Physical Therapy Question and Answer
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Welcome Visitor,
This is my way of sharing portions of discussions and questions that I commonly have with patients in physical therapy. I hope you find the information interesting and my opinions helpful.
Sincerely,
C.J. Eberley, PT, DPT
Q10: I have chronic low back pain, what is the best thing I can do for it? In nearly all people with chronic low back pain the best thing to do is to move. A physical therapist can give guidance on the best ways to move. Q9: How long should I hold a stretch? To improve the range of motion of a joint I recommend holding a stretch for 3 sets of 30 seconds 2-3 times a day. Once the desired range of motion is met then stretch for 3 sets of 30 seconds twice a week to maintain joint mobility. I recommend older adults replace 30 second counts with 60 second counts. Q8: I had both of my knees replaced at the same time. One is not improving as quickly. Should I be worried? One knee always progresses faster. The difference in pain and function between knees typically evens out by 6 months. Q7: What is the purpose of physical therapy? The purpose of physical therapy is to increase the durability and resilience of The Person in order to allow for the performance of physical activities they need to or enjoy doing. Q6: My doctor said I can elect to get a knee replacement when I am ready. I am worried that the replacement will not improve my knee pain. Should I get it replaced? Around 90% of people with end stage arthritis of the knee have good outcomes after a knee replacement. Some worry is to be expected going into a major surgery. Those that are excessively worried that they will not improve tend to have persistent knee pain after a replacement. My answer is to wait until you feel the surgery will improve your pain and quality of life. Q5: Will physical therapy be painful? In outpatient physical therapy, it is expected that some discomfort will be felt at times. Excessive pain is almost always counterproductive. Q4: Should I continue to run after a meniscectomy? If the procedure was successful and the patient is appropriately rehabilitated, many people successfully return to running. If the leg is strong, no pain is present and less than 50% of the meniscus was removed, then I usually feel fairly comfortable if a patient returns to running. Q3: I have been running exclusively on a treadmill everyday and decided to switch to road running. Nothing else has changed, why have I suddenly developed shin splints? The density of the running surfaces changed. The body did not have enough time to adapt to the new physical stresses placed on it by the denser running surface. Poor tolerance to the increased physical stress then resulted in some level of tissue trauma and pain. I advise treadmill runners to ween into road running to ensure the body adapts properly to the denser surface. Q2: I Injured my low back picking something up from the ground. When will it get better? Nearly everyone with a new onset of low back pain (LBP) and no signs of serious disease have a rapid and excellent recovery. Of those with this type of LBP, 60-70% recover by 6 weeks and 80-90% by 12 weeks . A small portion, 10%,will continue with LBP after the 12 week period. The person with LBP that persists greater than 12 weeks may still improve, although recovery may be slower and more uncertain. Q1: Does running cause arthritis in the knee? Not in an apparently healthy person with apparently healthy knees.