Total Knee Replacement: What Your Patient's Need To Know

Several years ago, when I was a Physical Therapy student, I had the privilege of observing a couple of live surgeries, one of which was a Total Knee Replacement.  I’m glad I got to see this surgery in particular because my current workload consists of seeing many patients recovering from Knee Replacements.

Over the years I’ve learned a great deal about the rehabilitative process s/p TKA and what it takes to be successful.  I've also learned that much of that success is based on patient expectations...

Our knee patients need to know, first of all, that being diagnosed with arthritis isn't a sentence to the surgery table, and that there are steps they can take to improve their symptoms in order to delay and possibly prevent surgery altogether.  They also need to know what a TKA is, how they would know if they need one, what the outcomes are, and what to expect with rehabilitation.

Here is your blueprint to educate them...

Is HIIT Right For Your Patients?

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – sounds intense doesn’t it? I used to be skeptical of HIIT and whether the claims of its benefits were actually true. Could someone really achieve the same aerobic gains in half the time? Was it safe? Was it only for top-level athletes in a sports science lab? I was skeptical – that is, until I scoured the literature. What I know now, I can share with you and, hopefully, better guide you in your pursuit to utilize the best evidence-based resources for your patients.

Interestingly enough, HIIT has been proven to be safe and effective not only for high-level athletes, but also for cardiac rehab, post stroke, and in the diabetic population, among others.  

Let’s look at what HIIT is, its benefits, and how it compares to other types of exercise. We’ll also look at some sample workout regimens for you to consider...

...Continue reading here.

Why Public Group Dancing can help prevent or cure Chronic Pain

Why Public Group Dancing can help prevent or cure Chronic Pain… It’s real… I’ve tried it…. (Viewer beware… my dancing video at the bottom of this post may not be rhythmically appropriate!)

In my last Facebook Live post, I showed a video of groups of ladies laughing, chatting and dancing together in a park in Shanghai. It dawned on me that this was very unique and not something I saw very often in the United States. As I sat and watched, several things jumped out at me about how powerful this type of group experience could be for the prevention of chronic pain or helping to cure chronic pain.

Here are 3 main thoughts:

1.      This type of social dancing often occurs every single day. Community and interaction with others brings context and value to the life of a patient. The complete opposite of this occurs with chronic pain, depression and anxiety often results in social isolation. The power of community and fun, in a low-stress environment, is massive! I believe it can help prevent chronic pain and the isolation it (chronic pain) can create. Notice how easily I joined this group of ladies and just became part of this happy group. (I could feel my endogenous opioids flowing through me!)

2.      The Clinical Practice Guidelines for Low back pain gives a Grade A for trunk coordination, strengthening and endurance exercises. During my short stint with the Shanghai morning dance group, my heart rate was elevated, I attempted to keep my trunk relatively neutral (movement coordination training) and similar to Zumba (my other secret guilty pleasure… you really, really… do not want to see that….) the movements were relatively functional and enjoyable. These semi-coordinated movements, connected occasionally to a rhythm and the relative low impact on my joints were actually a great source of exercise!

3.      It is also shown that in patients with Chronic pain, there are changes in the attention centers of the brain. Imagine if your patient is so focused on his or her symptoms that even as the tissues are healing or healed, the hyper vigilant brain continues to “sound the alarm” resulting in pain experiences even if there is no significant tissue injury, or sensations that are typically considered not painful. This study suggests that changing the patient’s focus, in my case, focusing on learning the steps to the dance, trying to follow the rhythm (emphasis on “trying”), could very well improve patient outcomes. This study demonstrated an even stronger effect of distraction in patients who demonstrated catastrophization! Have you noticed patients telling you that when they are at work, they don’t feel much of their pain? Attention and distraction.. particularly fun forms of this may have significant value in improving our patient’s quality of life!

Ref link: http://anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org/article.aspx?articleid=1936539

Do yourself a favor… and find yourself a group of Chinese ladies to dance with! Feel the power of community, exercise, and distraction!

Frozen Shoulder: What Is It? Can You Prevent It?

This morning was the first time you couldn’t reach the cereal bowl in the upper kitchen cabinet – you’ve been struggling for a couple of weeks, but today you had to use your left arm. You’ve been having trouble putting on your shirts – coats require help from a friend. You’ve been waking up more and more each night from the pain. You might have Frozen Shoulder.

To learn more about Frozen Shoulder, what it is, who it affects, how it happens, how long it lasts, and how it can potentially be prevented, continue reading here. 

PhysioU’s Patient Education: Connecting Clinicians to the People

Hi, I’m Michael Curtis, Editor of Patient Education for PhysioU. I want to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about PhysioU’s new Patient Education and what we have in store for you.

A Little About Me

First of all, I’m a PT, and I love my job. In my spare time, I write weekly content on my website, MichaelCurtisPT.com, where my goal is to provide expert advice to the general public about a variety of topics related to health, wellness, fitness, and PT.

I’m joining together with PhysioU for two reasons:

1. I believe in what PhysioU is doing. Nowhere else can clinicians access such a comprehensive set of tools for clinical reasoning. The team is constantly looking to improve the apps and push us to be better at what we do.

2. I believe PhysioU can do even more by tapping into the patient education. Let me explain:

The Need

As Physical Therapists, we’re constantly honing our skills, looking for ways to be better clinicians in order to better treat our patients.

But have you ever thought about what happens to our patients outside the clinic? What happens after they’re discharged? What about the people out there who haven’t been to PT and are searching for answers?

How can we reach beyond the walls of the treatment room and offer our expertise to establish our role as “the trusted go-to source” for everything related to movement, health, wellness, fitness, pain, injury, and rehabilitation?

If we don’t put ourselves out there, people will find someone else - and who knows what advice they’ll be given?

The Proposal

So here’s what I propose:

I propose we share relevant content related to all things PT, health, wellness, fitness, etc. with our patients, friends, and family, on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Linkedin, MySpace (just kidding), through email… you name it.

Let's get in front of people and let them know that we can be trusted - that we are professionals you can go to for answers.

The Plan

PhysioU will be publishing a Patient Education article regularly for you to share.

The topics will be wide-ranging. Basically, anything related to PT, health, wellness, and fitness that will be engaging and helpful to people in the non-medical community.

We need your help with this! Let us know what topics you think would be helpful.

Give us a comment! Or, fill in below quick survey!

We at PhysioU are excited about the possibilities of the Patient Education. With your help, we can bridge the gap between clinician and patient.