If you’ve been following our osteoporosis, balance and falls series over the last 5 weeks, you might be wondering how to put all of this information together. In today’s article I’m going to help you do just that. I’ll do it with a story about a lady we worked with recently in the clinic. Let’s call her Susan. As I go through the story, I’ll tell you how we assessed her 3 Balance Systems as well as the other various factors that contribute to her balance. Then we’ll discuss how we used this information to design a successful treatment plan for her. Here’s Susan’s Story In A Nutshell: Susan came into the clinic after she fell 6 months ago while walking to her car in a gravel parking lot. She ended up with a couple bumps and bruises, but otherwise was uninjured. However, over the next several months, she became more and more worried about having another fall, so she started limiting her activity level, and she specifically avoided things like walking on uneven surfaces (since walking on the gravel was part of why she fell). She decided to come in for physical therapy because lately she’s been feeling even more unsteady on her feet, and she’s had several near-falls where she’s had to catch herself on a piece of furniture or a wall inside her home. Can You Relate? If you have had a few falls where you… Read More

Yoga has along list of health benefits. They include greater flexibility, stronger muscles, better posture, balance, reduced emotional and physical stress, and self-esteem. Yoga and its many forward folds have to be eliminated for the osteoporosis crowd. However, the rotational poses actually increase bone density as I will explain. Dr. Loren Fishman, a physiatrist at Columbia University in rehabilitative medicine has been gathering evidence on yoga and bone health. And his aim was to determine whether yoga might be an effective therapy for osteoporosis. But the idea that yoga helps bone density is not widely accepted in the medical community. Knowing more than 700,000 spinal fractures and more than 300,000 hip fractures occur annually in the United States, Dr. Fishman hoped that this low-cost and less dangerous alternative to bone-loss drugs is worth pursuing. Medication As An Intervention Bone-loss medications can produce adverse side effects like gastrointestinal distress and fractures of the femur. Indeed, a study published in “Clinical Interventions in Aging” found that among 126,188 women found to have osteoporosis, all of whom had Medicare Part D drug coverage, only 28 percent started bone drug therapy within a year of diagnosis. But most people do know that the prescribed medications come with complicating factors and risks. Dr. Fishman and colleagues wrote recently, yoga’s “side effects”,  “include better posture, improved balance, enhanced coordination, greater range of motion, higher strength, reduced levels of anxiety and better gait.” How does yoga work to increase bone density? “Yoga… Read More

Fall has arrived and it is the time people clean up their yard, houses, and roof to prepare for winter. It is also the time of year that I see more knee pain! I want to share some tips for knee pain and a patient story that I hear quite frequently. Nancy gave us permission to share her story.  Let’s see if you can relate to her story.  “I thought my knee pain was just due to age or arthritis. I didn’t want to bother the doctor about it.” Nancy was 62 years old when she came to see us for knee pain and she is a retired nurse. She suffered with knee pain for 3 years before seeking help.  When she could no longer play on the floor with her grand-kids she finally decided she couldn’t just “live” with it! In her words “I had no idea that my knee pain was not the joint but a hamstring issue that was easily resolved with physical therapy! The hands on treatment and the exercises work!  Even if you think nothing can be done – think again!” You see we did a very thorough evaluation to find that her hamstring was more at fault than the knee joint.  We do the same orthopedic tests that orthopedic surgeons do and we are able to diagnosis if it is soft tissue or joint.  Nancy did have an x-ray prior to coming to physical therapy confirming NO arthritis so she was fairly shocked.  However, her doctor was not able… Read More

Over the last 7 weeks we’ve covered a lot on knee pain. I just want to do a quick recap to remind you as we get to the end of this series. We looked at 3 things to know about knee pain including wearing the correct shoes, resting and a simple exercise. We then looked at why knee pain gets worse when you exercise and how to ease it through strengthening. Next we looked at 3 ‘quick fixes’ people think ease knee pain, but don’t. Those things were reaching for the painkillers, resting and wearing a support. We then looked at if knee replacement surgery could be avoided, why knee pain gets worse at night, how to stop arthritis before it stops you and 3 things you could be doing that make knee pain worse. If you’re suffering with any kind of knee pain or swelling, you won’t need me to tell you that it’s “life limiting”. Here are some of the things you would likely be able to enjoy doing again, immediately if you didn’t have knee pain… 1) Waking up in the morning and effortlessly being able to put your own socks and shoes on (without the knee stiffness or sharp pain…). 2) Sitting at work without your knee aching. 3) Taking a long walk with friends and only ending because you’ve decided you fancy a coffee and NOT because your knee is hurting and you’re forced to. 4) Going to bed knowing that you’re finally going to get a good nights… Read More

Got this question sent to me yesterday by a “confused” reader of my newspaper articles suffering with knee pain during exercise… “Hey Jennifer, I’ve been suffering with a pain in my right knee now for a few weeks. What I can’t put my finger on is what I did to make it start in the first place, and even more confusing is that it’s most painful when walking down the stairs, and only comes on 10 minutes into a run. Sometimes it aches, sometimes it feels tender and dull, but I don’t understand why I could run fine before and now I can’t without having to stop after 10 minutes. Can you help?” – Mary, 46, Lacey. There’s a good chance that the same thing is happening to Mary as it does to most people this time of year… And it’s no surprise as we see off the end of Summer and start heading into Fall. This time of year we see more people than ever at Penrose Physical Therapy with painful knees. The reason why? Because it’s around this time of year that people decide to be more active and take things up like running and walking for longer distances, making the most of the nice weather and generally being more active. And even if they’re used to running, people tend to step it up and run a little longer than usual to get ready for upcoming races, sometimes adding in extra running days going… Read More

A few days ago, I was on the phone to one of our regular patient, Lisa, she’s 56 from Lacey and she said… “I was making the most of the Labor Day weekend by visitng Capitol State Forest. I was fine when I got home, but then in the morning when I woke up, my knees had a dull aching pain. At first I thought ‘it’s just an aching knee, I’ve probably overdone it, it’s happened before’… but the pain got worse as the day went on, and it’s still bothering me. My knees ache when I walk, and I’m finding it hard to go up and down the stairs. Any ideas?” Now, this isn’t an uncommon problem, especially not after holiday weekends! And when you consider that 77% of people are more active during holiday weekends, that’s a lot for knees that could potentially become sore. The thing is, many people will put up with bad knees for days, weeks, even months, hoping that the pain will go away on it’s own. But the problem with that is that 9 times out of 10, the pain gets worse and hangs around – which pains me when I know you really don’t have to suffer. So, how about I give you three tips to help you make knee pain much less of a frustration in your life? And even if you don’t go out walking often and suffer from knee pain – these… Read More

So far in this series on knee pain, we’ve covered a lot of different topics. We’ve looked at the 3 things you could be doing that make knee pain worse. This included wearing the wrong shoes, sitting with your legs bent and taking it too easy. We then looked at the 3 ‘quick fixes’ people think will help knee pain, but don’t. (Painkillers, resting and wearing a support). Next it was looking at whether knee replacement surgery could be avoided, and how. And most recently, we looked at how to stop arthritis before it stops you. That’s a lot to cover in just 4 weeks, but we’ve still got more to cover. Knee pain is something that a lot of people struggle with at any time of year, but especially when in the warmer months. People tend to be more active, which leads me to this week’s article… This question was sent to me yesterday by a reader suffering with knee pain: “Jennifer, I’ve been suffering with on-off type knee pain now for more than a year. What I can’t put my finger on is when it started or why. What’s more confusing is that my pain gets worse as the day goes on. But whenever I wake up, the pain is gone – or is considerably less. Yet by the end of another day, my knee aches, sometimes it feels hot and swollen. I’m often in considerable pain – especially if I’ve been out for a… Read More

Many people just like you are becoming victims of knee pain. This is FAST becoming one of the most common things we see at Penrose Physical Therapy, and one of the areas that we treat the most too. But before I tell you why, have a look and see if this sounds familiar to you? There’s a familiar pattern that emerges with knee pain (before arthritis sets in). It starts with a few clicks of the knees, just here and there. But nothing painful, and you think nothing of it. Then as the years go on, some of those clicks become painful, and they start to ache a little bit more, commonly under the knee cap and inside of the knee. Walking around the stores for a few hours and they begin to feel sore. And getting back up again after sitting down watching your favorite TV show, you notice it takes a few steps for them to ‘get going’… And they become even WORSE in the cold weather. Does that sound familiar? I thought it might. So why does this happen, and why so more now than ever before? Well, let me share this with you; so many people are becoming victims of bad footwear trends. “Bad” Shoes? Plimsolls and pump-style shoes are the top of that criminals list that I come across almost on a daily basis, but there are many more besides them, more commonly work now than before. They have zero support for your feet. Read More

Most people think that when they get knee pain, it’ll eventually “ease off” and go away on its own. That they’ll wake up one morning and like “magic”, knee pain will be a thing of the past… But then 6 months later you’re still living with the discomfort of knee pain. Often times its even worse than it was when it came on. It leaves some thinking their only option left is surgery. Does that sound like you? Another scenario we see all the time at Penrose Physical Therapy is when people go to their doctor. The well meaning doctor tells them to “rest”, “try these painkillers” and “come back in 6 weeks if it’s no better”… But then, 6 weeks later, they end up going back to the same doctor again because it hasn’t gotten any better. Only then to be given ANOTHER prescription of even stronger pills or maybe a knee support. Even worse, maybe told that the ONLY thing left, is to go down the route of knee replacement surgery. I hear worrying stories each week from people who have had knee surgery – to find out knee pain comes back. Knee pain after knee replacement surgery is a tricky topic. Most medical professionals will tell you that knee replacement surgery is the “solution” for chronic arthritis and painful knees. But the reality is, once the procedure is done it doesn’t guarantee you won’t have pain after knee replacement surgery. Which worries me! Especially when we’ve… Read More

A patient came into the clinic a few weeks ago limping with knee pain and asked: “I’ve had this knee pain for a few weeks now. I’m not sure what I’ve done to it but I’ve tried taking painkillers and that didn’t help. I was trying to rest it so that it wouldn’t hurt. But whenever I stood up and started moving, it hurt again. Now I’m wearing a brace to see if that helps, but I can still feel the pain when I take it off. Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the pain?” Everyone always thinks and hopes that there will be  “quick fixes” to their problem. I know how frustrating it can be when you’re not sure what you’ve done to hurt your knee. It can be even more frustrating when everything you’re trying to get rid of the pain – doesn’t do a thing. Because we see people confused and even skeptical about what can be done to help, I wanted to address this idea of “quick fixes”. Either for your knees – or for any joint problem and tell you why they’re no good. With that said, here’s the 3 most common “quick fixes” that people THINK ease their knee pain, but that actually do the opposite:  1. Reaching For The Painkillers. Let’s face it, when you’re in pace, one of the easiest things to do is reach for the painkillers to “kill” the pain, quick. It’s also… Read More

Have you ever experienced knee pain? The kind that slows you down in life. It bothers you to walk up and down the stairs or hurts every time you bend down. It aches when you sit, and just generally leaves you feeling frustrated and wondering when it’s finally going to wear off… If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. Painful knees are one of the most common things we see people living with at Penrose Physical Therapy. And a lot of people get frustrated because they don’t understand WHY it’s happening to them. Some people think knee pain is just a part of ‘getting old’, because a friend or close family member told them it happens to everyone. Some people think knee pain is one of those things that comes and goes, hoping it’ll magically disappear one day when they wake up… (but it ends up staying longer, and sometimes gets worse). The sudden onset of knee pain can be confusing. Sometimes it happens because of a nasty fall or a movement you did that set it off. But more often than not, we see people suffering with knee pain because of everyday habits we do without even realizing. Maybe these habits are making your knee pain worse too? Here’s 3 of the most common bad habits we see people doing… 1. Wearing The Wrong Shoes. It’s sad but true, your favorite pair of heels, or smart… Read More

Quick question: How many of you have Googled ‘preventing back pain’? I thought so. We’ve all heard and read about what can cause back pain; incorrect lifting, bad posture, sports injury…but did you know that you may be making a common mistake in your daily routine, that might be encouraging back pain? What I’m about to tell you might sound surprising, but hear me out and I’ll explain why it can cause your back pain to worsen, as well as give you some tips on how to change it. Right, here we go… Bad Diet I don’t mean like Weight Watchers! That’s a way to manage your weight. However, I am more concerned about the reason you may go to slimming clubs. Being overweight can have a great impact on your health AND your back pain. If you are overweight then you are putting extra pressure on your back. An example of this can be shown where we store sugar. When we eat sugar, any energy that we don’t use from it, is stored on our back. Another place that it can be stored, along with caffeine, is at your lower back, a.k.a your love handles! If you now think of all that excess weight being carried on your back from sugar and caffeine, is it surprising that a bad diet can lead to back pain? To overcome this issue, try cutting down on the sugar, caffeine and processed foods and choose more natural foods. This could be chicken breasts, potatoes… Read More