Opioid abuse and addiction has been on a steady increase for many years in the states and around the world.

In 2014 alone, US pharmacies dispensed 245 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, nearly enough for every American adult to have their own bottle of pills.

Therapeutic alternatives such as physical therapy, have taken a backseat to the ease of doctors writing opioid prescriptions to treat chronic pain. Here we take a closer look at specific causes to this epidemic, and potential alternatives that can curve this track behavior that has swept across our nation.

Acute or Chronic Pain

30% of American adults suffer from some form of acute or chronic pain, and that number jumps to 40% among older adults. It comes as no surprise that physicians prescribe opioid pain relievers to patients for short term pain relief and to improve function, however 3% – 4% (between 9.9 and 11.5 million patients) of the prescribed population are prescribed these medications for long term treatment. These patients would fall under the category of chronic pain, and the benefits of these long term prescriptions have been widely questioned.

There’s now no question that a great number of these opioid prescriptions are improperly administered and overused daily. 37%, or more than a third of the 44,000 drug overdose-deaths in 2013, were attributed to pharmaceutical opioids.

How Opioid Medications Become Abused

Prescription opioids affect the mu-opioid receptors in the brain which regulate pain perception. The medication calms the nerves in this “reward region” of the brain calming the effects of pain and giving the patient temporary relief, and often giving the feeling of euphoria and well-being. The more rapidly opioids are administered, the more rewarding the effects. This is why opioid abuse is often seen administered through injection, as this is the most rapid delivery method.

Physical Opioid Dependency vs. Opioid Addiction

There is a fundamental difference between opioid dependence and opioid addiction, though many times they go hand and hand. Opioid dependency is the inevitable result of repeated use which increases tolerance and physical dependency. This can lead to increased dosage, as much as 10 times the initial dosage, to maintain the initial level of pain relief. The increased need and tolerance can be reversed fairly quickly once the administration of the opioid is ceased, depending on the type and frequency of the administration.

Opioid addiction occurs only in a small percentage of prescribed opioid users. It occurs slowly after months of exposure, and once a patient is addicted, the addiction becomes an illness within itself and even after discontinuation carries a high incidence of relapse. Addiction carries with it a mental dependency facet not primarily seen in physical dependency.

The Physical Therapy Alternative

Physical therapists work hard to educate patients and physicians on the benefits of prescribing physical therapy ahead of aggressive prescription opioid treatment plans. Physical therapy is widely considered a preferred treatment for acute and chronic pain, but is often a secondary alternative to opioid treatments.

Before you agree to a prescription for opioids, ask if physical therapy might be right for you.

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To see how physical therapists here is Ohio combat Opioid addiction, watch this video:

The post Source Causes of Opioid Abuse: The link between chronic pain and opioid dependency and addiction. appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Chronic pain is a chief adversary of a physical therapists practice, and is increasing in Americans every year.

30% of American adults suffer from some form of acute or chronic pain, and that number jumps to 40% among older adults.

Therapeutic alternatives such as physical therapy, have taken a backseat to the opioid prescriptions to treat chronic pain. Chronic pain can happen anywhere in the body and is generally a result of inflammation in the affected areas.

Among the less destructive therapeutic measures, like physical therapy, to combat chronic pain and inflammation is to include certain superfoods in your diet to maximize your body’s immunity to these resulting chronic pains. Here are five of the most effective superfoods we found that can reduce chronic pain and why. And they’re not as uncommon as you’d think…

GINGER

The ginger spice is a superfood most often used in ginger tea and its active pain killing ingredient is gingerol. Ginger can also be added to many recipes and even simply chopped up and chewed.

Benefits:

Ginger has several anti-inflammatory properties and ginger tea is widely considered a natural pain killing beverage. This spice can reduce nausea, aids in rheumatoid arthritis, reduces seizures, high blood pressure, depression, weight gain, severe headaches, and is even being looked at for anticancer properties.

TURMERIC

Another “super spice”, turmeric is a delicious Indian spice that is the main ingredient in curry. It contains the compound curcumin, an active pain killing ingredient. Turmeric can be added to many recipes, and is a great addition to smoothies or a simple glass of milk.

Benefits:

Turmeric is used to curb inflammation and can be applied topically to ease skin discomforts such as eczema and other rashes. Topical paste can be created by adding equal parts turmeric and coconut oil.

STRAWBERRIES/BERRIES/GRAPES

A delicious and sweet superfood, fruits with the colors of red, purple, and blue contain anthocyanins that reduce inflammation and swelling. These include blackberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and red grapes.

Benefits:

Berries naturally reduce levels of C-Reactive-Proteins in your blood which can prevent and reduce severe pain due to inflammation, swelling, rheumatoid arthritis, strokes, and more.

GARLIC

For the Italian food lovers out there, this superfood is for you. This beloved spice can be found in many forms and used in many ways, but is most often found in clove, powder, and oil forms.

Benefits:

Garlic is another great anti-inflammatory and even has antibiotic properties. Garlic plays a vital role in increasing your body’s immune system due to its “Helper-T” cells. Garlic is most effective unheated, and as an oil can even help reduce pain topically. Garlic helps lower cholesterol and even combats cancer.

CAYENNE, CHILE, AND OTHER HOT PEPPERS

If you can handle the heat, there are a variety of hot peppers that can ease your pains. The key pain-fighting ingredient in hot peppers is capsaicin. Capsaicin releases a natural endorphin called “substance-P”, which is naturally released in your body when you sustain injury.

Benefits:

This spicy superfood depletes pain compounds to block pain signals, works as an antioxidant, and even lowers cholesterol. Capsaicin can be used topically, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart, and takes some getting used to. Capsaicin can be beneficial for the pain associated with diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia, back pain, the post-herpetic neuralgia that follows shingles and cluster headaches.

CHOOSE ORGANIC

When it comes to superfoods, choose organic options to maximize nutrient content. Nonorganic foods of any kind can potentially lead to pesticide exposure. Always check with a health professional before starting a regimen with one or more of these foods to treat a chronic condition.

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The post 5 Superfoods that Reduce Chronic Pain appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Many women often wonder whether their bodies will ever be what it was before they gave birth to their little bundle of joy. We’re here to tell you that it can. Pregnancy can take a toll on a women’s body. Everything from pelvic and core issues, to general muscle degeneration from lack of normal movement, pregnant women experience some, or all of these issues at some point in their pregnancy.

Around two thirds of women suffer from a post-pregnancy condition known as “diastasis recti”, and in short, is a separation of muscle down the center of your abdomen.

“Diastasis recti” cannot be corrected by simple crunches or sit-ups, and in fact, these exercises can exacerbate the condition. A consultation with a trained physical therapist is highly recommended to combat this condition for your unique body type. Before hitting the weights, you need to start slow and get back to the basics. These physical therapist-recommended exercises will get you started on your way back to the body you want.

Deep Belly Breathing

This very simple core exercise is a great starting point to re-engage those injured abdomen muscles. Either sitting upright or lying flat on your back with your knees bent up and feet flat, simply, and deliberately breathe in as deeply as possible and out completely, taking notice of your stomach muscles contracting and expanding. When you feel more comfortable, breathe in and hold your breath for 5 to 10 seconds to get even more out of the exercise. Wait a few seconds and repeat. This will strengthen your pelvic floor, and give you subtle core strength to move on to more challenging exercises.

Exercise Ball Leg Lifts

In another core exercise, using an exercise ball, sit on the ball with your back straight and legs at a 90 degree angle. Gently squeezing your abdomen and pelvic area, slowly lift one leg as straight as possible and hold for 5 seconds, remembering to breathe. Slowly bring your leg back to the original position, relaxing your stomach muscles, and repeat with the other leg. Repeat this movement 10 times with each leg.

Back Strengthening Movements

Mothers often suffer from poor posture, mostly due to breastfeeding and holding their baby. Here are some simple, low-impact movements that will help reset your upper back and general posture.

1. Sitting on a chair or exercise ball as straight as possible, with your arms crossed in front of your chest, or with your fingers linked behind your neck, twist slowly, and fully, to the left and right. Repeat this movement 10 times to each side. This may be a little uncomfortable at first, but you should feel a nice stretch in your middle and upper back muscles.
2. Stand in a doorway with your shoulders pulled back, put your hands on each side of the doorway near shoulder level, and lean forward to stretch your pectoral area. This movement will help to strengthen your upper back. Hold this position for 5-10 seconds and repeat up to 10 times.

The Pelvic Tilt

This exercise is low impact, and feels great on the lower back and stomach area. If you are post-partum, remember to ease into this exercise with slow, gentle movements.

First, lay flat on your back with your knees up and feet flat on the ground. (For a slightly advanced movement, put your feet on an exercise ball with your legs at a relaxed 90 degree angle.) Slowly lift your midsection and pelvic area up to the point where from you shoulders to your knees is at a straight, nearly 45 degree angle from the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and slowly come back to a flat, relaxed position. Again, repeat 10 times. You’ll feel this movement in your back, stomach, and gluteus areas.

The Plank

Plank exercises can be a little more strenuous than the previous movements, but are great core strengthening exercises. Planks can be done in several different varieties based on your comfort level.

1. The Dolphin Plank is probably the lowest impact movement of the plank exercise family, and consists of the use of an exercise ball. Place your forearms on the ball, hands together for balance, and feet out behind you so from your shoulders to your feet are a straight line. Hold for at least 30 seconds and relax. Again, repeat several times at your desired comfort level.
2. The Side Plank is more of an advanced movement, and consists of placing one forearm, or hand on the ground and swing your other arm up straight in the air so your body is straight from shoulders to feet and your bodies weight is rested on the side of one foot and your forearm or hand. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides. This will help strengthen those often-neglected oblique abdomen muscles.

Because every woman’s body is different after child birth, please consult your physician or physical therapist before engaging in any physical activity.

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The post Top 5 Post Pregnancy Exercises To Get Your Body Back To Pre-Pregnancy Form appeared first on Make PT Happen.

It goes without saying, the popularity of yoga in the past decade has blossomed. Around 80 million Americans were estimated to have tried yoga last year, and by 2016, there were nearly 37 million yoga practitioners in America. This is up from 20 million Americans just three years earlier.

Why Yoga

There are many different reasons Americans are turning to yoga. In a new study, 61% said flexibility was the big selling point, 56% say they practice yoga for stress relief, 49% use yoga for general fitness, and for 44% for general physical fitness. Around 90% of those polled say yoga is a form of meditation and mindfulness.

Yoga has become a big business in America, clearing nearly $17 Billion in 2016, including classes, yoga clothing, and equipment.

Yoga & Physical Therapy

We sat down with physical therapist, and Hatha Yoga instructor, Stephanie Carter Kelley, PhD to talk about how she has fully integrated yoga & physical therapy into her practice. Stephanie practices Hatha yoga, which is a gentle form of yoga that is spine, joint, and bone safe. She has been a certified physical therapist for over 25 years, and started combining the therapeutic practice of yoga with her PT practice in 2010.

One benefit of using yoga in her practice is that she can really stress breathing as a treatment technique. Stephanie has recognized that patients with chronic, consistent pain change their breathing styles, which can increase tension and stress, exacerbating their condition. By teaching proper breathing habits, her patients go from using their sympathetic nervous system, to their para-sympathetic nervous system. This allows the patient to decrease stress and heart rate, allowing them to come to a very relaxed state.

Stephanie recognizes that various states of chronic stress can extend healing times with those that have been injured or that suffer from chronic pain. “What yoga can do is create the right environment to heal.” She recognizes that many people don’t know the full expertise and knowledge physical therapists have. By being a physical therapist in the wellness setting, she’s able to expand and recognize when her students/patients are struggling and make informed adjustments to their treatment right when it’s needed.

To learn more about Stephanie’s unique practice, watch our interview with her below, and visit her website at www.stephaniecarterkelley.com.

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The post Using Yoga to Enhance Physical Therapy: Therapeutic Pain Management appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Opioid addiction in America, and particularly in Ohio, has come to the forefront in national media in the last year. Awareness of the opioid epidemic has been a major focus within the government, and in many rural areas in Ohio, opioid addiction has hit a tipping point. The sad, but real truth is that the biggest culprit of this burgeoning national crisis comes from within the walls of the pharmaceutical companies. These companies are producing large quantities of prescription opioids that have now become the leading cause of drug overdose death in America.
Below, we’ll explore some of the staggering statistics of opioid addiction throughout America.

64,000 Opioid Drug Overdose Deaths in 2016

Based on CDC findings, there were over 64,000 opioid induced deaths in America in 2016. That is nearly double the 33,000 deaths caused by opioid overdose in 2015. This sharp increase in deaths is mainly a result of increased use of Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a prescription pain reliever that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, but some fentanyl analogues may be as much as 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and other pharmaceutically-prescribed drugs make up over 30% of the 64,000 overdose deaths in America.

1,000 People per Day are Treated in Emergency Rooms for Misusing Prescription Opioids

Some of the most common emergency room visits these days are from patients that overuse prescription opioids. Overdose rates are highest in Non-Hispanic white men between the ages 25 and 54 years, but the gap is closing between genders and ethnic groups rapidly. The most commonly misused prescriptions are Methadone, Oxycodone (such as OxyContin®), and Hydrocodone (such as Vicodin®).

215 Million Opioid Prescriptions Written in 2016

Though the total number of prescriptions has been fairly steady from 10 years ago (216 million in 2006, peaking at 255 million in 2012), in about a quarter of the US, every person could have 1 bottle of opioids to themselves. In some counties, there was an increase of up to 7 times, with new hotspots occurring every year.

Drug Overdose is now the Leading Cause of Death for Americans Under 50

From 2015 to 2016, America saw a 19% increase in fatal drug overdoses. That number is a staggering 36% in Ohio, with nearly 4 billion opioid bills being prescribed from 2011-2014 in Ohio alone. That’s Billion with a “B”!

The Physical Therapy Remedy

The road to recovery on this epidemic is a long one. New regulations and laws are in the works to curve the staggering level of overprescribing, but it will take time to put in place. Other remedies can start with the root cause of the addiction, including alternative methods to deal with pain. Physical therapists work hard to educate patients and physicians on the benefits of prescribing physical therapy ahead of aggressive prescription opioid treatment plans. Physical therapy is widely considered a preferred treatment for acute and chronic pain, but is often a secondary alternative to opioid treatments.

Before you agree to a prescription for opioids, ask if physical therapy might be right for you. Watch the video below to see how these physical therapists deal with the opioid issue in their practice.

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The post 4 Staggering Statistics about Opioid Addiction in America: The Physical Therapy Remedy appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Chances are you have suffered from neck pain at some point in your life. If you’re one of the unlucky, you’re one of the 30%-50% of the population that suffers from chronic neck pain.

Did You Know? A staggering 50%-85% of those suffering from chronic neck pain never experience complete resolution of their pain. The American Academy of Pain Medicine found that painkilling prescription medications, on average, helps only 58% of patients with chronic pain.

As with most chronic pains, over-utilization of prescription medication, and under-utilization of preferred therapeutic treatments like physical therapy are common. There are several treatment options physical therapists recommend, but in the end, they all come down to three basic things… stretching, strengthening, and straightening up.

Stretching

Flexibility and stretching exercises can increase range of motion in affected cervical (neck) joints, and relieve some of the stiffness that accompanies pain. Neck stretching is best done every day, and some of these stretches can even be done several times a day. Based on your condition, treatments such as cold or heat application, massage, electrical stimulation and ultrasound therapies can be applied prior to strengthening techniques.

Strengthening

Neck strengthening exercises will help improve long term posture and range of motion, which can reduce or eliminate pain flare-ups. Neck strengthening exercises should be done at most once every other day to allow a day for muscle repair. Aerobic exercise can also aid in chronic neck pain by increasing blood flow to your soft tissue/muscles, allowing for decreased repair times and the release of natural endorphins. Before engaging in any neck strengthening exercises, consult with your physical therapist to determine the intensity and frequency of you exercise regimen.

Straightening Up

Poor posture is a leading and ongoing cause of chronic neck pain. There are many remedies to correct poor posture, but in the end, poor posture is simply a choice, and takes some self-discipline. How often do we have to remind ourselves when we start slumping to SIT UP? A physical therapist will measure your resting posture to determine if a postural correction can remedy your symptoms.

Did You Know? More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain at a cost of around $600 billion a year in medical treatments and lost productivity, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Signs and Symptoms

Here are some signs of chronic neck pain:

• Inability to bend or rotate the neck
• Difficulty looking up
• Difficulty looking over the shoulder
• Weak arm and shoulder muscles
• Muscle spasms

Chronic neck pain can cause the following symptoms:

• Pain in the neck, upper back, shoulders, arms, or hands
• Numbness or tingling in the neck, shoulders, arms, or hands
• Weakness in the arms
• Increased pain when coughing, sneezing, reaching or sitting
• Inability to stand straight or sit up straight
• Stiffness when trying to move, or a feeling of being “stuck” in a position such as stooped forward, or with the head leaning to the side
• Tight muscles
• Headaches
• Inability to remain in one position for a long period of time, such as sitting or standing, due to pain
• Pain that is worse in the morning or at night
• Difficulty sleeping due to pain

Your physical therapist will work closely with you to determine what factors are causing your chronic pain. Whether it’s poor posture caused by a cheap office chair, or whiplash trauma caused by an auto accident, always consult with a licensed physical therapist for your proper course of treatment.

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The post 3 Basic Techniques Physical Therapists Use to Treat Chronic Neck Pain appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Technology is reshaping the world we live in every day. New technological innovations in medicine are happening daily, and in ways that one could never imagine. Physical therapists, like most health professionals, are utilizing new medical innovations and techniques year after year. From a free app on your smartphone, to robotic sensory equipment, it’s important to know what’s new and groundbreaking. We’ve found three new innovative technologies that many physical therapists are integrating into their practices.

Nintendo Wii-Hab

Believe it or not, physical therapists are actively starting to prescribe video gaming in their treatment plans. A major challenge for physical therapists is getting patients to engage in their therapy exercises outside of their PT sessions. Thus, enters Nintendo’s Wii-Hab. By incorporating motion gaming into their practice, patients are realizing better mobility and hand-eye coordination. Wii-Hab, and other motion gaming systems, create a competitiveness that keeps patients more engaged in their treatment plan outside of their sessions.

The Ekso Suit

The Ekso Suit, developed by Berkeley-based Ekso Bionics, is an aluminum and titanium exoskeleton that helps patients suffering from lower body paralysis or hemiparesis with movement. The core purpose of the suit is to increase the patient’s progress by healing in steps that slowly reinforce normal biomechanical alignments and gait patterns. By getting patients who suffer from varying degrees of paralysis up and moving, the Ekso Suit fends off muscle deterioration, and can potentially allow fully mobility again. At $140,000 a suit, this is an expensive endeavor at the moment, but it’s definitely a look at the future of lower body rehab.

Rehab Robots

Even though they make take over the world someday, robotic technology is already being used in many ways within the physical therapy practices. The key to successful recovery is repetition in movement, and robotic technology standardizes the measurements of these movements. Robots push patients to do perfect repetitive movements up to 10 times more than traditional therapy techniques.

In fact, the American Physical Therapy Association referred to the pairing of robotics and PT as “The New Age of Function, Movement, and Recovery.”

Cutting edge technologies are increasingly becoming a part of every patient’s recovery process, and researchers continue to improve and expand on the way physical therapists treat their patients. Consult with your physical therapist to see what the best course of treatment is right for you.

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The post 3 New Ways Technology is Shaping Physical Therapy appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Being an avid runner often comes with a host of nagging pains and injuries. Ideally, runners would love to live a pain free life, but unfortunately running can be very hard on the human body, and no amount of stretching or warm-ups can prevent pains or running injuries 100% of the time. Proper physical therapy techniques can stave off or manage on-going runner pains, and in the cases of major injuries, can keep a runner from experiencing long term consequences of these injuries. We’ve done some research on the top running injuries, and just how physical therapists treat them.

Runner’s Knee

With around 40% of running injuries involving the knee, it’s no wonder runner’s knee, or Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), comes in at number one. Runner’s knee occurs as a cartilage irritation under the patella, or kneecap, and is often caused by inward foot rolling during running in combination with weak upper leg muscles. It can feel like an aching pain right around your kneecap and can be exacerbated by squatting movements as well as walking stairs, sitting or standing.

Treatment

Treatment for runner’s knee revolves around building strength in the upper leg and thigh muscles. Standing hamstring and quadriceps stretches, quadriceps sets, and straight leg raises are a few exercises physical therapists will use to treat runner’s knee.

Achilles Tendonitis

Without a healthy Achilles tendon, walking, let alone running, is impossible as the Achilles tendon attaches the heel to the two major calf muscles. Number two on our list of running injuries is Achilles Tendonitis and is responsible for about 11% of all runners’ injuries. Achilles Tendonitis is simply a tightening and irritation of the Achilles and is most often caused by week calf muscles with runners who do sprinting and hill running.

Treatment

The first protocols for Achilles Tendonitis are rest, ice, and often anti-inflammatory medicine. Light stretching of the affected area, coupled with strengthening exercises of the calf and Achilles areas come soon after. The three goals of physical therapy for Achilles injuries are first pain relief, then instilling proper movement and finally muscle strength and balance.

Plantar Fasciitis

Plaguing around 15% of runners is the most common foot injury called Plantar Fasciitis. Plantar Fasciitis, put simply, is small tears and inflammation of the tendons that connect the toe to the heel. Plantar Fasciitis will often feel like a bruise in the middle of your foot and can be felt most right when you get out of bed in the morning. This condition we see mostly in runners that have low arches, over pronate and over supinate during running. Standing for long periods of time can also inflame Plantar Fasciitis.

Treatment

Unfortunately, there is no “quick-fix” to Plantar Fasciitis, but with a few physical therapy techniques, the pain can be contained and vastly improved over time. Stretching in the ankle and planter fascia area, the use of a night splint to maintain proper ankle and toe positions, fitted footwear inserts, and icing of the affected area are just a few techniques to treat this type of pain.

Shinsplints

Often times, runners that return to running after an extended time off can suffer from the ever-so- common “shinsplints”, or medial tibial stress syndrome. Shinsplints are muscle tears in the muscle that surround the runner’s shinbone or tibea. Having the wrong running shoes coupled with too many miles of running often cause shinsplints.

Treatment

When shinsplints occur, just like Achilles Tendonitis, rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medicine are the first course of action. A few techniques physical therapists use to treat shinsplints are stretching the affected and surrounding leg muscles including the calf and foot, massage, taping the foot to reduce load, and of course suggesting new running shoes with a proper arch support.

As running and physical fitness becomes more popular in everyday life, injuries like these will also become more common. When an injury occurs, it’s important to consult with a licensed physical therapist to insure your injury doesn’t persist or get worse. We’ve shared a few techniques PTs use, but there are many more techniques that could apply to your specific condition. Happy running!

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The post Top 4 Running Injuries and How Physical Therapists Treat Them appeared first on Make PT Happen.

For many years, exercising during pregnancy was discouraged by physicians. Pregnant women were believed to be fragile and susceptible to injury.

In recent years, the recommendation of “no exercise” during pregnancy has been changed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and is much less restrictive.

There were original concerns of how exercise could affect the mother and fetus, however recent studies have reversed many of those concerns and found that mothers who were more fit suffered from less physical discomfort, better self-image, and less complications during pregnancy.

Here are four great low-impact, physical therapist recommended exercises for expecting moms who want to strengthen their core area.

Opposite Arm/Leg Lift

This exercise is very low impact and is a great warm -up exercise. Starting on all fours, extend the right arm out straight and level with your back above your head. At the same time, extend the left leg straight back, repeating both sides 10 times each. Alternately, if balance is an issue, extend the arm only, then the leg only.

Ball Leg Extension

An exercise ball can be a very handy tool for many low impact exercises. For this exercise, simply sit on the ball securing your balance with your hands and sit upright, as straight as possible with your knees at a 90 degree angle. Slowly lift your right leg out and up with your knee locked at your hip height, and then slowly back down. Repeat with both legs eight to 12 times. A good cadence for this would be four to five seconds for each leg.

Side Planks

Typically, side planks can be challenging, but in this variation, you lay on your right side with your elbow at a 90-degree angle with your knees bent and your legs behind you. With all of your weight on your right elbow, right hip, and right knee, slowly lift your hip until your spine is straight and hold for 10 to15 seconds. Repeat five to 10 times and switch sides. This exercise is excellent for those oblique core muscles.

Deep Squat

The deep squat is a good stretch that will relax and lengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Start by standing with your legs wider than hip length apart with your hands in front of you in a prayer position. Slowly squat down with your hands in front of you so your bottom almost touches the floor. (Basically as far as you can comfortably go.) Feel the deep stretch and come up slowly. Repeat this as many times as you feel comfortable, or as many times as your physical therapist recommends.

There are many more excellent low impact exercises available to expecting moms, and working with a licensed physical therapist is a great place to start. Engaging in physical therapy during pregnancy can ensure less pain and discomfort and help prepare an expecting mom’s body to bring life into the world.

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The post Four Great Low Impact Exercises for Expecting Moms appeared first on Make PT Happen.

Odds are, you will suffer from lower back pain at some point in your life. Whether you simply slept wrong or you had major back surgery, there are several common remedies to ease lower back pain. In the past, rest was the prescription across the board, but as modern medicine has evolved, we’ve come to find out that continual exercise is the new order. Like all injuries, each one is unique, so please consult with a physician or licensed physical therapist before you begin a therapeutic exercise regimen.

Here are four great common exercises to aid in your lower back pain.

The Bird Dog

This is a mobilizing exercise for your lower back, and feels great when performed methodically and with precision. You start on all fours with your hands directly below your shoulder and your knees directly under your hips. Keeping your balance and your back and head straight, slowly lift your right arm straight up and out above your head and your opposite left leg straight back, sustaining for 5-10 seconds. Slowly come down and alternate with your left arm and right leg. Repeat 8-12 times per side.

The Bridge

This is another great lower back mobilizing exercise. Lie directly on your back with your arms flat to the floor down by your hips and your knees together and bent with your feet flat on the floor. Take a breath and lift your hips straight to the sky until your body is straight from your shoulders to your knees. Release back down slowly. Repeat the bridge 8-12 times.

Back Flexion Stretch

This stretch is low impact, simple, feels great and can really soothe lower back pain. Like the Bridge, lie flat on your back in the same position, and this time bring both knees to your chest, and pull your knees closer with your hands. At the same time, lift your head off the ground and flex your head toward your knees until you feel a full stretch. Hold for 5-10 seconds and repeat 8-12 times.

Piriformis Stretch

This stretch is one you will really feel when performed correctly. The piriformis is a muscle in your buttocks. This muscle can become really tight and can result in lower back pain. Again, start in the same position as the bridge, flat on your back, but this time pull your left foot over your right knee. Now grip your right hamstring area and pull back until you feel the full stretch, keeping your back and head flat on the ground. Hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat two times.

The back is a large, and very important region of your body, and when in pain can affect every aspect of your life. There are many exercise treatments for lower back pain, and to find out which ones will work best for you, be sure to consult with a licensed physical therapist.

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The post The Four Best Physical Therapy Exercises for Lower Back Pain appeared first on Make PT Happen.