Time and money are two finite resources especially in today’s healthcare environment of rising deductibles and decreased access to primary care services. Thankfully in Colorado patients have a choice on who to see first for their muscle, tendon, and joint pain. State law enables Coloradans to see a Physical Therapist without a prior referral. This...
Aging occurs in all of our body systems including the spine. Similar to wrinkles and grey hair, the spine will demonstrate age related changes including disk bulges, herniations, facet and ligament changes, as well as, degeneration around age 30. Interestingly, we find a high percentage of these changes in people with and without neck pain. Thus,...
Neck pain is an area consistently under treated by clinicians. There are countless passive temporary remedies for neck pain including massage, manipulation, and dry needling, but only high level exercise is able to reduce the long term effects of neck pain. When patients remain under passive care for their neck pain they will experience more...
70% of Americans will experience neck pain symptoms within their lifetimes. The vast majority of these symptoms are secondary to the musculoskeletal system and effectively treated by Physical Therapists. Patient’s who experience multiple episodes of neck pain or have experienced symptoms for a longer duration (> 3 months) often present with weakness in the cervical...
Muscles can be a significant source of pain in our bodies. Chronic muscular pain may be found locally over the muscle or can be felt in an area distant from the muscle known as referred pain. Multiple Physical Therapy interventions including dry needling, foam rolling, and soft tissue mobilizations can be utilized in the short...
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain or Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD) is a painful condition limiting a patient’s ability to utilize the joint moving the lower jaw on the skull. When painful this joint limits an individual’s ability to eat, speak, and yawn. Pain is often felt in front of the ear over the joint surfaces. In addition...
With the hypervigilance in abstaining from opioid prescriptions due to the opioid crisis, there has been an effort in determining alternate ways of providing analgesic effects for those in chronic pain. One of the most consistent modalities to help benefit with treatment is exercise. There has been many studies exploring the analgesic effect of exercise...
Neck pain is a common source of musculoskeletal pain with up to 70% of Americans experiencing neck pain at some point in their lives. In the early or acute phases of pain, hands on treatment including spinal manipulation and joint mobilization have been shown to reduce pain and disability due to neck symptoms. If left...
Tension-type headaches are headaches related to muscle trigger points or muscle tenderness in the head and neck and are the most common type of headache in adults. In our Boulder physical therapy practice, we utilize hands-on techniques addressing muscles and joints of the upper cervical region for headaches. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis (Jiang...
Thoracic manipulation by Physical Therapists has previously been shown to improve pain and function in patients with elbow, shoulder, and neck pain. Authors continue to research the mechanisms behind its’ effectiveness including a beneficial cascade of events in the peripheral and central nervous system, as well as, a possible biomechanical change in the spinal joints....
