Military Injuries and Physical Therapy
Musculoskeletal pain has been a major complaint among young soldiers who consult physical therapists. In fact, in the United States, nonbattle injuries account for the most outpatient medical encounters among soldiers – over 2 million annually. These injuries can be so severe that they may prevent nearly 65% of soldiers from being deployed due to medical conditions.
Those with musculoskeletal pain usually feel aches throughout the entire body, or as if their muscles have been overworked. Symptoms like fatigue, pain, or sleep disruption are also prevalent among people with musculoskeletal injuries.
Usually, musculoskeletal disorders affect the musculoskeletal system, consisting of the nerves, tendons, muscles, discs, ligaments, and blood vessels.
Causes of Musculoskeletal Injuries
The following are some of the causes of painful musculoskeletal muscles:
- Forceful exertions
- Repetitive and stereotyped motions
- Vibration
- Non-neutral postures
- Etc.
Why Do Soldiers Suffer From Musculoskeletal Pains?
Soldiers usually go through intense physical training programs — from basic training and building muscle strength to being deployed in the field. As a result, injuries are bound to happen.
However, when injuries occur, the culture of specialized units prevents immediate injury rehabilitation causing even minor injuries to worsen.
All the same, painful musculoskeletal injuries may be as a result of the following conditions:
- Incorrect exercise programs: This may include employment of extreme physical exercises and overuse
- Battle scars: When someone is injured during training, sometimes they may not be adequately attended and at the right time, making the condition of the injuries worse
- Living conditions: Apart from incorrect exercises, sometimes soldiers in the fields or camps may lack staff like sports psychologists, conditioning coaches, and physical therapists to help them facilitate treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery
How Fusion Physical Therapy Can Help
It is vital for soldiers with musculoskeletal conditions to go through all treatment stages: from the acute phase when the injury occurs to the surgery and rehabilitation process where physical therapy comes in.
When you visit us here at Fusion Physical Therapy, Lawton, Oklahoma, our injury specialists will first examine your medical history. They will also conduct several tests for joint stability and range of motion before they customize a treatment plan for you.
Contact us today and book an appointment.
Physical Therapy Benefits for Back Pain
If you’ve ever had back pain, then you’re not alone. Nearly 80 percent of adults experience back pain at some stage in their lives.
Back pain is one of the leading causes of work disability and ranks at the top among the common reasons people miss work. Sadly, most people resolve back pain with opioid painkillers instead of focusing on noninvasive treatments like physical therapy.
Unlike the use of pain relievers, alternative therapies not only help patients avoid opioid addiction, but they will also reduce the chances of needing surgery for chronic back pain.
What Causes Back Pain?
Several factors, including the following, cause back pain:
- Medical conditions like arthritis
- Cancer of the spine
- Inflamed or ruptured discs
- Ligament Strain
- Lack of exercise
- Scoliosis: Abnormal alignment or curvature of the spine
- Osteopenia/Osteoporosis
- Sleep disorders
- Muscle tension
- Over-stretching
- Etc.
What are the Symptoms of Back Pain?
The most common symptom of back pain is feeling stabbing pain and ache across the back. You might also feel muscle aches and tingling extending to your legs and buttocks.
If you have acute pain, the best thing is to work out your back and rest for a few days. However, chronic back pain can sometimes be excruciating, lasting for at least 12 weeks. You might even develop other symptoms like weight loss, numbness, and pain going below your knees, fever, and weakness.
If you start experiencing the above, then it’s time to seek professional help.
How We Can Help
At Fusion Physical Therapy, we have an unwavering commitment to supporting patients to regain their pain-free lives. We have certified physical therapists that will walk with you every step of the way while customizing the right treatment plan for you: whether it’s a hands-on-massage technique, personalized back strengthening exercises, dry needling, or cupping.
If you’re suffering from back pain, don’t hesitate to contact us here and book an appointment with our back pain specialist.
Trigger Point Dry Needling
There are certain circumstances where pain persists despite an available treatment because of muscles that have developed into knots. This is called myofascial pain, and knotted areas are called trigger points. These trigger points are painful and highly sensitive when touched.
Physical therapists may use the technique of dry needling (DN), also called trigger point dry needling. This is the modern practice of pushing thin solid needles through the skin into trigger points to stimulate the tissue.
The technique releases tension and muscle spasm in the knotted area, stimulating the body to discharge natural pain-blocking and anti-inflammatory chemicals. This eases tension, inflammation, and pressure in the muscles that allow patients to move more freely because of the immediate pain relief.
Why you should consider trigger point dry needling
Dry Needling is often confused with acupuncture. The difference between the two is that acupuncture has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years as an alternative treatment to relieve pain by opening a person’s energy flow or chi. Dry needling has been around only in the last two decades and is designed to stimulate trigger points to ease persisting, irritable pain. Some of the pains alleviated by practicing dry needling are as follows:
- Low back pain/tension
- Neck pain
- Tennis elbow
- Migraines
- Spinal dysfunction
- Joint dysfunction
- Sciatica
- And more
If you suffer from such pain, consider consulting with highly specialized professionals like those here at Fusion Physical Therapy, to determine if administering the DN technique is right for you.
Side-effects of dry needling
Dry needling has many benefits and just a few side natural effects that are not serious to your health, like:
- minor abrasion
- trivial bleeding
- temporary soreness
How we can help
Fusion Physical Therapy has experienced and highly-trained physical therapists certified to perform this technique. It will be part of an overall treatment plan that includes exercise, manual therapy, and education.
Our physical therapists are equipped with the latest techniques in handling these types of issues. After a thorough evaluation of your particular case, our team of professionals here at Fusion Physical Therapy will design the best, personalized treatment program possible, utilizing the latest in innovative techniques, to bring you optimum relief.
Contact us today and schedule an appointment so you can start your journey back to a pain-free lifestyle.
In the Wake of the Opioid Crisis, Physical Therapy a Safer Bet in Alleviating Pain
As we navigate through everyday living, it is almost a given that we will experience pain at some point. From minor pains like headaches and bump-related foot pain to pains as a result of major accidents, illnesses or disease, there is no telling how the pain will come. Regardless of the cause of the pain, it is always important to know how to manage it.
Unfortunately, the need to manage pain has led to the opioid crisis existing today. Opioids are an excellent way to manage pain, but their addictive properties mean that a lot of people remain hooked to the medications long after the pain treatment has ended. The high risk of addiction to opioids is why physical therapy is a better solution to deal with pain. Apart from helping to alleviate pain, physical therapy can uncover the underlying cause of the pain.
Limiting the use of opioids
The scourge of opioid overuse can be attributed to several factors such as improper management of the prescription process and a general lack of understanding of the risks involved with each of these medications. Misinformation from the pharmaceutical brands making the opioids is also a factor.
Generally, the use of opioids for pain treatment should be limited to intense, short-term pain. If you use opioids for chronic pain, the effectiveness will wane after a while hence the start of the slippery slope of addiction.
How we can help
Even when faced with inhibitory but common pain (such as lower back or knee pain), do not use opioids. Talk to a qualified physical therapist to find the source of the pain and receive holistic and cost-effective treatment. When you treat the underlying causes of the pain, you will not lose resources on the same issue in the future.
Here at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma, our certified physical therapists will provide a permanent solution to your pain. The consultation sessions will help us to create a unique treatment plan for your specific pain. You don’t have to put yourself at the risk of becoming an opioid addict. Get in touch with our professional physical therapists today!
Taking Care of Your Achilles Tendon
For many people, a ruptured Achilles will be their first experience of a ruptured tendon. This is because the Achilles tendon is the most pronounced in the body. Apart from its size, it also stretches from the calf muscles down to the bones in the heel. The size and spread of the Achilles tendon make it prone to injuries.
Many injuries to the tendon are generally mild, resolving quickly over a short period. However, thousands of people suffer severe tendon injuries, including tears and ruptures. People aged between 30 and 49 are the most vulnerable group when it comes to Achilles tendon injuries.
When looking for solutions for an injured Achilles tendon, there is a wide range of treatment options available to you. However, physical therapy is one of the most effective. Here at Fusion Physical Therapy Lawton, Oklahoma, we have physical therapists with decades of experience in the creation of bespoke therapy plans for the treatment of all Achilles tendon injuries.
What to Expect from Fusion Physical Therapy
Your customized treatment plan might include all or some of the following:
- Heat therapy (with paraffin, moist hot packs and heating pads): enhance the flow of blood in the area. It will also trigger the relaxation of the muscles to increase the chances of healing.
- Cold therapy (with cold packs and ice massage): This therapy option will help decrease swelling and the attendant pain that comes with an Achilles injury.
- Stretching activities: exercises that involve stretching to reduce the chances of a relapse.
- Strength training: targeted at regaining strength lost throughout your tendon injury.
- Deep massage: enhance blood flow and reduce the chances of future injury to your Achilles tendon.
With severe Achilles tendon injuries, surgery may be the first treatment. After the surgery, the physical therapy session can begin. Here at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma, we are experienced in working with doctors to create a physical therapy plan specifically made for you.
Your physical therapy treatment will begin three weeks after surgery. Some of the options include the following:
- Manual therapy
- Therapeutic exercises
- Trigger Point Dry Needling (TrP-DN)- Targeted at the soreness and tenderness around the trigger points.
- Protection-Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation (PRICE)- Designed for inflammation control.
We are waiting for you here at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma. Get in touch with our certified physical therapists today for your practical and customized Achilles tendon Injury.
You Can Now Be Free from Knee Pain
Knee pain is common in many adults. Apart from the ever-present feeling of discomfort it brings, it can also disrupt your everyday living. When dealing with knee pain, you will not be able to walk around correctly or engage in the physical activities you love.
Sadly, the number of reported cases of knee pain in the United States has increased over the last two decades. More than 25% of adults in the country have experienced knee pain at some point. Fortunately, knee pain can be treated effectively with the aid of exercises and physical therapy. Do you live in Oklahoma? Talk to the experienced physical therapists in Fusion Physical Therapy, Lawton to get rid of the knee pain!
What are the causes of knee pain?
There are three causes of mild and chronic knee pain:
- Injuries
- Osteoarthritis
- Surgery
Regardless of the underlying cause of your mild or chronic knee pain, you can trust the physical therapists at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma, to deliver relief. The treatments are designed on a case by case basis, to resolve your knee problems as quickly as possible.
What are the types of knee pain?
The type of knee pain is dependent on the location of the pain in your knee. There are five types of knee pain and they include the following:
- Medial knee pain
- Osteoarthritis knee pain
- Anterior knee pain
- Lateral knee pain
- Ligament tear pain
Regardless of the kind of pain, the outcome is the same: inability to seamlessly engage in activities that require the use of your legs.
How we can help
When you contact our physical therapists here at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma, for a solution to your knee pain, the first step is a comprehensive analysis of your knees to isolate the underlying causes. After evaluating your medical history and symptoms presented, we can create a treatment plan that is best suited for you. The treatment may include the following:
- Electrical stimulation
- Ice treatment
- Heat therapy
- Individualized exercises
- Etc.
Book your appointment today to get started!