AppalachianPT: Headaches

July, 2020

NEWSLETTER

HEADACHES ARE A PAIN! DISCOVER RELIEF WITH PHYSICAL THERAPY

INSIDE: • Physical Therapy Can Relieve Headaches • Exercise Essentials • Patient Success Spotlights • The Lost Art of Communicating

July, 2020

NEWSLETTER

GAIN RELIEF FROMHEADACHESWITH PHYSICAL THERAPY

Whether you have pain or have been suffering for a long time, seeing a physical therapist at Appalachian Physical Therapy, Inc. can help you return to a more active and pain-free life. Give us a call at: • Broadway: 540-901-9501 • Harrisonburg: 540-209-8977 • Pinehurst: 910-215-0541 with a cerebral aneurysm that if not treated as a medical emergency would have been fatal. So now that I have your attention, I will be referring to the category of primary HA’s and mainly tension HA’s. I say this with tongue in cheek as we have treated a lot of HA’s that have been diagnosed as migraines that when treated have gone away completely. This should bring to your attention that not all HA’s are alike and react the same. It can be very difficult finding the cause or the root of the problem with some people. They may be having migraines that are caused by another trigger that can be controlled. The list goes on and on so again I will concentrate on tension HA’s. Dr. Janet Travell has several good books with illustrations on each muscle in the body (about 650). She spent her lifetime working with each muscle independently figuring out the referral patterns and intensity caused by abnormal tension within each of them and what that looks like in patients. Knowing referral patterns for each muscle is paramount in the treatment of tension HA’s. I can think of no other books on the market today that illustrates this any better. I believe her books were first printed in 1983 1 . (continued inside)

I have been involved with treating folks with headaches (HA’s) a very long time. It never ceases to amaze me when I have patients come into the office with tension in their neck or facial musculature that would be prone to having headaches and have them state they have never had a HA in their

lifetime. Really!! HA’s are reported to be one of the most common reasons for patients to seek medical attention and affects the vast majority of adults in their lifetime. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that almost half of all adults worldwide will experience headaches in any given year. The International Headache Society (IHS) categorizes HA’s into two sections; primary when they are not caused by another condition and secondary when there is another underlying cause. Types of Primary HA’s are migraines, cluster and tension HA’s. Secondary HA’s include things like a brain tumor or bleed, stroke, concussion, carbon monoxide poisoning and the list goes on. One thing is for certain; if you are experiencing a HA that is the worst HA of your life, get medical help IMMEDIATELY! It could save your life. There have been many cases where spouses have called 911 when this has happened only to find a problem

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PHYSICAL THERAPY CAN RELIEVE HEADACHES

neat thing about all of this is the work that Dr. Travell has done led to trigger point dry needling (TPDN) and a friend that worked with her, Jan Dommerholt (a guy). Jan is a physical therapist fromDenmark with a company called Myopain Seminars in Bethesda Maryland who my BFF met online when performing her doctoral work on trigger points. This BFF is still my BFF as I asked her to partner with me to start Appalachian Physical Therapy in 1986 and married her in 1988. Colleen is indeed my BFF still to this day.

(continued from outside) For instance, I remember having a patient referred to me that came in complaining of severe jaw pain. She had seen an eye, ear and nose physician who referred her to an oral surgeon that referred her to me. Like the others, I evaluated her jaw and face and came to the conclusion her jaw and face were fine. I really did not know what was causing her pain and told her so. I actually stated I would send a letter to her oral surgeon stating I found nothing wrong with her jaw and felt I had let this person down. As she was walking out, I noticed a slight limp in the way she walked and stopped her asking how long she had had the limp. She stated she was not limping and I informed her I would be the judge of that. I asked her to perform some simple testing of her calf musculature and found a very active myofascial trigger point (MTP) in her calf on the same side of her jaw complaint. AHA! I remembered reading about this in Dr. Travell’s book and quickly turned to the appropriate page showing the patient what I had found. She was pretty skeptical until I started working on her and within 30 minutes, her pain and symptoms were completely gone. To say she and I were both amazed was an understatement! Now we all know about referred pain as we are familiar with the symptoms of a heart attack. They are pain in the neck, jaw, arm, and chest. Dr. Travell was the one who educated us with this referral of heart pain as she was a cardiologist. This led to her interest in referred pain from other muscle origin. I remember first coming in contact with Dr. Travell’s work through a best friend forever (BFF) in 1985. This really got my attention and I began to start putting things together that had been a mystery beforehand. The

So you probably got more than you asked for regarding referred pain and HA’s. It is not simple however with trigger point (TP) manual work as well as TPDN, we have come a long way in successfully treating a multitude of HA’s. So if you have been diagnosed with HA’s and take medication or injections on a regular basis, it just might be helpful if we evaluated you to see if we can help in your case just as we have many who have been seen beforehand. What do you have to lose except your headache? 1: Travell Janet, Simmons David: Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, The Trigger Point Manual, The Lower Extremities, Volume 1&2, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 1983. 2: Travell Janet, Simmons David: Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction, The Trigger Point Manual, The Lower Extremities, Volume 2, page 430, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 1983

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PATIENT SUCCESS SPOTLIGHTS

“I was able to begin performing tasks I thought I would never be able to do!” “This is the most wonderful place I have ever taken therapy. The people treat you like family. They gave me the best therapy I could have asked for on both my shoulder and hip. When I first started, I could only walk with help but now I can walk on my own with no assistance. Each therapist has the most up to date knowledge and I believe that this really aided in my strength and healing. Annie was most caring and kind and has a wonderful personality. With Annie’s creativity and knowledge I was able to begin performing tasks I thought I would never be able to do again. From the front office, Connie, Robin and Vicki to the techs Dan and Lauren, to all the therapist this place is truly amazing!!” - Elaine C.

“I was able to quit taking my pain medications!” “This is the second time Colleen has helped me get back on my feet. She is patient and kept working until I had significant improvement in my pain and ease of movement. Over the course of several months, I was able to quit taking my pain medications and resume my activities. I am very grateful to Colleen and the kind staff at Appalachian Physical Therapy for tirelessly helping me to recover. They never gave up on me.” - Mary Jane R. “They helped me meet my goals!” “I suffered from a broken hip and had to have therapy. My family doctor referred me to Appalachian Physical Therapy. Since that time I have been referred to physical therapy for my shoulder and knee replacements on both knees. There was never a question for me as to where I would go for physical therapy. I had seen Karen, Ray and Jon and they are absolutely professional. They helped me meet my goals. By having exercises at home and at the facility, I am able to resume my normal daily activities. I am thankful for the people who work at Appalachian Physical Therapy.” - –Helen B.

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FREE ROTATOR CUFF, HIP, & KNEE PAIN SEMINARS Attention Pain Sufferers!

Who is the Workshop For? The Rotator Cuff Workshop is for people suffering with shoulder pain. The Hip and Knee Seminar is for individuals having difficulty walking or having pain in either joint. If you are looking to feel normal again and heal naturally without medications, injections and surgery, don’t delay! Register today! Use the camera app on your smartphone to see the next workshop at the location nearest you. You may also call our office numbers listed on the front page of this newsletter. REVEALING HOW TO GET BACK TO NORMAL WITHOUT MEDICATIONS, INJECTIONS & SURGERY...

HARRISONBURG, VA ROTATOR CUFF WORKSHOP

ROTATOR CUFF WORKSHOP

PINEHURST, NC ROTATOR CUFF WORKSHOP

BROADWAY, VA

HARRISONBURG, VA KNEE PAIN WORKSHOP

HIP PAIN WORKSHOP BROADWAY, VA

PINEHURST, NC KNEE PAIN WORKSHOP

HARRISONBURG, VA HIP PAIN WORKSHOP

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THE LOST ART OF COMMUNICATING

and we have to readdress these on our initial contact. That does take a little time and it can feel like we are filling in the blanks. One must understand the information we receive on these forms can make a significant impact on the way we will evaluate and treat you from day one. You see, we here at Appalachian Physical Therapy feel anything that has happened with your health has had an impact on your wellbeing. You might have experienced a broken arm when you were just a youngster and feel it really did not cause any problems later on in life. Maybe not however what about that rotator cuff strain you are experiencing right now or that tingling you are having intermittently when you grasp items? I could go on but I think you get the idea. A good history is very important in helping us figure out problems that “just happen” without a cause and effect. It is very important for you to come prepared to talk with us regarding your history of the problem or perceived problem along with your other health issues. Our bodies are wonderfully made and we understand the relationship when one part suffers, the whole body suffers. It is all related and you remember the song that states the leg bone is connected to the hip bone and so on. Everything is connected. You might get a physical therapist asking you questions while entering in >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6

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