When you’re recovering from a physical injury, low-impact exercise is going to be your best friend. One of the best low-impact exercises you can invest in is swimming. While the following explains why we recommend swimming, before you start a new exercise routine after an injury it’s always important that you visit your primary care physician and/or North Platte Physical Therapy to get the help you need.

The Benefits
We’ve already discussed the benefits of swimming as it relates to low-impact exercise. Swimming also keeps your body from feeling a lot of pressure. While you will be exerting a lot of effort, the buoyancy of the water allows for you to have an effective no-weight workout. As a form of exercise, swimming can help reduce stress, improve your mood, increase your strength, and your cardiovascular endurance. Swimming will also help increase flexibility and improve your aerobic endurance. In addition to improving your overall fitness, swimming can be a powerful tool to help lose weight. 

The Focus
Swimming truly utilizes all muscle groups. You’ll workout your core, arms, legs, back, and glutes which makes for the perfect full body workout. the best part is that while swimming will give you a full body workout, it won’t harm your joints or put any additional stress. 

Getting Started
Swimming will give you a great workout - we recommend aiming to swim approximately two and a half hours a week in thirty minute blocks. When you first start your workout routine, you probably won’t be able to complete a full thirty minute block but that’s completely okay. You can start slow and steady, eventually working yourself up to a thirty minute workout. 

When starting a swim workout, you won’t need anything but a swimsuit and some goggles. For those with longer hair, you might want to also look at a swim cap to help keep your hair from being severely damaged by the chlorine. You can look into adding additional equipment such as a kick board, pull buoy, or paddles to add additional variety to your workout.

Swimming can be as intense as you’d like, it’s all about how hard you are willing to push yourself. When you are first starting out, it can be tempting to give it your all, but slow and steady will win the race. You want to keep coming back to participate in your workout, and you will be very sore after your first day.

Are you ready to receive additional help managing your physical therapy recovery? Contact us today, we can help. Our team of professionals will implement a safe, effective, and reasonably-priced treatment plan that will have you living better, whether that means sleeping more soundly or getting through your work day without pain. Patients across Wyoming and Western Nebraska have relied on North Platte Physical Therapy for their pain prevention and physical recovery needs for years.
 

You may have been experiencing some lower back pain, and this can come from a number of different issues. No matter whether you’ve listed a package that’s to heavy or are suffering from chronic lower back pain, there are a few things you can do to help ease your pain. While the following tips will certainly help you manage lower back pain, it’s important that you visit your primary care physician and/or North Platte Physical Therapy to get the help you need.

Ice
Make sure you apply ice to the area that’s bothering you, preferably within the first 24-48 hours that you are experiencing pain. Icing your back will also help to lessen any inflammation and prevent additional swelling. After spending some time icing your back, feel free to switch to a heating pack - but wait until 48 hours after the injury. After the first 48 hours, if you decide to heat and ice do so in 20 minute increments - alternating between the two.

Activity
You might be inclined to avoid any type of physical activity, but you should engage in light physical activity. This might include taking a relaxing walk, straightening up your home, or even completing very light household chores. Resting your back could prevent your back from healing, and may even make your pain and injury worse. Just be careful to not overdo it - once you are feeling completely yourself again you can resume more intense physical activity such as running and weightlifting. 

Stretching
After you are feeling much better, you should start incorporating more stretching into your daily routine. By stretching your back muscles daily, you can help to strengthen and elongate your muscles - preventing future injury. Your spine is meant to move, be sure you are taking time to encourage movement throughout the day. Over time, we recommend looking into some consistent form of exercise such as yoga, to help strengthen and elongate your back muscles. 

Weight
This one isn’t a quick fix. Staying at a healthy weight, and managing your weight overtime will keep your back in great condition. Overtime, weight puts a lot of strain on your back, particularly your lower back. 

Medicine
If you are experiencing pain you might want to consider taking a few anti-inflammatory pain relievers including advil, tylenol, and ibuprofen. When taking over the counter anti-inflammatories, be sure to abide by the dosage recommendations. If the recommended dosage isn’t helping as it should, you might have to meet with your primary care practitioner or a physical therapist for an exam. This could be indicative of a bigger problem.

Are you ready to receive additional help managing your lower back pain? Contact us today to let us know what’s bothering you. Our team of professionals will implement a safe, effective, and reasonably-priced treatment plan that will have you living better, whether that means sleeping more soundly or getting through your work day without pain. Patients across Wyoming and Western Nebraska have relied on North Platte Physical Therapy for their pain prevention and physical recovery needs for years.
 

When you are ready to pursue your Wyoming physical therapy options, it’s important to get the most out of your physical therapy treatment. Afterall, you are using physical therapy to get better and to heal your body. These are our seven tips to making the most out of your physical therapy experience, and ensure that you will keep getting better. 

1. Ask Questions
Your physical therapist is here to assist you. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask them - they are here to help. The best physical therapists will be ready and open to answer whatever questions you might have and reassure you of any fears that you might be experiencing. 

2. Communicate
This goes hand in hand with asking questions, but make sure you are communicating with your physical therapist often and openly. If you are feeling any type of new pain, or feel that you might have re-injured yourself talk to your physical therapist immediately. 

3. Complete All Exercises 
Your physical therapist has assigned you particular exercises for a reason. Make sure you complete all exercises as ordered during your appointment but also at home. Your physical therapist might have assigned you additional exercises for home, and if they did there is a reason for that. 

4. Stay in Contact with Your Physician 
As you complete your physical therapy, keep in contact with your primary care physician. It’s important to keep your medical records up to date but also ensure that your doctor knows how you are managing and handling your pain. 

5. Stay Patient
Physical therapy isn’t a quick fix - it’s going to take time for the physical therapy to truly work and heal your body. By staying patient and focused on all of your exercises you will get better, it’ll just take some time. Don’t give up.

6. Set Goals
Your physical therapist might have set goals for you, but it’s important to create your own goals as well. Your goals are going to be a great motivator in sticking to your routine, your schedule, and ultimately getting better. When setting goals keep them realistic, achievable, and something that will help you keep moving forward. 

7. Don’t Skip Appointments
This might seem like an obvious one, but don’t ever skip your appointments. Appointments are key to getting better and sticking on a strict schedule will help you to continue to improve. If you are feeling pain, don’t skip your appointment just communicate with your physical therapist. They can help you identify why you are experiencing pain, and adjust your workout as needed. 

Are you tired of dealing with chronic pain? Or are you ready to improve your current situation? Contact us today to let us know what’s bothering you. Our team of professionals will implement a safe, effective, and reasonably-priced treatment plan that will have you living better, whether that means sleeping more soundly or getting through your work day without pain. Patients across Wyoming and Western Nebraska have relied on North Platte Physical Therapy for their pain prevention and physical recovery needs for years.
 

Long-term pain, also known as chronic pain, can be treated through the use of physical therapy - in fact, physical therapy might be your best option at treating this type of pain. Most of the time you will need a recommendation from a doctor to see a physical therapist, but it can definitely be worth asking your doctor for one. We’ve put together our top reasons as to why you should consider investing in physical therapy treatment for your chronic pain. 

How does physical therapy treat pain?
Pain doesn’t always originate from where you think it does, and that’s why physical therapists are going to treat the source of the pain. Participating in physical therapy will help with joint and soft tissue mobilization and provide treatments that help to relieve pain, restore muscle, and get your body back on track to feeling better.

Physical therapists are experts in treating the body - not only can they help you identify the pain but they can help you treat it through a series of exercises. These exercises might include low-impact aerobic exercises such as walking, swimming, or stationary bike exercises. 

Physical therapy might also treat pain through the use of stretching, or body-weight strengthening exercises. The point of physical therapy is to treat your pain through the use of exercises and to get your body moving. In many cases your physical therapists will also prescribe exercises to complete at home - be sure to do these as prescribed to assist with pain.

What should I expect? 
Before your appointment check with your physical therapist to see if there is anything special or out of the ordinary you should be prepared for and check with your insurance company to see how much is or isn’t paid for. Be ready to discuss when your pain started, how it has intensified, if it has spread, and what mobility issues you might be having. You will most likely be moving around a lot in your first appointment as your physical therapist identifies your current issues, so make sure to wear clothing that is easy to move around in and be active in. In addition to exercises, be prepared that your physical therapist might utilize other tools such as a heating or ice pack, ultrasounds or even a massage. 

Will it be painful? 
The answer to this is complicated, but not in the way you think. Physical therapy will not be painful, but it might be challenging or uncomfortable. Physical therapy is designed to help your body heal and get stronger, so push yourself! Your physical therapist will never put you through anything that will harm you.

Tired of dealing with chronic pain? Or are you just looking for new ways to help improve your strength or mobility? Contact us today to let us know what’s bothering you. Our team of professionals will implement a safe, effective, and reasonably-priced treatment plan that will have you living better, whether that means sleeping more soundly or getting through your work day without pain. Patients across Wyoming and Western Nebraska have relied on North Platte Physical Therapy for their pain prevention and physical recovery needs for years.
 

From executive professionals form Cheyenne North and school teachers from Guernsey, to construction experts from Casper West and first responders from Cheyenne South, there's a familiar refrain from regional professionals who seek care here at North Platte Physical Therapy: 'I wish I'd found you sooner!'

In fact, according to newly published medical research from Sweden, patients seeking primary care for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) who are triaged to a physical therapist fare just as well—and in some respects, better—than those who are seen by a physician general practitioner (GP). 

While we encourage all prospective patients to consult with their primary care provider for all serious injuries first, the findings illuminate just how effective physical therapy can be when you’re looking for relief from MSDs such as carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis, tendinitis, back pain, tension neck syndrome, and hand-arm vibration syndrome. That’s why students, amatuer and professional athletes, and everyday professionals rely on our team every day. 

Patients participating in the study, conducted across three major primary care health centers (PHCCs) in Gothenberg, Sweden,  were of people between the ages of 16 and 67 seeking help for a new, non-debilitating musculoskeletal condition. Patients were excluded from the study if they required home visits, were receiving ongoing treatment for the current MSD, or were seeking help for a chronic condition unchanged for 3 months or more. In other words, patients surveyed were seeking help for the types of non-chronic MSD pain that interfered with their everyday tasks both at work and at home. 

The purpose of the work was to determine how effective their physical therapy treatment had been against those seeking only “traditional” avenues for care. The results were surprising. Analysis revealed that while both focus group in the study improved at similar rates, the group receiving care from regular physical therapy visits group reported consistently better outcomes. 
The study’s PT group tended to reduce what authors call "externalization" of the condition to health care providers —namely, a reduction of stress related to their MSD. 

At North Platte Physical Therapy, we understand that this is an exciting time to seek physical therapy care. With a growing scope of practice and expanding direct access opportunities, our staff of new and seasoned clinicians have a real ability to make an impact in both patient care as well as the trajectory of your healthcare care needs. 

Too many people from across Wyoming and South Dakota suffer from the pain of what could be an easily managed MSD unnecessarily. Contact the North Platte Physical Therapy team today to set up an appointment and to get on track with a physical therapy treatment regimen that will reclaim your life from everyday aches and pains and help you enjoy work and exercise again.