Physical Therapy

BACK INJURY

No back treatment program can be considered complete without rehabilitation. Chiropractic, pain management, surgery and automobile injury all require a specific and customized rehabilitation program. At HealthWorks Wellness, Dr.Tondkar, Dr. Huber, Dr. Brown and our physical therapists Melissa Albrecht and Becky Thomas are completely devoted to developing the ideal rehabilitation program for each patient. Because not two injuries are alike!

SPORTS INJURY

Physical therapy and sports injury go hand and hand. At HealthWorks Wellness, we pay particularly close attention to old injuries as they relate to current injuries. For example, you may have sustained a football injury 40 years ago, and have lived with low back pain ever since.
Another benefit of physical therapy is to improve on-field performance. Perhaps your son or daughter is engaged in sports, and would like to maximize their body’s potential in a safe and healthy manner. Physical therapy can unleash hidden or subdued strength and agility that did not previously exist.

NEUROLOGICAL CONDITONS

One of the most common neurological conditions today is peripheral neuropathy. With neuropathy the patient quickly loses balance, strength and feeling in their arms and legs. HealthWorks Wellness has a specific neuropathy protocol that enables patients to regain these critical physical attributes. State-of-the-art Balance Training machines can actually “re-teach” the art and science of balance. Meanwhile, custom strength training with free weights and resistance bands contributes to improving strength and balance. And sensory training, with the latest nerve regenerations lasers and tactile machines, is another contributing factor to combat and lessen neuropathy.

PAIN MANAGEMENT

Physical therapy is a very successful and proven contributor to painmanagement. Many chronic painconditions are related to stagnation of the muscles ligaments and joints of thebody. Mobilization of thesetissues and structures can relieve a great deal of pain. However, physicaltherapy has its limits. Fortunately, a chiropractor can further mobilize a joint, while joint injections can also beincorporated into your overall physical therapy program to continue decreasingpain.

MUSCLE SPASM

Muscle spasms can create significant levels of pain. Spasms in the lower back and neck are especially notoriouspain contributors. Quite often, medication cannot, and will not, relieve themuscle spasm. However, in thephysical therapy world electrical stimulation and ultrasound can reduce manytypes of muscle spasm, without theuse of medication

CERVICAL INJURY

The most common cervical injury by far is whiplash. And as you might expect, auto accidents are the number onecause.
It onlytakes a 5 mile-per-hour auto accident
to give a passenger or driver whiplash.
If you have been in an auto accident, small or large, it is very important to haveyour entire cervical spine evaluated with x-rays, orthopedic testing and nervetesting. It may be the best health investment you ever make!

FIBROMYALGIA

The word fibromyalgia is a combination of Latin and Greek terms that mean “muscle” and “pain.” Fibromyalgia syndrome is a chronic disorder whichincludes widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points that affectsup to six million people in the United States. For reasons currently unknown,more than 90% of those who develop fibromyalgia are women.
According to the AmericanCollege of Rheumatology (ACR), fibromyalgia is defined as a history of pain in all four quadrants of the body, lasting more thanfour months. “Pain in all four quadrants” means you have pain in both yourright and left sides, as well as above and below the waist. To be diagnosedwith fibromyalgia, patients have pain in at least 11 of 18 fibromyalgia “tenderpoints” throughout the body.
At Wichita Health & Wellness, we understand that, in addition topain and fatigue, people who have fibromyalgia may also experience additionalsymptoms:

• sleep disturbances
• morning stiffness
• headaches
• irritable bowel syndrome
• painful menstrual periods
• numbness or tingling of the extremities
• restless legs syndrome
• temperature sensitivity
• cognitive and memory problems (sometimes referred to as "fibro fog")

Fibromyalgia is often confused with another condition called “myofascial pain syndrome” or“myofascitis.” Both fibromyalgia and myofascitis can also cause pain in allfour quadrants of the body and tend to have similar tender point locations, butthe two conditions are worlds apart.
Myofascitis is an inflammatory condition due to overuse of, or injury to, yourmuscles. Fibromyalgia is caused by a stress-induced change in metabolism andhealing. Myofascitis tends to appear rather suddenly, and is usually associatedwith a particular activity or injury. True fibromyalgia, however, has a slow, insidious onset, usuallybeginning in early adulthood.
It is very important to correctlydiagnose and differentiate each condition, as they require very differentapproaches to treatment. For example, fibromyalgia is chronic, meaning it lastsa long time - even a lifetime. Fortunately, it will not cause damage to yourjoints, muscles or internal organs.

The Basics of Fibromyalgia

Modernresearch indicates fibromyalgia is a stress-related condition—a cousin of sortsto Systemic Lupus Erythematosis (often referred to as simply ‘lupus’) andChronic Fatigue Syndrome. In all three conditions possess the samepredominantly female distribution, chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances,irritable bowel, as well as many other similarities. All three are also known to result from an abnormal stress response in the body. With Lupus, however, it is the immunesystem that is primarily affected, causing an autoimmune reaction which attacksyour healthy tissues.
Withfibromyalgia, metabolic abnormalities are the primary concern. These metabolicchanges are the result of a stress-induced decrease in blood flow to an area ofthe brain called the pituitary. Thisin turn causes a decrease in a number of vital hormones, such as the growth-releasinghormone (somatotropin) and the thyroid-stimulating hormone. These hormonalchanges lead to abnormal muscle healing, borderline or full-blown hypothyroid,and memory and cognitive changes.
One of the major physicalabnormalities with fibromyalgia lies in the muscle itself, with a buildup of aprotein called “Ground Substance.” Normally found in muscle, bone andconnective tissue all over the body, Ground Substance is responsible for tissuestrength and is less susceptible to tearing. In a normal person, when a muscleis injured, the muscle tissue itself is able to regenerate and, over time,completely heal itself. In aperson with fibromyalgia, the muscle is unable to heal. Instead, an abnormallylarge amount of Ground Substance builds up in the injured area. It is thisGround Substance, coupled with local muscle spasms, that creates the muscle‘knots’ associated with fibromyalgia.

A number of tests can ruleout other disorders. Our thoroughexamination will reveal whether a person has the characteristic tender areas onthe back of the neck, shoulders, sternum, lower back, hips, shins, elbows orknees. Unlike its cousin lupus, there are currently no diagnostic laboratorytests for fibromyalgia. Thus, some doctors unfortunately conclude that apatient's pain is not real, or that very little can be done.

With Wichita Health & Wellness, this is not always the case. Acombination of chiropractic, trigger point therapy and lifestyle changes hasproven to be very effective in not only decreasing the severity and duration ofphysical pain, but also the disability of fibromyalgia.

Treating Fibromyalgia WithChiropractic Care

Fibromyalgiacan be difficult to treat. Quite honestly, not all doctors possess adequateknowledge of this often-elusive affliction. In many instances, fibromyalgiatreatment requires a team approach, utilizing chiropractic care, trigger pointtherapy, massage, dietary changes, as well as exercises and stretching. You will be pleased to find such a team at Wichita Health & Wellness.

Chiropractic care is critical in order to keep the spine and muscles from losing too much movement. Because fibromyalgiacauses the muscles to tighten up and lose some of their natural pliability, itresults in a global loss of movement, which initiates a neurological reflexthat causes the muscles to tighten further. This vicious cycle will continue, leadingto increased pain, muscle tightness, a loss of movement, more difficultysleeping and the development of still more trigger points.
The only option is tocontinually adjust the spine and keep it moving. It is not uncommon for thosewith fibromyalgia to be adjusted three to four times per month to keepeverything mobile and relaxed. The biggest concern in treating fibromyalgia isthe muscles’ diminished healing ability. For this reason, chiropracticadjustments are modified slightly to optimize comfort. This decreases thestress on all small supporting spine muscles, which can be easily injured.
When seeking chiropracticcare, be certain your doctor is familiar with the muscular changes that occurwith fibromyalgia so that they can adjust their treatment accordingly.

Treating Fibromyalgia with Trigger Point Therapy

Theoverwhelming characteristic of fibromyalgia is long-standing, body-wide painwith defined tender points, and more frequently, trigger points. Do not confusetrigger points with tender points. A trigger point needs firm pressure to elicit pain, while tender pointsare painful with even very light pressure. Trigger points will refer pain toother areas of the body, whereas tender points will not. Unlike tender points,trigger points can occur in isolation and represent a source of radiating pain,even in the absence of direct pressure. As discussed earlier, trigger pointsare purely composed of spasmed muscle fibers, whereas tender points are knotsfilled with Ground Substance. Patients with fibromyalgia almost always have acombination of the two, and can improve dramatically with light trigger pointtherapy.
Fibromyalgia trigger pointtherapy is similar to trigger point therapy for low back pain, neck pain orheadaches. The points are the same; the difference is intensity. Since the musclesin patients with fibromyalgia are easily injured and take longer to heal, lesspressure is used on these trigger points.

Treating Fibromyalgia with Cold Laser Therapy

Sincepoor healing of muscle tissue and chronic pain are characteristic traits of fibromyalgia,laser therapy is an important part of any treatment plan. Two of the major benefitsof cold laser therapy are stimulation of tissue healing and decreased sensationof pain.
A 1997 study of 846 peoplewith fibromyalgia reported in the Journal of Clinical Laser Medicine andSurgery revealted two-thirds of the patients experienced improved pain andmobility with cold laser therapy. Another study published in RheumatologyInternational in 2002 showed those who received laser therapy had a significantimprovement in reduced pain, fatigue and morning stiffness.

Self-Care for Fibromyalgia

Your dailylifestyle choices have a tremendous impact on how fibromyalgia will affect yourlife. Those who make certain changes suffer much less pain, are able to remainmore active and have a much higher quality of life. If you have fibromyalgia,here are the key daily areas of focus to help your body:

Getting enough good sleep

Sufficient sleep, and the right kind of sleep, can help ease thepain and fatigue of fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, many people with fibromyalgiahave pain, restless legs syndrome and brain-wave irregularities that interferewith restful sleep. Insomnia is also very common. (Although alcohol may helpyou to relax, it is not recommended before bed, as it interferes with restfulsleep.) Some patients have found 5-hydroxy tryptophan (5-HTP) very helpful, aswell as the prescription anti-depressant amitriptyline. Typically, we don'trecommend prescription drugs. However, in certain situations, we understand it is particularlydifficult to heal without proper sleep.

Exercising

Improvedfitness through exercise is highly recommended. Studies have shown thatfibromyalgia symptoms can be relieved by aerobic exercise. Though pain andfatigue may render exercise and daily activities difficult, it's crucial to beas physically active as possible. The best way to begin a fitness program is tostart with low-impact exercises such as walking and swimming. Starting slowlyhelps stretch and mobilize tight, sore muscles. In contrast, high-impactaerobics and weight lifting could cause increased discomfort, so pay attentionto your body. The more you can exercise, the better.

Making changes at work

Mostpeople with fibromyalgia are able to continue working, but may have to make significantchanges. It may be necessary to reduce the number of hours at work, find a jobthat will allow a flexible schedule, or switch to a less physically demandingjob. Many people with fibromyalgia require specially designed office chairs,adjustable desks or other adaptations in order to continue working. If you faceobstacles at work such as an uncomfortable desk chair, or experience difficultylifting heavy boxes or files, your employer may opt to make adjustments toaccommodate your disposition.

Eating well

What we consume has the ability to either stress your body, or to help your body heal.Foods that tend to be stressful on the body include: dairy, eggs, wheat, corn,as well as anything with monosodium glutamate (MSG), and nitrates or nitrites (foundin processed foods). Several environmental toxins may also contribute to theoverall physical stress on your body; therefore fish should also be avoided. Itis important to eat as much clean, organically grown fresh foods as possible.Base your diet around whole foods such as brown rice, legumes, oats, rice milk,soy, hormone-free chicken or turkey, roots, nuts and berries.

Nutritional supplements

Dozens ofnutritional products claim to be ‘the answer’ for fibromyalgia. To date, nonehave proven to be of long-term benefit. However, some patients have usedmagnesium malate, ginkgo biloba and certain herbals with good results. The bottomline with nutritional supplements? To date, nothing works for everyone. If youcome across something that you wish to try, by all means do so, as long as you check with your chiropractor first toensure it won’t interfere with other treatment. In other words, contact us today!