Why Your Back Pain Keeps Coming Back – And the Daily Habits That Cause It Most people don’t wake up one morning with back pain for no reason – even if it seems that way. Back problems tend to creep in gradually, under the radar, until one day they suddenly get your attention. Maybe you notice you’re stiffer getting out of the car after your morning commute. Your...
Why Your Back Pain Keeps Coming Back: The Real Reason Treatments Don’t Last When back pain keeps returning – most people assume they simply haven’t found the right treatment yet. So they try another stretch, another adjustment, another round of physical therapy, or perhaps a cortisone injection. Each new approach brings hope – but when the relief doesn’t last – frustration quickly follows. Eventually, many people begin to...
When it comes to pain and physical therapy, ironically, one of the most common things I hear from patients is, “I’m just going to wait until the pain and inflammation calm down before I come back.” On the surface, that might sound perfectly reasonable. If something hurts, resting it seems like the smartest thing to do, right? And sometimes… it is. But many people are surprised to learn...
At CJ Physical Therapy and Pilates in Portsmouth, NH, our goal is to help you live a pain-free life without pain pills or invasive procedures. Release the muscle tension and trigger points that are keeping your pain cycle going, without pain pills or invasive procedures. Talk to a Specialist For Free UNDERSTANDING DRY NEEDLING What Is Dry Needling? Trigger Point Dry Needling is one of several strategies we...
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...
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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.
