If you’ve ever told someone you’re dealing with tight hips, tight hamstrings, tight calves, or a tight neck, chances are the next thought was: “I just need to stretch more.” As a physical therapist, this is one of the most common assumptions I hear — and one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to muscle tightness. Stretching is not always the solution.And in many cases, it’s not...
Possibly the number one question I get from clients on a daily basis is… “Should I get an MRI for that?” Hey… I get it… you’ve got pain that won’t go away and you want to see what’s going on inside… why not? Not so fast! What if I told you that getting an MRI too soon (or when you don’t even need one) can actually lead you...
Pain can be frustrating and overwhelming, especially when it doesn’t go away. It’s only natural to seek answers – and for many – that means a trip to the doctor. But here’s the thing. Even the best doctors can miss the true source of your pain. Why? Because too often they rely on imaging (like MRIs or X-rays) focused on the location of your pain – rather than...
Orthopedic dry needling is a modern therapeutic treatment technique that has been adopted by physical therapists and medical professionals to alleviate pain and improve muscle function. But despite its escalating popularity, I’m still surprised at how many people are unaware it even exists. What exactly is orthopedic dry needling? Orthopedic dry needling involves the insertion of fine, sterile acupuncture needles into myofascial trigger points (“knots”), tendons, or muscles...
Pain is both a confusing and scary topic. There’s lots of advice out there on what to do when you experience pain and it’s hard to know who to listen to. Should you rest – exercise – apply heat – apply ice – see a doctor – get an MRI – or just wait it out to see if it goes away on its own? Any or all...
At one point or another, or perhaps even this very second, you’ve experienced tight knots in your muscles. They are annoying, nagging, uncomfortable, and quite often painful. The most common area to feel these knots is in your upper traps (the triangle shaped area between your shoulder blades and base of your neck). But other areas of your body that love to get knotted up include your mid...
I’ve been a physical therapist for a very long time — 20 years to be exact — and I’ve seen a lot of changes in healthcare over the course of my career. One of the biggest (and saddest) changes I’ve seen in my field is the overcrowding of clinics. As reimbursements from insurance companies go down, traditional physical therapy clinics have been forced to increase their patient volume....
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been inundated with people asking for help. And we’re so thankful for everyone who is reaching out! Since being quarantined at home and off their routines, people are noticing more knee pain and back pain (these are the two biggies) because they are either sitting more — or because they are DOING more. The folks who have been sitting more have been...
At CJ Physical Therapy and Pilates, our goal is to help you live a pain-free life without pain pills or invasive procedures. Trigger Point Dry Needling is one of several strategies we use to treat muscles that are extremely tense and in spasm. The spasm causes the muscle to be in constant tension which reduces blood flow, decreases oxygen, and can produce fibrotic unhealthy tissue over time (scarring)....
Don’t assume that where your pain is… is where the problem is! This is a very common assumption and one that that we’ve been seeing a lot lately. If you watched our most recent Happy Hour on Facebook Live, then you know the story of the young guy who came to us looking for help with his heel pain. I checked out his heel, foot, and leg, but...
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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.
