Arthritis is a very common medical diagnosis and condition in the general population and in people who attend physical therapy. Different types of arthritis can be due to different causes. Two common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. In both conditions, there are factors such as exercise, joint protection, patient education, and activity…
Holistic Health: Making The Connection Between Agriculture and Physical Therapy
I was so honored to be a guest on the Movement and Climate Change Podcast produced by the Emory DPT Sustainability Committee for their October 2023 Episode. We talked about my experience in sustainable agriculture, psychology, and food systems prior to beginning my career as a physical therapist. We also discussed the connections between nutrition…
Why A Pelvic Health Physical Therapist is The “Secret Weapon” of an Orthopedic PT
This post comes from a friend and physical therapy colleague, Dr. Laura Ross, PT, DPT, PRPC. Dr. Ross is an orthopedic physical therapist who is specially trained in Pelvic Health Therapy. This is such an important topic and one that I have written guest posts on as relates to Running athletes and Cycling athletes. Enjoy…
Physical Therapy Using A “Pain-Science” Informed Approach: Part 3: TREATING Complex Pain Presentations in Physical Therapy
Patients who have persistent pain often want to know: Why has my pain lasted this long (is something wrong?)? and will it ever get better or go away? In Part 1 of this series (“How to Talk to Patients in Pain”), I tried to provide some ways to answer the common question from patients in…
Physical Therapy Using A “Pain-Science” Informed Approach: Part 2: A “Mechanisms-Based Approach” to Pain Management
“Why Am I in Pain? And What Can I (and You) Do About It?” This question is one that I think the profession of physical therapy is uniquely positioned to help people understand! For individuals with musculoskeletal, nerve injury, or pain related to hypersensitivity of the nervous system, physical therapy may be one of the…
Physical Therapy Using A “Pain-Science” Informed Approach: Part 1: How to Talk to Patients in Pain
“Can you treat my pain, or do I just have to learn to live with it?” This is a question that I get a LOT as a physical therapist. Most of the patients that I see in physical therapy are coming in wondering how they can better control or alleviate their pain and if we…
Orthobiologics: helpful…or too good to be true?!
Within the last couple of decades, there has been a rapid influx of therapies called “orthobiologics” that try to leverage our bodies’ inherent capacity for healing (and biological processes) by utilizing either substances from our own bodies or substances that are derived from biologic origins (e.g., blood, bone marrow, stem cells etc.). These treatments are…
Remember That Healing HAPPENS!
One of my specialty interests in physical therapy is teaching about pain science principles and also integrating these principles in my physical therapy practice when working with patients with persistent pain (and really all pain!). As I seek to practice in the most effective manner, but also communicate some of these principles, I am often…
Recalcitrant Tendon Pain: Can Shockwave Therapy Help?
As I have written about before, tendinopathies in the lower extremities (really all areas of the body) can be tough to treat and may take a while to respond to conservative, exercise based treatments. I still very much believe that progressive loading is the best long term solution to treating painful tendons that show signs…
Dry Needling for Hip Pain?!
Check out this recent guest blog post I wrote for Precision Performance and PT on Dry Needling and if it may be able to help out for hip pain (in addition to other PT) and as compared with a corticosteroid injection! Dry Needling (and PT) for Hip Pain: A “Too Good To Be True” Solution?…
Starting Your Own Physical Therapy Business: The “Whys” and “Hows” of a PT Startup
When I was a physical therapy student, I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur. But the healthcare landscape is quickly and constantly evolving and one of the amazing factors about the physical therapy profession is that there are many niches and specialty areas to fill! That is to say, you never stop learning! In…
Making The Case for Stronger Feet and Hands
One of the factors that I love about working in an outpatient orthopedics setting as a physical therapist is the wide variety of patients that walk through the clinic doors. The diversity in age, socioeconomic status, fitness level and goals, and injury type means I am constantly learning and being challenged to identify effective treatments…
sapiens movēs 