News and Research
Our physical therapists offer our clients with Alzheimer’s Disease the best care possible. This includes screening for gut disorders and dietary issues. Does your physical therapist offer this in Ponte Vedra, Jax Beach, or Nocatee? If not, call us today!
Welcome Dr. Stephen Henninger to our practice! With his orthopedic experience he will help you recover from your pain or injury in the Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, and Ponte Vedra areas today!
Dr. Gene Giamarino, PT, AT, TPI
Dry needling has helped many of clients with lower back pain in Naples and Bonita Springs. Did you know adding electricity to dry needling can help those with chronic lower back pain? Read on to learn more…
Congrats to Dr. Otto for earning his Certificate in Dry Needling. He is the only mobile dry needling physical therapist in the Naples area.
Wells Physical Therapy offers a guarantee for its physical therapy services in Ponte Vedra, St Augustine, and Palm Coast: better in 3 or it’s free!
Recent research shows exercise may help reduce pain. But how and what exactly is pain?
Telehealth is a great option for those with chronic pain, such as chronic low back pain. Our team of doctors of physical therapy can help you during the Corona outbreak…
Arthritis of the knee, hip, and back are common ailments seen in our St. Augustine physical therapy location. Arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis (OA), occurs when a joint is painful and limited in motion…
The Corona virus (COVID-19) has effectively shut down many businesses. Bars, movie theaters, and even many physical therapy operations have shut their doors. Physical therapy often requires manual work, close contact for cuing during exercises, and close eyes to spot for problems and other issues. COVID-19 may have limited some of these capabilities of your local physical therapists, but there’s hope if you are struggling with some recent back pain or joint problem. Below we are going to offer 3 tips on how you can effectively manage your pain and issues from home with physical therapy and exercise.
If you have a standing relationship with a local PT in Naples or St. Augustine, call them and ask them to help you. Many PTs have transitioned to tele-health and virtual consultations. A phone conversation can help the PT create a history and offer a chance to screen for other major medical issues. A virtual consult can provide the PT a “visual” of how you are moving and what your condition looks like. Moreover, a virtual session can offer a PT a chance to implement exercises, which a PT can correct thanks to the visual feedback. If you are needing manual therapy such as massage, joint mobilizations, or manipulations, a PT can also guide you through your own techniques to reduce your pain with your own hands. It may not be the same as how your PT does it but it is better than not getting the skilled advice at all. When going this route expect for the PT to still bill your insurance or ask for cash payment (depending on the practice). Also, be aware that sessions are usually capped at around half an hour, so don’t expect long calls or virtual meetings.
Did you already have that achy knee or low back pain several months ago? The best advice most PTs will offer you is to restart your home exercise program (HEP). Many patients will often backslide or regress when they stop doing their exercises, so ultimately the most logical step would be to start exercising again! Dust-off that HEP and get moving. Start basic and focus on movements that are pain-free. Simple walking, basic strength movements with body weight, and light stretching can often be the home-based cure for many PT ailments! This is likely rare, but worth stating: if you are in severe pain or have markedly limit motion, call your PT first before starting your program again.
Were you on a treatment plan after your total knee replacement or back surgery but had to stop going to therapy because of the Corona virus? You likely have been doing your HEP religiously but have been feeling “stuck” or noticing some of the pain coming back. Your best bet is to progress your routine slightly. One easy way to progress is to add a few more repetitions to an existing movement. If you’ve been doing 10 squats, progress to 15; push 15 band rows to 20 rows. Another method is to increase your weight with a movement: increase your upper body weight by 2-5 lbs or lower body weights by 5-10 lbs. This can be tough at home if you don’t have weights but don’t stress. Most people have soup cans, detergent, gallon jugs of water or milk, and suitcases. Here’s a sample of what these weigh:
16 oz soup can = 1 lb
2 liter of soda = ~4 lb
Gallon of water = 8 lb
150 oz of detergent = 10 lbs
You can use the suitcase to load items in it for more weight or to better customize to your needs. Adding weight takes some creativity but can be fun. Lastly, adding more exercises can also help you progress your routine. Many of our patients have been using Nike Training Club app ,HEP2Go, and similar programs to get useful ideas for new movements. Recall the movements should be pain free, fun, but challenging. Ultimately if you aren’t certain about adding exercises or are having severe pain or problems, call your PT!
Be safe, stay moving, and eat well!
Drs. Wells, Lauzon, and Otto
Image source: Marco Verch, no changes made, CC BY 2.0.
Keywords: physical therapy, home, naples, st augustine, ponte vedra
Corona virus has affected all of us. How does it impact physical therapy in the Greater Naples area and where you can get reliable local information?
Dry needling is coming to Florida. What is it, what does the research say, and are physical therapists safe to perform it? We answer this and more…
Physical therapists (PTs) are doctors with many specialties like exercise, manual therapy, modalities, and anatomy. PTs take cadaver-based anatomy next to MDs and PAs in school. Acupuncture schools typically... click here to go to my blog for full story:
Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports not just in Naples but worldwide. Injuries can occur and proper training and professional care can help prevent being sidelined. This article offers tips for pickleball training and injury prevention.
Doctors of Physical Therapy are experts of movement and healing: but can they offer nutritional counseling? Many clients ask us such questions. This post serves to elaborate on this topic and more…
One of the must see movies of the last decade: What the Health will be shown next Wed 24th at 6:30 pm in Naples. Go to www.naplesgreenscene.com to get your tickets today!
Exercise is pushed by PTs, the APTA, and so many professionals for the way to lose weight. Unfortunately data show that exercise is not enough: diet plays a huge factor and PTs need to shape-up and get current in order to provide best care.
Come and check out Dr. Roth and I speaking on health and nutrition next week at the Naples Hyatt. Walk away with new research and health tips to make 2019 a better year. Click the link below to learn more and register for free. Naples Daily News Physical therapy
#health #Naples #physicaltherapy
In a recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) found that early use of physical therapy for lower back pain can correlate to a a 10-15% reduction in opioid use. Such a study highlights the power of exercise, manual therapy, and some of the evidenced-based modalities PTs can use, such as dry needling.
With such promising evidence, why aren’t patients seeking physical therapists (PTs) for many orthopedic and pain issues? First, many patients don’t realize that they have direct access to PTs. This means they can go straight to their PT and skip the medical doctors “Rx” or referral. Second, physicians often like to prescribe medications first before recommending other therapies; medical doctors are specialists in medicine and they receive little training and education in exercise and nutrition. Third, only about 10-20% of patients that are actually referred to PT choose to go! Perhaps these individuals have had bad experiences with PT or feel that PT was a waste of time in prior ailments. Such feelings can be understandable given the insurance industry has squeezed PTs into forming factory-like practices and limiting sessions/visits.
The amazing thing is that our practice offers you an actual solution. Having a cash-based, concierge practice, our team offers direct access with little to no restrictions. Our appointments can be fulfilled quickly and we can work on a variety of issues with various treatments without insurance squeezing our time or scrutinizing our methods. More importantly: the client pays for what they get! Providing our level of service, if patients don’t get better, then they don’t pay. How many insurance PT clinics offer this such guarantee?
The bottomline from this study is that if you have pain seek your PT and skip the pain killers.
Reference: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2718095
Have you recently been sent home from the hospital after an illness or surgery and received Home Health Care physical therapy? More often than not patients that receive Home Health Care physical therapy are short changed due to time constraints and productivity measures with physical therapist too busy with paperwork. As a result, therapy sessions are cut short and the time that is supposed to be spent on exercise is actually spent on paperwork.
Within the past couple years my team and I have been Consulting with Physicians and surgeons to provide an additional level of Home Health Care physical therapy gives the patient more exercise and additional oversight. We work with the existing physical therapists and their medical teams ensuring that rehabilitation exercise is delivered to the most. Often times we also serve as advocates for the patients and can catch early signs of issues when the Home Health Care team is discharged and move on.
Our personal training services give us the extra Edge to work with patients so it does not violate Medicare. We can also transition into maintenance physical therapy after Medicare PT exits the case.
If you are a physician or surgeon interested in our services, contact us through our contact page. if you're patient or a family member consider utilizing our services or set us up in advance to a surgery so that we can help you or your family member the most!
