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If you’ve had an injury that continues to cause you pain and discomfort, and limits your mobility, it might be time to see a professional for physical therapy in Denver. In many cases, seeing a physical therapist for an injury means you can avoid surgery as well as medications. A physical therapist will address any condition that is limiting your ability to move and function properly on a day-to-day basis. Take a look at some of the comments from our patients who found relief with our services, including physical therapy.

Before you go to a physical therapist, here’s what you should know about ahead of time.

Be Prepared Before Your First Appointment

Make a written list of questions you have for your physical therapist. It’s easy to forget what you want to ask while you are in the appointment, so having a list you can refer to is key.

Also make notes for yourself for information to share with the physical therapist. For instance, what symptoms have you been suffering from and for how long? If you have multiple symptoms, which one is bothering you the most? Share information too on when the symptoms are bothering you most, including what activities are giving you the most pain or discomfort. Other considerations include:

• What time of day are you most bothered by your pain or symptoms?
• Are there physical positions that bother your pain or symptoms more than others?
• Does resting provide you with any relief from your pain or symptoms?

Jot down some notes about your medical history to share with the physical therapist. Even medical conditions that seem unrelated to your current pain or symptoms could be important. If you are currently taking any medications, be sure to share that information with your physical therapist. Include a list of all supplements you might be taking.

If you have recent lab work or diagnostic reports from other health professionals, take that along. If you have been working with other healthcare professionals regarding your pain or symptom, and if you would like them to share information with the physical therapist, bring along that information.
Think about your family history, such as medical conditions your siblings or parents might be experiencing. If you have had any injuries or stress, or are dealing with unique environmental circumstances, share this information with your physical therapist.

It’s not a bad idea to take along a family member or close friend to your first appointment with the physical therapist. It can be helpful for someone else to hear the information to ensure you don’t forget anything. Another person might also think of good questions to ask that you hadn’t considered.
When making your appointment, ask whether or not you will be engaging in any physical activities at your initial visit. If so, be sure to wear comfortable clothing so you can move freely.

Considerations About Finances

Ask about the clinic’s financial policies before you go in for your first appointment. Make sure you understand exactly what your responsibilities will be. Find out what might be covered under your insurance and what you will likely be responsible for paying. Read any financial agreement closely before signing it.

Be prepared to pay any deductibles or copays each time you go to physical therapy so you can avoid getting a large, unexpected bill. Be sure to find out what is covered under your insurance as far as frequency of visits. If your insurance coverage changes at any time during treatment, be sure to let the office know this.

Your First Visit to the Physical Therapist

Now that you have done the legwork prior to coming in, it’s time for that first appointment. Here’s what you can expect.

Be prepared to answer lots of questions, both about your overall health as well as the specific pain and symptoms you are being seen for. The more detailed you can be, the better the plan your physical therapist can devise for your treatment. Be sure to talk about your home and work environment, how healthy a lifestyle you live, what your activity level is, and any leisure activities you might be involved in.

Your physical therapist will conduct a physical exam that will vary from patient to patient, depending on your individual circumstances. These might include:

• Blood pressure
• Heart and respiration rates
• Strength and flexibility tests
• Flexibility and balance

Your physical therapist will probably touch the area in question as well.

Other parts of the evaluation might include a close look at how you walk, how you get up from lying down, how you stand up when getting out of a chair, how well you can bend and lift things.

Goals of Your Physical Therapy Treatment

At your first visit, your physical therapist will go over your goals for treatment. In most cases, your physical therapist will make a diagnosis at that first appointment and make a plan that will improve your ability to function on a daily basis. Depending on your pain or symptoms, this might include improving motion or reducing pain. (Find out more here about who can benefit from physical therapy.)

As you go through treatment, your physical therapist will constantly be making adjustments, based on what does and doesn’t seem to be working.
If you need any special equipment, such as a splint or crutches, your physical therapist will make a recommendation. If you at risk for falling, he or she may also make recommendations for equipment that can make your home and work environment safer.

Be prepared to have “homework” as your physical therapist may assign exercises for you to do at home in between visits.

Make a commitment before starting physical therapy to be an active participant in your treatment. Also go in with a positive attitude, which has been shown to improve patient results. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions about your physical therapy.

Contact us today to find out more about physical therapy or any of our other services. With offices throughout the Denver metro area, including south Denver, Highlands Ranch, Lowry, Parker, Aurora, and Englewood, you can be sure that one is conveniently located near you. We look forward to working with you and helping you live a healthy, pain-free lifestyle!

If you haven’t had the opportunity to swing into your next workout with TRX suspension training, you are missing out. TRX suspension training is a relatively new way to work out with just your body weight. It forces just about every muscle in your body to work in a pull or push motion like no other exercise does. At Peak Physical Therapy & Wellness, we have embraced TRX suspension training in Parkerr, CO (We include a comprehensive list of some of the benefits of TRX training here.)

What Is TRX Suspension Training?

This fitness tool is made up of high-quality nylon that is highly durable. It has the ability to hold up to 1,400 pounds. It has handles into which you can put your hands or feet—depending on the exercise you are doing—and can be set up almost anywhere. It strongly engages your core as well as your strength, agility, and balance.

It’s fairly simple with just six main body positions that give you options for hundreds of exercises, regardless of your fitness or skill level. All are variations of either standing up or lying down.

Many of the big box gyms now have TRX suspension trainers in them as well.

What Makes TRX Training Such a Great Option?

TRX training was invented by a Navy Seal. He used it to help maintain fitness of his fellow troops—regardless of where in the world they happened to be located. The hanging bands use only your body weight to engage all the muscles of the body. You can even incorporate TRX training into your next vacation! Read more here.

It’s a great overall fitness method for the following reasons:

It is suitable for everyone, regardless of your current level of fitness.
Olympic athletes and couch potatoes alike will benefit from this exercise. The body weight load can be increased or decreased by just slight shifts in position. This type of training works for everyone.

It can help you achieve any health or fitness goal.
Regardless of your goal, whether you want to get stronger, lose weight, or run a marathon, TRX suspension training can help you achieve it.

It can be used to improve cardiovascular health as well as to increase strength.
There is an old adage when it comes to lifting weights for a cardio workout that says, Just lift faster! And this same theory holds true for TRX training. You can speed up your performance of an exercise and make great gains from a cardiovascular endurance standpoint.

It is incredibly versatile.
With just two adjustable bands, you can create a workout that will hit on every muscle in your body. (You might even feel muscles you never knew existed!) They are easily transportable so you can take them with you anywhere for a full workout—even in your hotel room. They pair only weight about 2 pounds, so you will not even notice them in your suitcase.

It is safe.
Because the bands are suspended, a workout with TRX suspension bands is low impact, so you are able to give your joints a break from stress. This means the risk of injury is very low, so you can train hard—even if you are a newbie. If you are training with another injury, TRX suspension training makes it easy to train around it.

It engages your entire body.
This is particularly valuable for enthusiasts who participate in another sport, such as running. It makes a great adjunct to training for any sport because your entire body, including your core, is constantly being activated. You’ll get a whole-body workout that is very comprehensive.

It is fresh and different.
Tired of going to the gym and phoning it in on the elliptical machine—and seeing minimal results for your efforts? Let’s face it: Going to the gym and doing the same thing over and over can get pretty boring and undermine your fitness goals completely. TRX training livens up your training regimen, making working out feel fun again!

What Are the Benefits of TRX Suspension Trainer Workouts?

Professional athletes, including Major League baseball players and MMA fighters, are becoming fans of this way of training. Why? It offers a number of excellent benefits:

• You don’t need a gym membership so you can work out when it’s convenient for you to do so. This is both convenient (no waiting for equipment) and inexpensive (no paying of monthly gym membership fees).
• They are affordable if you want to buy your own set to use at home. Although they are an investment, buying a set is still much cheaper than having to buy free weights.
• They take up less space in your home gym than a weight bench or other fitness equipment.
• They are long-lasting and durable, so after you purchase them, no other investment is required.
• As with many home guys, you don’t have to spend time adjusting machines or weights. You set up the bands once, then you can do an entire workout without have to move them again.
• They are excellent for building core strength, which is a weakness for many people and related to many other aches and pains in the body.
• It improves muscle endurance with high reps and low weight (bodyweight).
• It will help you grow strong so you can avoid injuries in the future or with other activities.
• It provides participants with a great workout that gives you a variety of range of motions. You can get creative with what you do, and you can push yourself.
• TRX suspension trainers are also useful for rehabbing if you have become injured and are slowly trying to become mobile again.

Contact us today to find out more about how TRX training can use gravity and your own body weight to safely and effectively get you into great shape. With offices throughout the Denver metro area, including south Denver, Highlands Ranch, Lowry, Parker, Aurora, and Englewood, you can be sure that one is conveniently located near you. We look forward to working with you and helping you live a healthy, pain-free lifestyle!

If you have suffered an injury, in pain from an old injury, or just dealing with chronic discomfort, the suggestion for dry needling might have come up. This is a fairly new treatment that has been gaining in popularity in the past few years. Before you run to the computer to do an online search for dry needling in Denver, let’s take a look at the history of dry needling and what it might be able to do for you.

The History Dry Needling

The discovery of dry needling dates back to the 1940s when a doctor by the name of Janet Travell identified muscular trigger points and patterns on the body. She along with another doctor, David Simon, created the first generation of what is known today as dry needling.

The American Physical Therapy Association defines dry needling as a skilled intervention that uses needles to penetrate the skin to stimulate underlying trigger points for pain and movement impairment management.

The treatment uses small, solid needles inserted into the body. The purpose is to stimulate tissue and release tight muscles. It can also be used to help lessen pain. Dry needling is a growing trend being used by professional athletes as well as weekend warriors.

Dry Needling Versus Acupuncture

You might be asking yourself, what is the difference between dry needling and acupuncture. Because the two use needles, they might sound very similar. The truth is, although there is a commonality with both using needles, there is a big difference in both method and approach between the two.
Dry needling is used to treat the muscles after a physical examination has been conducted. Treatment is based on where the patient is feeling pain as well as other areas that the physical therapist determines after conducting an examination and assessment.

When undergoing dry needling, the physical therapist inserts needles into the body slowly. They are moved around and manipulated—gently—to get a response from the muscle and usually removed almost immediately afterward. This process might be repeated over and over again, depending on the situation.

Acupuncture is a technique for balancing the flow of energy. When acupuncturists insert needles into specific points of the body, they are looking to balance energy flow. In acupuncture, the needles are frequently left in the body for a specific amount of time, with the acupuncturist often leaving the patient for a while.

Who Performs Dry Needling?

Most states regulate dry needling so it is performed only by a physical therapist or doctor of physical therapy who has been specially trained. At Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness, a certified physical therapist will perform dry needling. A massage therapist does not perform dry needling although massage too deals with trigger points in the body.

Conditions That Can Be Treated With Dry Needling

Dry needling can relieve a variety of musculoskeletal problems. It is relaxing and therapeutic procedure that is suitable for many different conditions, such as back and neck pain, sporting injuries, and discomfort that is a result of poor posture.
If you are suffering from any of the following conditions, you might inquire about dry needling to find out whether it can help you:

• Athletic performance
• Back pain
• Bursitis
• Chronic pain
• Golfer's elbow
• Headaches
• IT band syndrome
• Knee pain
• Neck
• Osteoarthritis
• Piriformis syndrome
• Plantar fasciitis
• Sciatica
• Tendonitis
• Tennis elbow

Does Dry Needling Hurt?

For the vast majority of people, dry needling does not hurt. In fact, most people don’t even feel the needles being inserted. Although the needle is moved and manipulated in order to engage a response from the muscle, the feeling that ensues is more of an ache or cramping sensation rather than pain.  

Side Effects of Dry Needling

It probably comes as no surprise that there can be side effects to dry needling, but these will vary depending on the individual. Some people report some needle soreness that might last for a day or so after treatment. In very few patients, there is some skin bruising at the needle sights, but this is somewhat rare and occurs in fewer than 5 percent of patients.

Just in case you are a bit sore after treatment, you might want to plan your schedule around that possibility to give yourself a few days to recover.

What to Expect During Your First Dry Needling Appointment

During your first session, our physical therapist will evaluate the areas where you are feeling pain, discomfort, or tightness. An examination will determine which muscles are tight or knotted. This is often performed by gently pressing on the areas as directed by the patient or by palpitating areas to determine if the muscle feels tight or knotted.

After locating the areas to be treated, the physical therapist will press a plastic tube containing a sterile needle against the skin, gently tapping it into place. There should be very little discomfort during this procedure; most patients barely feel anything.

As the needle is pressed deeper into the muscle tissue, there may be some discomfort. The physical therapist will then gently manipulate the needle to stimulate the muscle into twitching or cramping, loosening tight muscle fibers.

Many patients report feeling relief from pain after just one or two dry needling sessions.

If you have heard about dry needling yet you remain skeptical of its efficacy, you should consider that many professional athletes around the world are using this treatment to relieve muscle pain and dysfunction. At Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness, we are always happy to answer your questions about any of our treatments, which in addition to dry needling include treatment for craniofacial and jaw pain, functional movement screening, hand therapy and splinting, injury risk assessment, and more.

Contact us today to find out more about dry needling or any of our other services. With offices throughout the Denver metro area, including south Denver, Highlands Ranch, Lowry, Parker, Aurora, and Englewood, you can be sure that one is conveniently located near you. We look forward to working with you and helping you live a healthy, pain-free lifestyle!