07 Jun Life Doesn’t Have to be a Pain
Are you ready to deal with a life without pain? Of course you are. And we’re here to help you do something about it. Sometimes our bodies’ physical pain comes from an obvious sources. Lifting something heavy the wrong way. A tumble from your trail bike. Even recovery from surgery. And we all know we need to get some treatment for these pains. But a lot of us also suffer from chronic pain, from underlying injuries that were never treated right or because we’re sitting at desks all day. We put up with it. We regard those aches and pains that come with this as a normal part of everyday life. Well, the Physical Medicine team at Crossover Health doesn’t settle for this. And neither should you. We have the people and the tools to help make life pain free, whether it’s to fix an acute injury or to help you reduce or eliminate chronic pain. All in. Pain Out. At Crossover Health, we’ve gone deep in the Physical Medicine services we provide: Our Physical Medicine providers use evidence-based practice to help assist in diagnosing, controlling and treating symptoms of the soft tissues, articular and the neural systems. Importantly, physical medicine looks at the whole body as a functional unit, which means that while we may start by addressing a particular issue you may have, we really want to look at all the interrelated issues of your joints, muscles, skeletal structure and nerves to provide a sustainable solution. And it’s more than simply reducing pain. Our Physical Medicine team can help you increase your mobility and stability, and help you with progressive strengthening and flexibility exercises. Common symptoms we treat include: Dealing with pain is no pain at all What’s been your experience with physical medicine up to now? And what’s unique about our approach? Maybe your physician referred you to one of the Physical Medicine specialities in the past. You had an appointment and maybe even a course of therapy, but it felt disconnected. There wasn’t much interaction, if any, between your doctor and the specific Physical Medicine provider, and he or she could only address your pain issue with a limited number of tools and procedures. If you went to a physical therapist and really needed to see a chiropractor, it was another referral, another wait, another person working in a silo, another challenge to build a relationship. It probably all seemed uncoordinated and disconnected, and it sometimes took a lot of work (mostly on your part) to get to the source of a problem. In fact, there is often competition amongst various types of providers, as well as mixed opinions regarding diagnoses and treatment plans. In short, addressing your pain was a pain. When you join Crossover Health, you’ll see we manage physical medicine in a whole new way. First of all, everyone on the physical medicine team works together, literally in the same space. With 30+ years of combined experience, our physical medicine team providers, including a Physical Therapist, Doctor of Chiropractic and a Licensed Acupuncturist, utilize their unique skills to help improve the overall health of each patient. Leveraging our specific physical medicine specialties we approach each patient and each situation from several angles and as a team we are able to arrive at the best diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive measures that work for you. Secondly, we make sure your physical therapy is integrated with your broader care plan and all the resources you have access to as a member at Crossover Health, such as our physicians, nurses, nutrition, behavioral health, coaches and even our optometrist. This means that we can address the symptoms and most importantly, the underlying cause or causes of the conditions we treat, because sometimes the challenge we see needs the coordinated input of many kinds of providers. SInce we work so closely together, it’s easy to involve our other providers, from a brief second opinion to a care plan that fully integrates providers from across the spectrum. The end result is that we provide care that’s genuinely focused on you, your needs, and your goals. Access is easy. You can schedule online, work with any of our team members without a referral and email with questions and follow-up. Our care is coordinated. And we collaborate, both with you and with everyone on our entire care team. We think this is the pain free way that healthcare should be practiced. You will too. #NoPain Come in Many Ways Now that you know how we work together, and how well it can work for you, let’s dive into our Physical Therapy, Chiropractic and Acupuncture services. Physical Therapy Physical Therapy, or PT, has been around for centuries. Even in Ancient Greece, it has been documented that teachers such as Hector and Hippocrates treated their patients with techniques we’d recognize today. PT was formalized with the first Schools of Physical Therapy beginning in 1913 at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand and Reed College in Portland, Oregon, USA. Since then, PT has grown and refined itself to address symptoms and causes of many physical injuries from simple strains and sprains, to post surgical rehab to people with neurological impairments. Physical Therapy providers harness the use of soft tissue manipulations such as massage, stretching, Active Release Techniques (ART), Proprioceptive Neural Facilitations (PNF), and joint mobilizations such as stretching joints, manipulations of joints, correction of tracking and more. We also provide training techniques for regaining use of joints, muscles, movement patterns as in sports, and the re-education of movement patterns to help return people to their prior function, or better. Chiropractic The mission of our Chiropractic providers at Crossover Health is to be known as the neuromusculoskeletal specialists. Chiropractic care addresses the pain that affects joints, ligaments, muscles and structure but the real focus is to find the cause of these symptoms. We take the concept of a thorough evaluation to the next level by screening for functional movements which helps us to identify the cause of dysfunction – meaning we not only reduce pain but also help you avoid the pain in the first place. We do this through helping to improve posture and efficiency, and enhance mobility and athletic performance. More than anything we educate our patients on wellness and lifestyle medicine so that you start to learn the habits that minimize the symptoms. What’s the Difference? A lot of people confuse Chiropractic medicine and Physical Therapy but they’re quite different. Chiropractors mobilize and restore movement while Physical Therapists stabilize and focus on strengthening weak muscles. Structure and function both interlap which is why it’s a beautiful marriage. The are some other frequently asked questions as well such as: Our next post will explore acupuncture in more detail. While reading about these services is great it is always best to come in and meet with us or attend one of our events. Better yet, schedule an appointment and see how Physical Medicine can help you make your moves smooth. Acupuncture Acupuncture, a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), was developed more than 2,000 years ago and has become widely acknowledged and recommended by healthcare professionals for a wide range of conditions, prevention and wellness, and other scientific bodies. During the last 15 years, there has been increasing support from the western medical societies including peer reviewed journal articles, academic research, the National Institute of Health, and the World Health Organization promoting the value and virtues of the ancient chinese art. Acupuncture is used to treat a large range of common problems. A few of the main health concerns acupuncture can treat include acute / chronic pain (nerve and / or muscle related), digestive conditions (IBS, constipation, and acid reflux), insomnia, stress / anxiety, and women’s health. But let’s get to the, er, point. Acupuncture is done by use of needles. People who are more accustomed to (and often leery of) the needles used to draw blood or give a shot, wonder “doesn’t it hurt?” No actually. The reality is the needles used in acupuncture treatments are far, far smaller than those used at the doctor’s office. Acupuncture needles are not used to put something into or remove something from your body so they don’t need to be hollow and are incredibly thin. This means they can slip smoothly through the skin to reach the various meridian points your Licensed Acupuncturist is looking for. So while acupuncture does result in sensations like pressure, slight electricity, or a dull ache, it is generally akin to muscle soreness after exercise. In fact, most acupuncture treatments actually result in the patient falling into a state of deep relaxation, sometimes referred to as the “acupuncture power nap.” There are a few other things that people ask about acupuncture which we answer here: Interested? Schedule an appointment to come in to find out more about Acupuncture. Know No Pain Well, there you have it. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Physical Medicine at Crossover Health. Depending on your preferences, medical history and current health concerns, our Physical Medicine team will work together to ensure success for you, on your terms. One more thing about how we practice Physical Medicine. At some of our Crossover Health centers, we’re getting better results than physical medicine providers out in the community, with a fewer number of visits. How is that possible? Well, our team is passionate about giving you the programs and information to help address your pain issue on your own, between visits. You’ll find as you work with us that our focus is not on how many visits we can schedule with you, but how effectively you can take ownership over your own care plan and your own health. You’ll be amazed how good a provider you can be for yourself, and awesome a pain free life can be, when you have the right tools and the right partners!
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