Alphabet Soup: What Do All Those Letters Behind Your Therapist’s Name Mean?

In the ever-changing profession of physical therapy, each provider continues their education through courses, classes, and certifications.  Many of the letters following your therapist's name can give you insight into their continuing education and certifications and who can best serve your needs!

Below are some commonly seen abbreviations you may find behind your physical therapist’s name:
 

PT – Physical Therapist

This designation means that your physical therapist has passed their national boards exam and are licensed to practice personalized patient care.

DPT/MPT – Doctor of Physical Therapy/Masters in Physical Therapy

This designation behind the physical therapist’s name tells you their educational degree.  As of 2015, all physical therapy graduates are required to have a doctorate level education.

PTA – Physical Therapy Assistant

If you see this following your therapist’s name, it means that they are a physical therapy assistant.  These individuals are skilled in patient care and treatment of a variety of health conditions and injuries.  They work hand in hand with the physical therapist in collaboration with techniques to ensure the best quality of care for every patient.

ATC – Athletic Trainer Certified

If you see this following your therapist’s name, it means that they are certified as an athletic trainer.  These individuals have a comprehensive knowledge of sports injuries.  These providers play an important role in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of a wide variety of injuries.

OCS – Orthopedic Clinical Specialist

If your physical therapist has the designation OCS, they are a board-certified specialist in orthopedic physical therapy.  These therapists must meet a required number of patient care hours and pass a national exam to demonstrate competence in their chosen specialty – orthopedics.  These physical therapists are skilled in their examination, evaluation, and hands-on techniques.

MTC – Manual Therapy Certification

If your physical therapist has the designation MTC, they are certified through the University of St. Augustine as a specialist in manual therapy techniques (myofascial release, mobilization, manipulation).  With this certification, physical therapists are required to complete hours of training that include oral, practical, and written exams for each part of the body to demonstrate competency.

FDN – Functional Dry Needling

If your physical therapist has the designation FDN, they are certified in functional dry needling.  This is a neurophysiological therapeutic technique that uses small acupuncture-like needles to target dysfunctional/tight muscle tissue or connective tissue. These physical therapists have a strong background in anatomy and physiology.

GTS – Graston Technique Specialist

If your physical therapist has the designation GTS, they are certified in Graston Technique.  Graston Technique uses a combination of exercise and instrument-assisted manual techniques to decreased myofascial restriction and muscular tightness.

CSCS – Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

If your physical therapist has the designation CSCS, they are certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a specialist in improving athletic performance.  These individuals are highly skilled in developing safe strength and conditioning programs, while also providing guidance in injury prevention.

At Peak Physical Therapy we have you covered!

If you want to know more about how your physical therapist is broadening their knowledge and practice, please ask. We love sharing what we are learning and how we can apply our knowledge to your case so you can reach your PEAK!

If you are having hip or groin pain with activity, it could be FAI or Hip Impingement.

Were you or someone you know diagnosed with FAI or Hip Impingement and not sure what that means?

FAI stands for Femoral Acetabular Impingement. The hip is a ball and socket joint and impingement happens when there is an abnormal rubbing between the two surfaces. This can happen based on the shape of the joint. There can be an over coverage on the socket, a miss-shape of the ball, or often a combination of both. Impingement in adolescents or young adults can lead to a tear in the labrum or cartilage which causes pain in the hip or can cause early arthritis in the joint.
 

Physical therapy can often be a great way to treat symptoms including:

• Improving range of motion and decreasing soft tissue restrictions
• Strengthening the surrounding muscles to decrease load to the joint
• Learning to modify activities to avoid impingement.

Unfortunately, we cannot change the shape of the bone, so depending on the severity or age of the individual surgery is often required. The intent of the surgery is to correct the shape of the bone and then repair or replace the labrum in the hip. Patients are typically able to make a full return to sport or previous activities via arthroscopy (scope) surgery and following 4-6 months of rehab.

The best way to preserve the joint is to catch it early!
If you are having hip or groin pain with activity, see your local Peak physical therapist and get a diagnosis as early as possible.

Patellar Mobilizations  - What is it? Why is it done? 

If you have recently had surgery, you may have noticed your physical therapist frequently moves your kneecap, or patella, up and down and side to side. Why is this performed you may wonder? Well, if you tense your quadricep muscle on the front of the thigh on your uninvolved side you will see that the patella moves up, or superiorly.  

The quad and the patella have a working relationship for the knee joint to function properly. When the quad fires, the knee extends, and the patella moves superiorly. Inversely, when the knee flexes, the patella moves downward, or inferiorly.  

Immediately following surgery, the ability of the quad to fire decreases due to swelling and atrophy. Sometimes adhesions can form around the patella during this time, so it is important to get the patella moving again. Your physical therapist will often mobilize the patella in different directions. The purpose is to help the quad to fire or to restore range of motion in the knee joint. Your quad can’t fire without a superior movement of the patella. Also, if you have increased superior movement of the patella, you will gain more knee extension. Have you ever noticed feeling more range of motion in the knee following manual therapy? This is one of the reasons why PT works! 

What is IT Band Syndrome and What You Can Do To Heal It.

Do you experience pain the knee that has slowly started and you don’t know why?
Do you avoid activities you used to love because of pain?
Do you feel like your knee just isn’t as mobile as it used to be?

You could be experiencing something called IT Band Syndrome. 

Where is the IT Band?

The IT Band stands for the Iliotibial Tract or Band. It is a band of tissue that is a mix of muscle and tendon, it starts at the pelvis along, what is called the Iliac crest, and goes straight down the side of the leg and ends just below the knee at the Tibia. Its biggest job is abducting your leg (bringing it out to the side or stepping to the side). 

So what causes the pain?

Most commonly, the IT Band can get overused and start to cause problems that relate to the knee. Typically, if you are having knee pain with walking, pain when you bend your knee, tenderness when touching the side of your leg towards the knee; this is irritation, a strain, or overuse of the IT Band.

How do I get out of pain?

At Peak, we see a lot of people with tightness and tenderness in this area and it can be treated with a consistent regiment of stretching, soft tissue mobilization, and strengthening of surrounding structures. Deep tissue massage, cupping, and massage with a medical grade instrument (similar to Graston) can be very helpful in decreasing tightness that most commonly occurs from overuse.

A resolution of this commonly overlooked issue can range from a quick 4 weeks to 2-3 months depending on how consistent you are with your therapy and stretching. You also need to make sure you aren’t doing any of the activities that flare it up. Remember if it is an overuse cause you need to let it rest. 

If you feel like you are being affected by this stubborn IT Band, come in and let us help guide you down the road of recovery, don’t suffer over something that can easily be addressed. 

What is Cupping (aka those big circular bruises seen on peoples back)?

Have you ever seen those big bruised circles on your favorite athlete and wondered “what happened??” For many, the first experience with cupping was seeing Michael Phelps during the 2016 Olympics, covered in dark circular bruises.  Since then, the sports world has been taken with cupping.  

 

Historically, cupping has been utilized since ancient China. Originally it was used to help cleanse impurities and balance chi however since 2016, cupping has been used to help address imbalances in the body that are more physical in nature. In physical therapy, cupping is used to address muscle tightness, tissue adhesion and trigger points. In the body, the different muscles and tissues are layered on top of each other and, when there is an injury in the body, these layers can stick to each other.  This sticking, or tissue adhesions, can cause muscles to become tight, uncomfortable, and sometimes to even cause trigger points. Trigger points are irritable nodules that develop in the tissue, more often known as muscle knots. 

 

Cupping is the use of plastic or glass cups and a pump to create a vacuum over the area of issue in the body. The cup is placed on the area that is either tight, painful or restricted in motion and the pump is used to remove air from inside the cup. When the air is removed using the pump, the superficial skin and tissue is pulled into the cup. The act of pulling these tissues into the cup, this distraction of tissues, can cause a few different effects that can benefit the different muscles. Cupping can increase fluid between the layers and “break up” tissue adhesions. First, increased blood is pulled to the area of the cup and, therefore, increased fluid is able to flood these tissues.  This fluid can help to “hydrate” the tissue and to allow for better gliding between tissues. Second, this increase in pressure can cause tissue adhesions to break apart and improve the ability of the tissues to move and glide over one another.  

 

In the Physical Therapy field, the color of your marks do not correlate to greater issues in the tissue but most people will experience dark bruising from the cups. These bruises generally take 7-10 days to fade and often are tender, as bruises can be, for up to 0 days as well. Overall, your therapist can use cupping to help get rid of those nagging muscle knots and often, address the tightness and pain you may feel after an injury.

 

Come see your therapist today to see if cupping therapy is the right thing for you!