Tag Archives: restore motion

Lowell Weiner, D.D.S., F.A.G.D.

Dr. Lowell Weiner is board certified Dentist practicing through National Intergrated Health Associates. His interests and studies in Holistic health started in 1969, when he first became interested in how jaw and tooth problems affected swallowing, snoring, breathing, the sinuses and the rest of the body’s total compensating mechanisms from head to toe. Dr Weiner has served either as a consultant, faculty or staff at various universities in the area. He has limited his practice to sleep apnea and dental sleep issues, cranio mandibular dysfunction. He has served as an expert witness and is frequently asked to give second opinions for unusual complex dental medical treatments. The educational and treatment areas on which Dr. Weiner has placed special emphasis are sleep apnea, snoring, the infection and integration of the teeth, head, neck and shoulder with the rest of the body, both as a cause and result of acute and chronic problems.

Outside of work, Dr. Weiner started a fencing club at the University of Maryland and he enjoys cooking.

Reshma taught Muscle Energy Technique to Women’s Tennis Association Physical Therapists and Miriam taught Sex Therapy U at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in D.C.

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Reshma and Miriam dedicated time to help others in their professional development in January and February. Reshma taught a nearly full day webinar to physical therapists of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) February 4^th. The topic was Muscle Energy Technique (MET), an osteopathic manipulation technique where the action of a muscle is used to improve joint range of motion and the ability of muscle to fire. Reshma and Miriam started their study about and using MET in the 1990’s at Michigan State University School of Osteopathic Medicine CME. Reshma is one of a hand full of primary health providers in the world for the WTA!

Miriam also spent February 4^th teaching for Sex Therapy U at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in downtown Washington, DC. The topic was Women, Sex and Therapy: Ongoing Sexual Pleasure and Couples Interventions for Healing – Treating Pelvic Floor Issues with PT and Sex Therapy. She presented various issues that affect pelvic floor and sexual function and how physical therapy can help those dysfunctions. The students got to practice breathing into the pelvic floor, and using racquet balls to roll out muscular trigger points in the legs and back and tips to help their patients understand pelvic floor function. They also learned ways to help their clients experience and explore communication through touch.

The staff of Restore Motion is planning to offer a pelvic floor and manual therapy continuing education course for Physical Therapy CEUs in the near future – “watch this space.”

Visceral Mobilization

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People don’t think of their internal organs, or viscera, much within the context of physical therapy, however visceral mobility is vital for comfortable and smooth functional mobility. Our viscera are protected by the ribcage and muscular abdominal wall. They are held in place by a system of ligaments and are contained within a fluid filled sack called the peritoneum. The viscera need to be able to slide and glide over each other to allow movement of the diaphragm during breathing. When we inhale, the powerful diaphragm muscle moves down. The liver, stomach and other organs need to slide down out of the way when the diaphragm descends to allow the lungs to fill with air. When we exhale, the diaphragm and internal organs slide back up. Restoring, or improving, visceral mobility is important for normal body function. If the viscera loose mobility because of disease, inflammation or postural restriction, the result can be pain, decreased functional mobility or decreased organ function. Luckily, manual therapy to restore visceral mobility is comfortable and effective. Think about visceral mobility next time you reach to pick something up off of the floor. If your organs couldn’t slide and glide over each other, you wouldn’t be able to bend to reach the floor or breathe easily.

Safe Pain Management: Choose Physical Therapy

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choosept

Avoid Addictive Opioids. Choose Physical Therapy for Safe Pain Management.

No one wants to live in pain. But no one should put their health at risk in an effort to be pain free.

Since 1999, Americans have increasingly been prescribed opioids—painkillers like Vicodin, OxyContin, Opana, and methodone, and combination drugs like Percocet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sales of prescription opioids have quadrupled in the United States, even though “there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans report.”

In some situations, dosed appropriately, prescription opioids are an appropriate part of medical treatment. However, opioid risks include depression, overdose, and addiction, plus withdrawal symptoms when stopping use. And people addicted to prescription opioids are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin. As of 2014, the CDC estimates that 52 people die each day in the United States as a result of prescription opioid overdose.

In addition, Americans are creatively saving and sharing prescription opioids at alarming rates. These saved and/or shared drugs are now getting in the hands of our children. Our children are not traditionally popping pills but masking the drugs in various ways. Drug-laced lollipops are the latest in the drug culture. This has been reported by high school students in our area. The lollipops are apparently laced with strong levels of painkillers. This new drug delivery method should raise concern and awareness about the dangers of prescription opioids. Consumers and prescribers are encouraged to choose safer alternatives to prescription opioids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging health care providers to reduce the use of opioids in favor of safe alternatives like physical therapy.

Don’t just mask the pain. Treat it.

Choose physical therapy to manage your pain without the risks and side effects of opioids.

Written by: Reshma Rathod, PT

Constipation: What is it and how can physical therapy help?

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According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, someone is constipated if they have a bowel movement less than 3 times a week. This leaves a large range for what is considered “normal” frequency of defecation, from going three times a day (after every meal) to three times a week.

All of us will likely experience constipation at one time or another in our lives. Constipation just means that our food has spent too long in our colon, so more water than usual has been absorbed from the stool leaving it dry and hard to pass. This can be a frustrating symptom, leading to abdominal bloating, gas, increased pressure on the pelvic floor and surrounding organs and back pain. The best treatment is to be aware of the contributing factors and make daily lifestyle changes as needed.

What can lead to constipation?: Factors that may lead to constipation:

An imbalance in soluble and insoluble fiber intake, or lack of fiber in your diet
Not drinking enough water
Not enough physical activity
Changes in routine (irregular meal intake, traveling, unusual stress)
Ignoring the urge to go to the bathroom
Overuse of laxatives
Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction (we’ll come back to this later in the post)
Sometimes, constipation is a symptom associated with a specific condition such as from suffering a stroke, rectal prolapse, and irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS. Constipation is common during pregnancy as the abdominal contents must shift and compress to accommodate a growing baby.

Physical therapy for Constipation

Help your pelvic floor muscles relax during defecation

When you go to the bathroom, your pelvic floor muscles should relax to “open the gates” and allow passage of stool and urine. Some people lose this normal coordination if they hold tension in their pelvic floor from life stress, or if they’ve had trauma to the pelvis, back, abdominals, or hips (childbirth and surgery). A pelvic floor physical therapist can help your body re-learn proper pelvic floor muscle coordination with biofeedback, manual therapy, and postural education.

Perform and teach you manual techniques to stimulate movement through your Intestines

In some cases, performing an abdominal massage can stimulate a bowel movement. Your physical therapist can teach you the massage sequence and appropriate amount of pressure. He/she can also perform visceral manipulation, techniques to restore normal movement in your abdominal organs.

Help you become more physically active

Your physical therapist can prescribe exercises to improve your flexibility and strength so that you can be physically active in the community without pain. Establishing a daily exercise routine is an important step in reducing constipation.

Photo: http://static.businessinsider.com/image/550b24a46da8115622cd5ecd/image.jpg

Written by: Claire Agrawal, PT
Edited by: Miriam Graham, PT

Not So Sweet

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Does this sound healthy? Bagel and orange juice for breakfast, turkey sandwich, apple and chips for lunch, that afternoon latte and pasta for dinner. Have you ever thought about how many carbohydrates you eat everyday? The example daily menu tallied up to a grand total of 279 carbohydrates. Optimal daily recommended carb intake depends on many variables such as age, gender, body composition, activity level, and metabolic health, but moderate carbohydrate intake falls between 100-150 carbohydrates/day. However, people who are physically active and have more muscle mass can tolerate more carbs than those who are sedentary. You’re probably asking why you should care about carbohydrates. After all, haven’t we been told to watch the calories and the fat for decades? Those carbohydrates are sugar. Excess sugar consumption has been proven to directly contribute to weight gain. When you eat sugar, your pancreas releases insulin which brings the glucose (from the carbs) into the cells. This glucose is stored as glycogen in our muscle and liver, but if these glycogen stores are already full, the glycogen is stored as fat. In 2012, the British Medical Journal published a study that combed through the literature regarding how body weight and sugar intake were related and indexed over 15,000 potential studies.^[1] Sixty-eight studies made the cut of passing the rigid standards and statistical reliability and they all came to the same conclusion: sugar makes people gain weight.

Sugar also elevates dopamine levels which control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers similar those to drugs such as cocaine, morphine and nicotine. Long-term exposure to sugar lead to a reduction of dopamine levels, causing increased sugar consumption to achieve the same level of reward.

So how are we to get out excessive sugar intake under control? In a study published by international research journal PLOS ONE, found withdrawal from chronic sugar exposure can “result in an imbalance in dopamine levels and can be as difficult as going ‘cold turkey’” from a drug. Hopefully we will not have to resort to drugs to break us from the tight grip sugar has on our taste buds. This summer, opt for water instead of juice and soda, or some string cheese instead of the apple and see if you can see a difference in the way you feel by breaking the sugar habit.

^[1] Te Morenga, Mallard S., Mann, J., “Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials and cohort studies,” British Medical Journal (January 2012): 345:e7492.

Written by: Heather West, PT
Edited by: Reshma Rathod, PT

Restore Motion Friend: Thom Shenk

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Thom Shenk

Meet Thom Shenk, a Rolfer, massage therapist, and longtime friend of Restore Motion. Thom has recently relocated his practice to our Rockville location. We are thrilled to have him here and are thankful for the convenience it provides for patients who benefit from several forms of therapy.
Thom is a Certified Advanced Rolfer and Rolf Movement Practitioner. He combines knowledge of structural integration with licensed massage therapy, craniosacral therapy, visceral manipulation, neurofascial release, and acupressure to provide a holistic and energetic approach to patient care.
Thom loves the outdoors. Here are some fun facts you might not have known about him: Thom…

spent 5 years living in a Tipi
worked as an initial attack forest fire fighter
worked as a professional ski patroller.
recently backpacked 45 miles through Olympic National Park

Restore Motion Friend: George C. Branche, III, MD

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George C. Brance, III, MD

Dr. George Branche is an orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine physician, and friend of Restore Motion. He has been offering his services to players at the CitiOpen tennis tournament here in D.C for over a decade. We had a chance to speak with him at the tournament and ask about recent trends in his practice. His specialization and passion lies in arthroscopic surgical treatment of the shoulder and the knee.

“I’m doing more and more revisions,” he says, “as more people are active well into their older years.” Dr. Branche has seen a steady increase in the number of older patients seeking a remedy for knee and shoulder pain interfering with their active lifestyles. “15 years ago if you saw a 60 year old in our office you might ask him if he was lost, ” he jokes. “These days I’m treating people in their 60’s, 70’s, and even 80’s.”