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Finally, Some Good News About Back Pain

by AKPT | Jan 9, 2021 | Back and Neck Pain, Insurance Update, Physical Therapy

Back pain is a huge problem in developed nations worldwide. It has or will affect most of us.

The current estimate is that 80% of people will experience back pain at least once. It is the single biggest cause for disability and the third most common reason for doctor visits.

It is one of the most common reasons for missing work.

Even locally in south-east Michigan, back pain is one of the most common condition that people suffer from.

In Sterling Heights, Michigan, where we are located, we have seen many patients suffering from back pain. Total cases of lower back pain is much higher than any other conditions people suffer from.

Back and neck pain makes up the biggest healthcare expense in the US

With higher number of cases of lower back and neck pain it is also very expensive.

Back and neck pain makes up the biggest healthcare expense in the US, totaling $134 billion spent in 2016.

The next two most expensive conditions were diabetes — $111 billion in spending — and ischemic heart disease at $89 billion.

Diabetes and heart disease being so expensive to treat doesn’t surprise most folks – they can both lead to other major problems, require long term medication, could require surgery, and both can be fatal.

Back pain won’t kill you, usually doesn’t require long term medication, and usually doesn’t require surgery either.

Then why is it costing this much to our healthcare system?

Why is it so expensive?

The first reason is that it’s so common.

The second reason is that our current system isn’t very good at treating it.

Current recommendations include starting with activity modification, and active treatments like physical therapy. Research backs this up, showing better outcomes and lower costs with early PT.

Unfortunately, only 2% of people with back pain start with PT, and
only 7% get to PT within 90 days.

At the same time, a study looking at about 2.5 million people with back pain in JAMA showed that 32.3% of these patients received imaging within 30 days of diagnosis and 35.3% received imaging without a trial of physical therapy.

Both of these things go against current practice guidelines for treatment of back pain.

Current trends that we have noticed includes medications, followed by injections to treat back pain by the PCP and if that does not solve the problem may be patient will be referred to PT.

A Major Reset is Needed to Change The Healthcare Mindset.

A major reset is required to change the healthcare practice and to treat back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions in general.

It is important that not only patients byut

A new pilot program being rolled out by TRICARE, the insurance system used throughout the US military is waiving the payment owed by the patient for up to three PT sessions in an attempt to improve the use of what the Defense Health Agency calls “high value” treatment for low back
pain.

The theory is that once a person sees some benefit from PT treatment, they’re likely to go back for more.

This is the “try it before you buy it” approach – think of the 7-day free trial Netflix offers, free samples poured in wineries and craft breweries, or the folks you see standing around in supermarkets with food on toothpicks. TRICARE’s data seems to indicate that it works just as well for healthcare as it does for other businesses.

In a press release they state that once people attend one session of physical therapy, they’re likely to go back for more, no matter what their co-pay is.

But TRICARE found that higher co-pays could be a barrier to people trying
that first visit. For the group of patients with the highest co-pays in the system, only 38% of the people prescribed PT attended the first visit. That’s about half the rate of attendance found in the lowest co-pay group.

The fact that such a major insurer is looking into the value of PT is great news for everyone.

If TRICARE can show that lowering the cost of PT for patients can improve outcomes and save insurance companies money, other major insurers will likely follow.

This could improve the lives of millions of people every year while reducing the huge cost of treating low back pain for the country.

That seems like a win for everyone involved.

Share your thoughts here by commenting. We will love to hear your thoughts.

Are you suffering from lower back pain?

If you are suffering from back pain and trying to find your option.
Start by scheduling a free Discovery Visit now.

Just click on the link below and fill out a contact form or call us at (248)432-1618 and we will get in touch with you soon.

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Holidays an Ideal Time for a Refresher on Proper Lifting

by AKPT | Dec 9, 2020 | Aches and Pain, Health and Wellness, Healthy Tips, Physical Therapy

Digging out boxes of holiday decorations, hauling packages to and from the car, hiding gifts away on the higher shelves at the back of your closet … the Holiday Season certainly requires its fair share of bending, lifting and reaching. This, coupled with the cooler weather, makes December the ideal time for a refresher on proper lifting methods.

Back pain, after all, can put a real damper on the Holiday Season.

As one of the most common conditions treated by physical therapists, back pain and injury will even about 80 percent of all Americans at some point in their lives, making it one of the top causes of disability in the U.S. Fortunately, it’s a condition that’s preventable, and one of the ways of doing this is to learn proper lifting techniques.

But, preventing back pain isn’t the only concern when we talk about proper lifting. Using the proper techniques for lifting and carrying awkward and/or heavy objects is about minimizing strain on the entire body.

The goal, in other words, is to put yourself in a position that allows the body’s musculoskeletal system to work as one cohesive unit, without putting too much strain on one area, such as the lower-back or shoulders.

So without further ado, strongly consider the following tips for proper lifting during this Holiday Season … and throughout your lifetime:

Warm Up:

Don’t ever assume your body’s ready to lift heavy objects without first being thoroughly warmed up. Take the time to stretch you lower back as well as your legs and hips. Also, do a few jumping jacks to get the blood flowing to the muscles in your body.

Get Close

Avoid reaching for a heavy or moderate-sized load. Get up nice and close to the box or object to minimize the force (in the arms, shoulders and back) needed to lift, and always hold it close to your body.

Bend & Lift with the Knees

We’ve all heard this before, and it’s true. But in doing so, keep your back straight and your body upright as you lower yourself to the object in question, then use your legs to rise back up.

Get a Grip

This seems to go without saying, but if you can’t get a strong, comfortable grip on the object in front of you – even if you know you can carry the weight – don’t try to be a hero. Find someone to help you or an alternative way of getting the object from A to B, such as a hand cart or dolly.

Reverse the Steps

When you get to where you’re going, set the item down just as you picked it up – but in reverse. Keep it close to the body, lower with the legs and move slowly and deliberately. You can just as easily injure yourself setting objects down as you can picking them up.

In addition, keep from twisting or reaching while lifting and/or carrying a load. Don’t rush through the process of lifting, and if you’re tired, put the work off until later

And finally, if you do feel pain during or after lifting, or you have an injury or condition you feel is holding you back from moving properly, visit a physical therapist for a full assessment prior to trying any sort of heavy or awkward lifting.

Our Knees: ‘Canaries in the Coal Mine’ of Movement & Exercise Issues

by AKPT | Aug 20, 2020 | Uncategorized

Despite being the largest and perhaps most complicated joints in our bodies, our knees are naturally docile.

They’re easily influenced by what’s going on above and below them, in other words, not making many decisions on their own.

That’s why when one experiences knee pain, the true causes of the joint’s wear and tear can almost always be traced up or down the leg – oftentimes in both directions.

The Kinetic Chain

Tight muscles, improper footwear, bad balance, the lack of strength in the hips … all of these issues that exist far from the knees can lead to an irregular compression in the knee joint, leading to pain and possible injury.

The knees may get all the blame, but more often we should consider them as a canary in the coal mine when it comes to movement, strength and/or balance issues. Yes, wear and tear in the knees can also become its own issue over time, but it’s possible to slow this by identifying and addressing the real issues affecting the knees.

Case in point, a study performed by the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis found that hip strength exercises performed by female runners vastly reduced the incidence of knee pain, or “runner’s knee.” Improved mechanics through increased hip strength was credited for the reduction in pain.

Another study, this one published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, linked the growing incidence of knee pain in the U.S. (65 percent from 1971 to 2004) to the same steady rise in obesity.

A Holistic Approach

Studies like these simply support the general approach physical therapists take when treating knee pain as well as most other pain and injury issues: always take into consideration patients’ entire kinetic chain, from the feet up through their bodies.

That’s why when someone walks through our doors of our clinic and says they’re experiencing knee pain, our physical therapy team doesn’t just look at their knees. We approach the issue globally.

At our clinic, we evaluate everything from the feet up through the hips, otherwise we’ll likely miss the real cause of the patient’s issues. Such an evaluation should always include an analysis of movement, balance, flexibility and strength.

Treatments for knee pain may include a mix of remedies that includes the use of proper footwear/orthotics, the establishment of a flexibility program, strength and balance exercise regimens, and perhaps even a plan to shed some excess body weight.

Get Physical Therapy

If you regularly experience knee pain while you’re going about life and doing the things you most enjoy, it’s always a good rule of thumb to get yourself evaluated by a physical therapist. Call us today to schedule an appointment.

If your knee’s chirping, so to speak, that’s usually a good indication that something elsewhere in your body needs some attention.

What’s a Movement Diagnosis?

by AKPT | Nov 7, 2019 | Health and Wellness

Medical diagnoses don’t need much of an introduction. They’re what you get from your doctor when you’re sick. Examples would be influenza, diabetes, or hypertension. They describe the underlying problem that is causing your symptoms.

When people feel sick, they know they need to go to the doctor and find out what’s going on to get treated. We should treat movement the same way. If you’re having pain when you move, can’t do things you used to be able to – like get on and off the floor easily, or can’t do things you want to do – like go for a bike ride or pick up a grandchild then you need to get a movement diagnosis.

A movement diagnosis does the same thing as a medical diagnosis; it describes what’s causing your difficulty with movement. Some examples would be difficulty standing from a chair secondary to decreased force production, scapular down rotation syndrome, or lower crossed syndrome.

Diagnoses set the roadmap for treatment, so getting them right is crucial. Human movement is complex and is influenced by more than just your muscles and joints. According to the APTA, movement is impacted by the following systems:

● Endocrine ● Nervous ● Cardiovascular ● Pulmonary ● Integumentary ● Musculoskeletal

Because of the complexity and interplay between these components of the movement system, getting a movement diagnosis correct is often very difficult. Physical therapists are experts in human movement with doctoral level training and should be your first stop for movement issues. Not only can a physical therapist provide an accurate movement diagnosis, they will also design a treatment plan to correct the underlying issues and help get you moving well again.

References: http://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/movement-systemdiagnosis-in-neurologic-physical-therapy-where-are-we.pdf?sfvrsn=0 https://journals.lww.com/jnpt/FullText/2018/04000/White_Paper__Movement_System_Diagnose s_in.9.aspx http://www.apta.org/MovementSystem/ http://www.apta.org/MovementSystem/Template/

Why Low Back Pain May Not Go Away

by AKPT | Jan 20, 2018 | Back and Neck Pain

Causes of Low Back Pain & How Physical Therapy Can Help

Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people cite for making an appointment with a physical therapist. Most people suffer from lower back pain to varying degrees at some point in their lives. Sometimes, lower back pain is more of an annoyance than anything else, but when lower back pain becomes severe, it can be seriously debilitating and prevent you from living your life. Typically, the sooner you seek treatment for lower back pain, the sooner you can find lasting relief.

Common Causes of Lower Back Pain

There are numerous potential causes for lower back pain. These days, poor posture and alignment of the spine is becoming an increasingly common cause—likely due to the fact that more people work in sedentary desk jobs than ever before. Without the proper lumbar support from an ergonomic desk chair, lower back pain can quickly occur as a result of poor posture and limited movement of the spinal joints throughout the day. Even those who are on their feet most of the day can suffer from lower back pain due to poor spinal and abdominal muscle support and lack of proper coordination of the spinal muscles.

While lower back pain cannot always be prevented, it is possible to reduce your risk of lower back injuries and pain by making sure your back is well supported with proper posture throughout the day. For desk workers, this could mean investing in an ergonomic desk chair. For others, it may mean purchasing a quality pair of athletic shoes that will provide the proper level of foot and back support throughout the day.

Physical Therapy for Back Pain Relief

The good news is that if you’re suffering from lower back pain, physical therapy may be able to help. Seeking physical therapy as treatment for your lower back pain is always recommended before you decide to start taking any prescription medications. After all, anti-inflammatory and other medication may relieve your back pain in the short-term, but can also lead to long-term side effects. With physical therapy, you can enjoy a non-invasive and drug-free approach to long-term back pain relief. And physical therapy should always be attempted before taking any drastic measures, such as having back surgery done.

There are two common forms of physical therapy used for the treatment of lower back pain. These are passive and active physical therapy, and they differ greatly in their techniques and methods.

Passive physical therapy relies on techniques performed directly on the patient. This can include anything from applying heat or ice packs to the affected area or even stimulating the area with controlled electricity. Other modalities used here may include ultrasonography, TENS units, and iontophoresis.

Active physical therapy, on the other hand, refers to steps the patient will take (as instructed by a therapist) to treat and reduce lower back pain. Typically, this comes in the form of different exercises and stretches that are designed to reduce lower back pain and minimize future flare-ups as well. Some common examples of active physical therapy may include low-impact aerobic conditioning and back strengthening exercises. These can be done in your physical therapist’s office or at home, depending on your specific needs.

Overall, physical therapy can be a great option for treating just about any level of lower back pain. Through a combination of active and passive physical therapy, you can work towards reducing your pain and increasing your lower back strength to avoid future problems. Contact our team today to find out more about how we can help you overcome lower back pain.