Knee Pain

Attention Runners!! Especially those with knee pain. Do you even roll bro? But seriously, stretching is essential for the muscles (hamstrings, quads, calves), but most knee pain comes from the ITB (Iliotibial Band) which is not muscle, it’s a ligament.

The ITB or Iliotibial Band is a very large ligament that attaches from the outside of your hip to the outside of your knee. When the ITB is tight, it can pull the patella laterally (towards the outside of your leg), contributing to knee pain while running. The ITB gets tight due to many different causes such as wearing worn down running shoes, running too many miles, or running downhill or on banked surfaces.

While there are common ITB stretches, the “foam roller” has been found to be a very effective technique to roll out the tightness in the ITB. Patients with this diagnosis can also benefit from physical therapy to manually stretch and massage the band, along with strengthening the muscles of the lower extremity that are found to be weakened.

Call the diagnosis whatever you want, ITB syndrome, Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome, PFPS, Jumper’s Knee, Runner’s Knee), either way, you need to use a foam roller before and after every run!

Inviting Wellness Into Your Daily Life- Guest Article

Breakaway PT is honored to be able to add a guest article by Author Jennifer McGregor Entitled ” Inviting Wellness Into Your Daily Life”. Jennifer is a pre-med student and has co-created Public Health Library to write about health and wellness topics. Additionally, she will be creating a forum for sharing reputable health and medical information.

Inviting Wellness Into Your Daily Life   By: Jennifer McGregor

The busy routines of day-to-day life aren’t the most welcoming to a healthy lifestyle. When you’re juggling work, home life, and social life, there’s not much mental space left to think about your personal well-being. However, neglect yourself long enough and you’ll wake up one day wondering where you lost control of your health and how you can get it back.

The key to lifelong wellness isn’t in occasional crash diets or springtime workouts designed to restore your beach body. Instead, it’s in the little things you do each and every day to improve your health and stay focused on what really matters: living a rich, fulfilling life that honors your mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness.

If you need to invite more wellness into your daily life, these are four places to start.

Manage What’s Holding You Back

Whether it’s pain, nausea, fatigue, or stress, identify the things holding you back from achieving your wellness goals. Then, deal with them so you can start making the most of your days.

If you’re dealing with headaches, nausea, or anxiety, CBD could be just the thing to get your body feeling well again. CBD provides your body with the beneficial cannabinoids it needs to quiet pain, anxiety, and other troublesome symptoms without the intoxication of THC. If it’s your first time taking CBD, start with CBD-infused gummies (can be purchased for under $30) for an easy introduction. Experienced users, however, can take CBD oil or experiment with products that combine CBD and THC where it’s legal. As with any remedy, talk to your doctor before taking cannabis products, as CBD may interfere with other medications or health conditions.

Move Your Body Every Single Day

Heart-pumping, strength-building exercise isn’t possible every day. Schedules get busy, energy runs low, and sometimes the motivation simply isn’t there. However, even when you can’t find the space for a full-blown workout, it’s important to move and use your body.

So many of our daily obligations run counter to what’s natural and healthy for our bodies — sitting behind the desk or behind the wheel, wearing shoes that leave our feet aching, relying on caffeine for energy rather than natural energy-boosters — and movement is one of the best ways to restore proper function. Whether you practice yoga, take a walk, or putter in the garden, what matters is that you use your body in the way it’s meant to be used.

Find Serenity in Meditation

If you see meditation recommended everywhere, it’s for a very good reason: Meditation is scientifically proven to improve depression and anxiety symptoms and reduce the chronic stress threatening people’s physical and mental health.

There’s no recommendation for the perfect amount of meditation, but it’s clear that incorporating meditation into your life could improve it. When you need a positive start to your day or to center yourself after a stressful experience, turn to one of the leading meditation techniques.

Discover the Benefits of Decluttering

If you think that living in a messy environment won’t affect your mental or physical health, you’re in for a rude awakening. According to US News, getting rid of clutter can affect you all the way down to the subconscious level, as it can make daily life feel much easier and more achievable. So, take steps to clean up closets, get the kitchen pantry sorted, and straighten the dining room table so you can eat dinner together as a family.

One area that families struggle with the most is the entertainment center, as it can hold everything from Blu-ray, video game systems, and a stack of controllers and remotes, not to mention the TV itself. If you’re looking for a solution to this issue, try mounting your television to the wall, which isn’t nearly as expensive as you might believe. In New York City, for example, you can bring in a TV-mounting service for $173 to $416, depending on the size of the television you need mounted and the intricacies of the project.

Nourish Your Body with Real Food

When life has run you ragged, it’s tempting to reach for high-calorie, low-nutrition foods. Not only do empty calories taste good, but they also satisfy a need for comfort during stressful times. However, short-term satisfaction comes with long-term drawbacks. After junk food’s energy spike, you’re left feeling more tired, heavy, and worn down than before. If you habitually reach for unhealthy foods, you’ll experience weight gain, fatigue, and chronic health problems.

Instead of falling victim to the junk food trap, find ways to make healthy choices easier. Stock your pantry with healthy no-cook foods like raw nuts and fresh fruit, carry energy-boosting snacks when you’re on the go, and when you’re feeling the itch for an unhealthy treat, ask yourself if you’re really hungry or have an unmet emotional need.

It may be difficult to find space for these routines in your life at first — but don’t give up. Caring for your health demands mental energy even when you feel like you don’t have any to give. However, when you make the effort to prioritize personal wellness, it pays you back in spades.

#PToverPills

The opioid epidemic is real and too often, patients are given medication instead of the more conservative, safer alternative of physical therapy. Well now the research is out and the stats all say that physical therapy is more effective.

Recently on ABC 36, WTVQ  out of Lexington, KY, put together this incredible 2 minute clips on patients choosing physical therapy over medication. Click the link below for the video and article

Physical therapists are recommending “PT over Pills”

No day like today..

Understanding Your Insurance

Unfortunately the insurance lingo has become extremely complicated over the years and tends to be very confusing. So here is a cheat sheet of the most commonly used medical terms.

C0-pay: This is a fee you must pay per visit when seeing a health care professional.  Ex: When Mike has an appointment with his allergist, he must pay a $25 c0-pay.

Co-insurance: This is the percentage of the visit that the insurance company does not pick up. All insurance plans vary so it’s important to find out how much your specific plan will cover. Ex: When Julia goes to the ENT, her plan covers 70% of the visit and her responsibility is the other 30% of the charges.

Deductible: Just like with car insurance, health care plans usually have a deductible for the year. A deductible is the amount that the patient must pay before the insurance company covers any of the medical visit. Again, this amount varies with all plans. Ex: Carson has a $250 deductible. His medical bills won’t be covered until he has paid this much for the year.