agility like football and soccer. Golf is also another sport that requires a good amount of thoracic rotation to improve club speed and accuracy of the swing. These motions should be trained to make sure there is ample motion, but also to make sure there is proper control. Especially for anyone who wants to have a long career.  It would also be important if you needed to run away from a velociraptor.

 

As you can see, the thoracic spine is an important part of not only athletes, but everyday life. If you feel tightness in this region of the body or feel this area needs work, please feel free to schedule an appointment to see how we can further assist you.  You can rest easy knowing we’ll get your spine back in shape.

Written by Casey Badder PT

Chronic Pain

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Chronic pain is defined as any pain that lasts for more than three months. When people experience chronic pain for a long period of time, it can lead to a downward spiral. As a result of the pain, you might become more inactive and sedentary, and your health may begin to deteriorate.

Physical therapists can help you manage your pain. Increasing the use of physical therapy could even make a real impact on the tragic levels of drug abuse that often begin with a prescription for pain medication. Living with chronic pain can be extremely difficult.  But physical therapy is a crucial solution that can ease and even solve certain pains and reduce your overall pain level.

More Than Simply Hurting

Chronic pain affects each person differently. The good news is that physical therapy is not a one-size-fits-all approach to pain relief. Your physical therapist has many tools and techniques at their disposal to help alleviate and conquer chronic pain.

Chronic pain has a number of symptoms associated with it. Here are some of the associated symptoms of chronic aches and pains:

  • Weight Gain: People with chronic pain may put on extra weight, which can lead to a host of added problems, from diabetes to heart disease.
  • Activity Avoidance: People with chronic pain become fearful of normal activities. The fear of additional pain can cause people to withdraw from normal physical activities that they enjoy.
  • Stiffness: Muscles and joints may feel stiffer when suffering from chronic pain.
  • Reduced Fitness: Inactivity due to chronic pain can cause your muscles to weaken and shrink. This can have profound physical effects over time, even effecting your ability to balance.
  • Reduced Circulation: Remaining inactive due to chronic pain reduces your circulation, which means your cells are not receiving a healthy amount of blood and oxygen. This can cause tissues to degenerate and lead to feelings of constant fatigue.

This dog has great balance.  She must have gone to physical therapy.

What To Do If Pain Persists

Your physical therapist will work with you to educate you on how to live a healthier lifestyle in order to keep aches and pains at bay. This can include anything from tips on staying hydrated and eating healthier to exercises and stretches you can do at home. The goal is to get you to the point where you are motivated to stay healthy without needing to go to physical therapy on a regular basis. All of this will help to alleviate your aches and pains.

Tom recommends physical therapy.

Physical therapy treatments will also include exercises, stretching, and flexibility. Over time, you will become stronger and more flexible, allowing you to move around more freely and with less pain. Your exercises will be designed to steadily improve your strength and flexibility.  With a variety of tools available to treat and train you, we can make a big impact on your pain. Don’t hesitate to call and set up an appointment and get help.

Headache Be Gone

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If you suffer with headaches or migraines, you know how frustrating it is to have the pain hit and interrupt your work, vacation, or taking care of your family. While effective treatments exist for almost all types of headaches and migraines, they can vary in the amount of time they take to create relief. The more you can prevent the headaches and migraines from occurring in the first place the better.

These healthy habits won’t eliminate headaches for everyone, but most people who integrate them notice steady progress.

Change Up Your Drinks

Caffeine can help relieve some headaches and migraines but continued, regular consumption can increase the amount of headaches you have. And, you can even experience caffeine withdrawal headaches if you don’t get your daily fix. Taper caffeine intake and substitute herbal tea and infused (non-sweetened) water in place of caffeinated drinks.

Sleep Time

The quality and quantity of your sleep has a huge impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Make sleep a priority and establish a bedtime routine. Nothing will have a bigger impact on your long term health.

Take Care of Yourself

 

You know you should take care of yourself first. After all, how many times have you heard people use the metaphor ‘put the oxygen mask on yourself first’ in an emergency situation before helping your child on a plane? This can be difficult for anyone, and even more difficult if you suffer from an ‘invisible illness’ like migraines.  If you are going through a lot, having an outlet like a professional therapist can be a huge help.

Breathing and Mindfulness

Just five minutes of mindful breathing can decrease stress and improve your concentration. Over time this can lead to decreased headaches. There are many apps out there that can help you learn mindfulness techniques.  Yoga is also a great practice that can help you manage stress and increase flexibility.  All of this is helpful for tackling headaches.

Exercise

Regular exercise can reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches and migraines. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are your body’s natural painkillers. Exercise reduces stress and helps you to sleep at night. Some people get headaches or migraines when they exercise. One possible reason for this is the physical reaction to the elevation of blood pressure. This is not a reason to avoid exercise though. Instead, incorporate a 10-15 minute warm up, which will help your body prepare for more vigorous exercise and can help prevent headaches associated with exercise.

Foods

It is especially important to eat three square meals a day with perhaps some healthy snacks. Keep processed food to a minimum, and focus on whole foods with few additives. Certain foods are also linked to giving you a headache. Here are a list of foods that may cause or worsen headaches or migraines in some people.

  • Alcohol, specifically red wine
  • Aspartame sweetener
  • Beans and other tyramine-containing foods
  • Caffeine (often found in foods, beverages, and medicines)
  • Cheeses and yogurt
  • Processed meats (containing sulfites like bacon, sausages, salami, ham)

This man 100% has a headache.

Come See Us

When you invest time and energy into incorporating these healthy habits, your payoff will be fewer headache and migraine days. This means more time with family, a better time at work, and enjoying vacation without headaches and migraines cramping your style. Start with one habit at a time and you’ll notice big differences as the weeks go by.  If you think your headache is due to an injury or a physical issue that you have, come in and see us at the office and we can help you get on your way to fewer headaches.

Foam Rolling for a Sciatic Solution

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If you’ve got sciatica, you know that the struggle is real. Sciatica symptoms often come with a lot of frustrating muscle stiffness and pain that makes it hard to lead a normal life. Using a foam roller for sciatica pain can be a great tool for getting on track to recovery. What’s great about a foam roller is that it doesn’t cost much and you can use it in the comfort of your own home.

What Does it Do?

Foam rolling is a technique that involves rolling up and down, or holding sustained pressure, on certain areas and muscles. Sciatica usually involves tight calves, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back muscles. A foam roller is a perfect tool for addressing all these problem areas in your legs. But, we don’t recommend using one directly on your lower back due to the strain it can put on your spine.

What are all the benefits?

  • Increased circulation to affected areas to promote healing
  • Improved tissue extensibility to relieve back pain
  • Muscle relaxation
  • Improved muscle balance

How Do I Use It?

There are two primary ways you can use a foam roller, rhythmic rolling or sustained pressure. Either way, you will use it on a specific muscle group with the following set up:

  1. Lay the foam roller on the floor in an area where you have plenty of space to move and stretch.
  2. Sit in a position that allows you to easily reach the muscle group you want to address (for example sit with the roller behind you for your glutes or upper back, versus facing it for your calves or hamstrings).
  3. Use your arms to lift your rear end just slightly off the ground. This will help facilitate either a back and forth rolling movement or allow you to roll until you find a sore spot.
  4. Once a sore area is located, then relax and ground yourself back into the floor as you hold that specific position.
  5. The pressure of a foam roller can be hard to tolerate at first. You can modulate the amount of pressure by putting more weight through your arms or leaning less into the roller itself.
  6. Alternatively, you can use more of your body weight or leaning strategies to intensify the pressure as well.

If you’re not sure how to start don’t hesitate to come in a visit our physical therapy office.  Our expert therapists can teach you exactly which muscles and which techniques to use at home with your foam roller.

 

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Areas Served:

Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Phoenix, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, Tempe, Globe, Gold Canyon

Postal Address

Gilbert Office
730 N. Greenfield Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85234
Phone: (480) 633-0666

Mesa Office
342 N Val Vista Dr. Suite 106
Mesa, AZ 85213
Phone: (480) 325-3310