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Being Injured At Work Doesn’t Mean You Should Fear The Loss Of Your Job or Be Confused About Your Legal Rights To Healthcare
For the last 25 years I have helped patients regain their physical function after being incapacitated by injury or accidents. I’m continually amazed by how many injured workers fear losing their job because of employer pressure on them to return to work, often times before they are physically able to do so. Workers Compensation laws stop all of this but most patients just don’t understand their rights.
Local Physical Therapist Exposes A Myth Regarding The Role Of Rehabilitation Through “Hands-On” Physical Therapy
Despite all the technological inventions over the last decade, there is still nothing that can replace the healing benefits of the human touch. The Insurance Industry wants you to believe that a few exercises done at home by yourself is all you need to heal. I disagree with that philosophy. I believe a well trained, experienced Therapist has a lot more to offer then merely handing out an exercise instruction sheet. My patients are my partners and together we are working toward a healing process that returns them to a normal life.
What Makes Physical Therapy Associates Any Better or Any Different Than All The Other Physical Therapy Centers?
First and foremost we are a patient advocate. We fight for your rights to receive proper treatment and will secure authorization for the treatment that you need. Unfortunately, a lot of insurance companies limit the number of physical therapy visits per patient per year so it is vital that you make the right choice of provider when it comes to physical therapy. A common problem in our profession is the use of untrained or unlicensed personnel. The person treating you must be a licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. Some facilities employ athletic trainers and exercise physiologist who are not trained to treat general pathology and conditions common in physical therapy.
Three Critical Characteristics To Demand From Your Physical Therapist…Ask Them And Save Yourself Time And Frustration
1. Do You Provide A Hands-On Personalized Treatment Plan For Your Patients…Or Do You Just Offer The Standard Cookie Cutter Approach To Therapy?
2. Are All Of Your Staff Licensed Physical Therapists or Physical Therapy Assistants?
3. Are You A Certified Provider For Therapy Services For The Bureau of Workers Compensation…and Will You Secure The Authorization For Treatment For Me?
“Rebuilding Lives and Dreams, Every Day!”
To discover the truth about your rights as an injured worker, call 740-264-5559 today for our FREE Report called ”What Every Injured Worker Needs To Know” and secure your path to a happy, healthy life.
Headache? Your Posture May Be the Cause
Do you suffer from headaches? If you do, you're not alone.
The headache has been reported to be the No.1 reason patients seek medical attention.
There are many causes of headaches. But, did you know that
how you sit, lie and stand can cause headache pain?
 As you sit
reading this, ask yourself these questions:
- Are your feet resting squarely on the floor?
- Is your low back pressed against the back of the chair?
- Are your shoulders relaxed?
- Is your head resting squarely over your shoulders?
If you answered "no" to these questions, your
sitting posture could cause increased tension in the shoulder and neck muscles. Thus poor
posture, the experts say can cause or intensify a common tension headache.
How Does It Happen?
"The next time you have a headache, check your
position," suggests Erik van Dijk, P,T., of the Private Practice Section of the
American Physical Therapy Association. "See if you can decrease your pain by
correcting your posture. If so, you may be able to decrease or prevent your headaches by
improving your postural habits."
Van Dijk offers this comparison: It's easier to carry a
heavy object if you hold it in close to you. You probably would be able to carry a
12-pound bowling ball longer, for example, if you hold it close to you. If, however, you
hold the same ball at arm's length in front of you, you would only be able to carry it
that way for a very short time. Your muscles would get tired and ache.
The same principle applies to carrying the weight of your
head, he says. When your head is resting squarely above your shoulders there is very
little tension on the muscles of the head and neck, If, instead, your head is resting
forward of your trunk, a great deal of muscular activity is required.
Physical therapists are specialists in caring for aches and
pains, and can provide exercise programs specifically designed to correct faulty posture.
Recurring Back Injuries Can Be Prevented
Jack lifts 80-pound bags of dog food almost every day at
work. For him, treating the excruciating pain in his lower back isn't enough. He needs to
know how to prevent it. His livelihood depends on it.
Fortunately for Jack and millions of others, careful
attention to prevention is one of the hallmarks of the health care provided by America's
physical therapists.
Skilled through extensive education and clinical
training, these professionals work with more than 350,000 people daily in the United
States to restore health and alleviate pain. Physical therapists encounter a variety of
problems, ranging from golfer's elbow and skier's ankle of the weekend athlete to stroke
victims trying to regain normal movement, burn victims hoping to prevent abnormal scarring
and cardiac patients striving to improve their endurance.
"If it's a joint, we treat it," says Erik van
Dijk, an Ohio physical therapist and a member of the Private Practice Section of the
American Physical Therapy Association.
Underlying Causes
But physical therapists, van Dijk says, are convinced that
exclusive treatment-oriented approaches are not enough, because they fail to examine the
underlying causes of problems. Prevention of recurring injuries is imperative for people
like Jack, who planned to stay at the same job where he sustained his injury lifting those
bags of dog food.
A physical therapist could evaluate Jack's problem to
determine whether his leg of abdominal muscles were not strong enough to endure the
constant heavy lifting. Or perhaps tight hamstring muscles limited his flexibility and
predisposed Jack to back injury.
Then the therapist could design an exercise program tailored to Jack's special needs. The
therapist might also go to the work site and help Jack and his supervisors learn how to
lift the heavy bags with less strain.
Physical therapists share the same goal. Van Dijk says to
help patients re-enter their work, home and community at the highest level of
self-sufficiency.
"We try to foster independence, not dependence,"
Van Dijk adds, "We try to teach people how to take ownership of their problem and be
part of the treatment."
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