Living With Pain? Don’t Turn to Opioids

Physical Therapy Can Provide You With Faster, Safer, and More Effective Relief Than Opioids

Long-term opioid consumption is not a good strategy for chronic pain management. In addition to the risk of addiction, opioids simply reduce the pain that comes as a result of a bigger issue, rather than solving the problem at hand.

Physical therapy has been shown to be a much better option than opioids or other pharmaceutical painkillers for very real, measurable improvement of chronic pain. If you are considering opioids but would like to explore other pain relief options first, please contact our office to talk to a physical therapist today!

How physical therapy can help you find long-term relief

Researchers at Stanford University have shown that when turning to physical therapy early on (as soon as a person is diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain), the need for opioid pain prescriptions is greatly reduced. Among patients requiring pain relief opioids, the duration of use of painkillers was reduced by as much as 10%.

Physical therapy helps patients to cure the source of the pain rather than masking the source of the pain. If a patient suffers from arthritis or any other type of chronic pain, a physical therapist may teach a patient how to move and use key muscle groups in such a way that the source of pain does not worsen.

Another goal of physical therapy is to strengthen muscle groups that support aching or painful parts of the body so that real healing can take place. Your physical therapist will design a personalized treatment plan that will produce measurable results in pain relief. Because PT targets the source of pain, you can often eliminate the need for prescription painkillers or opioids with PT alone.

Opioids are not a cure for pain

The opioid epidemic in America has been so severe in recent years that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending that patients explore alternative options for pain relief.

The opioid epidemic is a very real (and very deadly) problem. It’s believed that some 2 million Americans suffer from an opioid use disorder such as addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 130 people die from opioid overdoses every day here in the U.S. Since 1999, the number of opioid-related deaths has multiplied sixfold.

Many people who become addicted to opioids were first prescribed by a medical doctor to treat acute or chronic pain. The problem is, opioid medications:

  • Are associated with an increased risk of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms and depression
  • Only hide symptoms of pain—they don’t address the underlying causes, which makes opioids less cost-effective over time
  • Can be highly addictive

The CDC recommends that opioids be considered as the “last option” for only the worst cases of pain. Alternative and holistic pain relief methods, including physical therapy, do not pose the extreme risks of addiction and overdose that opioids do.

It is important that anyone suffering from pain should understand that opioids will not solve the underlying physical problem that causes pain. In fact, opioids can actually make the original problem worse.

Suppose, for example, that a person has been dealing with chronic pain several months after surgery to the shoulder. The shoulder may be healed, but the pain persists. If the patient relies on opioids to soften the pain, they can run the risk of re-injuring their shoulder.

Pain is the body’s way of telling us something is wrong. With opioids, the patient may use their shoulder muscles incorrectly and ultimately make the underlying problem worse.

If the same patient had worked with a physical therapist for pain relief, they would have had a much better chance of completely eliminating the pain in the long-term. Through physical therapy, manual therapy, proper exercise, body mechanics, and posture work, you can find the relief you’ve been searching for – all without turning to addictive opioid painkillers.

Schedule a consultation with a physical therapist today!

If you have been living with chronic pain and would like to know more about how physical therapy can help, please call our office today to schedule your first appointment with a licensed physical therapist!

We’ll help you find long-term pain relief so you can live life comfortably.

The Connection Between Nutrition and Pain Relief

Find Relief for Your Aches and Pains with Nutrition Changes

Could you be feeding your chronic aches and pains without even realizing it? If your pain problems have steadily worsened, you may need to look at your nutrition choices.

Certain foods have been known to alleviate inflammation, where some foods can aggravate it. In fact, according to Harvard Health Publishing, “A lot of chronic pain is the result of chronic inflammation, and the evidence is quite strong that your diet can contribute to increased systemic inflammation.”

Eating too much and/or eating the wrong types of foods can trigger your inflammatory reactions that contribute to muscle, nerve, and joint pain. Fortunately, you can reverse this cycle by adopting a healthy nutritional strategy as part of a holistic physical therapy program at GoodLife Physical Therapy.

Physical therapy and nutrition

The good news is that the right foods can fight inflammation just as easily as the wrong foods can exacerbate the issue. Simply switching to a more nutritional diet can help put you on a healthier, less painful path.

This diet highlights fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains and healthy oils such as olive oil—all delicious choices with high nutritional value and low inflammatory potential! Even your choice of spices can make a huge difference in your comfort. Turmeric, for example, is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory agent. Your physical therapist can point you to the right nutritional changes for your specific needs, in order to help control your pain.

Weight control is another key aspect of pain management. Your physical therapy plan may include recommendations as to how many calories you should consume, what kinds of foods you should eat to avoid additional weight gain, and any other necessary changes to your eating schedule or patterns.

Increasing your physical activity will also help you get the most out of your new nutrition routine. For example, muscle building through strength training boosts your metabolic rate, helping your body burn calories more easily. Other physical therapy techniques to ease chronic aches and pain will help you become much more mobile—allowing you to boost your workout regimen, lose more weight, and take more strain off of your joints and tissues.

What should I know about pain and a nutritional diet?

How many times have you heard the old expression, “You are what you eat?” Certain kinds of foods are known to cause or aggravate inflammatory responses and chronic pain. You may be doing yourself more harm than good if you regularly consume:

  • Foods heavy in processed sugars and/or trans fats (including cookies, donuts and margarine)
  • Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and other members of the nightshade family
  • Caffeinated foods and drinks
  • White bread or other highly-processed carbs
  • Alcohol
  • Red meat

These foods can make you feel painful in various ways. Sugar and aspartame, for instance, raise both your insulin levels and your pain sensitivity. Caffeine and tomatoes both raise your body’s acidity levels, promoting inflammatory pain. But for all these foods (and several others), the bottom line is the same: an increase in your aches and pains.
Additionally, fatty and sugary foods can lead to extra weight, which can accelerate joint degeneration and aggravate pain. It can also place undue strain on your muscles and may even encourage the development of bulging or herniated discs, leading to neurological issues such as sciatica.

Nutritional changes can help with…

  • Obesity: Pain related to obesity can become a vicious cycle. Being overweight causes a patient pain, so they become more sedentary. Becoming more sedentary causes them to gain more weight, which leads to more pain. Nutritional diets can help shed unwanted weight and decrease pain on the joints.
  • Osteoarthritis: Once a person has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, managing their pain becomes the most important key to leading a comfortable life. Certain foods can decrease inflammation, easing arthritis pains.
  • Inflammation: American diets tend to have a lot of vegetable oils and other inflammatory foods in them. This can make the pain from inflammation even worse. In many cases, a physical therapist will prescribe a diet with more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods to help manage pain.
  • Autoimmune Disorders: The combined total of various autoimmune disorder patients (such as Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis) now outnumber cancer patients in America by a wide margin. Autoimmune disorders are frequently linked directly to deficiencies in a patient’s diet.
  • Diabetes: Diabetes and pre-diabetes pave the way for more serious conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease and blindness. More than 90 percent of patients with diabetes also experience neuropathic pain. Diet and nutrition will play a key role in managing these conditions.

Discover how nutrition can help you find relief

Eating for health can include eating for pain management. Contact our physical therapy center or visit us in IL to make this strategy work for you!

Stay Away From the Dangers of Opioids – Instead, Opt for Physical Therapy

Did You Know Physical Therapy Could Provide You With the Relief You Need?

Do you take opioids to manage your pain? Well, you’re not alone. Health care providers in the US write over 200 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication every year. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has even issued guidelines about this and urged safe non-drug alternatives, such as physical therapy.

A recent study published in Health Services Research found that people who saw a physical therapist prior to other treatments were 89% in less need of an opioid prescription.

Before you take another pill for your pain, call our office to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist. We want you to know that relief from arthritis pain is possible with the help of physical therapy.

Physical therapy can help you govern your pain without drugs, giving you a chance to break away from your reliance on opioids.

If you’re suffering from pain, be sure to call us to schedule an appointment with one of our physical therapists.

Opioids – what are they and why are they dangerous?

Opioids are strong pain-killing drugs that are often prescribed to combat severe chronic pain. They are traditionally derived from substances in the poppy plant.

Prescription opioids are painkillers often prescribed to block pain signals and prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain. These drugs can also be addictive.

Opioids such as morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone can often deaden the pain when milder drugs cannot, making them a common prescription for cancer pain, acute injuries, and severe neurological or musculoskeletal pain. They can also produce euphoria or unconsciousness, making them a highly abused substance in both legal and illegal forms (such as heroin).

Opioids work by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and other structures of the body. As the opioids occupy these receptors, they prevent the receptors from receiving pain signals. At the same time, the opioids trigger the release of large amounts of dopamine, a substance that evokes feelings of pleasure.

Regular usage can increase your dependence and make you need higher and more frequent doses. Opioids can restrict your ability to breathe and can lead to a fatal overdose.

Opioids are not in the same category as over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol and aspirin. The most common ones prescribed are Oxycontin and Vicodin.

Are you experiencing these symptoms?

Opioid use disorder is a medical condition used when one is not able to not stop taking opioids.

When one is physically dependent on opioids, they typically have withdrawal symptoms like sweating and cravings.

Other signs include drowsiness, weight loss, change in sleep habits, flu-like symptoms, changes in exercise habits, and isolation.

How can physical therapy decrease the need for opioid use?

According to a study published in JAMA, most people see a physical therapist for musculoskeletal conditions that result in back, neck, knee, and shoulder pain.

Researchers found that when a person saw a physical therapist, they were less likely to be prescribed opioids. “This study provides early evidence that the CDC guidelines may help decrease long-term opioid use,” said Steven George, PT, Ph.D., one of the study’s contributing researchers. “The biggest takeaway is that early physical therapy may be a viable option for several musculoskeletal conditions, especially if preventing long-term opioid use is a treatment goal.”

You should consider physical therapy if:

  • You’re experiencing issues such as addiction, depression, or physical side effects from opioid usage – or you’re determined to avoid such issues
  • You suffer from a chronic, incurable pain condition that might otherwise require a lifetime on opioids
  • Your pain is musculoskeletal or neuromuscular in origin (as opposed to cancer pain, for instance)
  • You’re interested in actually treating the underlying cause of the pain, instead of simply numbing the pain itself

A physical therapist is a healthcare movement expert who helps patients decrease their pain and increase their quality of life through specific exercises, hands-on care, and education.

A physical therapist does a complete evaluation of the patient and develops an individualized treatment targeted to the root cause of pain. Patients experience pain relief, increased mobility, and regain the ability to perform daily tasks.

There’s a lot involved in a physical therapy treatment plan. It often includes both active and passive modalities. Active modalities may include targeted exercises and stretching.

Passive modalities typically include ice and heat therapy, electric stimulation, ultrasound, massage therapy, and stabilization methods.

Ready to say goodbye to opioids?

If you’re suffering in pain, stay away from opioid prescriptions. The risks outweigh the rewards. Instead, see a physical therapist.

Be sure to give our office a call to schedule a one-on-one consultation and evaluation.

Our physical therapists are certified and experienced. They’ve helped many others and can help you, too.

Living with Aches and Pains? There’s A Chance it Could be From Your Mattress

If Your Mattress is Leaving You Feeling Achy, Physical Therapy Can Help

Do you notice that you often wake up in more pain than you felt when you were going to sleep? If you have been dealing with low back pain that seems to be much worse in the morning, your mattress might be the culprit!

While back pain is a common enough ailment that most people think they’ll just be stuck with it forever, you can find relief! But what is the true cause of your back pain at night? Could it be your favorite sleeping position or is your mattress actually causing your recurring back pain?

Call our physical therapy offices today to schedule a free consultation with our skilled physical therapist and learn more about how you can get relief from your lower back pain naturally.

How do I know if my pain is from my mattress?

According to Spine Health, “Sleeping on the wrong mattress can cause or worsen lower back pain. Lack of support from a mattress reinforces poor sleeping posture, strains muscles and does not help keep the spine in alignment, all of which contribute to low back pain.

Sleep comfort is also sacrificed if a mattress does not match one’s individual preferences. A mattress that provides both comfort and back support helps reduce low back pain, allowing the structures in the spine to really rest and rejuvenate during the night.”

While the Better Sleep Council recommends replacing your mattress every 7 to 10 years, the way you feel in the morning is a better indicator that it’s time to replace your sleep surface.

If your mattress was once comfortable but now seems to be at the root of your aches and pains, it may be time to replace it. Physical changes like injuries, surgery and weight change can also change your body’s position as you sleep, necessitating a faster change in your mattress.

Are you experiencing back pain?

There are 2 main types of back pain. Subacute lower back pain can last between 4 and 12 weeks, while chronic back pain persists for 12 weeks or longer.

So, if you’re sleeping on the wrong mattress, it’s easy to see how what may have been a subacute injury, could easily progress into a chronic pain issue. Lower back pain is one of the most common conditions affecting Americans today.

In fact, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says close to 80% of adults will experience low back pain at some point in their lives.

Back pain can come on suddenly or gradually and can present as a dull ache or intense, sharp pains. And for many, low back pain can be a chronic condition.

Common causes of back pain

Before choosing to work with a physical therapist to relieve your lower back pain, it’s important to understand the possible causes of the condition and what changes you can make at home, including changing out your old mattress!

Sprains and Strains

Back sprains can pop-up due to overuse injuries, sports-related injuries, awkward twisting, improper lifting and more. A sprain typically occurs when you overstretch or tear one of your ligaments, tendons or muscles.

Common symptoms associated with a back sprain include swelling, tenderness, and recurring muscle spasms. They can usually be treated with targeted physical therapy sessions, at-home exercises, and over-the-counter pain medications.

Injuries

Anytime you are on the receiving end of a forceful impact, there’s a good chance that you could damage your spine with a vertebral fracture, a herniated disc or ruptured disc.

Common causes of this type of injury include auto accidents, falls, and sports injuries. Most people experience back pain immediately following their injury, with common symptoms including numbness, tingling, and burning sensations that can radiate down into the legs.

Improper Alignment

Not all mattresses are created equally and if your delicate back isn’t getting proper support at night, you could experience low back pain.

A good mattress should be supportive of your entire body when you are lying in a neutral position, providing proper spinal alignment.

If it is too firm, it can press against the pressure points in your spine. But if it’s too soft, your pressure points will be unsupported at night, resulting in spinal curvature.

Get started with physical therapy treatments

Our physical therapist is a movement expert who has the skills needed to help relieve low back pain naturally with a combination of hands-on care, prescribed exercises, and patient education.

When you work with an experienced physical therapist, you can enjoy fast pain relief, reduced inflammation, and increased mobility.

Give Goodlife Physical Therapy a call today to learn more about the benefits of physical therapy for low back pain and be sure to schedule a free initial consultation.

Sources:

Living With Aches and Pains? Try Changing Your Diet

Did You Know You Could Find Pain Relief with a Simple Diet Change

A physical therapist can help you identify ways to improve your nutrition to help reduce your aches and pains.

If you are what you eat, what are you based on your last meal? If your answer was full of saturated fat and processed sugars, it may be time to listen to what your body is telling you. Fortunately, physical therapy is more than just recovery after surgery.

Lifestyle changes can help tremendously when trying to reach your physical goals. But what kinds of lifestyle changes should you pursue? In addition to regular exercise, including the types of targeted exercises you might receive in physical therapy, you should examine your sleep, your workplace ergonomics – and your nutrition.

Certain foods have been known to alleviate inflammation, where some foods can aggravate it. In fact, according to Harvard Health Publishing, “A lot of chronic pain is the result of chronic inflammation, and the evidence is quite strong that your diet can contribute to increased systemic inflammation.”

Curious about how your nutrition can help with pain relief? Call our office for more information.

What should I know about nutrition and pain relief?

With so much information about nutrition bombarding us from every side, it’s no wonder we are confused about what to eat for optimal health.

Make no mistake, proper nutrition isn’t about trying a fad to get results, it’s about feeding your body the nutrients it needs to carry you throughout your life.

That is why so many people find themselves gaining and losing the same 20 pounds as they cycle through various nutrition programs.

Fortunately, great nutrition information is easily available in an unlikely source, a physical therapist.

How is nutrition related to pain relief?

Physical therapy goes beyond recovering after surgery. A physical therapist is a specialist in total body movement, including how to give the body what it needs to optimize that movement.

Most pain is caused by inflammation of the joints, muscles or connective tissues throughout the body. As these tissues swell, they compromise the surrounding nerves. The brain processes this information as pain causing the typical aches and pains throughout the body.

Researchers have found that certain foods help fight the inflammatory response that contributes to aches and pains.

Fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids, colorful fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds have all been proven to offer relief to people suffering from joint conditions such as arthritis. These foods also boost the immune system, especially in people with autoimmune conditions that may cause pain.

How can physical therapy help with my nutritional changes?

A physical therapist’s extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology can provide you with vital nutrition information that will help minimize your aches and pains.

If your nutrients aren’t properly balanced, your physical function can be impaired. For example, neglecting to eat carbs before an endurance event will cause your body to burn fat as a substitute for fueling your energy.

Your body may even start burning protein, which can deprive your muscles of the strength they normally have. Comparatively, if you have an overload of calcium intakes, but you’re lacking Vitamin D, the calcium won’t make its way to your bones or tissues.

Even if you are not in physical therapy, a physical therapist is happy to impart this knowledge so you can live a happier, healthier life.

Consulting with a physical therapist can help you understand how much you should be ingesting of each nutrient, and when more or fewer intakes of a certain nutrient may be beneficial.

First, they will assess your current eating habits and identify ways you can reduce your consumption of foods that cause inflammation (sugar, processed foods, foods with additives or preservatives) and fill your diet with foods that will naturally fight inflammation.

A healthy balance of nutrients can help enhance healing, function, and overall comfort. For example, omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin C both help in reducing inflammation, which promotes faster healing.

Certain amino acids can also aid your body in synthesizing proteins. Eating the right amount of carbohydrates at the right times can help give you the energy you need to improve your physical performance.

Imagine ditching the anti-inflammatory medication simply by changing what you are eating on a regular basis. Even small changes can add up to big improvement in aches and pains.

How can I get started?

Curious whether a physical therapist can help you get your nutrition back on track and fight the aches and pains that are keeping you from living your best life? Call Goodlife Physical Therapy today to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

Finally Find Relief for Those Persistent Aches and Pains with These 3 Tips

Looking for Relief? Physical Therapy Can Help

There’s something oddly satisfying about waking up the morning after a hard workout and feeling a dull ache in your muscles.

But when that dull ache migrates to your joints and seems to happen every day, that satisfaction quickly turns to frustration.

The answer is not to take anti-inflammatory medication or simply ignore the aches and pains in your joints, but rather to talk to your physical therapist.

If these three reasons to consider physical therapy for joint pain aren’t enough to convince you, call our office to find out more.

1. Physical therapy can help you find relief the natural way!

It doesn’t matter whether it happens in your muscles or joints, your body’s pain receptors are there to alert you to a potential problem.

Whether it is a lack of fluid in the joint, damage to soft tissues like tendons or ligaments, or muscle strain or fatigue, pain signals are designed to keep you from doing permanent damage to your body. Yet, people have a tendency to treat pain as an inconvenience rather than a problem.

If pain is your first warning sign that there is a problem that needs to be fixed, suddenly getting to the root cause of that pain is a priority.

Fortunately, a physical therapist is a specialist in not only human anatomy, but how the body moves. They can uncover the cause of your pain during diagnostic testing and prescribe a series of therapies to address it.

2. Fear of the knife? Physical therapy can decrease the need for surgery.

Most people associate physical therapy with surgery. While it is a vital part of recovery after nearly every surgical procedure possible, that is not the only role physical therapy can play in healing.

In fact, with very few exceptions, physical therapy can help you resolve most joint pain without ever going under the knife.

In some cases, physical therapy has been proven more effective than surgery at treating certain types of joint pain. Joint pain relief without the anxiety and complications of surgery? Sign us up!

3. Physical therapy can help you move with ease.

There are times when rest is the appropriate course of action for treating acute joint pain, especially if there is an injury involved. However, targeted exercise, recommended by a physical therapist, can help relieve joint pain and stiffness.

Not only does exercise improve your overall health and fitness levels, but it also works to strengthen the muscles around your joints, providing them with more support.

Physical therapy can also help protect your bone density, give you more energy, help you sleep, and help you maintain a healthy weight. What does this have to do with joint pain?

A 2005 study found that losing just one pound can eliminate four pounds of pressure on your knees. Even modest weight loss, 5 to 10 pounds, can relieve as much as 20 to 40 pounds of pressure on your joints. A physical therapist can help you stay safely moving while you recover from aches and pains in your joints.

Find relief with our passive and active therapies!

Once your physical therapist has isolated the underlying cause of your chronic joint pain, we can prescribe techniques to help you start feeling – and moving – more like your old self.

Physical therapy for joint pain may start with passive exercises, in which we move the afflicted joint for you to increase its pain-free range of motion.

Exercises that reduce the amount of weight on the joints can also be extremely helpful. For instance, we may recommend swimming or water walking as a means of exercising the hips and knees without also forcing them to bear your full weight.

Other types of exercises can also help you overcome your joint pain while improving joint function. Strengthening exercises help by reinforcing the muscles and connective tissues that serve the joint. Corrective exercises and neuromuscular re-education can help you maintain a straighter, more symmetrical posture.

Last but not least, physical therapy offers a variety of helpful modalities beyond exercise. We may treat your joint pain with heat, ice, and manual therapies such as massage, just to name a few.

Ready to get started on the path toward relief?

Don’t let aches and pains in your joints keep you from living the life you want.

Call GoodLife Rehab today to schedule your consultation with our physical therapist and find out how physical therapy can help you live a pain-free life.

How to Improve Your Balance By Increasing Your Core Strength

The relationship between core strength and balance is something that has been widely discussed within the physical therapy field for several years. Your trunk contains multiple core muscles that work to prevent physically limiting conditions, such injuries, lower back pain, or balance and gait disorders. When your core is strong, it helps keep you upright and decreases your risk of falling. If you are interested in learning more about how our services can improve your balance, contact us today!

How are core and balance related?

There are three systems in your body that help to control your balance: The visual system, the vestibular system, and the proprioceptive system.

The visual system refers to the messages that your brain and eyes send to each other, in order to help you see. Your eyes send signals to your brain about your position in relation to the world around you.

The vestibular system refers to the liquid in your inner ear that functions as a sort of “carpenter’s balance,” in order to keep you level. If you’ve ever felt dizzy, it generally means that the liquid in the vestibular system is a little bit off-balance.

The proprioceptive system is the one that involves your core. Proprioception nerves are sensory nerves that situate throughout the body. They make you aware of your posture and aware of spatial things around you.

In order to stay balanced, one must have equilibrium in all three systems. A weak core is one element that can make you feel off-balance and cause you to fall down.

The impact of core muscles on stability:

When many people think of core muscles, they immediately picture the abs – but there are so much more! In fact, there are two separate groups of core muscles: the inner core and the outer core.

The inner core muscles are attached to your spine and they help to stabilize your core. The outer core muscles work in conjunction with the inner core muscles whenever you need to move your body from point A to point B – or, essentially to do most physical activities.

When we think of “core stability,” we are thinking of the inner core muscles. When we think of “core strength,” we are thinking of the outer core muscles. Engaging in physical therapy will help you to train both your inner and outer core muscles, in order to achieve better balance and movement.

PT treatments for core building and improved balance:

Core strength can be improved upon without pricy gym equipment. Many physical therapists will recommend a simple and quick exercise known as the “drawing in maneuver.”

To accomplish this exercise, begin by standing up straight with your hips in line with the rest of your body. Suck in your stomach, as if you were drawing your belly button in toward your spine. Then, walk around with your belly button still drawn in.

Ideally, your core muscles should be strong enough to hold that position for at least 30 seconds. However, if you are out of shape, you may have to build up to this time. This should be a painless exercise, so if you notice any pain while performing it, make sure you stop immediately. Once your core begins to build more muscle, your physical therapist will move you on to more difficult exercises, such as yoga, planks, or bridges.

If you have been struggling with your balance, we can help. Contact us today to learn how our core strengthening services can improve your balance and get you back on your feet!

Sources:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/balance-and-mobility/improve-your-balance-by-strengthening-your-core

https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/balance-your-way-to-stronger-body

Direct Access – A Referral Is No Longer Needed

Introducing Direct Access- Allowing Physical Therapy Without an Initial Referral

Did you know?!

In the state of Illinois, it is easier than ever to take control of treating your physical health. It was not long ago that the state of Illinois was one of the few states that continued to require a physician’s referral for physical therapy. That all changed on August 16, 2018 when former Governor, Bruce Rauner signed the Direct Access legislation into law. Direct Access refers to the freedom for prospective patients to attend physical therapy without a referral or initial prescription from their primary physician. By eliminating the need for physician referrals, the wait time for appointments, and the costs associated with multiple doctor visits have lowered.

In fact, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, patients with back and neck pain saved an average of $1,543 in office visits, imaging, and treatments when they chose physical therapy as first treatment compared to those who saw a specialist before attending physical therapy.

What to Expect?

Without an initial referral, a physical therapist can now evaluate your condition or injury and determine a treatment plan as soon as you decide to seek treatment, speeding up the path to relief and healing. Upon scheduling your initial evaluation, you should expect a one on one appointment with one of our licensed physical therapists who will gather valuable subjective and objective information regarding your main concerns. He or she will create a plan of care specialized to meet your individual needs and goals.

Under Direct Access, your physical therapist will be required to notify a physician of your choice that you are receiving treatment. Although you may have not directly spoken with them (your physician), this ensures that your physician stays informed of your health. If symptoms do not show improvement within an allotted time frame, then a physician’s approval of the plan of care may be required and/or a follow up with them may be requested to continue physical therapy.

Freedom to Choose

Ultimately, Direct Access is an important and promising new change giving the general public the freedom to choose and benefit from physical therapy first. Whether it is your first time receiving physical therapy or you are simply looking to incorporate sessions of physical therapy for your overall wellness, take advantage of the specialized guidance offered.

Not sure if you would benefit from physical therapy first? Then schedule a screen today for a quick 15-20 minute assessment of an injury, condition or concern. The physical therapist will readily answer any questions and recommend whether they believe physical therapy will be a benefit for you.

Why wait any longer? Call one of our locations today to set up your initial evaluation and begin your journey to better!

Orland Park (708)966-4386               Homer Glen (708) 645-7700

Denniger TR, Cook CE, Chapman CG, McHenry T, Thigpen CA. The influence of patient choice of first provider on costs and outcomes: analysis from a physical therapy registry. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2018; 48(2): 63-71.