Category: Healing

Physical Therapy for Heart Disease

According to the CDC, heart disease is an all-too-common reality for over 20.1 million adults ages 20 and older. If you’ve recently lived through an episode of what has proven to be one of the leading causes of death for adults in the United States, it can be hard to decide what to do next. Healing from such a distressing incident takes time, and physical therapy can aid the rehabilitation process as well as improve your overall heart health. At New Heights Physical Therapy, we’re dedicated to helping our patients recover and gain back strength after any injury or disease-related complication. If you’ve recently suffered from or have ongoing heart-related issues, we’re here to support you and stand by your side in the recovery period.

Beginning the Rehabilitation Process

Whether you’ve experienced a heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty, or heart surgery, cardiac rehab is essential to properly healing both mentally and physically. Our treatment for heart disease is not unlike the other forms of therapy we offer at New Heights Therapy. Here, we follow a three-phase program that includes:

Reaction, which starts in the first 24-72 hours after your injury. Where most would rely on painkillers to ease the swelling or muscle spasms post-accident, our technicians can help you take advantage of your body’s natural repair process.
Regeneration over the course of around 6-8 weeks, when your body begins to create more tissue around the injured area and repair damaged nerve connections.
Remodeling up until a year after your initial injury. Even after you no longer feel any residual pain, physical therapy is still recommended in order to create the connective tissue you need to thrive and prevent repeat injuries in the future.

Your doctor will work with you to develop a plan that is best suited for your health and may consult a physical therapist in evaluating any impairments that need to be taken into consideration. Once you are approved to participate in a cardiac rehab program, it’s time to take the next step toward recovery!

Recovery Through Education

When you begin your rehabilitation, one of the most important steps is education. Your physical therapist is dedicated to helping you better understand your own heart health and will work with you every step of the way. Education methods include:

Understanding the current state of your heart and why you are experiencing heart-related issues.
Learning about proper exercise procedures and how to safely practice them.
Being taught how to monitor your own heart rate and asses your exertion levels during exercise.
Knowing what to avoid in the healing process and understanding what will help you achieve success.
Identifying stressors that hurt your heart and learning how to tackle sources of stress.
Setting goals for your heart health that will give you something to work toward.

Through education, patients are often more confident in their ability to heal and have a smoother recovery period. By getting familiar with your own heart health, you can make better lifestyle choices post-recovery.

Cardiac Physical Therapy Exercises

Because your heart is still in recovery mode, it is crucial not to overdo your exercise regime. This is why physical therapy plays such an important role in cardiac rehabilitation. Working together with your physical therapist enables you to be monitored and learn about what exercises are best for your particular situation. Independent and group exercise can help you gain confidence, and the presence of a physical therapist ensures you are increasing your exercise tolerance safely. An array of activities may be included in your rehab program including flexibility, strengthening, and aerobic exercises. Once you feel confident enough, at-home exercises will continue to help you get back to normal and decrease the risk of future heart disease complications.

Physical Therapy FAQs

Q. Is physical therapy covered by insurance?

A. At New Heights Physical Therapy Plus, we cover most major insurances in the PNW area. For added security, our team will review and verify your benefits before your initial service.

Q. What is the best physical therapy treatment for heart disease?

A. The best treatment will differ on a case-by-case basis, but your program may include low-impact physical activities like jogging and cycling, as well as muscle strengthening.

Q. What happens after physical therapy for cardiovascular disease?

A. After you finish your program here, it’ll be up to you to make some crucial lifestyle changes and stick with them. This may include quitting smoking, maintaining a lower blood pressure, or keeping up with a new exercise regimen.

Physical Therapy for a Better Heart

Even if you haven’t suffered from a serious heart-related issue, physical therapy and monitored exercise is essential to adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle. Physical therapists are committed to helping patients lead a healthier life through education and exercise. At New Heights Therapy, we know how life-changing heart disease is and love helping our patients improve their heart health and confidence after a traumatic experience. You owe it to your heart to be committed to anything that helps you live a long and healthy life – so contact us today to get started!

Slips and Trips Can Cause More Damage Than You Think

Senior citizen slips on slick linoleum in Portland OR

Slips and Trips Can Cause More Damage Than You Think

Our bodies are incredibly resilient and can bounce back from all sorts of illnesses and injuries. While this resiliency is great for keeping us healthy, it often causes us to shrug off minor injuries like trips or falls. Many people will ignore aches and pains, hoping that they’ll go away on their own. But, failing to properly care for your body after falling can result in long-lasting or worsening problems.

The best way to avoid lingering pain from falling is to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. And, now that we’re in the midst of the rainy Pacific Northwest fall, it’s extra important to be careful around slippery surfaces to avoid slipping or falling. Here are our top tips for staying safe in slippery weather:

Use handrails when possible

Wear slip-resistant shoes

Wipe your feet when coming indoors

Avoid distractions like phones when walking

Stick to well-lit and maintained pathways
Store wet clothes and items away from walkways

While these tips can help you avoid becoming injured, what should you do if you are experiencing pain from a trip or fall? Our recommendation is to receive immediate medical attention for any acute injuries, and then to seek physical therapy so you can avoid long-lasting pain.

Signs Physical Therapy Can Help Relieve Your Pain

It is so common to disregard lingering pain from slips or falls that most people aren’t even aware that they can find relief. With the help of physical therapy, you can reduce or eliminate recurring pain from minor injuries rather than suffering for months or years on end. Here are some signs that you should seek treatment after a trip or fall:

You notice swelling or other visible changes.

Medications aren’t helping relieve the pain.

You are experiencing persisting, recurring, or sharp pain.

You have limited mobility or can’t perform some tasks.

You frequently suffer from headaches or traveling pain.

All of these are signs that your minor injury could have long-lasting effects if not properly treated. And, if you are still experiencing any of these signs from a trip or fall that happened a while ago, it isn’t too late to receive help! Physical therapy can help at any stage of the recovery process.

If you recently fell or are experiencing long-lasting pain from a previous injury, the specialists at New Heights Physical Therapy can help! Our highly trained therapists are dedicated to helping you recover in a safe and caring environment, so you can get back to your daily activities in no time. Call us today to schedule an appointment.

What to Do When You’re in an Accident

Woman in car accident getting help. Blog post from New Heights Physical Therapy in Portland, OR

What to Do After a Car Accident

With school opening back up and new drivers taking to the roads, there has been an increase of car accidents throughout Vancouver WA and Portland OR. And, these accidents aren’t just impacting other drivers; motorcyclists, bikers, and pedestrians are also at risk of experiencing a vehicle-related injury.

Even seemingly minor injuries from motor-related accidents can cause serious pain for months, years, or even a lifetime. Over 75% of people who sought immediate medical care after a car accident reported pain 4 weeks later, making these injuries a leading cause of chronic pain.

What Are Common Car Accident Injuries?

Even a small fender bender can cause injury, which may linger long after the accident is over. The jerking motions of coming to an abrupt stop or being hit can lead to whiplash, muscle tears, and more. Without proper attention, these injuries can cause residual pain for years.

Thankfully, physical therapy can help reduce pain and increase mobility after an accident. Some of the most common car-related injuries that physical therapy can help treat are:

Whiplash and headaches
Back or neck strains
Shoulder strains
Wrist injuries

What to Do When You’re in an Accident

If you have been in an accident and endured a severe injury or suspect head trauma, it is important to seek immediate medical attention. Some signs of head trauma include:

Loss of consciousness.
Sensory issues with light or sound.
Persistent or worsening headache.
Nausea and vomiting.
Loss of coordination or speech issues.
Fatigue or drowsiness.

If you do not suspect serious injury, it is still a good idea to see a physical therapist as soon as possible – even if you don’t immediately feel any pain. Car accidents are traumatic and often trigger a large release of adrenaline, which can make it difficult or impossible to notice an injury right away. Additionally, any damaged soft tissue may take several days or weeks to swell up and cause pain.

A physical therapist can help you avoid or reduce pain after a car accident. With over 24 years of experience serving the Vancouver WA and Portland OR area, the experts at New Heights Physical Therapy can help. Our highly-trained specialists can identify and treat accident-related injuries to help keep you pain free – both immediately and weeks or months later. Call us today if you are facing an accident-related injury!

House Resolution Honors Physical Therapists

The American Physical Therapy Association is celebrating 100 years as a member association! To mark the centennial, The House of Representatives passed a resolution recognizing the essential and valuable roles PTs and PTAs play in improving the health of society and in particular, the contribution they’re making in treating COVID-19 patients who are recovering from severe effects of the disease.

On this landmark occasion, we at New Heights Physical Therapy Plus would like to send a big thank you to the Representatives who sponsored the resolution.

Celebrating the American Physical Therapy Association

The American Physical Therapy Association began with a calling to serve military members in World War I. Today, it’s the largest community for physical therapists, physical therapists assistants, and students. We’re embracing our rich history and are excited for what the future holds.

Learn more about the history of APTA this interactive timeline of 100 milestones of our first 100 years!

Knee Pain Associated with Gardening

Tending to your garden can be a fun and relaxing hobby. It’s been shown to improve strength, memory retention, mood, and more. The benefits are nearly endless, but the repetitive stress on your knees can also lead to knee pain.

In this article, we’ll explain what gardner’s knee is and how to help prevent it.

What is Gardener’s Knee?

Prepatellar bursitis, commonly called gardener’s knee or housemaid’s knee is a condition caused by the inflammation of the prepatellar bursa–a small fluid-filled area that sits on the front of your knee cap. This condition is common in people who spend a lot of time kneeling. The most common symptoms of gardener’s knee include swelling at the front of the knee, redness, and tenderness. It may also be difficult to bend your knee or walk.

Tips to Avoid Knee Pain While Gardening

When you garden, you’re engaging in low-impact exercise so you’ll want to approach it like you would any other exercise: warm up and know your limits. Here are some more tips to help you garden with less pain.

Use knee pads or a kneeling pad to help protect your knees
Wear comfortable and supportive shoes
Take frequent breaks so you don’t strain your knees
Change your positions frequently to relieve stress on the knees
Apply ice on your knees after gardening
Use gardening tools with long handles
Consider a raised garden bed
Exercise to strengthen your legs
Purchase gardening supplies in light-weight quantities
Ask for help when gardening tasks are too difficult for you or cause you strain

Physical Therapy for Knee Pain

Many people brush off knee pain when it first occurs, thinking it will eventually go away. If you’re suffering with pain and swelling around the knee, don’t ignore it. There are several causes of front knee pain other than gardener’s knee which physical therapy may be helpful with.

We at New Heights Physical Therapy Plus in Portland OR can diagnose your condition and offer you the proper treatment so you can continue to do the things you love pain-free!

The Importance of Rest and Recovery

New Heights Physical Therapy gives advice on why recovery is important in Portland OR and Vancouver WA.

We so often hear about the health benefits of exercise, but another important part of any exercise program, and for life in general, is recovery. For some it’s one of the hardest things to do but taking time to rest can help prevent an injury and create a healthier body.

What is Recovery?

Recovery in exercise is taking a day or two off to allow your muscles to repair themselves for your next exercise. It also engages muscles that are sore from your previous workouts. Weightlifting, sprinting and endurance runs stress your body so it needs to adapt to these stresses. When you don’t let your body rest as much as it should, you can end up with an injury. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests people take a rest day at least one to two times per week.

Ways to Recover

Sleep: The most important part of recovery is sleep! Your body needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep everyday for chemical, hormone and anti-inflammatory responses to happen. Sleep is also very important for your immune system. If you don’t get quality sleep, you may be at a higher risk of getting sick.
Staying hydrated: Water plays a vital role in the recovery process. Water helps nutrients repair muscles damaged during exercise, aids in digestion and reduces fatigue. Here’s a fun fact: muscles are actually made up of 75% water.
Stretch: After a tough workout, consider stretching. This simple and fast method can help your muscles recover quicker.
Massage: Massages not only feel great, they improve circulation allowing you to fully relax. You can self-massage or use a foam roller on tight muscles.
Take an ice bath: Some athletes swear by these. An ice bath causes your blood vessels to constrict pushing the blood away from your muscles. Then once your out and your body warms up, the vessels open up and blood flows back into the muscle, bringing more oxygen to help you recover.

Taking time to give your body a rest can be challenging mentally, but it has significant benefits including preventing injuries. The most important thing you can do to recover quickly is listen to your body. At New Heights Physical Therapy, you can get the help and advice that you need to recover especially after an injury. Call us today to schedule an appointment!

Why Do You Experience Swelling After an Injury?

New Heights Physical Therapy answers questions about injury swelling in Portland OR and Vancouver WA.

Have you ever suffered from a mild injury and noticed that the affected area has swollen up by the next day? Swelling can be so inconvenient and uncomfortable that it often feels worse than the initial injury. It is useful to figure out why exactly your body reacts to injuries, so you can properly deal with swelling.

What is swelling?

To understand why you encounter swelling after an injury, it is important to learn what the response actually involves. Medically speaking, swelling is fluid collecting in between the individual cells that make up your tissues. This fluid can be almost entirely water, or it can contain white blood cells, amino acids, hormones, and nutrients.

Why did my injury swell?

Your body starts swelling because it’s trying to keep you safe. It senses that there is potential damage to the area, so it collects a lot of fluid there to pad the area. This can have a number of benefits, including:

This keeps the healing process from being impaired if you bump it again.
Swelling prevents you from moving a joint easily, so you do not cause more damage by moving around while injured.
Swelling also helps with healing, because it sends useful items to the damaged area.
The fluid involved in swelling can contain white blood cells that help prevent damage and infection.

Can I do something for a swollen injury?

Once you understand the reason that swelling is happening, you can treat it more easily. As you have learned, swelling is the body’s attempt to heal and protect an area from more injury. This means you can treat it through the following methods:

Rest: Avoid putting any pressure or weight on the area to help it heal faster.
Ice: Chilling the area constricts blood flow, reducing inflammation.
Compression: A compression bandage keeps fluid from building up.
Elevation: You can keep the injured area raised above your heart to help fluid drain.
Diuretics: These are medications that encourage the body to remove excess fluid from its system.

Recovering from an injury is an important part of managing swelling. At New Heights Physical Therapy, you can get the help and advice that you need to recover from your injury. Call us today to schedule an appointment!

Benefits of Pelvic Floor Therapy

Over the years, women may notice that their pelvic muscles are just not as strong as they once were. They may feel pain in the pelvis, overall weakness, decrease in sexual pleasure, or leaking of urine during normal daily activities. It’s a form of Sarcopenia, otherwise known as a weakening of muscle mass across the body due primarily to age. Other symptoms of a weak pelvic floor could include the following:

Painful urination
Constipation
Back pain
Pelvic muscle spasms
Pelvic pressure

It happens naturally as you get older, but pelvic muscles can also be affected by factors such as pregnancy, physical trauma to the area, or simply through chronic overuse.

Pelvic Floor FAQs

Q. What is the pelvic floor?

A. The pelvic floor is a term to cover the muscles that support the organs of all human beings. It supports the bladder and colon, as well as the uterus of biological women.

Q. What is pelvic floor dysfunction?

A. Pelvic floor dysfunction is when a person is unable to coordinate and relax their pelvic muscles to do things like process a bowel movement. It’s estimated that nearly half of people live with this condition.

Q. What does pelvic floor dysfunction look like?

A. That depends on your biological sex. For men it may involve erectile dysfunction or a swelling of the prostate, while women may experience pain during penetrative sex.

Q. How do you know if you have pelvic floor dysfunction?

A. This is something that is typically diagnosed by a medical professional. But, if you have a history of UTIs, an overactive bladder or fecal incontinence, these are all major symptoms of pelvic floor distress.

What Can You Do to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor?

If this has been something you’ve been enduring for a while, you’ve likely seen the tools and equipment that advertise effects through Kegels, or exercises that, in women, are meant to tighten and strengthen the muscles of your vagina. But do Kegels work?

Yes, they do! In fact, they’re a verified form of treatment for both men and women! When done correctly you’ll find that Kegels can help strengthen the muscles needed to reduce incontinence and sexual disfunction. However, it can be difficult to make sure you’re working the right muscles, as it’s calculated that a third of people attempting the exercise are actually tightening their buttocks or inner thigh.

It’s because of this that the team at New Heights Therapy suggest pursuing professional pelvic floor therapy. With us, you can make sure you have the support and insight of the most qualified physical therapists in the area.

Is Pelvic Floor Therapy Right for You?

When pelvic floor therapy is used with the guidance of a physical therapist, you may feel more comfortable, eliminate some symptoms and get back to the activities that you love. There are specific circumstances when a woman can really benefit from pelvic floor therapy.

Pelvic Floor and Postpartum Therapy

This therapy is perhaps best known for being used in women who have given birth. The pressure that occurs as you push a child through your vaginal canal can stretch and even tear pelvic muscles, leading to weakness. The pelvic muscles, which are meant to hold up the bladder and uterus, soften and sink. Therapy tightens and lifts these muscles again.

Post-Abdominal Surgery and Pelvic Exercises

Therapy is also very beneficial after pelvic surgery. When the muscles are cut, it takes a while for them to grow back together correctly and to regain their former strength. Healing from surgery can also involve scar tissue and flexibility issues, and pelvic floor therapy can help to address these issues. Physical therapy is an excellent choice after a hysterectomy, episiotomy, colorectal surgery, or C-section.

Pelvic Floor Therapy and Incontinence

If you are aging, you may be noticing some bladder weakness. Instead of turning to an incontinence pad, assuming that this is a normal part of aging, choose pelvic therapy. It can strengthen and lift your pelvic muscles, providing better support for the bladder and ureters.

Therapy for General Pelvic Health

Women may also need physical therapy for the pelvic muscles for a variety of other generalized concerns, including the following:

Pelvic pain
Pain with intercourse
Abnormally tight pelvic floor muscles
Obesity
Nerve damage

While you may need months of therapy, and will continue pelvic muscle strengthening exercises at home, you can turn around the health of your pelvic floor and experience great muscle tone in the area. At New Heights Physical Therapy, we believe in taking care of your total health and well-being. This applies not only to pelvic health, but to a whole range of treatments that we specialize in. So if you think you could benefit from support and experience in your pelvic floor therapy, give us a call today!

Exercise to Recover from Concussions

If you have suffered from a concussion, you know the immediate effects it can have on your ability to function physically, cognitively, and behaviorally. Concussions are traumatic brain injuries caused by direct force or a blow to the head that severely rattles the brain. It has been estimated that more than two million people suffer from concussions in the United States each year. If you have or think you have a concussion, it’s urgent to seek immediate help from a medical professional. At New Heights Physical Therapy, we take concussions very seriously and encourage all patients to consult their doctor before we can help you recover.

What Causes Concussions?

Concussions can occur during rapid movement changes or, most commonly, when there is a direct blow to the head. Because the brain is affected by this, there is immediate or delayed changes in the brain’s chemistry and function. There are a number of incidents that are known to cause concussions:

Motor vehicle accidents or collisions
Sports-related injuries to the head or neck
Falling or tripping (the leading cause)
Accidents at hard-labor jobs
Violent assault or abuse

Signs of a Concussion

Because concussions can cause long-term damage, it’s important to recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion and seek professional help immediately. It’s also essential to note that symptoms can show immediately or even months after the incident. A few of the symptoms of a concussion include:

Physical symptoms: Nausea/vomiting, difficulty balancing, headache, difficulty sleeping or increased sleepiness, blurred vision, exercise intolerance, sensitivity to light and sound, slurred speech, dazed and confused staring, etc.
Emotional symptoms: Irritability, anxiety or depression, aggression, restlessness, inability to handle stress, mood swings, or a noticeable change in personality or behavior.
Cognitive symptoms: Worsened long-term or short-term memory, confusion, difficulty concentrating/focusing, slower processing, difficulty with decision-making, etc.
Long-term symptoms: Fatigue, weight gain, muscle weakness, chronic headaches, loss of libido, developmental problems in children, low blood pressure, etc.

If you are experiencing any number of these symptoms, you need to contact a medical professional. If symptoms are ignored, the problem can become worse and lead to long-term brain defects.

How Can Exercise Help Treat Concussions?

At New Heights Physical Therapy, we know how distressing a concussion is and are dedicated to helping our patients recover from their traumatic injury. Because we are specialists in sports medicine, we are accustomed to treating athletes that have suffered a sports-related concussion (SRC). No two concussions are the same and we will work hard with you to determine the best course of treatment. There is extensive data suggesting that exercise, especially aerobic exercise, may help patients recovering from a concussion. Some of the ways physical therapy may help treat concussion include:

Determining the appropriate amount of time to rest and recover before treatment.
Restoring strength and endurance through closely monitored exercises, and overcoming exercise intolerance.
Improving balance and confidence through specific monitored exercises.
Improving headaches and pain through stretching and strengthening exercises.
Helping patients return to normal activity or sport through renewed confidence in endurance and strength.

Professional Physical Therapy for Concussion

Rest and monitored physical exercise or activity can help patients recover from a concussion. We know the trauma and life-altering changes a concussion can bring, and are dedicated to helping those who are suffering from the symptoms. If you are interested in learning more about how exercise and physical therapy can help treat the effects of a concussion, give the professionals at New Heights Physical Therapy a call today to set up a consultation today!

Ultrasound Imaging of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Ultrasound Imaging for Musculoskeletal Disorders with tips provided by New Heights Physical Therapy

Ultrasound imaging is a safe and standard procedure that has been used for decades, but is becoming more widely available. This noninvasive approach helps physicians and physiatrists diagnose and treat medical conditions, including musculoskeletal disorders. In addition to a clinical exam, using ultrasound imaging to help diagnose issues is a low-cost, reliable, and painless medical procedure that can aid in managing musculoskeletal disorders. Here at New Heights Therapy, we’re dedicated to aiding our patients and that begins with accurate, reliable diagnoses. Here’s how ultrasound imaging helps us do just that and more!

How Does Ultrasound Imaging Work?

An ultrasound imaging device is made up of a transducer, a transmitter, a receiver, a monitor display, and often a digital storage medium for collecting the images or videos. Ultrasound imaging involves the use of a transducer and ultrasound gel to collect high-frequency sound waves, which travel through the body and encounter acoustic interfaces. These interactions are then reflected back to the transducer and finally formed into images by use of a computer. These images can show the structure and movement of the internal organs as well as blood flowing through blood vessels.

What Can Ultrasound Imaging Help Diagnose?

While no single imaging method can diagnose all musculoskeletal disorders, ultrasound imaging can aid physiatrists in the first steps of diagnosing a variety of problems, including but not limited to the following:

Tendon tears or tendonitis of the rotator cuff, patellar tendon, Achilles tendon, and more
Ligament sprains or tears
Masses or fluid collections and inflammation or effusions in the joints
Nerve entrapments, including carpal/tarsal tunnel syndrome
Chronic or acute muscle injury

What are the Advantages and Limitations of Ultrasound Imaging?

The benefits of using ultrasound imaging in diagnosing musculoskeletal disorders are plentiful.

Ultrasound examinations do not use ionizing radiation (as used in x-rays), so patients are not exposed to any radiation.
An ultrasound exam is noninvasive and not painful to patients, and patient comfort is of the utmost importance to any physical therapist carrying out the exam.
The procedure yields high-resolution imaging, which in some cases is even more productive than MRI or CT in assessing soft tissue structures (tendons and nerves).
Ultrasound imaging is a faster procedure than taking an MRI and allows for quicker, real-time examinations.

As with all procedures, there are a few limitations to ultrasound imaging, such as its inability to penetrate bone/intra-articular structures or deeper structures inside some patients. However, ultrasound imaging is a great procedure for physical therapists in treating their patients due to its ability to diagnose musculoskeletal disorders.

How Can Physical Therapists Use Ultrasound Imaging?

With ultrasound imaging becoming more readily available for physical therapists to use in helping their patients, it is becoming very common in the practice of physical therapy. That said, some special training is required for physiatrists to incorporate it into their practice. Not all ultrasonographic transducers yield high enough resolution for musculoskeletal evaluation, and not all physical therapists or physicians are as familiar with specialized techniques necessary for this type of imaging. At New Heights Therapy, we’re dedicated to ensuring physical therapists are as knowledgeable as possible when it comes to diagnosing patients. Our upcoming two-day seminar on medical imaging will cover the basics of ultrasound imaging for local physical therapists interested in this innovative practice.