We are in peak leaf-raking season right now in New England. Leaves are everywhere – and the daily sound of leaf blowers in my neighborhood has become somewhat meditative. I love Fall – but I don’t love raking leaves. And raking leaves is even worse when you’re suffering from back pain. The good news – it’s not as hard as you think to avoid back pain while doing this repetitive, monotonous...
Four out of five people will experience a debilitating back pain episode at one point during their lives. For many this will be from a pulled back muscle. Typically, we put more effort into caring for our backs during those times than when we’re feeling good. But it’s critical that we take good care of our backs all the time, not just when we’re in pain. The real...
Have you ever had back pain and wondered…Do I need an MRI to figure it out? One popular questions I get from clients is if they need an MRI when experiencing back pain or sciatica. It’s pretty standard protocol when you go see a doctor – but is it necessary? In most cases… NO. About 70-80% of back problems, even sciatica, are considered mechanical in nature and quite normal. That means...
Back pain impacts approximately 80% of the population. The response to that has been more and more back surgeries being performed each year. However, despite more surgeries being performed, people aren’t having any less back pain. In fact, those that do get back surgery only have success rates of 50%. After a few years, their results are no less successful than those who chose to have conservative interventions....
If you’re over the age of 40 and reading this, odds are pretty good that you’ve experienced back pain at least once in your life. In fact, four out of five people are impacted by back pain, and for many, it’s a constant back-and-forth year after year. Keep reading to learn three ways you could be getting back pain treatment wrong. The first thing you need to understand...
I recently polled my readers regarding their most important concerns when it comes to their musculoskeletal health. In other words, what questions were they desperately seeking answers for related to back, neck, knee, hip, shoulder, or ankle pain? Here is a great question I received from John: “I’m getting Physical Therapy for lower back pain and sciatica that is said to be from my piriformis. My PT treatment...
4 Tips to Avoid Neck and Back Pain When Traveling Memorial Day weekend is the “unofficial” start of summer – and AAA estimates that 39.2 million people will travel this weekend. That’s 8.3% more than last year, and it’s going to mean the exacerbation of neck and back pain for a lot of folks out there – especially the over 40 crowd. So why does traveling wreak such...
Have you heard of Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)? If you suffer from chronic back pain – there’s a good chance you have. Perhaps it’s even been recommended to you? It’s a common procedure used to disable nerve fibers that are carrying the pain signal to your brain. Your brain is what decides whether or not you’re going to experience pain. So the goal behind this procedure is to kill...
The research continues to show that the best treatment for back pain is exercise. But what do you do when exercising hurts your back instead of helps? What most people do when exercise flares their back up is they just stop. They simply wait for the pain to go away – and begin the cycle all over again. This is not the best strategy. Instead, why not figure...
“No pain no gain” is a common phrase we hear but is it accurate? Not always. And it’s important to know when it’s safe – and not safe – to push through your pain. While unpleasant – pain provides us with important information that when understood – can be extremely valuable. But first, what is pain exactly? Britannica.com defines pain as “a complex experience consisting of a physiological...
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Portsmouth, NH’s people-first physical therapy studio. We help active adults 40+ find the root cause of their pain and build a long-term plan to fix it, so they can get back to doing what they love most.
