PT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

When people come into my clinic there are some common questions that people ask. Being that Maven Clinics are all found inside gyms, we get a few questions that other clinic may not hear that often. Here are a few examples.


PT Frequently Asked Questions: 

1. When do I know that I need therapy?
Usually I recommend that patients receive therapy when their injury (or condition) is inhibiting their normal daily activities such as walking, sleeping, running, exercising, cooking, driving. Often times people will ignore their problems until it starts to interfere with their everyday life, which leads to the next question.

2. My pain isn't stopping me from my normal activity but it still bothers me, do I need therapy?
Yes! Why live your life in pain?? Prevent the injury from getting worse, get treatment so that you can move on with your life. Pain is a signal from your body that something is wrong. It is usually a good idea not to ignore signs, like a red light at an intersection. Consider pain a big red light for your body.

3. Do I need a prescription? I don't have time to go back to my doctor.
Depends, most of the time no, you don't need it. But certain plans DO require it, but 90% of insurance plans in NJ DO NOT require a prescription. NJ is a Direct Access state, which means it is legal to go straight to a PT without a prescription. Medicare patients, unfortunately, DO need a prescription.. sorry!

4. What exercises or machines can I use out here that wont hurt me? How do I use them? (One of those MAVEN only questions)
That really depends on what you are looking to gain from the exercises and how you are performing the exercises. All MAVEN PT's are either CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists) or in the process of being certified, so we are a great resource for you. Also we will be having a....

INJURY FREE RESISTANCE TRAINING WORKSHOP
700 Palisadium Dr.
Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
Dance Studio 1
January 15th, 2011
12:30PM - 1:30 PM

The seminar will be taught by Taylor Lee DPT, CSCS. With over 10 years of training and fitness experience! The seminar will be fun and interactive and is absolutely free! Come and bring your friends!

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is one of the most common conditions that effect the older population. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that causes pinching of the spinal cord. The spine is comprised of bones call vertebrae. The vertebrae are like bricks that make a pillar (the spine). 

This pillar keeps your body upright and is the foundation of your skeletal system. The spine also protects your spinal cord. Most of you know that your spinal cord carries your nerves which carry information such as pain from your body to the brain.  Over time, the part of the vertebrae that encases the spinal cord becomes narrower and with eventually begins to compress on the cord itself. This results in pain and possibility numbness and tingling in one or both legs.  

Signs of spinal stenosis:

1.  Pain with back extension activities (leaning back).
2. Standing is more painful than sitting.
3.  Pain goes away with sitting or lying down.
4. Pain and/or numbness extends down legs, most of the time into both legs.
5. Pain relief medications are not effective.

Treatment for spinal stenosis:

1. Conservative treatment: NSAIDS (Tylenol, Aspirin, ice)
2. Changing sleeping positions – Sleeping on side.
3. Medical treatment – Surgery, medications, injections.
4. Physical therapy – Therapist will teach core strengthening, postural control, body mechanics and pain management with manual therapy. 

Spinal stenosis is a difficult thing to treat but there are some patients that respond very well with treatment. The therapist and the patient must work hard together to return the patient to his/her normal life. 

PRP = PED?

Listening to the radio the other day (on Mike and Mike ESPN 1050), Tiger Woods was being interviewed about his connection to Dr. Galea. As some of you may know, Dr. Galea was purported to have given performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to professional athletes a few months ago. Tiger Woods denied any use of performance enhancing drugs but stated that he saw Dr. Galea for PRP or Platelet Rich Plasma therapy.

What is Platelet Rich Plasma?

To answer this question we must first understand platelets. Platelets exist in all human blood and are used to “clot” blood. Without platelets in your blood, a little cut would end in extensive blood loss and possibly death. People with impaired platelet aggregation have a condition called hemophilia. The important part of platelets, in regards to PRP, is that platelets also cause cell growth. This cell growth is necessary for healing a wound and to eventually close the wound. Platelet Rich Plasma is relatively new and innovative technique used by physicians to treat chronic and lingering injuries. The mechanism behind this technique is injection of platelets into the site of the injury which causes cell growth and repair. Recent research is mixed but some show significant improvements in the rate of healing.

This technique is usually used on people with long standing chronic issues that were not successfully treated with conservative therapy. Conditions such as tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis can be treated with PRP. PRP, however, is not a full proof procedure that is somewhat invasive. Minor conditions, such as these, can also be treated with simple physical therapy. PRP is performed by physicians usually in an outpatient setting mostly when physical therapy has was not successful.

So if PRP a Performance enhancing drug?

No, PRP is used just to increase the rate of healing without any systemic effect. Improvements in performance would be related to a decrease in pain and increase in functional strength. Maybe if PRP enhanced performance Tiger Woods would have won a major this year? 

OW My Tendon Hurts!

Tendinitis

What Exactly is a Tendon?
 Tendons are the tissues which connect muscle to bone. All muscles are connected to bone by a tendon and are integral part of the musculo-skeletal system. Tendons are used by the body much like ropes are. Ropes bare the load of an object in order to move the object through space. If you imagine a man pulling a rope in order to pull a bucket of water out of a well, you can imagine that the “man” as the muscle, the bucket of water as the limb, and the rope as the tendon. The man would never be able to pull the bucket of water out of the well without the rope. Likewise, the body cannot move without its tendons.

What is Tendinitis?
Tendinitis is a fancy word for inflammation of the tendon. Because the tendon is required to take much of the load of the limb it often becomes inflamed. This inflammation can be caused by a wearing away of the tendon or just irritation to the tendon. When dissected from the human body, a healthy tendon should look like a white “shoe lace”. An unhealthy tendon will look like a yellow “frayed” shoe lace. This fraying works well with the rope analogy we used before. As you can imagine repetitive stress along with poor body mechanics, unhealthy lifestyle, and age can wear away at this tendon and cause to be “fray”.

What can be done about it?
As a Physical Therapist, I encounter tendinitis everyday! Tendinitis can be easily treated. However, if tendinitis is left untreated and is repeatedly reinjured, it can become Tendinosis. Tendinosis is not just a fraying of the tendon but a progressive death of the tendon. Think of it this way, imagine the rope the man was using to pull up his bucket is grating against a rock, at the edge of the well. The rope begins to fray and begins to weaken. What do you think will happen to the rope if nothing is done about the progressive weakening of the rope? You guessed it! Rupture isn’t the only risk with tendinosis. Calcification of the tendon is also a possibility. Both of these outcome require much more than just physical therapy.

I don’t mean to scare you out there. Tendinitis is not a serious condition, but if left untreated and ignored it can become a big problem. Especially for those of you that are active in sport or life, tendinitis can keep you on the sidelines. Who knows when you are going to need to pull a bucket of water out of a well anyway!

A little Light On a Scary Moment.

On October 16th, 2010, a riveting game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Army Black Knights at the new Meadowlands Stadium quieted to a whisper when Rutgers defensive tackle Eric Legrand lay motionless on the field. After a violent collision during a Rutgers kick off, Eric Legrand suffered a spinal cord injury to his cervical spine.

[WARNING the content below may be inappropriate for young viewers]

(Above video is courtesy of ESPN.COM )

This injury was said to have occurred at the C3-4 segments (in the cervical spine), which is the reason for concern. The anatomy of the spinal cord is filled with inherent redundancies; however, any injuries to the “early” segments of the spine have global repercussions throughout the body. This is caused by the fact that information flows from the brain to the rest of the body in a top to bottom fashion.

Imaging your spine as the New Jersey Turnpike. Information (let’s think of this as cars) flows from north to south. If something were to happen to the Turnpike at exit 15W (one of the first exits on the highway coming south), no car would be able to get to the southern exit. This is a vague illustration of how the brain and the spinal cord work. Unfortunately, an injury to the upper spine could result in permanent paralysis from the neck down. This is not to say that permanent paralysis is the single result. Many individuals that suffer from traumatic injuries to the neck make incredible, almost miraculous recoveries. The variability of recovery comes from the nature of the injury itself, how early the receive intervention, and the rehab team that is treating the patient.

Hopefully, Eric will make a miraculous recovery. He has a long, hard road to recovery ahead of him, but I am confident that his Rutgers spirit will help him. As Coach Schiano would say, “ KEEP CHOPPIN, ERIC!”

"My Balance Feels Off?"

As a physical therapist, I’m always dealing with the usual issues—soreness, aches, sprains, you name it. One of the common complaints I notice (more among my elderly patients) is that one’s "balance feels off.” I hear this all the time, and I want to explain a little about why your balance may feel ‘off’ and what you can do about it.

Here’s a visual breakdown that may help you understand. Balance is a product of 4 major systems in your body:

1. Vestibular - Inner ear system that tells you when you are upright. 

[http://drharris.ucsd.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=71]

2. Proprioceptive - Tells you where you are in space. 

(http://www.profeet.co.uk/general/rocket-science/proprioception/)

3. Visual - Gives you a frame of reference for what "upright" is.  

(http://www.life.umd.edu/classroom/bsci338m/Lectures/Nervous.html)

4. Muscular - Used for every movement and maintaining posture. Also gives you the strength to compensate for a loss in the other systems. 

(http://faculty.college-prep.org/~bernie/sciproject/project/humbody/Resources/Muscular/Main.html)

As with many other functions of the body, all of these systems must work in harmony in order for your balance to work properly. Many times, a deficit in one or more of these systems will cause your balance to "feel off.” 

Understanding what goes into balance is important to improve it. For example, now that we see that the visual system is an important component, regular eye exams are imperative to prevent you from ending up on the floor. Likewise, because your muscular system is a major—if not the most important—player, regular exercise should be part of your everyday life. 

So you might be saying to yourself, "I exercise every day and I also keep up with my eye and ear check-ups, but my balance still feels off!" What’s going on there? In that case, a one-on-one consultation with a physical therapist may help figure out your individual assessment. That and, you can also come in for our...

FREE BALANCE SEMINAR

THURSDAY OCT 7th, 2010 at 12:30 PM

at PALISADIUM GYM

700 Palisadium Drive, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010

Feel free to bring your friends—no gym membership required! We’ll be learning some exercises to challenge and strengthen your balance—so that even on your “off” days, you’ll still be standing tall. 

Maven Sports Medicine

Maven Sports Medicine is a physical therapist-owned, private practice. The owners of Maven, Dr. Jerry Yoo and Dr. Taylor Lee, are doctors of physical therapy who have been practicing for nearly 10 years and have also been in the fitness industry for over 15 years. They have varied clinical expertise ranging from general orthopedics, sports medicine, pediatrics, and geriatrics. A large part of their vision was to bridge the rehab and fitness gap with their combined experiences to help patients take charge of their physical health and wellness.