How to Prevent Overuse Injuries
All to often we see people coming into our practice who have experienced an overuse injury. While physical therapy is a great option to assist in the recovery from an injury, we wanted to share some tips on how to prevent overuse injuries.
Arizona is known for our great Fall through Spring weather to get outside and be active. After a long hot summer, people are ready to ramp up their activity and enjoy the weather. Many overuse injuries arise during this time because we want to fit as much activity as we can during these seasons.
What is an Overuse Injury?
An overuse injury is an injury that is caused when your body doesn’t have enough time to recover after an activity. This can lead to muscle strains and sprains and inflammation and pain in joints.
How to Prevent Overuse Injuries
Start back slowly - When resuming activity after a period of inactivity, start back slowly to let the body adjust to this new activity level
Allow for rest - Provide appropriate rest between activity periods. Make sure you are getting good sleep. Your body does most of its recovery while you sleep. Target 7-8 hours.
Proper nutrition - Fuel up properly for your activity and replenish by eating properly after activity. Proper nutrition provides the building blocks for muscle recovery and joint health
Hydrate - Drinking plenty of water is important to keeping the body in optimal condition for activity. It reduces cramping and improves joint health.
Rotate Activities - Performing the same movement patterns are a sure fire way to encourage an overuse injury. Change up your activities so that it allows certain muscle groups and joints to recover. For example, run one day and cycle the next day.
Know your body - Everyone is different. Activity levels that are fine for one person may be too much for another. A lot of factors come into play, like, physical condition, pre-existing conditions, size, age, gender, and genetics can contribute to one person having an overuse injury over another. That is why it is important to listen to your body to help avoid injuries.
Consult with a medical provider - It is always good to consult with a medical provider prior to starting a new activity. They can provide guidance and support so that you can avoid overuse injuries
Pritchette Physical Therapy treats and helps prevent overuse injuries. Contact our office at 480-785-5415 to schedule an appointment today.
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How Dry Needling can help in injury recovery
What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is a technique for the treatment of pain and movement impairments. The technique uses a "dry" needle, one without medication or injection, inserted through the skin into areas of the muscle. Sometimes the treatment may include electrical stimulation in combination with the dry needle technique.
Dry needling is not acupuncture, a practice based on traditional Chinese medicine and performed by acupuncturists.
What makes Dry Needling different from Acupuncture?
Dry needling relies on the practitioners knowledge of skeletal and neuroanatomy. This knowledge allows one to identify damaged and sensitive tissues, taut bands, and trigger points as well as injured and overused tissues. Physical therapists trained in this technique utilize an examination that includes movement analysis, orthopedic evaluation, and a neurological workup that includes myotomal and dermatomal testing.
Acupuncture is an ancient traditional Chinese technique that utilizes the knowledge of meridians. This focus allows an acupuncturist to work on a person's inner balance, energy, qi, and one's life-force. Work up and exam includes physical, tongue, and pulse examination. Traditional acupuncture has been widely studied and practiced for thousands of years.
What should be expected from Dry Needling?
Dry Needling is performed by a trained and certified physical therapist and is a safe treatment technique. After a thorough examination this treatment option may be discussed with patient as a viable treatment option.
The area of treatment is thoroughly sanitized and the therapist uses single use acupuncture needles. Depending on the area being treated the application of the needles may take 10 minutes and is applied in and around the affected treatment area. The treatment time is usually around 20 minutes.
Sometimes we add electrical stimulation or e-stim, an electrical current transferred through the dry needle that can help accelerate the pain-relief process.
What does Dry Needling treat?
Dry needling treats muscle tissue, and its goal is to reduce pain, inactivate trigger points and restore function. Typical conditions that can be treated by dry needling include:
Neck and back pain
Myofascial pain
Tendonitis
Tennis elbow
Plantar fasciitis
Trigger points
TMJ
Shoulder impingement
Joint problems
Headaches and migraines
Does Dry Needling hurt?
Dry needles are very thin, so the insertion of the needle into the skin is typically painless. The needle insertion into the muscle may cause an initial muscle twitch in the affected area which might cause some momentary discomfort. Once treatment begins the patient will feel no pain.
Due to the nature of the treatment and desired outcomes, a patient may experience some mild soreness after treatment. This is to be expected as part of the healing process. The soreness usually lasts only 24 hours.
Pritchette Physical Therapy has trained and certified Dry Needling physical therapists. If you would like to explore this treatment option, please contact our office at 480-785-5415 to schedule an appointment.
Great Stretch for Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation and irritation of a thick band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the ball of the foot. An injury can occur when repeated weight bearing activities cause strain along the plantar fascia. It is an overuse injury that can happen to anyone but is more prevalent in runners or those who are on their feet for long periods each day.
Risk Factors that Contribute to Plantar Fasciitis
Poor foot and gait mechanics
Obesity
Age ranging from 40-60
Improper footwear or worn-out footwear
Tight Achilles tendon and Gastrocnemius/Soleus muscle
Prolonged standing on hard surfaces
How you can treat Plantar Fasciitis
Icing
Anti-Inflammatory medication
Physical Therapy
Orthotics
Night Splinting
Try this great Plantar Fascia Stretch
What to Expect with Total Knee Replacement Physical Therapy
Pritchette Physical Therapy treats many conditions related to the knee, this includes post-surgical total knee replacement surgery. Here is what to expect with total knee replacement physical therapy.
What is a Total Knee Replacement (TKR)?
A Total Knee Replacement (TKR), also known as knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure designed to replace the weight bearing surfaces of the knee joint to improve knee function and reduce knee pain. It is commonly performed when the knee joint experiences rheumatoid arthritis and/or some form of knee joint deformity.
Partial Knee Replacements (PKR) are performed when it is reasonable to achieve a positive outcome with addressing only certain knee joint surfaces.
When is a Total Knee Replacement Surgery Performed?
The surgical procedure is performed by an Orthopedic surgeon after more conservative forms of treatment have been explored. This includes physical therapy, oral anti-inflammatories, and injectables medication.
How should a person prepare for Total Knee Replacement Surgery?
Pre-surgical physical therapy is an excellent way to prepare for a Total Knee Replacement surgery. It helps address pain and improves strength and stability of the knee joint prior to the procedure. It also helps speed up the recovery process after the surgical procedure.
How long is the recovery process for a Total Knee Replacement?
Most procedures are performed in outpatient facilities, meaning the patient can return home same day. While recovery time is on a case per case basis, one can expect to expect significant return to function within 4-6 weeks and a return to full activity within 2-3 months.
What restrictions should one expect after Total Knee Replacement?
While this will be communicated to the patient by the orthopedic surgeon or physical therapist, most patients return to full activity with no restrictions. The patient should communicate what activities they would like to return to with their orthopedic surgeon and physical therapist to see if any precautions should be taken
What should be expected from physical therapy after Total Knee Replacement?
Most Total Knee Replacement surgeries are performed “outpatient” with a patient returning home that day. Outpatient physical therapy is scheduled usually about a week after the procedure.
For weeks 1 – 4, the goal is to reduce post-surgical swelling, increase range of motion of the knee, and begin light strengthening and stabilization of the knee.
For weeks 5-10, the goal is to achieve maximum range of motion of the knee, increase strengthening activities, and begin process to return to basic activity function.
For weeks 10 and on, the goal is to gradually return the patient to recreational activity function, maintain strength and endurance, and return patient to full function.