Nestor PT: Say Goodbye To Neck Pains

Nestor PT: Say Goodbye To Neck Pains

N EWS L E T T E R www.nestorphysicaltherapy.com

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Do you have trouble sitting up straight at your desk, tilting your head down to tie your shoes, or even lying down to go to sleep at night? Do you have headaches more than once a week? If so,

you’re not alone. (continued inside)

Say Goodbye To Those Pains In Your Neck

NEWSLETTER

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Say Goodbye To Those Pains In Your Neck

According to the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies, over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Of those 100 million, 15% suffer from chronic neck pain. In a survey conducted with over 300 chronic pain sufferers, 59% reported an impact on the quality of their life and 77% of those surveyed reported feeling depressed. Even small amounts of pain can lead to a downward spiral in quality of life, energy, and overall wellbeing. Fortunately physical therapy can help resolve all the pains in your neck. Why does neck pain occur? The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) states that approximately one-third of the population will experience neck pain in any given year. It can get worse if left untreated, and in severe cases, surgery may even be needed. Additional symptoms of neck pain may include: • Discomfort and pain when remaining in the same position for too long. • Muscle stiffness and tightness in the upper body. • Headaches. • Arm weakness.

• Numbness or tingling. • Inability to fully stand up or sit up straight. • Loss of sleep due to pain and discomfort.

The neck is an integral area of everyday movement, and sharp pains can prevent you from functioning properly in your day-to-day life. The neck is comprised of 7 vertebrae (bones), over 16 joints, and numerous muscles and tissues. The greatest concentration of muscles and tissues is in the upper neck, at the base of your skull. This area consists of the larger muscles that attach your head to your neck, and it is where the vertebral and carotid arteries travel through your neck, in order to reach the skull. When these muscles become tense, the blood flow from the arteries can become affected, resulting in neck pain and headaches. Your neck relies on a lot from your body – such as proper posture, flexibility, strength, and coordination. In our daily lives, we place tremendous strain and demand on our neck. Stress and poor posture can cause muscle weakness in the neck, and can even lead to long-term damage over time. Any sort of chronic strain on the neck can result in inflammation and contribute to our pain and headaches.

Contact Nestor Physical Therapy today to schedule your consultation.

Call Today! 401-356-4777

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Relieve Your Neck Pain With Nestor Physical Therapy

Our physical therapists are movement experts, equipped in identifying and treating the main source of your neck pain. They will analyze your posture, movement, and problem areas, in order to determine the best course of treatment for your needs. Your treatment plan will focus on relieving your pain, in addition to improving your posture, mobility, strength, and coordination. Your diagnosis will determine the make-up of your treatment plan, and may include any combination of manual therapy, targeted stretches and exercises, activity modification, or ergonomic recommendations. It may also include additional methods as deemed fit by your physical therapist, such as ice and heat therapies, ultrasound, or electrical stimulation.

Physical therapy can help significantly reduce your neck pain by implementing the following benefits:

• Maintaining proper posture when sitting and standing.

You will work together with your physical therapist to understand the goals and expectations of each step in your personalized treatment plan, with the main focus being on overcoming your neck pain and recovering as quickly as possible. If your neck pain has been limiting your daily life, don’t wait any longer to seek help.

• Restoring flexibility to your neck muscles and joints.

• Strengthening your mid-back muscles and shoulders to provide support to your neck.

• Improving the coordination of your neck muscles.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment. At Nestor Physical Therapy, we are dedicated to providing you with the tools you need for recovery and relief!

• Educating patients on eating well, by reducing the consumption of processed foods that increases inflammation in the body.

Who Do You Know That Needs Our Help?

Refer a Friend Do You Have Friends or Family Unable to Do The Following?

9 Move without pain 9 Bend and move freely

9 Balance confidently and securely 9 Sit for long periods comfortably 9 Walk for long distances 9 Live an active and healthy lifestyle

If you answered “yes” to any of these, please call us today at 401-356-4777

Patient Success Spotlights

“I am pleasantly surprised at the improvements of my daily living!”

“Prior to starting at Nestor Physical Therapy, I had reoccurring neck pain for over a year. Some days were so bad I was unable to move my head in any direction for days. Since starting here, I have gained great range of motion and now have very little to no pain at all. With my exercise program, I am able to remove all stiffness and feel 100%!” - Steven Hoch “With my exercise program, I am able to remove all stiffness and feel 100%!”

“I have had degenerative disc disease in my neck for many years. I was in a car accident that caused a very painful flare-up of symptoms. After a few weeks of treatment, there was significant improvement. I am amazed that I went from daily pain levels of 6 to a max of 10 on hard days. I was constantly rubbing and stretching my neck but now I don’t need to. I can look down to read and write without pain. I can sit up looking forward in class or to watch television. I can drive further distances again. I am pleasantly surprised at the improvements of my daily living!” - Laura Mackinnon

Physical Therapy Funnies

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Smoky-Spicy Yellow Tomato Soup

I’m keeping with the “Fresh from the Garden” theme from last month’s newsletter. This is a great dish to make when you have fresh tomatoes and freeze some for a cold day. The yellow tomatoes, onion, yellow peppers, and jalapenos were all from my garden. You could roast all the ingredients in the oven, or sauté in a large stock pot, but as you know I love to cook outside.

I set up one of my charcoal grills for indirect grilling and added soaked wood chips to create some smoke.

Next, quarter 8 yellow tomatoes, 2 small onions (1 large would work), slice 2 yellow peppers, and halve 2 jalapenos (see pic). Optional: Add 2-3 garlic cloves. All the veggies are placed in two foil pans and placed on the grill to smoke-roast for about an hour.

Once the veggies have roasted, rough chop the onions and yellow peppers. Remove the seeds from the jalapenos or leave them in if you like it spicy. Place all the tomatoes (including any liquid in the foil pan), the onions, peppers, jalapenos, and garlic in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot. Season with 1 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt and ½ teaspoon of white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as you cook. Add 1/3 cup of sherry vinegar. Bring the soup to a simmer and check the amount of liquid in the pan. If you like a thick soup, you may not need to add any addition liquid. It depends on how much liquid releases from the tomatoes. If you cook the soup longer the liquid with reduce and leave you with a thicker soup. For a thinner soup, add vegetable stock or water. I used 1 cup of my home-made vegetable stock.

One cool tool I used for this recipe was an immersion blender. It allows you to blend all the ingredients right in the pot without waiting for ingredients to cool and then add to a blender. Once blended, the soup will have a nice smooth texture.

Slice fresh basil leaves in thin strips (chiffonade) and add to the soup. The next step is optional. If you want to thicken the soup even more, add 1/3 cup of cream.

The soup is ready to eat. Recipe produces between 5-6 cups of soup. When I went to reheat the soup the next day, I tasted the soup cold... delicious. This soup could also be served cold as a gazpacho. I recommend serving hot on a cold fall day with a grilled cheese sandwich. Here is my country bread grilled cheese and fresh tomato (yellow and red) sandwich. Enjoy!

CUT OUT & COLLECT EACH OF OUR MONTHLY NEWSLET TER RECIPES AND CREATE YOUR OWN NESTOR PHYSICAL THERAPY COOKBOOK!

Arthritis In The Neck

Cedar Planked Smoked Cheese

The problem with arthritis is the loss of range of motion in the neck joints. As bone wears on bone, the surface of the bones actually start to c hange shape. This thins the bones in the neck in some parts leading to a loss of height between the bones. Due t abnormal wear and tear, new bone forms where it shouldn’t, creeping into the holes where the spinal cord p asses through. In addition it can rub on the nerves out to your neck, sho ul ers, arms and even hands. This can lead to a condition called cervical spinal stenosis, which can be quite painful. What can be done to help neck arthritis? While pain medications can help control pain, they don’t address the root cause of the pain, which i s poor strength and lack of normal movement. The neck joints on the side of the spine normally experience wear and tear over the years. However, wh en this wear and tear is accelerated due to poor posture, weakness or inju ry, this c n lead to limited, painful range of motion. In addition, with neck arthritis, the smaller muscles that guide the m otions of the neck become weaker, eventually leading tomore rubbing and ar thritis. By gently stretching these tight and restricted joints with specific ha nds on therapy and exercises, range of motion can be returned. While physical t herapy c n ot restore the cartilage or change the bony structure, it can ce rtainly help your neck move better, become stronger, reduce pain and give y ou the power to stay healthier longer. Try this simple test. See if you have restricted cervical joints. Stand with your back against the wall. Can you touch the back of your head t th e wall while keeping your chin level? If you cannot, then your neck joints are limited and you need physical therapy to restore the range f motion.

This is a great appetizer for the holidays. It looks fancy but is to make. Your guests will think you are a gourmet chef!

quick and easy

The cheese can be smoked on a gas grill if you make a smoker

pack. I used the

charcoal grill.

You will need a cedar plank, camembert cheese or a brie (soft c

reamy cheese),

pepper jelly, and 1-2 jalapenos.

Place the plank on the grill for 1-2 minutes a side. You will see some grill marks and you will start to smell the aroma of the cedar plank. (See the grill marks in the picture). Spread the pepper jelly on the cheese. Slice the jalapeno in ha lf, remove the seeds if you like it on the mild side, and arrange jalapeno slices on top of the cheese. Slice the jalapeno crosswise with the seeds if you like it spicy. Place the cheese in the plank. Place the plank on the grill (indirect heat) no flame under the plank. (See picture). Add a few wood chips to the charcoals. Use smoker pack if using gas grill. Co ok about 10 minutes until the cheese becomes soft. Some of the cheese will start to ooze out.

Is your neck pain affecting your balance? Have you ever seen a person with t ir head protruding forward and their body bent over? This can be subtle or quite noticeable. With neck pain, limited neck posture res ults in loss of balance. Just pull anyone by their nose and you will see th ey will falter forward. This is because the normal lines of gravity through th e body change when the spine posture changes. If you or someone you kno w has poor balance, it could be a problem with their posture. G t your neck moving and feeling better. Call us to learn more abo ut our programs today!

Serve with grilled bread or fancy crackers. Enjoy!

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Try this movement for neck pain relief. Relieve Pain In Minutes:

Patient Success Spotlight

Relieves Neck Pain

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CERVICAL ROTATION Turn your head towards the side, then return back to looking straight ahead.

“Since my initial onset of injury, I have been suffering major t ingling in my arm and neck pain. I've been to 2 other physical therapis ts and Dr. Nestor has eliminated my symptoms. He has given me hop e that I can make a full recovery and get back to the active life that I had!” - Michael Orsini

www.nestorphysicaltherapy.com

Call Today! 401-356-4777

www.nestorphysicaltherapy.com

Call Today! 401-356-4777

www.nestorphysicaltherapy.com

Exercise Essentials Flexibility, strength, and stability are needed to keep you moving. Share this with a friend or family member to help keep them healthy too!

LEVATOR SCAPULAE STRETCH Grasp your arm on the affected side and tilt your head downward into the armpit. Use your opposite hand to guide your head further into the stretch. Hold for 5-10 seconds, repeat 3 times.

SCAPULAR RETRACTION Stand tall, shoulders relaxed. Pull shoulder blades back and down. Don’t hunch your shoulders. Hold for 3 seconds, repeat 5 times.

Exercises copyright of

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Helps To Relieve Your Neck Pain

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Expires: 10/31/20 Call today as spots are limited!

Call today as spots are limited!

Expires: 10/31/20

401-356-4777 CALL TO SCHEDULE TODAY!

Call Today! 401-356-4777

www.nestorphysicaltherapy.com