Published on September 25, 2017

3 Things You Didn’t Know Your Physical Therapist Could Do

Written by Dr. Kelsey Diaz, PT, DPT, CAFS

Common scenarios that prompt many to seek physical therapy treatment include back pain, ankle sprains, or surgical recovery. At RISE Physical Therapy, we see all of these, but there are many things physical therapists can do that you might not have expected. Here are three of them:

1. Jaw Pain

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD) is a painful condition of the jaw than can involve the muscles used in chewing, the jaw joint and often times the disc that slides along the joint as you open and close your mouth. Issues with the disc often cause jaw clicking. Your dentist or orthodontist should evaluate your TMJ as your teeth, mouth and jaw are their expertise, but as PTs we can help too.

The cervical spine has a huge impact on the mechanics of your jaw. Professions that require prolonged periods of sitting can lead to a rounded shoulder and forward head posture that can change the way your TMJ operates.

As PTs, we can evaluate and treat postural deviations that impact the TMJ. We can also perform manual techniques on the neck, the muscles around the TMJ and even the TMJ itself.

2. Babies

Our Point Loma clinic is located inside Point Loma Pediatrics and they refer many patients to us. Often, our adult patients are surprised that babies need PT. The majority of infants we treat at RISE are very healthy. Often, we assess their motor milestones (like sitting, rolling and crawling) to make sure they are developing normally.

One of the most common pediatric diagnoses we see is called congenital muscular torticollis (Latin for twisted neck). It occurs when a muscle with a very long name, the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) is tight, causing the baby’s neck to bend one way and rotate the other. Constant rotation to one side can make one side of baby’s head flat called plagiocephaly (Greek/Latin for flat head).

In the early ‘90s, the “Back to Sleep” Campaign reduced the amount of SIDS deaths by 40% but torticollis and subsequent plagiocephaly incidence increased.

Research suggests for infants the best way to correct torticollis and the associated plagiocephaly is with positional changes. As physical therapists, we educate parents on tricks for feeding, sleeping and play that stretch the SCM functionally.

3. Down Under

“Core” is a hot button term in both fitness and physical therapy. Often thought of as another word for the abdominal muscles, the core should really be compared to a soda can with a top (the diaphragm) and a bottom (the pelvic floor). If you want a strong core, you need a strong pelvic floor!

Pelvic therapy is a special niche of treatment that can help with bowel and bladder problems, difficulties with sexual intercourse and post-partum issues. Sometimes it’s called “women’s health” but pelvic PTs treat patients of all ages and genders.

Pelvic health is not necessarily found at all outpatient physical therapy clinics. Look for someone who specializes here.

As outpatient physical therapists, we specialize in the musculoskeletal system (bones, joints and even nerves), but our expertise doesn’t necessarily end there.

Image Sources:
- recoverypt.com
- cherrycreekwellnesscenter.com

Published on September 25, 2017

More stories like this

You’re Never Too Old to Start Exercising

You’re Never Too Old to Start Exercising

The most difficult thing about starting to exercise later in life is knowing how to start. It’s the same if you try to learn a new skill or engage in a new hobby for the first time. If you have nobody to teach you, how are you supposed to learn? These days, you have...

read more
Two Ways an Injury Can Affect the Rest of Your Body

Two Ways an Injury Can Affect the Rest of Your Body

The shin bone’s connected to the…neck bone? Not directly, no. But in a circuitous way, your entire body is one intricate web of parts that all affect one another in ways both obvious and discrete. Have you ever pulled a muscle in your neck or lower back, only to...

read more
Fascia Explained

Fascia Explained

Fascia Explained You have hundreds of muscles in your body. Ever wonder how they all keep their specific shape? Why don’t muscles constantly knot up and get twisted around? How do skeletal muscles stay secured to bones without fraying at the ends? Fascia is how....

read more