An Effective Way To Beat Sciatica & Back Pain

An Effective Way To Beat Sciatica & Back Pain

C o mm o t i o n The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body The Back in Motion ®

Back in Motion ® PT... Whether it’s a sudden, shooting pain down your leg or a persistent ache in your lower back, sciatica can seriously impact your daily life. While medications, injections and even surgery sometimes help people with sciatic nerve pain, physical therapy is the most effective and least invasive way to eradicate the problem. An Effective Way to Beat Your Sciatica and Back Pain

C o mm o t i o n The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body The Back in Motion ®

“WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ELIMINATE MY BACK OR SCIATICA PAIN?”

Physical therapy is invaluable for easing sciatic pain. Its effectiveness stems from the multi-faceted approach your therapist will take in order to reduce the pressure on the nerve. Improving your strength and the flexibility in your hip area can do much to decrease the pressure on your sciatic nerve, which in turn will relieve the pain you feel. The muscle and ligament structure of your hips tend to tighten if you spend too much time sitting. That causes your spine to take on the strain, often leading to sciatic nerve impingement. To combat this undue pressure, physical therapists work to increase hip mobility by helping you stretch your hip abductors and flexors. This opens up the pathway, which your sciatic nerve runs, so that the nerve is freed from compression. In addition, strengthening hip abductors muscles, as well as buildingmobility, will enable themuscles and ligaments in your hips to be better aligned. Improved strength in your hip area, allows the effort used in everydaymovement to be more evenly distributed, and therefore less apt to result in nerve irritation.

According to Google Trends the phrase “how to get rid of sciatica pain fast” has increased 60% in recent years BACK IN MOTION ® CAN HELP YOU! https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&q=Sciatica YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN YOUR SEARCH

You Should Consider Turning to Physical Therapy First

Give us a call today! 839-5860 If you’re concerned about shooting pains down one leg, buttock aching or lower back pain and numbness -- or any combination of sharp and dull aching anywhere along the sciatic nerve -- contact us right away for a consultation. We’ll work with your doctor to address the specific problems contributing to the ongoing impingement of your sciatic nerve, while also striving to reduce your pain as quickly as possible. 3 2 9 5 1 8 3 6 9 6 http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2017/02010/Individualized_Physical_Therapy_Is_Cost_Effective.15.aspx http://www.totalcarept.net/tips-relieving-sciatica-pain/ http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/sciatica/sciatic-nerve-and-sciatica http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/what-is-sciatica A study published in Spine, the respected medical journal, found that, when started early enough, physical therapy is a very effective treatment for sciatica, and one which is more budget-friendly for the average person. The study found that over a one-year period, people who had taken 10 sessions of physical therapy had better results for their sciatic pain than those who were only given guidelines for treatment. The study’s authors attributed the cost-effectiveness of the physical therapy approach in part to using it as a first line of defense against sciatic pain and back pain. For the many patients for whom physical therapy as the primary treatment was sufficient, there wasn’t a need for expensive tests, such as MRIs, or further invasive procedures. 4 5

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Back in Motion ® Gives Back!

A 30 Second Self-Test For Sciatica • Do you have back pain or leg pain with standing or walking? • Do you have a shooting pain in your leg when you stand up? • Do you need to sit down for a minute for the pain to go away? 30 Second Self-Test for Sciatica 1. Sitting on a chair, look down. 2. Straighten one leg, with toes in the air. 3. Repeat for the other side.

Library Drive!

FREE CONSULTATION We are still collecting books, CDs, and DVDs for the local library through the end of April. No text books or magazines please.The last day to drop off is Friday, April 28th. Thank you for your continued generosity and support! Schedule Yours Today! Prevent injuries, shorten recovery time and improve your flexibility with a free consultation. Take Care of Your Aches and Pains Before It’s Too Late.

Chance Farwell, PTA

What it means: If your leg with pain, numbness or tingling does not go up as high as the other leg, you likely have Sciatica. Your next step is to see what is causing the pressure on your sciatic nerve. Call us to schedule an appointment...we can help you with that. Call Today!

SOUTH PORTLAND: (207) 799-8226

GORHAM: (207) 839-5860

PORTLAND: (207) 699-4111

SOUTH PORTLAND: (207) 799-8226

GORHAM: (207) 839-5860

PORTLAND: (207) 699-4111

Practice News!

Celebrations: Liz Adams celebrates 11 years with Back in Motion® this month, Kelly LaBrecque celebrates 3 years, and Jordan Hopkins celebrates 1 year with us! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Don’t forget to say “Happy Birthday!” to Krista Delcourt this month! Welcome Aboard: We would like to welcome new clinicians Kim Pelletier and Christa Para, and new administrative staff Michelle Moreau and Emily Whittaker. Staff on the Move: Danielle Mackie has been promoted to Billing Manager and Kevin Flanagan has moved to the South Portland Patient Account Representative position. Congratulations! Out and About: Would you like Back in Motion ® to do a free consultation event, educational presentation, or ergonomic workshop for your workplace, business, sports team, gym, or group? We come to you and provide a customized event to fit your needs. We’ll fix you up and make it fun! For more information on this great opportunity call any of our locations or contact Kelly at [email protected]

Out and About: We can present at your next event!

Patient Spotlight

Maria B. “I hurt my back in an indoor soccer match. We were playing a guys’ team and I was taking shot after shot on net, I dove for a ball and did something to my back. I couldn’t sit, stand, or move; everything was uncomfortable. I started seeing someone for some muscle work but after 4-5 weeks I wasn’t seeing much improvement; that is when my doctor referred me to PT. The massage really helped and I loved working out in the gym. Now I am back to playing softball and soccer on Saturdays and soccer on Sunday nights!”

“The massage really helped!”

Better YOUR Balance and Take Care of Your Aches and Pains Before It’s Too Late.

A Couple Simple Exercises You Can Do At Home To Help Your Pain Exercise Essentials

2. PIRIFORMIS STRETCH - MODIFIED While lying on your back, hold your knee with your opposite hand and draw your knee up and over towards your opposite shoulder.

1. LOWER TRUNK ROTATIONS Lying on your back with your knees bent, gently rock your knees side-to-side.

Andy Broomhall, PTA

Donovan Hodges, Aide

Featured Employee: Tess Rockwood Marketing Assistant

Where are you from? I grew up in Ellsworth, Maine but was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. What schooling/training do you have? I received a Business Economics degree from University of Maine. How long have you been with Back in Motion? It will be a year in June! What is your best work story (funny, happy, inspiring)? I don’t really have an office, so I float around all three of our clinics depending onwhat tasks I need to complete that day. At first I felt quite vagrant-like. But once I found clinic locations that I could set up camp and work without displacing someone else, I started really enjoying myweekly circulation. I can be foundmost often at the Portland clinic in one of our un-used treatment rooms. While working

here, I can see our fantastic staff out in the gymworkingone-on-onewithourpatients. From this perspective, I have been able to witness some of THE sweetest, funniest, and most compassionate interactions between our physical therapists, their assistants, and our patients. I am proud to be their coworker. If I had an office, I wouldn’t see any of that. What are your hobbies? I am a fish-a-hike-a-holic in the summer time. What is one interesting fact about you that

most people don’t know? I am a cancer survivor.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In 10 years I see myself being perfectly healthy and extremely satisfied with my career and the decisions that I made to get to get there.