Chronic pain is defined as any pain lasting longer than 3 months. Chronic pain affects over 100 million Americans and has a cost to society of $635 Billion dollars annually. Chronic pain is complex as there are many factors that contribute to chronic pain. Often times, pain felt in one area of the body is actually referred from an issue in another area of the body, even if there is no pain from where it is actually referred from. Therefore, it is extremely important to take the time to trace through the body to find the actual source of pain. Unfortunately, many clinicians are not afforded the time to perform a complete and thorough examination and evaluation; which is why some people with chronic pain, have chronic pain.

At Alternative Manual Physical Therapy And Massage, I will take 1 – 1 1/2 hours to provide an complete and thorough examination and evaluation of your condition. Then follow up treatment sessions are allotted 1 full hour for exclusive, one on one care so as to provide the best opportunity to reduce or eliminate your pain.

Orthopaedics (Orthopedics) is a branch of medicine that specializes in the treatment of injuries and diseases of the Musculoskeletal System (muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, joints, cartilage/meniscus, discs, and nerves). They treat a wide variety of conditions such as strains and sprains of muscles and ligaments, impairments in muscle functioning, impingements and inflammation of tendons and nerves, restrictions in joint mobility or excessive (hyper) joint mobility, disc bulges and herniations, meniscus injuries, fractures, arthritis, and any condition involving movement and overall functioning. So whether you have pain at your neck, back, shoulder, elbow, hand, wrist, hip, knee, ankle, or foot, orthopaedically trained professionals can help.

As manual physical therapists, we at Alternative Manual Physical Therapy And Massage primarily treat orthopaedic conditions. By blending advanced manual therapy techniques with massage and bodyworks, along with prescribing custom tailored exercise activities for your specific condition, we are able to provide you faster relief from pain, help you heal faster from injuries, and make gains in chronic pain conditions not achieved by other providers.

Sports related injuries are orthopaedic injuries that occurred while playing or training in a specific sport activity. Whether you are weight lifting in the gym or participating in an aerobics class, jogging/running, playing basketball, golfing, swimming, or are engaged in high school or college sports such as lacrosse, baseball, football, soccer, or wrestling; muscles can get strained and contracted, ligaments sprained, and joints can become jammed and malpositioned.

At Alternative Manual Physical Therapy And Massage, we will take the time to appropriately assess your condition. We will then spend one on one time to apply various forms of soft tissue mobilizations and massage to reduced swelling, increase circulation, and help new fibers to appropriately align; along with applying various forms of joint mobilizations/manipulations to restore joint positioning, mobility, and joint play. Then, very specific exercise activities, custom tailored to your specific condition will be taught so as to strengthen and stabilize what was corrected with the hands. The exercises will continue the promotion of healing through muscle pumping to increase circulation to injured structures. They will also maintain and increase range of motion and help to restore proper muscle firing patterns with activities. By taking this approach, you will have a faster reduction in pain, heal at a faster rate, and more quickly return to your sport activity.

When injuries are severe, or conditions such as arthritis have advanced enough, surgery is usually required. After the surgical repair, post surgical rehabilitation (physical therapy) is required in most cases to facilitate the healing of structures, reduce/prevent the scarring and adhesions of tissues, restore mobility, muscle function, balance, and return to normal functional activities. So, whether you had spinal surgeries such as fusions, laminectomies, disectomies or decompression; suffered a fracture and had rod and screw placement; underwent rotator cuff repair, shoulder decompression, shoulder arthroscopy, or had a total hip or total knee replacement, meniscus repair, ACL repair, or knee arthroscopic surgery, or surgery to the ankle, foot, wrist, or hand we can help.

At Alternative Manual Physical Therapy And Massage, we will follow your physicians’ protocol to the letter. We will also include the application of various manual therapy techniques to enhance the treatment and allow for a faster rate of healing. We will provide exclusive, one on one care during each treatment session.

Unfortunately, injuries from Motor Vehicle Accidents occur far too often. What is often seen in the clinic are the formation of trigger points from soft tissue injury, inflammation of muscles, tendons, ligaments, connective tissue, and nerves. Also seen are muscle spasms, and restricted joint mobility from joints being “jammed” or “malpositioned”. Posture and movement patterns are also altered to compensate for pain.

At Alternative Manual Physical Therapy And Massage, we will take the time to apply advanced manual therapy techniques in combination with massage to reduce swelling and inflammation, resolve trigger points, increase circulation to help injured structures heal faster, restore joint alignment and joint mobility, lengthen contracted tissues, restore muscle firing patterns and movement patterns. Then, very specific exercise activities, custom tailored to your specific condition will be taught so as to strengthen and stabilize what was corrected with the hands. The exercises will continue the promotion of healing through muscle pumping to increase circulation to injured structures. They will also maintain and increase range of motion and help to restore proper muscle firing patterns with activities.

Fibromyalgia is a commonly diagnosed chronic pain condition. The causes of fibromyalgia are poorly understood. Fibromyalgia is characterized by diffuse, generalized pain throughout the body, along with sleep disturbances and debilitating fatigue. Researchers have identified 18 areas throughout the body for the testing of patients. In order to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, at least 11 of those 18 areas will be “Tender” (like when having a bruise with the pain being local, not referred) when touched. Currently, there is no cure for fibromyalgia, however, fibromyalgia can be effectively managed.

In my experience with treating patients with fibromyalgia, I have always found postural deficits, contracted muscles, and restrictions in connective tissue to be contributing to the generalize pain and tender points found at various areas of the body. The standard treatment of care for patients with fibromyalgia is aerobic exercise activities. However, by taking the time to apply advanced manual therapy techniques to release contracted muscles and free up restrictions in the connective tissue, postural deficits can be easily corrected and pain can be immediately reduced or temporarily eliminated. It is then that the application of gentle exercise activities can be much more effective in controlling the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Myofascial pain syndrome is another chronic pain issue and has very similar symptoms to fibromyalgia, however, there are some very distinct differences. In fibromyalgia, there is diffuse pain throughout various regions of the body. With myofascial pain syndrome, the pain is more localized to a body region. Also, with fibromyalgia there are tender points, where as with myofascial pain syndrome there are trigger points (similar to having a muscle “knot” and can refer pain when touched). The causes of myofascial pain syndrome are from, but not limited to: poor postural habits, poor body mechanics with bending and lifting, repetitive motion and overuse issues, and tissue injury from accidents. Also, emotional stress and tension can play a role in myofascial pain syndrome.

The most effective treatment for myofascial pain syndrome requires the use of manual interventions. At Alternative Manual Physical Therapy and Massage, you are provided with 1 full hour of one on one care for the application of advanced manual therapy techniques blended with various forms of massage and bodyworks. This will allow for the reduction of trigger points, release of contracted tissue, restoration of joint mobility, and increased in blood flow to injured structures. By taking the time to apply manual interventions, you will experience faster pain relief, a faster rate of healing, and gains made in chronic pain conditions not achieved by other providers.