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Holidays an Ideal Time for a Refresher on Proper Lifting

Holidays an Ideal Time for a Refresher on Proper Lifting

by | 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. 

Physical Therapists Adapt to Keep Clinics Safe

Physical Therapists Adapt to Keep Clinics Safe

by | Oct 19, 2020 | COVID, Health and Wellness, Healthy Tips, Physical Therapy, Telehealth

While the coronavirus pandemic continues to be front and center in the news and in the thoughts of many people, other health issues have not gone away. People are still getting back and neck pain, overuse injuries and hurt while at work. Many of these people would benefit from seeing a physical therapist, but some of them are reluctant because of concerns over COVID-19. That’s understandable, PT clinics are busy places, with lots of people coming and going, right? They used to be, but things are different now. Just like every other business and public place, PT clinics have made changes to allow them to continue to serve patients while keeping both patients and staff safe. Here are some common changes clinics have made to reduce the risk of COVID spreading among patients and staff.

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Scheduling and patient flow

  • Clinics have reduced the total number of people they see each day to allow for social distancing in the clinic
  • Many clinics are using a staggered schedule to avoid people coming in at the same time
  • Many clinics have implemented a “virtual waiting room” having people wait in their car and notifying them when their clinician is ready via a phone call or text message
  • When possible, clinics may be using separate entry and exit points

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Treatment

  • Clinics may be screening patients and staff as they enter the building using questions, temperature checks, or other means
  • Clinics may have designated areas for each clinician and their patients to reduce contact between different groups of people
  • Equipment will likely be spaced out further than you’re used to and there may be less of it to allow for more distancing between patients
  • Many clinics are leaning more heavily on telehealth when appropriate for patients to reduce the number of patients physically present in the clinic

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Physical therapists are medical professionals who were trained to deal with infectious diseases and keep people safe long before COVID-19 existed. By making changes throughout their workflows and patient experiences, physical therapy practices have reduced the risk of spreading COVID among their staff and patient populations, while continuing to deliver needed services to the public. If you are in need of PT treatment, but are hesitant to go into the clinic, give your PT a call and talk about what policies and procedures they have in place. To reduce or eliminate going into the clinic, ask about using telehealth either exclusively or in combination with in-person treatment. This is a time of uncertainty, but people are reacting with flexibility and creativity. Don’t let concerns over COVID keep you in pain or from the treatment you need.

At Active Kare Physical Therapy we take all the safety precautions to keep our staff and our patients safe and provide our patients excellent treatment.

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If you still have any question, call us at (248)432-1618

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Lazy Summer or Deconditioning?

Lazy Summer or Deconditioning?

by | Aug 19, 2020 | Aches and Pain, Healthy Tips, Physical Therapy

The weather is hot, the gym is closed, and you’ve been relaxing – enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer. Taking a day off here and there is no problem, but if you’ve been consistently missing your regular run, bike ride, or gym session and notice some aches and pains showing up, you might have the beginnings of deconditioning.

Deconditioning explained

Exercise creates many changes in your body – your heart begins to pump blood more efficiently, your muscles use oxygen more efficiently, they contract in a more coordinated manner, and your body gets more efficient turning food into fuel to name just a few. Deconditioning is the reversing of these changes. Exercise is a “use it or lose it” kind of thing, and deconditioning is the process by which we “lose it.”

How long does it take to decondition?

As with most things related to a system as complex as the human body, it depends. According to the ACSM, two weeks without exercise can lead to significant loss of cardiovascular fitness. Two to eight months of detraining can erase virtually all of your gains. As you detrain, cardiovascular fitness tends to decline first, with muscle strength declining later.

Other factors are your age, and your exercise history. If you’re younger, you’ll probably lose fitness at a slower rate than someone older. If you’ve been consistently exercising for a long time, or at a high intensity, your losses will probably be slower than for someone who just started.

Reversing the losses

PT can help with aches and pain.

If you’re just undergoing a period of increased time commitments at work or with family, using a shortened exercise routine can help minimize your losses. Even one session a week will help you keep most of what you’ve gained. Other options are to use shorter but more intense interval training sessions, or breaking up your activity into multiple short chunks during the day. If your layoff was longer, it may take just as long to retrain as it did to make the gains initially. If you’re having those aches and pains due to inactivity or need help designing a safe program to either maintain your fitness or gain it back after a layoff, your physical therapist can help. Injury and illness are other common reasons for detraining. Your PT can not only help you recover faster, but they can also find activities to maintain your fitness while safely working around an injury or illness.

Did you have a lazy summer? Do have aches and pain from from not being very active this this summer?

Have been working from home and now you are suffering from aches and pain? Don’t avoid your pain. Get help you need so that you can stay productive at your work. 
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Why You Need a Physical Therapist on Your Healthcare Team

Why You Need a Physical Therapist on Your Healthcare Team

by | Jul 2, 2020 | Health and Wellness, Physical Therapy, Uncategorized

With health in sharp focus as a result of the pandemic, now may be a good time to look at the team of experts you have in place and see if there are any improvements you could make. You probably have a family doctor, dentist, and optometrist. Maybe you have some specialist physicians, a trainer, or a massage therapist. If a physical therapist isn’t a part of your healthcare team, you’re missing out on taking care of a big part of your health. To understand why you need a physical therapist, you need to understand what they do.

Physical Therapists Help You Do Things

The American Physical Therapy Association defines PTs as “health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.” So physical therapists help you do things that you have trouble with. That could be going for a hike, playing with your kids, or getting through a day of work without pain.

Physical Therapists Reduce Pain

Chronic pain is a huge problem worldwide. A big part of that is low back pain. Statistically, around 80% of people will have low back pain in their lifetimes. Physical therapists are trained to treat pain without surgery or medications. If you have back pain, an arthritic knee, neck pain, or an old injury that won’t go away, a PT may be able to help.

Physical Therapists Keep You Healthy

The APTA goes on to say that “PTs work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.” That means that a physical therapist can help you determine your risk for injury, choose the right fitness program, and improve the quality of your life by improving your health and ability to move.

Physical Therapists Can Help You Live Longer

It’s well known that the risk of many of the leading causes of death can be reduced by exercise. Some of these conditions would include heart disease, cancer, lung disease, diabetes, and stroke. By helping you move better with less pain, finding the right exercise program, and helping you to make healthy lifestyle choices, a PT could help you live longer.

 

Physical therapists have a unique set of skills and expertise that can do a lot to improve your health and quality of life. If you don’t have one, consider adding one to your healthcare team.

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Telehealth Physical Therapy: an Option During COVID-19 Pandemic

Telehealth Physical Therapy: an Option During COVID-19 Pandemic

by | Apr 15, 2020 | Physical Therapy, Telehealth

Active Kare Physical Therapy in Sterling Heights, Michigan now provides physical therapy treatment at convenience of your home using telehealth technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have stopped much of the world. Once busy streets and shops are empty, activities are cancelled and you may not even be going to work.

One thing that the virus has not stopped is pain and injury. Maybe you were seeing your PT when stay at home orders were issued. Maybe you’ve been having more pain and soreness in your back or neck because of all the time you’ve spent in front of the computer working at home, or maybe you hurt yourself over the weekend doing some yard work or exercising to relieve stress. How do you get the care you need without putting yourself or others at risk during this time of social distancing?

Keeping that in mind and respecting social distancing orders from government as well as for safety of our patients and staff we have come up with an option for people to receive physical therapy treatment at convenience of your home.

What is Telehealth ?

Technology like the internet, electronic medical records, online patient portals, smartphones and webcams open up treatment and intervention options that may be new to both you and your provider. Virtual platforms allow one-on-one interactions in real time. Patient portals allow uploads and updates of home exercise programs and educational materials. You may not be able to go to your PT, but your PT may be able to come virtually to you! Rules and regulations vary from state to state, and insurer to insurer. They are also being rapidly updated and changed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the best way to find out what is available to you is to contact your physical therapist and ask!

Virtual Visit Tips

● You’ll need a device with a screen, camera and microphone. This could be a smartphone, tablet, or computer

● You may need a specific app – your therapist will tell you what you need and where to find it. This is important for us to connect with you in a secure environment and keep your information safe.

● Choose a private space where you feel comfortable to conduct your visit. Make sure you have room to move, this is still a PT visit and movement is the whole point!

● Wear clothes that you can move in, and that your PT can see you move in. Very loose, baggy clothing makes it hard for your PT to see and evaluate your movement

● Collect any equipment you may have beforehand, so your PT knows what you have to work with. Examples might include resistance bands, foam rollers, yoga mats and blocks, etc.

● Be ready to get creative and have fun! For many patients and therapists, televisits are a new experience so expect to work together and try new things to find what works best for you.

Click here to know if your insurance covers Telehealth and if you will benefit from Telehealth session.

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