WAPT_Do You Suffer With Neck Pain and Stress?

WAPT_Do You Suffer With Neck Pain and Stress?

NEWSLETTER

Independently owned and operated since 1997

LIVE WITHOUT NECK PAIN & HEADACHES “Look Up To A Pain Free &Stress Free Life!”

Do you suffer from frequent neck pain and headaches? People literally live on Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen for years because they constantly have a nagging headache, induced by muscle spasms in the neck. Many people who suffer from frequent headaches fear they have an underlying neck problem that may go undiagnosed or untreated.

The Cause of Most Headaches Headaches can range fromminor nagging pains to full-blown migraines that knock you off your feet for a day or two. Any headache, whether tremendous pain or not, should be a warning sign that the muscles around your spine and neck may be too tight and tense. Prolonged muscle tension may cause you to feel stiff and achy. One may feel pain in the shoulders, neck, upper back and even radiating out to the upper arms. Most people who have headaches complain about having neck and shoulder pain. The most intense pain usually lies directly in the upper back sides of the neck. The pain then radiates into the shoulder area. This is why many people who have headaches treat themselves to seek frequent neck and shoulder massages.

Relief That Works Physical therapy goes beyond massages to evaluate and treat the root cause of your pain. Muscular tightness may lead to poor joint movement and weakness. Our medical physical therapy experts are trained in specialized, hands-on treatments to quickly reduce your pain. Furthermore, you can enjoy the added benefits of corrected posture and improved motion. We help to train you in gentle exercises and self- help techniques to relieve neck pain and headaches independently and prevent the problem from reoccurring. Physical therapy can help you to relieve the tightness and tension in your muscles, helping you live a happy, pain-free life.

Let the experts at Washington Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation help you get back to living the life you deserve. Call Today! (425) 820-2110

WWW.WAPTREHAB.COM

Relieve That Nagging Headache Naturally! FOCUS ON NECK PAIN TO RELIEVE HEADACHES

3 There are well mapped out patterns of headaches that come from the different parts of the neck, shoulder and upper back areas. The discs between your bones (vertebrae) and joints in the upper neck often contribute to headaches. Even headaches located in the forehead or behind the eyes are often referred pains stemming from problem areas in the neck and base of the skull. The joints connecting the top three vertebral levels of the neck handle almost 50% of the total motion of the entire neck. This means they absorb a lot of repetitive strain.These joints bear the main load of the weight of the head (about that of a bowling ball). With fatigue, poor posture, injuries, disc problems, arthritis, muscular stress and even prior surgeries, the wear and tear on this critical region of your body can prove too much, resulting in pain. It is also possible that you may develop a narrowing of the spinal canal itself. Since the spinal cord runs through the spine, a narrowing of the canal or where the nerves exit, can lead to a condition called spinal stenosis. 8 1 6 3 4 7 5 3 6 7 5 9 6 2 7 9 7 5 8 4 The neck can be a hidden and debilitating source of headaches. Very often neck pain and headaches go hand-in-hand, leading to a miserable time coping with everyday activities. According to the National Institute of Health Statistics neck pain and headaches are the second most common form of pain experienced by Americans, with 59% reporting it affected their enjoyment of life. Some headaches are often grouped under the term “cervicogenic headache” meaning that the primary source is from the neck.

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5 9 There is much that can be done to treat neck pain and headaches. Our expert physical therapists have years of experience helping people with neck pain and headaches. By finding the root cause of your neck pain and headaches we can relieve your pain quickly, reduce the need for medication and get you back to the activities you enjoy. Discover how our team of specialists at WAPT can eliminate your neck pain and headaches allowing you to live a happy, active and pain-free life. Call today for more details! (425) 820-2110 1 6 2 4 4 3 3 7 2 7 2 4 3

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DoWhat’s Good For Your Heart!

PATIENT SUCCESS STORY

“It was good, even fun, to work with the exercises given to me.”

Tips for Better Heart Health

1. Aim for lucky number seven. Young and middle-aged adults who sleep hours a night have less calcium in their arteries (an early sign of heart disease) than those who sleep 5 hours or less or those who sleep 9 hours or more. 2. Keep the pressure off. Get your blood pressure checked every 3-5 years if you’re 18-39. If you’re 40 or older, or if you have high blood pressure, check it every year. 3. Move more. To keep it simple, you can aim for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week of moderate exercise. Even if you exercise for 30 minutes a day, being sedentary for the other 23 1/2 hours is really bad for your heart. 4. Slash saturated fats. To help your heart’s arteries, cut down on saturated fats, which are mainly found in meat and full-fat dairy products. Choose leaner cuts and reduced-fat options. 5. Find out if you have diabetes. Millions of people don’t know that they have this condition. That’s risky because, over time, high blood sugar damages arteries and makes heart disease more likely.

“My sciatica was causing pain down my leg when biking or sitting. The exercises Mike gave were very helpful. It was good, even fun, to work with the exercises given to me. I could tell the problemwith the leg pain was subsiding gradually. I will continue to maintain doing the exercises given to me since they were so helpful. WAPT staff are always encouraging and pleasant.” -Sharon

FREE INJURY SCREENS for Medicare patients ONLY SEE THE INSERT!

FREE NEWYEAR’S CHECK-IN ••••••••••• Details Inside •••••••••••

12707 120th Ave NE Ste 100 Kirkland, WA 98034 Phone: 425.820.2110 Fax: 425.820.2111 Email: [email protected]

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INSIDE:

• Focus On Neck Pain To Relieve Headaches • Patient Success Spotlight • Do What’s Good For Your Heart

Our politicians managed to prevent an extended government shutdown. Yeah!…? Of course, that also means that they passed some new laws that affect healthcare, especially Medicare. If you are on Medicare or know someone on Medicare keep reading. If not, pass this on to someone who looks like they might be on Medicare. You’ll know who they are by their years of wisdom and experience! For 20 years Congress passed temporary fixes to Medicare regarding Physical therapy. (17 times if you’re counting.) They have finally eliminated a “hard cap” on physical therapy that limited the total dollars Medicare would spend for PT every year. So now we have no limitations on how much care a Medicare patient can receive! Not so fast…Let’s take a look at exactly what really passed into law. As it now stands, there is no maximum dollar amount Medicare will pay per year. However, any treatment beyond $2010 requires proof of medical necessity. That’s the easy part. What they did next was lower the threshold to $3000 (from $3700) when a “Targeted Medical Review” may be triggered. Confused? You’re not alone. Here is my take on this change. The first $2010 dollars is covered with no extra requirements. The next $990 dollars requires us to add a special code to our billing that tells Medicare your treatment is still medically necessary. Once we hit $3000, Medicare can randomly trigger a review to determine if your care still qualifies as medically necessary. Of course, they contract these reviews out to a third party and the requests have a history of being more interested in saving money than helping the patient. So, What Does This Really Mean? Keep Reading… Congress Passes New Medicare Laws

The Bottom Line: We may not have a hard cap, but going beyond $3000 per year requires more work and more risk of potential denials. Since this used to be $3700, it’s hard to call this a victory for the average Medicare patient. Who it does benefit are those individuals with significant health concerns who really do need physical therapy above and beyond the “average” Medicare patient. Oh…did I mention how this affects Medicare and how they bill your secondary insurance, if you have one? Typically, Medicare has billed secondary insurances under a “coordination of benefits” set of rules. With no hard cap, we really have no idea what changes will occur with secondary insurance benefits. Wow. That was a lot of information! Got Questions? Please email me at [email protected] with your questions. I am going to be writing additional blog articles about this and other insurance topics. To make sure you get these be sure to sign up online at www.WAPTrehab.com Mike PS- As a “Thank you” for taking the time to read all this I want to extend a special offer to our Medicare patients.

I have set aside 10 time slots on my schedule during the month of March for FREE INJURY SCREENS for Medicare patients ONLY. Call us at 425-820-2110 to schedule your Free Injury Screen today!