Professional Physical Therapy - January 2021

Professional Physical Therapy - January 2021

PRO PT PRESS

January 2021

Let’s Kick Out 2020 and Kick Off 2021!

You can see the problem. In a year when weddings were being abandoned left and right, we began wondering if their wedding would have to be canceled, too. They’d set the date 10 years ago, after all! We had to do everything possible to save it. And we did! My daughter got married outside on a flower farm with a small group of people in attendance, all following safety guidelines. Very shortly after celebrating that wedding, we had another one on the horizon. Dr. Greg Patt here at ProPT just got engaged after going down on one knee while closing on a house with his girlfriend! Talk about a final walk-through they’ll never forget! Many of you know Dr. Greg. He first entered our clinic as a kid needing treatment and came back to practice medicine here years later. Stories like these remind us that there’s still plenty of good in the world and still plenty to look forward to in any year. We just need to turn to our families and communities and search hard to find it — or, better yet, give it to each other. And if your new year is starting with some pain, come in and let us give you some relief to look forward to! –Dr. Stacey Raybuck Schatz

As the saying goes, you can’t keep good people down, and we’ve really seen that proven in the last few months. I know times are trying for everyone right now, and it may seem like there’s not much hope, even with several promising vaccines on the horizon to be distributed to the general public. As we kick out 2020, we need to start 2021 with encouragement and love. That’s why I want to share two recent moments of hope from my own life. Good things are bound to happen. Ironically, the best thing to happen in my family last year had been planned for a decade, down to the month and day. Let me take you back to May 2010: Rihanna and CeeLo Green were on the charts, summer was on its way, and my daughter, Ashley, was finishing her first year of high school and had just turned 14.

There was another first that month, too: her first date with her soon-to-be boyfriend, then fiancé, and finally husband. From high school sweethearts through their 20s, the love between my daughter and her man was so clear that we knew they’d have a wedding date set long before it actually happened. And they did. Because they started dating on 5/11/2010, they decided to double it for the wedding day: 10/22/2020.

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PATIENT of the MONTH

Soup’s On!

PERFECT YOUR SOUP RECIPE WITH THESE 3 TIPS

Lisa Spodek ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Soup is perfect for sick days and alongside grilled cheese, and Grandma always seemed to have a recipe to make everything better. For as simple and comforting as soup can be, recreating those memories from your stovetop includes a few tedious steps. Become a soup master with this go-to guide to winter’s favorite dish. Mind your peas and carrots. The magic of a hearty minestrone or old-fashioned chicken noodle soup comes from the flavors of vegetables to create the perfect blend of comfort and taste. However, overcooking or undercooking vegetables can ruin this delicate balance. So, consider the vegetables you want in your soup and plan accordingly.

Start by chopping vegetables into bite-sized pieces that will easily fit on a spoon. No one wants a spoonful of soup that’s just carrots after all! Then, add vegetables to your soup

based on cooking time and flavoring. Carrots, onions, and celery should “sweat” in the pot with oil and seasoning before

“I chose this charity because being a pediatric nurse, I love working with children and I care deeply for their well-being! The Mission of St. Jude Children’s Hospital is to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic disease through research and treatment.” -Lisa Lisa has made great strides in her recovery with physical therapy. She’s been a joy to work with and is always making everyone laugh during her treatments. We are very happy to have Lisa as a patient, our patient of the month, AND our top fan on social media! We at Professional Physical Therapy would be honored to donate to the charity of your choice if you become our next Patient of the Month!

you add the broth to capture the fullest flavor of these ingredients. Potatoes and other root vegetables can be added in the boiling phase, while leafy greens only need minutes in the pot toward the end to capture their full flavor. Simmer to blend flavors. Simmering is the key to a great soup. Once all your ingredients are in the pot, reduce the heat to a low simmer. This allows the flavors to play together without overcooking. If a soup is boiled for too long, the vegetables, meats, and/or pasta can become mushy and underwhelming. Season gradually — but generously. No one enjoys a bland soup, but too much seasoning can overpower the natural flavors of your ingredients. Add your seasoning to vegetables as they sauté in the pot before adding the stock. Then, add the stock and the remainder of your ingredients. Only add more seasoning as the soup simmers and do a taste test. Add a bit of salt and pepper until it’s perfect! If you over-salt, don’t panic. Adding more stock, potatoes, noodles, or cream can fix your soup in a pinch.

Bonus Tip: Always serve your soup with bread, toast, or crackers. It’s the perfect vehicle to soak up all the flavors!

2 www.proptinc.com • 508-528-6100

Relieving Pain Since 1992

Up to 40% of Americans live in pain EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! Is that still YOU ? Consider this your FREE “Welcome Back Ticket” to Professional Physical Therapy and start living PAIN-FREE once again.

2020 is now behind us! As we start a brand-new year, you owe it to yourself to rediscover that brand-new you again. The one where you wake up with practically ZERO pain and simply enjoy your day — EVERY DAY — without worrying about those nagging injuries, discomforts, and unbearable pain. I know too many of my previous patients have slipped back to their old ways and old pains. I don’t want that for you. My team and I can work those 2020 stresses and pains out of your body so you can start this year feeling STRONGER, HEALTHIER, and like a YOUNGER you!

From life-limiting BACK PAIN

To lifting kids

or grandkids with ease

From unforgiving MIGRAINES To going weeks without worrying about the next one

From JOINT PAIN and stiffness

To standing

and walking (even running!) with a smile

We’ve Made It FREE, Safe, and Easy to Start Refocusing on Your Health in 2021

FREE Take advantage of our FREE Five-Step “New Year/New You” Wellness Exam to reassess your pains, your health, and your wellness goals. [Note: Offer only available to past patients.] SAFE Our team takes your health seriously. We sanitize regularly, wear masks, and take safety precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. EASY Simply call us at (508) 528-6100 or book your Free Five-Step Health Exam online at https://proptinc.com/request-an-appointment/. Hurry, offer expires Feb. 28, 2021. 3 min

Professional Physical Therapy 620 Old West Central Street Franklin, MA 02038 (508) 528-6100

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If you’re like most people, you’ll notice the pain!

Pain is the body signaling that something is wrong. Bacteria multiply in the infected site, which starts to swell up, and that triggers pain neurons nearby. The little puncture wound stopped hurting for a few days, but hey, it’s starting to hurt again! Better get that looked at, right? And that’s where the Faustian nature of insensitivity to pain comes into play: If you can’t feel pain, you’re going to have a hard time noticing that infection. The rest of us might open the wound back up and disinfect it, or better yet go to a doctor, but without the pain telling you something’s still wrong, you won’t know that anything’s the matter. You could be on your way to a blood infection, tissue loss, even limb amputation — all from a little rose thorn! The sad truth is that many people with this condition don’t survive into adulthood, and even then, their prospects are not good. From fractures to cancer, pain is how we know something is wrong, and if you don’t know there’s a problem, you can’t fix it. Most of our clients come in with complaints about pain, and we’re able to set them up for the right treatment. If you can’t feel pain, you have to be hypervigilant about your daily life and spend a lot of time at checkups with the doctor. So the next time you stub your toe or pull something when bending down to play with your grandkids, be a little grateful for the ability to hurt. And then come into our office and get sorted out!

Well … lots of things. There’s a reason it’s a mutation that causes this condition: Human beings aren’t meant to live pain-free. Or at least, not completely pain-free. Pain is a sensory experience, and it’s something that we’ve developed along with touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste. Not only have our bodies developed to interpret it, but they’ve also developed to produce it in certain situations. (Interesting side note: Many people with this condition also have trouble with one or more of their other senses as well. They can often feel touch and pressure, but being unable to taste or detect temperature changes is relatively common.) Here’s an example of why pain matters: You’re working in the garden when a thorn gets lodged in your finger. There’s a little blood, a little swearing, and a Band-Aid in your future. It hurts for a day or so, but slowly that pain goes away. Business as usual, right? But unbeknownst to you, there were some bacteria riding the tip of that thorn right into your body, and now they’re going to work. A week after you get pricked, there’s a pretty good infection under the skin, but you can’t see it, so how do you find out?

A Bit About Offers ...

Birthday Cake BAKED OATMEAL FOR ONE (YES, REALLY)

Inspired by ItsTaylerMarie.org

Notice anything new this month? We’re making great offers because we miss you, and we’d like to see you again soon! These offers are only available here and only valid for the recipient of this newsletter, which means you’ll need your copy to take full advantage of everything we’d like to set you up with. If you’re a past client and you’re in pain, please call us. Even if the offer doesn’t specifically apply to you, we’d love to help you out.

INGREDIENTS:

•

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

•

1 tsp baking powder

•

1 browning banana, mashed

•

Splash of vanilla extract

•

1 tsp brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup

•

1/2 cup milk

•

1/2 tsp cinnamon

•

2 tsp sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and prepare a small oven-safe dish.

2. In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the sprinkles.

3. Pour the oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish.

4. Bake for 25 minutes or until the oatmeal is golden brown.

5. Let the oatmeal cool slightly, top with sprinkles, and dig in!

www.proptinc.com • 508-528-6100 3

620 Old West Central St. Franklin, MA 02038 www.proptinc.com 508-528-6100

Inside This Issue

Ready to Kick OUT 2020?

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2

Patient of the Month

3 Steps to Perfect, Comforting Soup

Birthday Cake Baked Oatmeal for One (Yes, Really)

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4

Can’t Feel Pain? That Could Kill You!

No Pain, No Gain SOME FOLKS DON’T FEEL PAIN. IT’S NOT A WISH COME TRUE. In one case, a young child continued to bounce their own head off the wall of their bedroom — not out of anger or frustration but because they liked the vibrations. In another, an infant chewed off the tip of their tongue. A third case involved an internal infection that almost cost a man his life; it had gone completely unnoticed despite affecting major tissues in the body. What do these three people have in common?

None of them is capable of feeling pain.

get together and have a baby, which can be born with a full mutation. If that occurs, the baby will have altered SC9A molecules, which sit on the body’s pain-sensing neurons. At first, it might seem great. People with this condition don’t experience aches and pains every morning as they get out of bed, and they don’t feel pain as they push through a workout or slip and fall on the ice this time of year. That’s where most people’s minds go when they think about how wonderful their life would be without pain. You could wrestle an alligator, eat the hottest of hot sauce, and give birth to twins without breaking a sweat! What’s wrong with that?

From Mickey Mouse to Dr. Faust, we all know what happens when dark forces grant wishes. You get what you ask for, but you might not anticipate the consequences. Give someone a magic lamp and you can see why they might wish for freedom from pain. In that sense, it’d be easy to imagine congenital insensitivity to pain (the medical term for the condition) being the consequence of such a wish. It might sound great at first, but there are dangerous side effects. In fact, for those with the condition, living out each day requires vigilance that most people aren’t capable of.

Congenital insensitivity to pain isn’t the result of dark magic or a genie’s spell, however. It happens when two people with partial genetic mutations

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4 www.proptinc.com • 508-528-6100