Bob Bacci, Author at Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy

Hands-on for Shoulder Pain Treatment in Hanford

A 2016 clinical trial confirms what we here at Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy have been doing for years. If you are in need of shoulder pain treatment in Hanford, then this research may be pertinent to you. In a study of office workers that suffered with shoulder pain, physical rehabilitation involving hands-on treatment was found to be an important part of a conservative treatment program.

Long-term computer use can lead to muscle dysfunction and disorder

Approximately 90% of white-collar workers use computers for more than four hours per day. Over time, sitting and working at a computer can lead to a dysfunction of muscle stability and other disorders of the region, which may result in shoulder and neck pain, as well as a decreased threshold for pain. One of the main reasons for shoulder pain is hyperactivity of an upper back muscle called the upper trapezius, which results in decreased control of two other muscles and instability. To treat this muscle instability, several physical therapy interventions may be used, including manual therapy. In manual therapy, the physical therapist performs various manipulations and mobilizations on the painful area in order to bring about tissue changes that will lead to less pain. Manual therapy may therefore be helpful for office workers with shoulder pain, and to evaluate this possibility, a study was conducted.

Middle-aged office workers with pain serve as the study group

Individuals between the ages of 30-40 who had shoulder pain and worked on a computer for more than eight hours a day were invited to participate in the study and screened to determine if they were eligible. This process led to 38 individuals who were accepted, and then randomly assigned to either the manual therapy group or the shoulder stabilization exercise group. Both groups underwent treatment during two 40-minute sessions per week for six weeks. In the manual therapy group, the therapist applied manipulations and mobilizations to various muscles in the back, chest and neck for three minutes each. In the shoulder stabilization group, patients were instructed to perform a series of stretching and strengthening exercises for muscles in the same area. All patients were assessed before and after undergoing treatment for pressure pain threshold (PPT) of certain muscles, which measures the minimum force applied that causes pain.

Manual therapy leads to greater improvements

After completing treatment, participants in both groups experienced significant improvements with an increased PPT of several muscles of the upper back; however, the manual therapy group showed greater PPT improvements in these muscles than the shoulder stabilization group. This is likely due to the pain-relieving properties of manual therapy, as it increases blood flow and decreases the activity of muscles in such a way that it changes the length of tissues and results in less pain.

Here’s an excerpt from the abstract published on Pubmed.org:

The manual therapy group showed greater improvements than did the shoulder stabilization exercise group in the splenius capitis on both sides, left upper trapezius, middle trapezius on both sides, and right lower trapezius. [Conclusion] The results of this study suggest that manual therapy for shoulder pain is feasible and suitable for office workers and may be useful in clinical rehabilitation.
Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27799661

These results show that while both shoulder strengthening exercises and manual therapy appear to be effective for office workers with shoulder pain, manual therapy is even more beneficial for improving their threshold for pain. Individuals currently dealing with this type of pain should therefore seek out the services of a physical therapist for appropriate treatment.

Diagnoses we’ve successfully treated – Check our medical library

There are a number of shoulder conditions that we regularly treat. Here’s a link to our medical library where you can learn more about physical therapy for shoulder pain that we provide here in Hanford (and Visalia as well).

If you have questions about your shoulder pain, just give us a call. Chances are we can help. Click here to visit our contact page for more information.

-As reported in the September ’16 issue of The Journal of Physical Therapy Science

Looking for Lower Back Pain Treatment in Hanford?

If you are looking for lower back pain treatment in Hanford, this recent research study may be of interest to you. The authors reported that several physical therapy treatments reduce pain and disability in patients with a common lower back condition. They reported that a joints at base of the spine, the sacroiliac joints, are frequently responsible for pain.

Lower back pain (LBP) continues to be one of the biggest health problems in the world, as 70-85% of the population will experience it at some point in their lives. About 90% of all patients with LBP will have a good prognosis, regardless of the treatment they receive, but the other 10% will go on to experience chronic, or long-term pain and disability. This often leads to individuals missing work due to their condition, and for many of them, the cause of the pain can be attributed to one or both sacroiliac joints.

The Sacroiliac Joints Can Be a Source of Pain for Some

The sacroiliac joint connects the sacrum bone at the base of the spine with the ilium, the uppermost part of the hip bone. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD) is a condition in which this joint does not move properly, and it is a common cause of back pain that occurs in up to 30% of LBP patients. There are several treatments available for SIJD, such as physical therapy, which can include a variety of interventions.

Although physical therapy is often used to treat SIJD, research is lacking and it’s not completely clear just how effective it is for the condition. For this reason, a powerful study called a systematic review was conducted to evaluate the possible benefits of physical therapy for SIJD.

Six medical databases searched for appropriate studies

To conduct the review, researchers performed a search of six major medical databases for relevant studies. In particular, they were looking for studies that assessed the effectiveness of various physical therapy interventions for patients with SIJD for more than three months who did not have spinal surgery. This search led to 1,114 studies being identified, but only nine of these fit the necessary criteria.

Four studies used manipulation as the main physical therapy intervention, three of them used exercise and another three used kinesiology tape. Manipulation is a form of hands-on intervention in which the therapist manipulates joints and other structures to relieve pain, while kinesiology tape is applied to the painful area in order to bring about similar changes.

Here is the Conclusion that the Authors Published

The results showed that physiotherapy interventions are effective in reducing pain and disability associated with SIJD, with manipulation being the most effective approach and most commonly used within physical therapy clinics. [Conclusion] Manipulation, exercise and kinesio tape are effective in the treatment of pain, disability and pelvic asymmetry in SIJD.
Reference- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28932014

Manipulation found to be the most effective of all treatments

Results showed that all three physical therapy interventions of manipulation, exercise and kinesiology tape were beneficial for reducing pain and disability, and for restoring normal symmetry of the pelvis in patients with SIJD. When the interventions were compared to one another, it was found that manipulation was the most effective of all three at reducing pain and improving functional abilities.

These findings strongly suggest that physical therapy is indeed supported as an effective treatment for SIJD patients. Researchers behind this review therefore recommend that anyone affected by LBP that may be due to SIJD should consider seeing a physical therapist for a comprehensive treatment program that includes manipulation to address their pain and disability.

We Treat Lower Back Pain and Sacroiliac Dysfunction in Hanford on a Daily Basis

If you would like to learn more about our all-natural, hands-on approach, contact us for an initial evaluation. Most insurance plans cover physical therapy.

Click here to visit our contact page.

–As reported in the September ’17 issue of The Journal of Physical Therapy Science

Osteoarthritis Treatment in Visalia – Who Should You Call

Wear-and-tear arthritis can be a burden on your daily life, but physical therapy can help. The evidence is clear. If you have osteoarthritis and are looking a conservative care, look no more. For osteoarthritis treatment in Visalia, Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy is an outstanding choice. Here’s why.

Many natural changes occur to our bodies as we age, and in most cases, there is not much we can do to stop this process. Unfortunately, some of these changes make getting around in our everyday lives more of a challenge than we’re used to, and a condition called osteoarthritis (OA) is one prime example that can result from these changes.

OA, also known as wear-and-tear arthritis, is a progressive disease that can affect any joint in the body. Joints are the area where two bones come together, and the end of each joint is surrounded by a protective layer called articular cartilage, which cushions your bones and protects them from rubbing against one another.

Arthritic Wear & Tear of Your Cartilage is Part of the Aging Process – But There is Hope

During the natural aging process, this shock-absorbing cartilage gradually begins to break down over the course of time. With less protection, bones come closer and closer together, until eventually they are so close that the joint starts to swell and symptoms begin to develop. Although OA can occur in any joint in the body, it is by far most common in the knees and hips, since both of these joints bear a great deal of our body weight. Other factors that are involved in the development of OA are being overweight or obese, bone structure, genetics, strength and physical activity level.

OA affects every part of the joint, including the bone, cartilage, ligament and muscle. Symptoms vary from patient to patient, but usually consist of the following: pain, stiffness, tenderness and/or swelling, a popping, cracking or crunching feeling, and difficulty getting out of bed, standing up or performing many daily activities

Osteoarthritis is Common in Older Individuals and Here’s How to Overcome It

OA of the hip and knee is quite common in older individuals, but that doesn’t mean you should just live through the pain and allow your life to be affected. Instead, pursue a course of physical therapy that will target your arthritic joint and teach you how to make changes in your life that will help you overcome your OA. A typical physical therapy treatment program will include:

Stretching exercises
Strengthening exercises
Manual, or hands-on therapy
Pain-relieving modalities like ice, heat and ultrasound
Activity recommendations and modifications

To illustrate just how effective physical therapy can be for OA, consider the results from this recent study, which evaluated the use of resistance exercise, an intervention commonly used by physical therapists:

Data from 17 randomized clinical trials including 1705 patients were integrated. The main source of methodological bias in the selected studies was lack of double blinding. The meta-analysis results suggested that resistance exercise training relieved pain (standard mean difference, alleviated stiffness, and improved physical function .

This study restates the same conclusion of many others about of the benefits you can expect when you see a physical therapist for any type of OA. So if your joints are ailing you and it may be OA, contact one of our physical therapists here in Visalia for an appointment as soon as possible.

Knee Pain Treatment In Visalia

Physical therapy is an ideal approach for any condition that’s causing your knee pain. Below is a summary of why you might consider our experienced clinicians if you are looking for knee pain treatment in Visalia. Please read more to find out.

There are Many Options for Knee Pain Treatment in Visalia – Here We Make the Case to See One of Our PTs First

There are certain areas of the body that are just more prone to pain than others, and the knees are one of them. Ranking behind back pain, knee pain is actually the second most common musculoskeletal condition, and it’s the single greatest cause for disability in people aged 65 and older. This bothersome pain can interfere with your daily life, make it difficult to complete certain activities and negatively affect your mood. But just because knee pain is common doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it.

Knee pain can arise from several conditions and may be the result of an overuse injury over time or a single injury. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition in which the protective cartilage surrounding the ends of bones in the knee gradually wears away, causing bones to rub against one another. Runner’s knee is another overuse injury that’s common in runners, while jumper’s knee tends to affect athletes involved in sports with lots of jumping. Other examples of overuse injuries that develop over time include iliotibial band syndrome, quadriceps tendinitis and bursitis.

In other cases, knee pain is due to a traumatic, one-time injury. Athletes involved in sports that require cutting movements like basketball, football and soccer are particularly vulnerable to these types of injuries because they often push the knee to its limits. Sprains and strains are the most common types of traumatic knee injuries that cause pain, and in extreme circumstances, tears are also possible and require more intense treatment.

The good news is that whatever its cause, most cases of knee pain can be treated non-surgically with a comprehensive physical therapy treatment program. These programs are designed to reduce pain, restore strength, regain function and make mobility easier, and usually consist of the following:

Strengthening exercises to build back the strength of weakened muscles
Stretching exercises to increase flexibility of the knee and surrounding structures
Ice and/or heat therapy, which will help reduce pain
Manual therapy, in which the physical therapist uses their hands to perform a series of techniques to improve the mobility of the knee
A home-exercise program to help you retain your improvements

There is a great deal of research that supports the benefits of physical therapy for a range of conditions that cause knee pain. In one recent study, non-aerobic exercise was used to treat patients with knee OA, and researchers concluded with the following:

The results showed that the patients with knee OA (osteoarthritis) in exercise group had significant improvement in pain, disability, walking, stair climbing, and sit up speed after treatment at first and second follow-up when compared with their initial status and when compared with non-exercise group.
Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4431424/

Instead of letting your knee pain interfere with your daily life, why not do something about it? Contact one of our physical therapy clinics for an appointment and you’ll be taking the first important step on your way to a successful recovery.

Frozen Shoulder Treatment in Visalia

Recovering from frozen shoulder often takes a while, but if you are looking for frozen shoulder treatment in Visalia, our physical therapy treatment can help every step of the way.

The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint, with the upper arm bone (humerus) serving as the “ball” and fitting into the “socket” of the shoulder blade (scapula). The bones and other structures of the shoulder are surrounded by a structure called the shoulder capsule, which is made up of strong connective tissue that keeps the shoulder stable. Adhesive capsulitis, or frozen shoulder, occurs when scar tissue forms within the shoulder. This causes the shoulder capsule to thicken and tighten around the shoulder joint, which means there is less room to move the shoulder normally.

Frozen shoulder affects up to 5% of the population, but it’s not clear why it develops. In general, it’s believed that one of the leading factors is not moving the shoulder normally for a long period of time. People between the ages of 40-60, women and those with arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health conditions are also more likely to develop it.

Frozen shoulder usually develops slowly and gets progressively worse with more pain and loss of motion over time. This is typically broken down into the following stages:

Stage 1 (pre-freezing): symptoms start and gradually get worse over 1-3 months
Stage 2 (freezing): generally occurs 3-9 months after the start of symptoms; any movement of the shoulder causes pain, which is even worse at night
Stage 3 (frozen): occurs within 9-14 months; the shoulder becomes more stiff, making it more difficult to move and rotate it
Stage 4 (thawing): occurs within 12-15 months; pain decreases significantly, especially at night, range of motion begins to improve, making it easier to move

This shows that frozen shoulder follows a long course of development and eventual recovery, but following a physical therapy treatment program can expedite this process.

The goal of physical therapy is to control pain and increase strength and flexibility, and physical therapists have specific treatments that are designed to help patients improve at each stage of frozen shoulder. In general, treatment consists of stretching exercises, manual (hands-on therapy), strengthening exercises and returning to daily activities.

The following findings from a 2007 study clearly identify the value of physical therapy for treating patients with frozen shoulder:

With supervised treatment, most patients with adhesive capsulitis will experience resolution with nonoperative measures in a relatively short period. Only a small percentage of patients eventually require operative treatment.

Dealing with frozen shoulder can be a long, drawn-out and frustrating process, but in seeing a physical therapist, you will be certain to increase your chances of easing the burden of your condition and having a successful, faster recovery.

For more information about our practice locations, click here for details about our Visalia & Hanford offices.

Plantar Fasciitis Treatment in Visalia

The most surefire way to address your heel pain is through a course of physical therapy

Tired of searching for plantar fasciitis treatment in Visalia and wondering who’s the best provider? We understand. Here’s more on this condition and how we can help.

Plantar fasciitis is a stubborn injury that’s generally considered to be the most common cause of adult heel pain. Though long-distance runners may be most familiar with the condition, it can occur from a number of activities, and anyone who’s dealt with plantar fasciitis knows how frustrating it often is.

The plantar fascia is a thick, connective band of tissue that runs across the bottom of the foot and connects the heel to the toes. It’s designed to absorb the regular stresses we put on the feet and is a rather tough structure, but when too much pressure is applied the tissue can get damaged, leading to inflammation and pain.

The most common symptom of plantar fasciitis is a stabbing pain near the heel that’s most noticeable upon waking up and after standing for too long. Due to the repetitive stress long-distance runners put on their feet, they experience the injury most frequently. But people who have flat feet or high arches, are overweight or regularly perform any other weight-bearing activity are also at increased risk.

Plantar fasciitis is also notorious for coming back after the initial symptoms start to go away, and 10% of patients have the condition for more than one year. This highlights the importance of getting proper treatment early on to keep symptoms at bay and prevent the condition from progressing further. The best way to do this is through a comprehensive physical therapy program designed to increase the strength and flexibility of the plantar fascia and surrounding area. Treatment programs are developed based on each patient’s individual condition, abilities and goals, but will usually consist of the following:

Advice on how to select supportive footwear and/or shoe inserts that reduce stress to the plantar fascia
Strengthening exercises for the calf, ankle and foot
Stretching exercises to improve the flexibility of the ankle and plantar fascia
Pain-relieving modalities like heat, ultrasound and icing the bottom of the foot
Massage and manual techniques to release muscle tension and reduce pain
Taping the foot or using a night splint

Our physical therapists see patients with plantar fasciitis frequently and our treatments have been proven to work. This is highlighted in the conclusion of this recent study:

The results of this study support prior studies that show faster recovery time for those who receive evidence-based physical therapy for their foot pain (from plantar fasciitis)

So if your exercise regimen or daily routine is being hindered by plantar fasciitis, it may be time to see one of our physical therapists if you haven’t already done so. Our personalized treatment programs are your fastest ticket to a safe recovery and a return to the things you love. Click here for our contact information.

Visalia Headache Specialist Near Me

Overcome your frustrating headaches with the help of a Visalia headache specialists … one of our expert trained physical therapists here at Bacci & Glinn Physical Therapy.

Frequent headaches can sure throw a wrench in your spokes, and most of us know how they can interfere with our ability to function normally. But for the 45 million Americans with chronic headaches, this inconvenience doesn’t just come and go every so often. Instead, headaches are a regular occurrence that can strike them any time.

Over 100 different types of headaches have been classified, but they are all generally categorized as either primary or secondary. A primary headache simply means the headache itself is the disorder, while secondary headaches result from other conditions like a neck strain, TMJ muscle disorder, stroke, infection or head injury.

Most headaches are caused by a combination of factors, and different triggers can set off headaches in different people. Some of the more common causes of primary headaches include stress, anxiety, lack of physical activity, bad sleeping habits, certain medications, poor diet and bad posture. In every case, it’s important to determine the type of headache first before attempting to treat it.

Headaches Often Respond Favorably to Physical Therapist Directed Treatment

No single treatment exists that’s capable of eliminating all headaches, but all types are treatable. While many people reach for pain-relieving medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen when a headache hits, these drugs don’t offer a long-term solution to the problem and may not even work for some individuals. Physical therapy, on the other hand, is designed to identify the problem that’s causing the headache and then address it with a variety of interventions.

A physical therapy treatment program for chronic headaches will usually include some of the following components:

Soft tissue mobilization: rhythmic soft-tissue stretching of the neck and upper back muscles
LightForce™ laser therapy: the 15 Watt therapeutic laser facilitates pain relief
Neck mobilization: manual technique to gently move joints of the neck
Strengthening exercises: to increase strength of the muscles that stabilize the upper back and neck
Stretching exercises: to increase range of motion to tight muscles in the neck, chest, and upper back
Posture education: making slight modifications to the home or office to improve overall spinal posture, reduce stress and increase body awareness

Clinically Proven Headache Treatment for Visalia Residents

Research has shown that physical therapy can be effective for helping patients with headaches to improve, like this recent study, which concludes:

Compared with usual care, participants receiving physiotherapy reported significant reductions in headache frequency immediately after treatment (mean difference -1.6 days, 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.5 to -0.6), at 6-month follow-up (-1.7 days, 95% CI -2.6 to -0.8), and at 9-month follow-up (-2.4 days, 95% CI -3.2 to -1.5), and significant improvements in all secondary outcomes immediately posttreatment and at 6- and 9-month follow-ups, (p<.05 for all). No adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONS:Physiotherapy treatment provided benefits over usual care for seniors with recurrent headache associated with neck pain and dysfunction. Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27497890

Headaches may be nuisance to your daily life, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Contact our physical therapy team for a complete evaluation of your condition and a personalized treatment program that will address your issues and reduce the occurrence of these bothersome episodes. Click here to for contact information that’s right on our home page.

Looking for Shoulder Pain Treatment in Visalia?

When you are looking for shoulder pain treatment in Visalia, physical therapy is your best bet to help you bounce back!

The shoulder is the most flexible joint in the body, and it allows the arm to move in wide range of directions so that we can perform many of the dexterous tasks needed in daily life. Unfortunately, this extreme flexibility comes at a price, as certain movements, postures and habits can cause damage to the shoulder and result in pain.

The shoulder is not actually a single joint, but a ball-and-socket made up of two joints, which combine with other structures in the region to allow the arm to move as it does. Just about every movement that requires the use of our arms also involves the shoulder in some way, and it’s particularly important for reaching tasks and overhead activities.

Shoulder pain includes any pain that arises in or around the shoulder. It may originate in the joints themselves or from any of the surrounding muscles, ligaments or tendons that make up the shoulder. Most shoulder problems that result in pain are due to a tear or inflammation of a tendon, instability, arthritis or a fracture. One of the most common causes of shoulder pain is when the tendons of the rotator cuff—an important structure that keeps the shoulder in place—become trapped under a bony area of the shoulder, which is called rotator cuff tendinitis. Other conditions that can cause shoulder pain include shoulder impingement syndrome, frozen shoulder, tendinitis and bursitis.

NOTE: Quick Reference Guide to Shoulder Conditions We Treat

People who perform lots of overhead activities on a regular basis like painters, carpenters swimmers and baseball players are all at an increased risk for developing shoulder pain, and bad posture can lead to its development as well. Most shoulder pain will dissipate within a few weeks with some rest and avoidance of activities that may aggravate it, but for pain that’s more severe or lingers for awhile, physical therapy may be necessary. Physical therapy is one of the most proven effective methods to treat all types of shoulder pain, and treatment typically consists of the following:

Heat, ice, massage and other pain-relieving remedies
Stretching exercises to improve flexibility
Strengthening exercises to build back strength
Posture training for sitting and standing
Activity modification to help you avoid movements that make the pain worse

The use of physical therapy to treat shoulder pain is also supported in the medical literature as an effective way to foster improvements. In one recent study on subacromial pain syndrome, another term for shoulder impingement syndrome, the conclusion states:

Exercise therapy should be the first-line treatment to improve pain, function and range of motion. The addition of mobilizations to exercises may accelerate reduction of pain in the short term.
Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27288517

Shoulder pain can be a real inconvenience, especially if it prevents you from participating in sports, but we are here to help. Contact us to find out how we can address your shoulder pain and get you back to full strength as quickly and safely as possible.

Fibromyalgia Treatment Visalia

If you did a search for fibromyalgia treatment Visalia, chances are, our experienced clinicians can help.

Fibromyalgia is one of the most common of all pain-causing syndromes in the country. Almost 5 million Americans are affected by fibromyalgia, and between 80-90% of those who have it are women and residents in the Central Valley are not alone.

Individuals with fibromyalgia typically experience various problems getting through their daily activities, but a physical therapy treatment program can address just about all aspects of this condition and significantly improve patients’ lifestyles.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome, meaning that most individuals who get it have it for a while. Symptoms usually start to develop in women between ages 30-50, but cases occur at younger ages and in men as well. The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but it’s thought to be due to changes in how the nervous system processes pain. In some people it may be triggered by trauma, surgery, infection, arthritis or major emotional stress, while it develops gradually over time in others.

Not just an individual condition, fibromyalgia is actually a complex syndrome with many components. For this reason, it can include many different signs and symptoms, such as widespread pain, tender points throughout the body, muscle stiffness, fatigue, depression/anxiety, thinking or memory problems, and numbness/tingling sensations. These symptoms can really get in the way of functioning normally in daily life and may also lead to reduced physical activity. Over time, this can decrease overall fitness levels and result in other health-related problems, too.

Although there is no cure for fibromyalgia, physical therapy can significantly help patients by easing symptoms and improving their quality of life. A typical physical therapy program for fibromyalgia will consist of the following:

Aerobic exercise recommendations (brisk walking, bicycling, swimming, etc.)
Stretching and strengthening exercises
Class 4, cold laser
Ice and/or heat therapy to reduce pain levels
Hands-on therapy techniques applied to painful areas (manual therapy)
Water-based, or aquatic exercise

To illustrate how physical therapy and physical activity can help, a powerful recent study provided the following remarks:

When compared with control, moderate-quality evidence indicates that aerobic exercise probably improves HRQL (Health Related Quality of Life) and all-cause withdrawal, and low-quality evidence suggests that aerobic exercise may slightly decrease pain intensity, may slightly improve physical function, and may lead to little difference in fatigue and stiffness. Three of the reported outcomes reached clinical significance (HRQL, physical function, and pain).

Reference: Aerobic exercise training for adults with fibromyalgia.

Important: fibromyalgia patients generally need special pacing and graded treatment programs. In our experience, this combined with therapeutic education and short-term use of modalities like the cold laser, can result in significant improvements.

So if you’re dealing with chronic pain and you did a search for fibromyalgia treatment Visalia to find an experienced clinician, we strongly recommend that you see one of our physical therapists for a comprehensive evaluation and personalized treatment program designed specifically with your goals and abilities in mind.

To learn more about our two locations, click here to visit our contact page.

Chronic Pain Treatment in Visalia

Chronic pain can make getting through daily life a chore, but physical therapy can help and Bacci & Glinn provides is well equipped to provide chronic pain treatment in Visalia.

Pain is a part of life. Whether it’s a crick in your neck from sleeping wrong, getting your finger caught in the car door or rolling your ankle on a tree root, everyone has had their share of painful experiences.

Pain is the body’s way of telling us that something is wrong and that you should do something to address it. In most cases, this will happen on its own after some time has passed or with some form of treatment, and after the injury has healed, the pain goes away. For some people, however, pain continues long after healing. When it lasts for three months or more, the condition is called chronic pain, which can become a complicated and frustrating problem to deal with.

When you experience an injury, sensors that detect pain become turned on in that injured area. These pain sensors then send a message in the form of an electrical signal to the brain, which processes this signal and sends out a message that you are hurting. Usually, this signal stops sending messages when the cause of pain is resolved (which means the injured area has healed.) But with chronic pain, these nerve signals continue to send messages that you are in pain even though there is no longer any injury.

It’s not always clear why chronic pain occurs, and in some cases it may develop without any known injury. For some people, pain from conditions like headaches/migraines, arthritis, back pain, infections or nerve damage is the original source of the pain signals that continue in the long term. Chronic pain symptoms may include a dull ache or feelings of throbbing, burning, stinging, soreness or stiffness.

Don’t Let Chronic Pain Control Your Life

Chronic pain can prove to be a real nuisance that gets in the way of many aspects of daily life, but fortunately, physical therapy can help. Physical therapists see patients with all types of chronic pain problems frequently, and are equipped to treat them with a variety of effective interventions, such as:

Natural treatments, no medications
Education on how the brain and nervous system are causing the pain
Strengthening and flexibility exercises
Hands-on therapy techniques
Posture and body mechanics awareness
Laser therapy if needed

Research has shown that physical therapy can be beneficial for patients with chronic pain, and the CDC released guidelines last year that encouraged the use of physical therapy over opioids to address chronic pain:

The contextual evidence review found that many nonpharmacologic therapies, including physical therapy, weight loss for knee osteoarthritis, psychological therapies such as CBT, and certain interventional procedures can ameliorate chronic pain.

So if you’ve been dealing with chronic pain for a long while that won’t seem to improve, seeing a physical therapist is the best decision you can make. Through education and evidence-based treatments, your physical therapy treatment program can certainly put you on the right path to recovery.