If You’re Taking Opioids for Your Arthritis Pain, This Blog is For You

130: that's how many people on average die from opioids every day in the United States. It's a stunning statistic that sadly impacts nearly every community in our country, since opioid abuse and addiction affects people from all walks of life.

Many people who become addicted to opioids were first prescribed them by a medical doctor as a way to manage an acute or chronic pain condition. The problem is, opioid medications:

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

Unfortunately, in addition to an opioid epidemic in this country, researchers believe there is also a chronic pain epidemic, too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 5 American adults report chronic pain caused by arthritis and other conditions. If you're one of them, we encourage you to contact one our our offices today to schedule an appointment. We can connect you with a compassionate and highly skilled physical therapist who can help you alleviate your arthritis pain along with the other physical and mental symptoms associated with it.

3 Ways Physical Therapy Can Alleviate Your Pain

Medications, even opioids, may be appropriate in certain cases. But experts believe people with many types of chronic pain, including arthritis, should try physical therapy first. Here are three ways a physical therapist can help you:

1. Physical Therapy Can Address Pain at It's Source AS WELL As Alleviate Symptoms

Physical therapy uses a combination of "passive" and "active" techniques to help people reduce their pain and improve their overall health and well-being. Unlike medication, physical therapy services can make you feel better while also correcting the underlying issues contributing to your condition.

For instance, arthritis joint pain is often caused or exacerbated by weak muscles or abnormal movement patterns that increase pressure in the affected joint. Physical therapy treatments like therapeutic exercises and joint mobilizations can help minimize these issues while also decreasing discomfort, reducing inflammation, and improving joint range of motion. Joint mobilization techniques, including spinal manipulation, can also modulate your nervous system and trigger the release of powerful pain-relieving chemicals in your body for significant relief and whole-body healing.

Other techniques your physical therapist may offer you for your arthritic joint pain include:

  • Soft tissue mobilization and massage
  • Modalities like electrical stimulation, ultrasound, and diathermy
  • Kinesiotaping
  • Exercises to improve balance, coordination, and strength
  • Breathing exercises
  • Training to improve posture and ergonomic set up at work or home

2. Physical Therapy Helps You Feel Better So You Can Exercise More

Regular physical activity, including strength training and aerobic exercise, is one of the most effective ways to improve arthritis joint pain. But if you're always in pain, you may not feel like you're able to safely workout. This may lead to worsening joint function and even weight gain, which makes arthritis even worse. What to do? This is where physical therapy comes in.

By working with a physical therapist, you can get your pain under better control so you can go do those active things you know are good for your body. A physical therapist can also help you learn how to move more safely, such as by teaching you efficient ways to move or pace yourself so you don't end up being unsafe or doing so much that you're laid up in bed for days after your workout.

Our physical therapists are also able to help you problem-solve and compensate for mobility limitations by fitting you for adpative equipment such as canes, crutches, orthotics, and braces. These devices can be valuable tools that make you safer and more independent as you set out on your pain-relief journey.

3. Physical Therapy Helps You Better Understand Pain Itself

Research shows that a person's beliefs and fears about pain strongly influence how bad their pain feels and how long it lasts. Many things like stress, temperature, movement, and even acute illnesses like the flu or common cold can also make your chronic joint pain feel worse.

Research-backed techniques such as therapeutic neuroscience education (TNE) allow a physical therapist to help you explore your beliefs about pain and understand why pain happens. Simply increasing awareness is proven to help people feel less fearful of pain and be in better control of their symptoms. This is strikingly different than simply taking a pill and hoping it'll make your pain go away.

The Bottom Line

According to the CDC, prescription opioids are not considered the best choice for many types of non-cancer related chronic pain, including arthritis. Nonopioid approaches like physical therapy are the preferred first line of treatment.

A great physical therapist can help you live with less pain without having to rely on pricey and potentially harmful medications, and in many cases can help you avoid surgery.

Is Your Chronic Arthritis Pain Holding You Back?

We are so empathetic for people living with chronic pain—it's a challenging situation that so many of our patients and even some of our loved ones face, too. If you'd like to finally see if drug-free pain relief is possible for you, contact TheraFit™ Physical Therapy today to schedule an appointment.

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The Truth About Physical Therapy For Arthritis

If you've already been diagnosed with a common form of arthritis such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, you may have learned that these chronic joint pain conditions can't be cured or reversed. It’s an unfortunate fact, but one that many people are forced to live with.

Did you know that at least 50 million Americans are struggling with arthritis? That's a sizable chunk of the U.S. population, and if you have joint pain, there's a good chance that you're included in that statistic!

You might be wondering why even bother to pursue a course of physical therapy for your arthritis since there is no cure for it, and this blog is going to explain that to you. As it turns out, physical therapy can do quite a lot to help you control your symptoms and optimize your joint function. Keep reading to learn more about arthritis and how physical therapy can ease your chronic pain.

Arthritis: The Leading Reason For Chronic Joint Pain

Did you know that over 100 different underlying conditions can cause arthritis, or joint pain? It’s true. Unfortunately, these conditions tend to be chronic, or long-lasting, in nature.

Take rheumatoid arthritis, for example. This painful condition attacks your joints over time due to an autoimmune malfunction, causing increasing amounts of swelling and damage to your joints.

The most common kind of arthritis, as well as the one you’re probably more familiar with, is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a progressive degeneration of the joint cartilage due to natural wear and tear. As the cartilage continues to disintegrate, your joints become increasingly stiff and painful over the years. This will end up hindering your mobility and functionality as it worsens, especially if you do not seek treatment.

Why not opt for surgery or medication?

There's nothing more frustrating than sustaining painful physical damage that your body can't repair or heal. In the most severe cases, some people with arthritis choose to undergo expensive, intense surgery to either fuse the joint in place (preventing painful motion) or replace the joint altogether with a metal implant. Surgery is not for everyone and it certainly is not the only option. If you can't stomach the thought of major surgery, you might assume that your only recourse is life in a wheelchair or leaning on a walker, with a daily regimen of painkillers. The problem with this strategy is that the less you use your joints, the stiffer they will get, forcing you to take increasing amounts of medication just to get through the day.

Medications also only provide temporary relief and don’t get to the root source of your problem. They also won’t make you stronger and won’t preserve your mobility.

Preserving Mobility And Decreasing Pain With Physical Therapy

The sad truth is that we can’t turn back time when it comes to our health. Once a chronic, incurable condition develops, it’s here to stay.

There’s no reason to despair, however. Even if you can't turn back the clock on the damage done to your joints, you can still do those joints a world of good through physical therapy. The kind of treatment our physical therapist recommends will depend in part on your baseline health and fitness, the type of arthritis you have, and the severity of the condition.

Your physical therapy plan will also be based on your specific goals, from relieving chronic pain to restoring your ability to perform particular activities. It may include:

  • Walking or cycling to keep your joints as limber as possible
  • Strength straining to build up the muscles that support and articulate your arthritic joints
  • Massage therapy to increase blood flow, relieve chronic inflammation, and reduce joint swelling
  • Corrective exercises and postural education to help you move around safely, either on your own or with an assistive device
  • The use of heat and cold to ease joint pain without drugs

These physical therapy treatment methods and other techniques can have a profoundly positive effect on your arthritis. You'll find that you can move more freely and comfortably, and that you no longer feel the need to keep drugging yourself or enduring grueling surgery. By controlling your inflammation and preventing more stiffness from setting in, you're setting yourself up for many more years of optimal mobility -- despite your arthritis.

Are You Ready To See One of Our Physical Therapists?

If you’re interested in getting the ball rolling with treatment for your arthritis through physical therapy, don’t keep sitting around, waiting for us to call you! You have to take the first step towards bettering your health when it comes to a chronic condition like arthritis, so what are you waiting for?

Contact TheraFit™ Physical Therapy today to learn more about our services. Then schedule an appointment so that we can devise an effective arthritis management plan for you!

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Opioid Addiction: Why Taking Painkillers For Arthritis Pain is Doing You More Harm Than Good

Are you taking opioids for your arthritis pain? Did you know that opioids like morphine and oxycodone are actually making your arthritis worse? Drugs like these alter your perception of pain, but they don’t relieve it. So if you’re taking an opioid and believe it’s relieving your pain, know that it’s actually doing nothing to improve the symptoms of your arthritis. Opioids are not the only option you have to get relief from arthritis! Call TheraFit™ to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist to learn more about how treatment can help.

How Arthritis Happens

Osteoarthritis, or "arthritis," is a degenerative condition that affects the joints. The connecting joints between bones are made of cartilage, and if that cartilage becomes weak or depleted, it can cause bones to grind and scrape together. One of the main causes of arthritis is simply getting older; our joints just wear out as we age and that’s normal. However, there are other factors like genetics, repetitive physical jobs, playing high-impact sports, or being overweight, which can increase a person’s chances of developing arthritis. This condition also affects weight-bearing joints, such as the hips and knees, but it’s common for it to also develop in many other joints.

How To Know If You Have Arthritis

Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt like a joint or two was stiff? The most common symptom of arthritis is pain in the joint or joints that have lost too much cartilage. Or what about every day activities, do you notice that simple tasks like bending down are painful for you? Activities that use an affected joint will cause pain; the joint will hurt if you touch it or apply pressure to it. A joint can also be considered arthritic if it makes cracking and popping noises when it is used. As a defense mechanism, your body might try to grow new bone structure in the affected joint, which will be extremely painful.

Physical Therapy Can Help Arthritis

As previously stated, opioids can alter how you perceive pain so that your brain thinks you are no longer suffering from the effects of arthritis. This is not a long-term fix. Your bones are still grinding together, your cartilage is being worn down, and ultimately your condition is worsening. Before you know it, you’ll be in need of an even stronger painkiller, and most likely a pretty expensive surgery down the road.

There are better options out there to relieve arthritis pain. Physical therapy is one of them! Physical therapy can help you get rid of painkillers once and for all, and also keep you from spending thousands for surgery. A physical therapist will examine you and determine what activities trigger your pain symptoms. From there, he or she will create a customized exercise program that will help support your joint structures, and ultimately relieve your arthritis pain.

A physical therapist will be able to show you how to adjust your work area and home so that you can put less stress on the impacted joints. There are a multitude of different therapies, but manual therapy (targeted massage of painful joints) will probably be included in your treatment.

Your physical therapy treatment will also include an exercise plan for you to do at home to improve your health. Losing weight can also be an effective way to relieve arthritis pain, so if you’re overweight, your therapist might include weight loss exercises and advice on nutrition in your exercise plan. It won’t all be on you to bear though, your physical therapist will be there to keep you motivated throughout your entire treatment!

Opioids carry significant health risks. While they may temporarily numb the pain of arthritis, they do nothing to slow it down. It’s time to try physical therapy, a safe and effective alternative that will improve your symptoms with no risk to you. Call TheraFit today to get your appointment set up with your physical therapist, and get back to living a pain-free life.

How Can Physical Therapy Relieve Your Chronic Back Pain?

After dealing with Chronic back pain for years, many people consider costly surgeries or addictive pain medication to deal with the problem. But did you know that surgery and opioids aren’t the only options available to people suffering from this condition? If you've been dealing with chronic back pain and are thinking about surgery to finally feel some relief, contact TheraFit™ today to learn about how working with a physical therapist can be an alternative solution to your chronic back pain.

What Does It Mean To Have Chronic Back Pain?

Back pain by itself is pretty simple to understand. It is pain a person experiences in their back, usually along the spine or in the muscles attached to the spine. "Chronic back pain," however, is a little different and in some cases, much more serious. Chronic back pain is pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks. A person suffering from chronic back pain might say that their back feels better or worse depending on what time of day it is, but the pain is consistent and always debilitating. This kind of pain often interferes with a person’s ability to work and can even cause people to struggle with simple day-to-day tasks.

Recognizing Chronic Bain Pain and What Causes It

The main symptom of chronic back pain is intense pain in some area of the patient’s back. Other symptoms might include limited mobility; you may find yourself unable to move your body like you were once able to. Even simple tasks that you once never thought twice about, such as getting up out of a chair or out of bed after waking up can be an incredibly painful experience. Lifting even light objects can cause the pain to intensify.

Maybe the patient received a work-related accident or was in a car accident in which their back was injured. It could be that a patient was injured while lifting a piece of furniture too heavy for them to carry. Sometimes patients and their doctors know exactly what the root cause of the back pain was. In a majority of cases, back pain develops on its own over time, without one specific event that injured the person's back. In fact, a 2014 article in the journal Clinical Radiology notes that in 90% of cases, patients can’t quite place the source of their back pain.

Three Ways Physical Therapy Can Alleviate Back Pain

It’s not a secret that physical therapy is a great way to treat chronic back pain, in fact, there’s a substantial amount of medical literature out there proving just that. Ask yourself if "living with the pain" is really going to work long-term for you. If the answer is “no” then understand that working with a physical therapist is a proven method for improving the symptoms of chronic back pain. Oftentimes, the need for surgery can be alleviated and patients won’t need to depend on prescription painkillers if they follow through on the physical therapist's recommendations.

Here are three ways physical therapy helps chronic back pain.

  • Passive Physical Therapy: Exercise isn’t all physical therapy is made up of. "Passive" physical therapy involves non-physical treatments which can help relax a patient’s muscles and bring relief from their pain. With back pain, this can involve hot and cold packs applied directly to affected areas, electrical stimulation of the muscle structures, and more.
  • Active Physical Therapy: Your physical therapist has years of training and hands-on experience working with chronic back pain patients just like you. Your physical therapy plan might include specific stretches and exercises. This technique is known as "active" physical therapy. These exercises are great for strengthening the muscle groups that support your back and core. The stretches will be geared toward helping your body regain the flexibility and mobility you have lost as a result of your back pain.
  • Long-Term Support: Physical therapy takes dedication and patience. It takes time to alleviate chronic back pain through stretching and exercise, and it's easy to get discouraged if you try to do it on your own. Your physical therapist is there to help you by providing emotional and psychological motivation throughout your treatment journey, until your back pain is a thing of the past.

Surgery and painkillers are not the only options you have if you’ve been struggling with chronic back pain. Call TheraFit to schedule a no-risk appointment with a physical therapist and begin your journey to a pain-free life.

Improve Your Posture and Relieve Your Back Pain Today!

According to a longitudinal study, approximately 3% of all emergency room visits tend to be the result of back pain or injury. Back pain is the most commonly reported area of pain, which can cause significant limits to one’s daily life.

It is common for back pain to develop as a result of poor posture. If your posture is not correct, it can cause stress on other parts of your body, resulting in pain, inflammation, or dysfunction. Fortunately, posture can be improved with the help of physical therapy.

To learn more about how we can help improve your posture and relieve your back pain, contact TheraFit™ in Hazel Green, AL, and Fayetteville, today.

Why did my posture decline the way it did?

Poor posture isn’t anything to be embarrassed about - very few people have perfect posture, and most people partake in bad posture habits in one way or another. We become so wrapped up in whatever tasks we are doing that we forget to think about the way our bodies are positioned.

Maybe you’re completing a project at work, it’s the end of the day, you’re tired, and you’re slouched sideways in your desk chair with one eye on the monitor and the other on the clock. This position isn’t normal for your body, but you are getting in the position most efficient for you to type up the rest of that file and then zoom out the door.

Poor posture isn’t due to laziness or apathy; rather, it generally has something to do with a physical weakness within our bodies. We slouch, slump, hunch, and droop over when we get feel drained because our bodies literally get tired of holding us up.

Even if you exercise regularly, it is possible that there are still a few weak muscles contributing to your posture that you may not even realize. The muscles in your shoulders, back, abdomen, buttocks, and pelvic floor all play an important role in your posture. If even one of these is weak, your core will be affected, and your posture may suffer.

So, what exactly is going on with my back?

If you are suffering from persistent back pain, there is a good chance it is due to your posture. Poor posture is one of the most common causes of back pain. Do you slouch at your desk? Do you lean forward to read emails? Do you hunch over your keyboard? These are all things that people do subconsciously, without even realizing the toll it takes on the body.

Your posture affects how your body moves - whether you’re sitting, standing, walking, running, jumping, or performing pretty much any other task throughout the day. Your posture may also change depending on what you are doing - perhaps your posture when you stand is perfect, but when you sit at a desk or lay down, your body begins to hunch and fold in ways that it is simply not supposed to.

Get your posture back to normal with us!

Our physical therapists are highly experienced and dedicated to helping patients relieve pain and improve their posture. When you arrive for your first appointment, your physical therapist will conduct a comprehensive exam to find out where your pain is originating and what the best treatments will be for relieving it.

Your physical therapist will design a treatment plan based on your specific needs. This will focus on relieving your pain, improving your strength, and enhancing your posture as quickly as possible. Depending on the nature of your condition, treatment plans may also focus on mobility, balance, flexibility, or stability.

Is your posture causing your back pain? Contact TheraFit in Hazel Green, AL, and Fayetteville, TN today to find out. We’ll provide you with the treatment you need so you can get back to your pain-free life!

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Discovering Proper Ergonomics for Your Home Office

With all of us working from home, it can be difficult to find a comfortable workspace. However, it is important to make sure that the ergonomics in your office are functioning properly, in order to avoid developing unwanted aches and pains.

When working from home, ask yourself, “how do I maintain my posture throughout the day?” Do you catch yourself slouching frequently? Do those last couple hours of the workday leave you achy and ready to call it quits? If you are experiencing aches and pains, especially in your neck or back, poor posture is probably to blame. Fortunately, posture can be improved with some ergonomic changes.

Making the most of your work-from-home days

If you work from your home office all day, it is important to have a proper ergonomic setup. Make sure that you are at a proper height with your desk chair and computer, so you don’t have to slouch or lean forward. 

If you are at a desk for extended periods of the day, it is important to make sure your back posture is okay. Sit upright, place your feet flat on the floor, and try not to cross your legs. Make sure there is a small gap between the back of your knees and the chair. Having a chair with strong back support and padding is also recommended for making your upright position more comfortable. Additionally, make sure your chair has the proper lumbar support needed to help you sit straight while you’re working. These simple steps can help tremendously with your overall posture.

It is important to make sure that you get up every 30 minutes or so and take a small walk, at least for a minute or two. This will help in loosening up your muscles and joints, as well as initiating a stronger blood flow. Taking even a small amount of time to walk around the house or jog around the neighborhood every day after working from home can highly improve your posture and gait. 

Did you know that standing burns between .7 to .15 more calories per minute than sitting does? It may not seem like a lot, but by simply standing for long periods of time, you can easily burn more calories throughout the day.

Have you thought about investing in a standing desk?

Sedentary lifestyles, especially the ones that many of us are experiencing right now, can increase your risk of heart disease, obesity, or other serious health issues. However, using a standing desk as opposed to a traditional sitting desk has been proven to lower one’s chances of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Nevertheless, standing desks are not for everyone, especially those with joint or vascular conditions.

You may be asking, “doesn’t standing all day long have its own implications?” The short answer is – yes. Anything without moderation can have its pitfalls. Standing can boost your energy levels, concentration, and even your mood, but if you have a traditional 9-5 job, chances are that level of productivity will dissipate after a while. Many medical professionals recommend adjustable desks for your home workplace environment, so you can spend a large amount of your day standing or stretching, with the opportunity to rest when you become tired.

At the end of the day, make sure you’re comfortable

No matter how you choose to work from home, ergonomics is an important concept to keep in mind. Ergonomic laptop desks and chairs can promote proper posture and decrease the risk for back problems, while workplace design can positively impact your overall happiness, productivity, and well-being.

At the end of the day, make sure you’re comfortable – don’t let the daily stresses of working from home take a toll on your physical health! There are several steps you can take to improve your posture, strength, energy, and overall wellbeing throughout the workday. For more information on how to optimize the ergonomic setup of your home office or additional tips for beating daily aches and pains, contact TheraFit™ today.

Do You Have These 5 Symptoms? If So, Physical Therapy Can Help

At our physical therapy clinic, our experienced team members work with older adults, men, women, and children who are facing a variety of acute and chronic health problems. But it's not just pain that we can help with! Every one of our physical therapists has received advanced training in anatomy, human movement, and more. This means there are many ways a physical therapist can improve your function and quality of life, as well as several signs and symptoms in addition to "just" pain that we can alleviate and address at the root cause.

Ever wondered if physical therapy could help you? Keep reading to see our top signs that it may be time to consult with a physical therapist at TheraFit™ Physical Therapy & Fitness Center.

5 Signs It's Time to See a Physical Therapist

1. Dizziness and Vertigo

Dizziness and vertigo (the sensation that the room is spinning around you) can be incredibly disruptive to your daily life. While they may have several underlying causes, these symptoms are often a sign of vestibular disorders like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

A physical therapist is trained in the diagnosis and treatment of BPPV and can prescribe a range of treatments that will alleviate this uncomfortable sensation, including the Eply's maneuver and gaze stabilization exercises. In many cases, people with BPPV experience near-complete resolution of their symptoms after just one or two sessions!

2. Imbalance, Incoordination, and Fearfulness of Falling

Loss of balance and coordination can happen as part of the aging process, but may also occur after things like a stroke or nerve damage caused by diabetes or radiculopathy. In some cases, these changes can lead to falls, which not only impose the risk of injury but can also make a person afraid of falling again. Unfortunately, research shows that fearfulness of falling may prevent a person from moving about, which only further contributes to weakness and imbalance. And the weaker a person is, the more at risk they are of recurring falls. Talk about a vicious cycle!

A physical therapist can work with you or your loved one to improve balance, coordination, motor control, and postural awareness. Through exercises and education, we help you regain the confidence as well as physical skills necessary to remain safer and more active in your daily life. In some cases, we may also prescribe adaptive equipment and tools to augment and support your function and safety.

3. Sports Injury, Work Injury, or Other or Traumatic Event

One "sign" that it may be time to consult with a physical therapist is if you ever experience any sort of acute traumatic event, like a fall, auto accident, or injury on the job or during an athletic event. Even if you feel "fine" immediately after the incident, there still could be underlying tissue damage that simply isn't noticeable right away. This is because stress hormones like adrenaline can mask pain and signs of tissue injury in your body…at least until they return to their pre-accident levels.

By consulting with a physical therapist ASAP after an accident, we can help identify warning signs of tissue damage and initiate early treatment to reduce inflammation and prevent further damage. And unlike medication, physical therapy can also help address underlying factors, like weak or short muscles, that either contributed to the event in the first place or may otherwise delay your healing.

4. Joint Stiffness, Instability, and Weakness

In addition to pain, our physical therapy patients also come to us with concerns about other ailments like joint stiffness or hypomobility, joint instability or hypermobility, weakness, numbness, and tingling. This often coincides with other symptoms such as decreased activity tolerance and fatigue.

Exercises, non-invasive modalities, manual therapy, and the prescription of orthotics and other adaptive devices can all be incredibly helpful and provide a more cost-effective solution than medications.

5. Any New Physical Diagnosis, Change in Function, or Health Concern

A physical therapist is licensed to treat a wide number of health conditions. So if you recently received a new diagnosis, consider finding out if a physical therapist can be a helpful part of your medical team. Conditions we treat at our physical therapy clinic include:

  • Musculoskeletal conditions like muscle strains, ligament sprains, tendonitis, bursitis, and impingement syndrome
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
  • Amputations
  • Neurological conditions including Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis
  • Autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis
  • Pediatric conditions including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and sensory processing disorders
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Low back pain
  • Pelvic floor dysfunction
  • Sciatica
  • Debility and weakness following prolonged hospitalization or treatment for an illness such as cancer, the flu, or COVID-19
  • Post-operative recovery from things like joint replacement and heart surgery

Need Help Feeling Your Best? Physical Therapy Provides Relief From a Range of Conditions and Symptoms

Whether you have chronic pain or some other health concern, we invite you to call TheraFit Physical Therapy & Fitness Center today to schedule an appointment. A physical therapist can work with you to provide efficient and effective relief from a range of concerns and health issues. It'd be our honor to join you on your journey toward better health and function!