The Importance of a Pre-sport Screening

This is a perfect example of the importance of pre-sport functional screening to help prevent or decrease injury rates in sports.  This appears to be a picture of RG III during the NFL combine last year.  Notice the genu valgus (when the knee point inward) of both knees when attempting a vertical high jump.  Genu valgus, along with other factors, has been associated with increased injury risk to ACL injuries, patellar-femoral pain, and other knee injuries.  RG III went on to have a great rookie season but tore his ACL later throughout the year causing him to basically miss the rest of the season and his team was eliminated in the 1st round of playoffs.  After surgery, many athletes eventually return to 100% prior level of function and will return to sport the next year after 6-12 months of rehabilitation.  But, imagine what could have happened if this impairment was addressed prior to the season?  It may have prevented the injury from even occurring!  Pursuit Physical Therapy offers pre-sport functional screening to identify any impairments, provide treatment to correct the problem, and may prevent injuries from occurring in your sport.  Don't wait for the injury to occur! Get a pre-sport screen done now in one visit

Is an Epidural the Best Treatment for my Spinal Stenosis?

Getting an epidural or injection is a very common practice to treat low back pain, especially with lumbar stenosis (or a narrowing of space along the spine that is associated with increased age).  A recent study looked at long term outcomes with epidural injections in patients with lumbar stenosis and showed:

** Injections were associated with significantly less improvement at 4 years among patients with spinal stenosis

** Injections were associated with longer duration of surgery and longer hospital stays

 Lumbar stenosis is a complex diagnosis, but physical therapy has shown promising outcomes and can be attempted as a first line treatment approach.  Contact Pursuit Physical Therapy today and see if physical therapy is the right treatment to help your spinal stenosis!

Should I Get Neck Surgery?

A new study shows no different outcomes at 2 years with physical therapy vs neck fusion surgery + physical therapy in patients with a cervical radiculopathy (neck pain with pain that radiates into your arm)!  This means you may not need surgery, and you should consult with your physical therapist prior to contemplating surgery.  Surgery should be your last option and conservative treatments should be exhausted before surgery.  If you have neck pain or pain that radiates into your arm, contact Pursuit Physical Therapy and lets get treatment started to get you out of pain!

Direct Access to Physical Therapy,Should I do this?

Another recent post from from University Health System in Texas, found that putting appropriate patients with a therapist immediately — or within three days at the most — led to fewer treatments, fewer tests and more patient satisfaction. Overall, the medical charges for those patients came to $1,500 less per patient.  There is no need to be in pain!  Consult your physical therapist now, get treated, and get back to the things you love faster!  If you are in Florida, visit the Pursuit Physical Therapy website and see if physical therapy is appropriate for you to get out of pain.

Where does the healthcare money come from?

A recent post from NPR analyzed how US health care spending comes from.  Interesting to see how times have changed!  13.7% still pay out of pocket and don't let their treatment be dictated by insurance company guidelines. This is how Pursuit Physical Therapy can still see one-on-one care and show better outcomes than standard clinics.  Visit the Pursuit Physical Therapy website for more information of what we can offer.

Do I need to warm up before golfing?

A recent review of golf injuries reported that 50% of golfers do not warm-up prior to playing golf.   They went on to report a significant decrease in injury rates by 60% in golfers who stretched and warmed up for at least 10 minutes before playing.    Don't forget to warm up for 10 min prior to golfing to help prevent injuries.  If you need any ideas for warm-up look at the Pursuit Physical Therapy YouTube Channel and click on the golf playlist for warm-up exercises.