ManualEdgePT| NewYearNewYou

ManualEdgePT| NewYearNewYou

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HOW DO YOUR TEETH FEEL?

Most of us think of teeth in a few ways. From a functional standpoint, they allow us to bite, tear, and chew food. From a visual standpoint, they can provide the key component of a nice or not so nice smile. Some of us have had braces and most of us have had a cavity filled. Beyond these relationships with teeth, that’s where it usually ends. What I would like to discuss in this article are some other considerations that we really don’t think about much. First, teeth are also “spacers”. They provide the vertical space holders to keep our jaw joints in the proper position. If we have worn down our teeth, they can’t provide the normal space holding function and our jaw will close a little further which negatively impacts our jaw joints (TMJ). Over closing of our jaw can also make our airway smaller which impacts our ability to breathe freely and contributes to sleep apnea. Teeth are also extremely sensitive, and I’mnot talking about the pain some of us experience when we have a cavity or other dental issue. Each tooth has nerves that go to it that are called dental nerves. They transmit information including pain to our brain. The other function of the dental nerves is that they allow us to “feel” when we have pressure on our teeth, like when we feel the food we are chewing with our teeth or when we have a hair that sneaks in our mouth and then we bite on it. We all know how small the width of a hair is andwe can actually feel it when we bite down, that is an incredibly sensitive ability to feel.

Whenwe have altered pressures on our teeth, the dental nerves also transmit that information to the brain and the nerves relay with nerves that come back to the muscles of the jaw and sides of our heads. That can cause jaw joint (TMJ) pain, headaches, and restrictions of jaw opening. The altered pressure on our teeth often comes from problems with our bite, how our teeth fit together. As someone that treats patients with headaches and TMJ problems, an improper bite limits my ability to help my patients and effective treatment must include a thorough evaluation of their bite. As some of you know, I am currently undergoing treatment to make my bite better as I have personally experienced some of what I have discussed here. I have workedwith dentists for over 30 years withmy patients. In the last few years, I have had the opportunity to work with 2 very impressive local dentists. Their understanding and treatment of dental issues causing headache, TMJ, and facial pain is far and above anything that I have seen previously in our community. Their names are Nora Balota DDS and Christina Sletten DDS. They are at the top of their game! Happy New Year! Tim Bonack

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HOW TO HANDLE NEW INJURIES SUSTAINED FROM YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION A new year usually means new start, new goals, and new good habits, such as better nutrition, exercise, and focusing on overall health and wellness. But with every new exercise routine, there can be challenges and even new aches and pains. This is actually quite common in the body, especially when we push ourselves to do something that we are not used to doing. When we take on new exercises or routines, or even increase the intensity of exercises that we are already doing, we must give our body enough time to rest and recover, in order to give ourselves time to adjust. When we do not allocate enough time to adjust to the new activities that we’ve taken on, it could lead to achy muscles and ligaments, tendon inflammation, pulled muscles, inflamed joints, or sprains and strains throughout the body. So, what do we do? In order to continue our progress toward accomplishing our new year’s resolutions and reaching our goals, it is important to listen to your body. Whether your resolution is to live a healthier life, drop some weight, improve your strength, or just be better physically, it is important FINDING YOURSELF IN PAIN FROM YOUR NEW YEAR ’ S RESOLUT IONS? TRY THE RICE METHOD!

to make sure you are always listening to your body’s needs. That’s where the RICE method comes in! Just remember the acronym RICE when pushing toward your resolutions: RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. REST: Resting is important for the body! By allowing recovery periods for yourself, your body is able to repair any damaged areas on its own and regain strength for the next round of exercise. If you find yourself achy or painful after a difficult workout, it may be wise to rest for a couple days and let your body relax before continuing. Especially in the beginning taking it slow is key. ICE: Ice is also a great tool for achy, painful, or inflamed muscles. Ice helps to ease inflammation and can be an integral part of enhancing the healing process of the body. Whenever you are feeling achy, holding an ice pack to the affected area is a good rule of thumb. Ice also helps to ease pain and soothe tender areas of your body. (Continued inside) If you are interested in coming back to physical therapy, or have any questions, our physical therapists would be more than happy to meet with you for a consultation to discuss how they can help. Call us today to talk to an expert about how we can help you recover!

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TRYTHE RICE METHOD!

For those of you that still have pain and want to handle your new injury ASAP so you can get back to accomplishing your resolutions, don’t hesitate to call Manual Edge Physiotherapy! Schedule an evaluation in the clinic or online, so can get back to your new year goals without a hiccup.

(Continued from outside) COMPRESSION: Compressing a painful or achy area with some sort of bandage or wrap can also help with both pain relief and healing. If rest and ice are not working on their own, compression is a smart next step. Compressing the affected area will stop the damage from getting worse as compression immobilizes the area to prevent additional strain or tearing. Compression can also help an injury heal quicker in this way by holding it still and allowing your body to heal on its own. If you are using the compression method, make sure you are also resting and icing the affected area! ELEVATION: Compression and elevation typically go hand-in-hand. If you are in need of elevation, it is likely that compressing the affected area will also be wise. Elevation serves a similar purpose as compression in the sense that it stops you from moving the affected area. Imagine you have a sprained ankle and you’re resting on the couch – if your ankle is elevated atop a couple pillows, it is much more difficult for you to move it around and potentially cause more damage. This is the whole point of elevation – to stop you from moving the painful area! Again, much like with compression, if you are elevating a certain part of your body, make sure you are also resting and icing to aid in healing. If you do not ignore your pain and choose to handle it immediately, there is a 95% chance you will address it quickly and find relief using the RICE method.

CALL US TODAY AT 719-694-8342 TO SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT!

EXERCISE ESSENTIALS

COUPON CORNER

FREE 30 MINUTE PELVIC HEALTH EXAM with Shawna Smith DPT. If you have friends or family with issues with bladder symptoms or pelvic pain, have them sign up for this FREE screening with Shawna and find out the cause of their symptoms.

Helps Strengthen Glutes & Core

LEG CIRCLES Lie on your side with bottom leg bent and top one straight. Hand flat on floor in front, near your chest. Tighten your lower abdominals to keep your trunk still. Point the toes of the top leg and slowly make small circles first clockwise, then counterclockwise keeping the knee straight ahead or slightly upward. Repeat 5 times on each leg.

Talk to our front desk or have themcall 719-694-8342 to schedule. Schedule soon as spots are limited.

FREE 30 MINUTE SCREENING EXAM with Ken Herbel MSPT, OCS. Ken is an Orthopedic Certified Specialist in our Physical Therapy profession. If you have friends or family with issues with back, neck, shoulder, arm, foot/ankle, knee or hip pain, sign up for this FREE screening exam with Ken and find out the cause of your symptoms.

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Talk to our front desk or have themcall 719-694-8342 to schedule. Schedule soon as spots are limited.

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BACK & NECK PAIN

NEWYEAR MEANS A NEWYOU!

Manual Edge Physiotherapy offers the most effective techniques for rel ief from Back & Neck Pain! To learn more about how we can help you, visit www.manualedge.com

Let Manual Edge Physiotherapy Help You Reach Your Health & Fitness Goals This Year! The professionals at Manual Edge Physiotherapy will help you regain lost motion, strength, balance and coordination resulting from pain in your shoulders, back, neck, hips or knees. Start the year off with a safe and conservative treatment that gets results, we can help to strengthen and increase your mobility, while decreasing pain. Our goal is to empower you to actively manage your pain, increase your range of motion and get you moving again. We will get you back to living the life you deserve.

CLINIC UPDATE

My God Mother Aunt Dolores. Aunt Dolores turned 92 over the summer and is an inspiration. She is the embodiment of “keep moving to stay healthy”.

“I am listened to with my needs and progress at the forefront of my care.” “I greatly appreciate the care I receive from Tim and his team. I deal with very rare disorders that can be a challenge to treat. I am treated as an individual and my PT is tailored for me and my needs. I am listened to with my needs and progress at the forefront of my care. The respect, care and compassion I receive is AMAZING. I highly recommend Tim and his team.” — T.C. PATIENT SUCCESS

We are pleased to welcome Shawna Smith DPT to Manual Edge. Shawna joined us in December to round out our Womens and Mens Pelvic Health program. She graduated from Central Michigan University in 2014. She recently moved to CO with her husband, dog and cat and is enjoying her time in Colorado.

COME BACK TO PT THIS NEW YEAR!

WWW.MANUALEDGE.COM | 719-694-8342