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...
“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...
If you haven’t heard of pickleball yet, odds are good you will very soon. Pickleball is quickly becoming one of the most popular recreational sports in the US, especially in the over 50 crowd, and especially in Portsmouth and all around the Seacoast of New Hampshire. It’s essentially a cross between tennis, racket ball, and ping pong. The court is smaller than in tennis and the net is...
Total knee replacement (TKR) surgery has been around for decades, and generally speaking, results are very good. 90% of folks can expect up to a 20 year success rate. The most common reason for a knee replacement is to resolve advanced arthritis. But what if advanced arthritis isn’t the true cause of your knee problem? Do you really need a knee replacement? Only 15% of patients with evidence...
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome. What you need to know. I was recently doing some research on how often back surgery fails – and I came across more than one research paper talking about “Failed Back Surgery Syndrome”. Say what? I knew that approximately 50% of back surgeries were unsuccessful, but I didn’t know it was common enough that they had actually coined the term! Failed Back Surgery Syndrome refers to patients with...
5 Tips to Treat Back Pain on your Own and Avoid Surgery Back pain impacts approximately 31 Million Americans at any given time, and our health care system spends $50 Billion per year on low back pain treatment. It’s the single leading cause of disability keeping people out of work, and it’s the second most common reason for doctor’s visits. Back pain is a big problem in this...
Have you been to physical therapy once, twice, maybe even three times for the same thing… and now you’re left wondering why it didn’t work? Or perhaps you went to physical therapy and it “worked,” but you have to do about 10 exercises per day that if you miss… even once… the pain comes right back. (hint – that means it didn’t actually work.) This is sadly an...
A few weeks ago, I asked a new client what he had already tried for his back pain. He surprised me by replying with “Vitamin I.” He could see I was puzzled, so he quickly clarified — Ibuprofen. It’s the first I’d heard of this term, but is it NOT the first time I’ve heard of people taking Ibuprofen routinely or for prolonged periods. For some it’s because...
Most of our clients are aged 50 or above, and staying as active as possible while they age is a big priority for them. As we get older, our bodies do need more care and maintenance to not only age well but avoid injury. Here are some of my top tips I like to give clients to help them stay active and mobile, avoid injuries, and continue doing...
Shoulder injuries related to vaccine administration (otherwise known as “SIRVA”) is a rare, but possible occurrence when you get any vaccine. SIRVA happens when a vaccine is injected into the capsule of your shoulder joint instead of your deltoid muscle. It can also occur if the needle being used is not the correct length for you, or if it’s administered too high or too deeply into your muscle....
Get practical, no-nonsense health and wellness tips from Portsmouth's leading physical therapist, right to your inbox every week.
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.
