Imaging tests like MRIs, CT Scans, and X-Rays really are miraculous diagnostic tools – allowing medical professionals to peer inside the human body without inflicting so much as a paper cut.

This is why so many clinicians will order these tests whenever a patient reports pain in any part of their body. “Let’s see what’s going on in there,” is a common refrain. 

However, many MRIs fail to tell the whole story of “what’s going on in there.” Vague reports of “tendonitis,” “bulging disc,” “degeneration,” or “stenosis” can all be attributed to normal aging. In fact, imaging results for pain-free, healthy 20-year-olds will report “disc degeneration” fully 37% of the time! 

Of course, we are not saying that the miracle of MRI does not have its place in medical diagnosis. What we’re saying is that perhaps other methods of diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain are not only more cost-effective – they can be more effective, period. As a matter of fact, one study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that physical therapy worked just as well as surgery in the treatment of spinal stenosis – and did so without the potentially life-threatening complications that could arise with surgery.

When the source of back, shoulder, hip, or other pain is not evident, you may want to make your first call to a physical therapist. In many cases, your pain can be effectively treated through hands-on therapy and exercise – without drugs and without invasive surgery. And fear not – if your therapist believes you need the assistance of a physician, you will be referred in short order.

Call us today about your chronic back, shoulder, hip or other pain. You’ve got nothing to lose – except an expensive MRI bill – and the pain, of course!

So, you’ve been told you need surgery. 😷

Better call a physical therapist! ☎️

Wait… what?

It is a fact that surgical patients who are in better physical shape before a surgery heal more quickly and with less complications than those who are in less than ideal physical condition. 

Although physical therapy is often thought of as a treatment that follows surgery – helping to get patients back on their proverbial feet again – it can also help those same patients prepare their bodies physically before the surgery to promote a better outcome.

Surgical intervention can often be a miraculous, life-saving treatment. It can also be very hard on the body – and healing can be slow if the patient is not in otherwise good physical condition going into the procedure. 

In most surgical procedures, the body is actually assaulted by foreign objects that cut, pry, and probe around your innards; repairing damage, cutting out diseased tissue, or exploring the causes of illness. It takes a strong body to withstand the trauma of surgery and successfully recover when it is over.

If you find yourself scheduled for surgery, give us a call to see if we can help get you into peak physical condition before they wheel you in for the procedure. We promise, you will be glad you did – and we’ll be right here to help get you back to what you love as quickly as possible when it’s all over.

Questions?