If you answered yes to any of these, you could be at risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This is a condition that occurs when blood clots develop in your upper or lower legs. If the clot breaks off and moves to another part of your body like the lungs, you could die.

DVT happens when you are inactive, whether it be from injury or extended travel, or can be a complication from surgery.

It is a very dangerous condition, but it can be prevented and treated. Physical therapy can be an effective treatment for DVT. First, a licensed physical therapist can move your legs for you following surgery if you are unable to walk or exercise.

If you are out of the hospital and able to exercise, the physical therapist can help you by working with you on  improving range of motion, helping you walk with proper form and engaging in muscle strengthening exercises. Compression therapy can also be used to increase your circulation to reduce the risk of clots.

Finally, because physical therapists see many post-surgical patients, they are very adept at identifying the warning signs of DVT. They can see symptoms that you might miss if you only do exercises on your own at home without any supervision.

It is one of Murray’s best performances, and believe it or not, it makes me think of Physical Therapy.

You see, so many individuals today are living their own “Groundhog’s Day”, only instead of having to keep reporting on weather Phil saw his shadow or not, these individuals are waking up every day to the same aches and pains they had the day before.

Despite this constant pain, they continue to do the same thing in attempts to get better. Maybe they try painkillers, or they rest more. In the worst cases, they just settle on the belief that there is nothing they can do. They think they have to live with this pain the rest of their lives.

There is no reason to live in these personal, painful “Groundhog’s Days”. These individuals can get better. They can get back to living a life that is pain-free and looking forward to waking up to a new, painless day.

Physical therapists specialize in rehabilitating a wide variety of injuries. From frozen shoulders, carpal tunnel, ankle sprains, muscle tears and even to cancer, physical therapists see them all and can help. Whether it’s building muscle strength or increasing range of motion, physical therapists are trained to assist individuals get better.

So no matter how serious an injury or condition, individuals should not surrender to living the same pains every day. Seek out a physical therapist, make sure you are comfortable with their treatment plans, and start a new day that is pain-free!

All of these systems work together to give you balance. If there is a problem with your vestibular system, your body will probably react incorrectly or clumsily when your head changes position. The problem will present as dizziness.

If it’s your visual system that is having problems, it can present as having trouble in seeing differences in surfaces, especially when there is less light available.

Finally, if you have problems with the somatosensory/proprioception system, your feet are not sending the right messages to your brain about the surface you’re walking on.

It is important to understand the differences in the three systems. If you understand what system you are having issues with, you can compensate the weakness in one system by relying more on the others.

Having an idea what system is ailing you also helps your physical therapist. By providing the physical therapist with information regarding about what system is weakest, they can develop a specific program to improve that weak system.

But why wait until you get hurt? There are things you can do on a regular basis that will help prevent shoulder pain. You might tell yourself now “I don’t have time to do these exercises.” But if you really think about it, that time is a lot less than getting hurt, going to the doctor, going to a physical therapist, and then doing exercises anyway to get healthy again. So really, doing these exercises could prevent injury while saving you time and money.

Here is a great link to some simple exercises you can do in your home to help prevent shoulder injuries.

Exercises to prevent shoulder injuries

If an individual has skin cancer, there are steps the individual can take to lessen the toll chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. The first step once the diagnosis is made is to see a physical therapist and get evaluated. The physical therapist will be able to determine what exercises the patient can and should do prior to chemotherapy. This will increase their tolerance to the effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

After cancer treatment, the physical therapist can work with patient on daily exercises that will increase strength that could be lost during the chemotherapy. The physical therapy will not only increase strength, but can reduce stress and anxiety.

The cancer treatment may leave scars or leave the patient sore. To help reduce the soreness and the pain associated with the scars, the physical therapist can provide stretching exercises to increase flexibility while relieving joint stiffness and pain.

In addition to relieving pain and stress, the stretching can improve posture and muscle balance, which can prevent other injuries.

Of course there are exceptions and I know the patients that are indeed hard pressed for any free time. However, the majority of these patients who claim to have no time for exercise actually have the time. They just choose to use that time for other things.

They choose to sleep an extra hour in the morning instead of getting up and walking. They choose to watch that extra hour of television instead of hitting up the gym. They choose to surf the web instead of doing the exercises assigned to them.

The truth is, if you’re serious about getting healthier faster, you will make the time to do what it takes to properly rehabilitate. If you’re not serious about getting healthy, or expect it to happen magically, then you will find ways to distract yourself from the work you need to put in to get healthy.

A physical therapist can only do so much and give you so many tools to get better. In the end, you play the biggest role in your rehabilitation and health. So if you find yourself saying “I just don’t have time to work out” ask yourself if “why don’t I have time?” If the answer is something like watching the game or that you’re too tired, then you need to reprioritize your time.

• Picking up your children or grandchildren
• Getting something out of the cupboard
• Painting your house
• Throwing the ball with your sons or daughters
• Eating
• Changing the channel
• Driving
• Getting something out of the attic
• Cleaning the house in any way
• High-fiving a friend

First, they are something you have probably done in the past week. Second, they all involve using the muscles in your shoulder.

Now imagine trying to go about these daily tasks with a bad shoulder? Imagine reaching for your kids’ cereal in the morning and struggling to do so because the pain is so bad.

Unfortunately, millions of Americans don’t need to imagine. They know from experience how frustrating shoulder injuries can be, and the affect they can have on even the simplest tasks.

What they don’t know is that they can probably get better. They don’t have to deal with the pain every day. They can seek help from a licensed physical therapist who can assist them in getting back to their everyday, pain-free life.

To start, the physical therapist can show the patient how to accomplish their daily tasks in a different ways, so not to cause pain. All the while, the physical therapist will be working on strengthening the patient’s muscles and increase the range of motion in the shoulder. This will help heal the muscles and get you back to picking up your kids or grand kids without pain.

A physical therapist can also educate you on how to perform tasks in the future to prevent further injury.

Pain should never be accepted, especially when it affects your life on a daily basis. Get help and back to living a more enjoyable and pain-free life.

The main cause of the triad is energy deficiency in female athletes. This is not just through undereating, but occurs when women do not take in more calories than they burn, which can happen through overtraining. While eating disorders are not the only cause of Female Athlete Triad, it is a major contributor. As a result, most efforts to educate female athletes revolve around nutrition and recognized eating disorders.

The most common symptoms of the triad are chronic fatigue, irregular menstrual cycles, frequent fractures, cold hands and feet, problems sleeping and restricting food intake.

Some of the problems associated with the triad are best dealt with by a physician to diagnose and a mental health professional to assist with the mental rehabilitation that is needed in individuals with eating disorders. However, there are many physical problems caused by the triad that require the assistance of licensed physical therapists.

Individuals suffering from the triad will need a new fitness plan to ensure that they do not burn more calories than they need for their training. Physical therapy can also assist athletes with the triad in sleeping better and recovering from fractures. You have to remember, those that suffer from the triad are usually athletes that need to rebuild their bodies so they are capable of completing the daily grind required to succeed in their respected sports.

Prior to receiving chemo treatments, a licensed physical therapist can help you work on an exercise program to build your strength and your cardiovascular system. Specifically, cardiovascular therapy can assist you in increasing lung capacity prior to treatment. After treatment for lung cancer, lung capacity is greatly reduced, so building lung strength before the treatment can speed up recovery time.

Treatment of lung cancer can include surgery on the infected lung. Physical therapy is used to help restore and enhance the mobility of the chest and abdominal wall, as surgery could have had an effect on these body structures.

While restoring lung capacity is vital to a lung cancer patient’s recovery, fighting the chemotherapy side effect of fatigue is also crucial. This can be the toughest rehab you will ever face. The reason is that chemotherapy can cause a general sense of fatigue. There might be days where the only thing you want to do is stay in bed and watch television. As hard as it may be, you have to get up and get active.

A licensed physical therapist can assist you in overcoming this obstacle. They can give you exercises that help you manage the fatigue on a daily basis. They are also trained in educating you on cardiovascular exercises, strength training and range of motion stretching.

While chemotherapy and surgery are most well-known forms of cancer treatment, it’s important to know that physical therapy can play a vital role in your recovery. It can help you get closer to the life you were living before cancer.

Defensive lineman Casey Brett Keisel suffered a serious groin injury early in the game. While groin injuries are common in athletes, it’s a general term and not many really understand what happens when this type of injury occurs.

The groin is made up of six muscles of the inner thigh that span the distance from the inner pelvis to the inner part of the femur. The dreaded “pulled groin” occurs when these muscles are stretched too far. Most of these injuries are minor tears, but severe strains tear the muscle fibers and can completely tear the muscle from the bone.

If you are an athlete, one of the best ways to prevent this injury is to build up your conditioning, specifically, build up your hip muscle strength.

If you do suffer a groin injury, the rehab depends on the severity of the injury. If you’re lucky, a little rest and ice for a few days is all you will need. However, some groin injuries require more treatment in order to get you back in the action.

If the injury is serious enough, physical therapy is required. Your physical therapist can properly evaluate the severity of the injury and develop a series of exercises that will help you rebuild strength in the muscles. Ultrasounds and massage therapy have also been shown to help in the rehabilitation process.

As it is with all injuries, one of the most important factors is patience. Do not do too much too soon, or return to action before cleared by a physical therapist. Muscles that are not fully rehabilitated are more prone to further injury.