Farmingdale PT: Relieving Neck Pain

Farmingdale PT: Relieving Neck Pain

Health &Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

EMILY’S RETURN TO COMPETITION!

By Emily’s Mom

way to a Platinum trophy, a 1st place finish in their category, 2nd place overall in their age group and her tap line also earned a special judge’s award for “Fancy Footwork!” Emily has also recently returned to the lacrosse field where she is looking forward to a fun season on the JV team. We are so grateful to Butch and his kind and compassionate staff for taking care of her and getting her back on track to do the things she loves most.” - Emily’s Mom

“Emily suffered an injury to her back and hamstring during kickline practice in December. This was crushing to her as a dancer. She had to stop kicking and dancing and missed a few competitions. She’s been seeing Butch and his amazing staff 2x a week for the past 8 weeks and she’s made fabulous progress in this short time. On March 18th, she was cleared to dance in one of her team dances during competition where she and the team tap-danced their

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Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

Long Island’s Top PT Clinic!

RELIEVING NECK PAIN “Look Up To Pain Relief!”

INSIDE:

• Are You Hurting Your Neck While You Sleep? • Healthy Recipe

• Employee Of The Month • Patient Success Spotlight

start to collapse, the space between the neck bones narrow, and the joints may become inflamed. The pain is usually chronic and is typically felt in the middle part of the neck. However, it may spread from the neck into the upper back or to the outside of the shoulder in some cases. Radiculopathy Pressure or irritation on or around the nerves of the neck can affect the nerves’ electrical signals.Thepressureor irritation can be felt as numbness on the skin, weakness in the muscles or pain along the path of the nerve. Weakness in thespinemusclescancauseabnormalpressureon thenerves and increased chance of radiculopathy. If you are suffering from neck pain, our SPINE Program is ideal to quickly relieve your pain and prevent it from returning. From long-term neck pain, to recovering from a complicated surgery, we can relieve your pain quickly, returning your natural mobility and strength. Our treatments are designed to help ease pain and to improve flexibility, strength, posture and function. We even teach you how to protect your neck in the years ahead. Look inside to learn more about our SPINE Program and say good-bye to that aching neck!

Neck pain can be a constant ache or sharp pain with movement,stoppingyoufromenjoying life’sactivities. Neck pain is very common affecting approximately 2/3 rds ofthepopulationatonepointoranother.People withneckpainsuffermainlyfromoneof thefollowing conditions: Degenerative Disc Disease The discs are the fluid filled sacs between the bones

HENRY“BUTCH”PURSLOW, DPT

of your neck. The normal aging process shrinks the discs and dries them out. Repeated stress and strain also weakens the tissues that make up a disc. When this happens, the disc loses its ability to absorb shock. In turn, this causes rubbing and changes in the shape of the joints in your neck, which can be painful. Muscle Strain When there is an injury to the neck or you overuse the shoulder and neck muscles, a strain can occur. When this happens, the neck muscles may go into spasm to help support and protect the sore area. Mechanical Neck Pain Mechanical pain usually starts from changes in the neck joints. As discs

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ARE YOU HURTING YOUR NECKWHILE YOU SLEEP? We spend one third of our lives sleeping. Therefore, how you sleep and the bed you sleep on can have a dramatic effect on the support of your body. When you sleep you need to be aware of how your neck and spine are supported. There are many different types of beds on the market today which can be very confusing for consumers.The best type of bed is the one thatyou tryoutand feelmostcomfortableusing.Typically,abed that isfirm underneath, with a softer top helps to provide support as well as contour to your body. If your mattress is old, then think about investing in a new one so that your neck and spine are supported well.

The best positions to sleep in for your spine are on your back or sides. Avoid sleeping on your stomach since your spine ends up twisted, especially your neck.Over thehoursofrepetitivesleepingonyourstomach,youcandamage the joints of your spine and compress the nerves exiting your spine. Use a pillow to help support your body and take the weight of your legs off your spine. If you like to sleep on your back, place a pillow under the backs of your thighs and knees. This should place your knees in a slight, supported bend which takes pressure off your lower back. If you sleep on your side, be sure to put a pillow between your knees. This helps keep the alignment of your spine, and takes the pressure of your upper leg off the spine. Have 1-2 pillows under your head to keep your neck in proper alignment. If you need 2 pillows stagger them so that one pillow overlaps the other by one half. The lower half goes under the shoulders, while the upper half supports the neck. Our physical therapists at Farmingdale Physical Therapy West can show you exercises, stretches and techniques to relieve your pain and prevent it from returning.

If you are suffering with neck or back pain, call us today to learn more about how we can relieve your pain, returning you to a more active, pain-free life!

HEALTHY RECIPE: HONEY GARLIC SHRIMP

Ingredients • 1/3 cup honey • 1/4 cup soy sauce (reduced sodium) • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic • optional: 1 teaspoon minced ginger

• 1 lb medium uncooked shrimp, peeled & deveined • 2 teaspoons olive oil • optional: chopped green onion garnish

Directions 1. Whisk the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger (if using) together in a medium bowl. 2. Place shrimp in a large zipped-top bag or tupperware. Pour 1/2 of the marinade mixture on top, give it all a shake or stir, then allow shrimp to marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or for up to 8-12 hours. Cover and refrigerate the rest of the marinade for step 3. (Time-saving tip: while the shrimp is marinating, I steamed broccoli and microwaved some quick brown rice.) 3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place shrimp in the skillet. (Discard used marinade.) Cook shrimp on one side until pink-- about 45 seconds-- then flip shrimp over. Pour in remaining marinade and cook it all until shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more. 4. Serve shrimp with cooked marinade sauce and a garnish of green onion. The sauce is excellent on brown rice and steamed veggies on the side.

FARMINGDALE PHYSICAL THERAPY WEST 4277 Hempstead Turnpike Bethpage, NY 11714 • 516-731-3583

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Patient Success Spotlight

Employee Of The Month

ELIZABETH KALVODA HEAD PHYSICAL THERAPY AIDE

...Physical Therapy has made a big difference!

During her free time, Liz likes to workout with her trainer, Rich at the WLIC of Long Island. She also enjoys spending time with her friends and family. Liz’s favorite dish is lobster ravioli. “The best part about working at FPTW is getting to meet so many new people and to help treat a multitude of injuries. I love being able to watch the progression of these patients; the healing process throughout physical therapy is amazing.

“Jill and Joe helped me out each visit. I had neck issues often and the massaging and exercises helped with the pain. I went from hurting every other day to going weeks without pain. I haven’t woken up with neck problems since I’ve been coming to PT. I still have good days and bad with my neck but PT has made a big difference! Thanks Jill and Joe.” - Gina S.

Take Care of Your Pain Before It’s Too Late.

IT WORKS WRAPS

Patient Of The Month

Cathleen Hnis

She has been a patient for about half a year. She loves to go to lunch with friends, enjoys the masterpiece theatre, and doing crosswords. She has 3 kids, and was an elementary teacher for 27 years! She enjoys coming to PT because all of the patients are great, but the best part is Butch and the staff. Everyone makes her feel like family.

APRIL 26TH 12PM-6PM

FREE WEIGHT LOSS TRAINING SESSION

Our Licensed Massage Therapist will also be on hand to talk about medical massage and offering FREE 10-minute chair massages. (Limited Spots Available)

Bring in this Newsletter Insert and receive a FREE half hour weight loss training session. Call Us Today to RSVP for Open Spots

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CALL TODAY! 516-731-3583

Attention Pain Sufferers WE ARE HOSTING 2 GREAT WORKSHOPS!

RUNNING WORKSHOP

BACK PAIN & SCIATICA WORKSHOP

May 19th | 12:00 pm

May 17th | 5:30 pm

- 1:30 pm

- 7:00 pm

You’ll learn: • Proper footwear • Ankle/Knee conditions from running • Foot type/Mechanics • Treatment for the most common issues

You’ll learn: • Main causes of back pain and sciatica • Benefits of PT for back pain and sciatica • How posture plays a role in back pain • Exercises to improve strength of your back • Exercises to relieve sciatica symptoms

RONKONKOMA LOCATION 700 Union Pkwy #3 Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

BETHPAGE LOCATION 4277 Hempstead Turnpike Bethpage, NY 11714

CALL TODAY!

516-731-3583

631-495-6179