OPTimal Physical Therapy

06/23/2022

Here’s some good information !

This page offers select resources most commonly requested and available throughout our website, but grouped here for your convenience for the topic of Migraines and Headaches.

http://ow.ly/hN3z50JGx0W or Upledger.com Discover CST Tab

06/01/2022

IS CRANIO-SACRAL THERAPY YOUR MISSING PIECE TO BETTER HEALTH?

You go to your doctor with increasing problems of indigestion. Your problem with constipation may be brought up, but most likely the increase in neck stiffness and headaches will be ignored- after all, you are there for stomach issues. You may get a pill to help with the indigestion, and if that doesn’t help, you may be referred to a specialist, who orders other medical tests. No reason for the indigestion is found so you are told to eat better, take a pill and reduce your stress.

Now, the indigestion is not much better but you are seeing another doctor because your headaches are worse and your neck is getting more stiff, interfering with your sleep. Again, you may be given medication to help. You may have some medical tests ordered. But, after all this time and money, you are still having issues with these symptoms (maybe a few more thanks to side effects from the new medications.)

Many of us have multiple health issues. Treating symptoms one at a time may give temporary relief but may not get to the source of the problem. Surpressing our symptoms through medication often results in more symptoms turning up. The source of your symptoms may be due to problems with the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and/or the cranial nerves (nerves that originate in the brain). Common problems related to the autonomic nervous system and cranial nerves not working correctly include: *
-Chronic Physical Tension: stiffness in neck and back, migraines, clenched or grinding of teeth along with TMJ pain
-Emotional Issues: feelings of hopelessness, lack of energy, anxiety, feeling of heaviness, restlessness, difficulty sleeping and concentration
- Heart and Lung Problems: shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure
-Visceral-Organ Dysfunctions: poor digestion, constipation and/or diarrhea
-Immune-System Problems: Frequent bouts of influenza, minor infections and allergies
- Behavioral Problems: Frequent accidents/injuries, increased drinking/smoking, or excessive use of medication
- Interpersonal Relations: Increasing distrust of others and difficulty in reaching agreements. - Mental Issues: Excessive worrying, difficulty remembering and making decisions
*
taken from Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenberg

If you have reoccurring or problems with some of these symptoms or if they prevent you from living the life you desire you may be a good candidate for Cranio-Sacral Therapy. This treatment can help to improve the function of the nervous system and cranial nerves. Ask your doctor for a referral!

05/04/2022

The result of this study showed that visceral manipulation was beneficial in improving posture and reducing neck pain.

Read more in this research article: Effect of visceral manipulation on forward head posture in subjects with chronic non-specific neck pain – a pilot study: http://ow.ly/TUoN50IYkxw

OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY: To explore the effect of organ-specific visceral manipulation on posture, disability, strength, and pain in subjects with chronic non-specific neck pain. According to this study hypothesis visceral manipulation aim to explore the effect of organ-specific fascia manipulation on posture, disability, strength, and pain in subjects with chronic non-specific neck pain

04/10/2022

RETIREMENT PLANNING and OSTEOPOROSIS

Most people start financial planning for their retirement once they get into the workforce with dreams of travel, playing with the grandkids, having time to devote to hobbies etc. But they don’t think about being healthy enough to these things.

In the US, it is estimated anywhere from 25- 55% of women over 50 years of age have osteoporosis. The mortality rate of women within 1 year of a hip fracture is 25%, and within 5 years for vertebral fracture.

If you are ‘lucky’ enough to survive, 2 years after a hip fracture:
90% still need some sort of assistance to climb a flight of stairs,
83% to get in/out of bathtub/shower,
63% to get off the toilet,
54% to get up off an armless chair
53% to be able to walk 1 block.
“Fast Facts” NOF, 2009 (http//www.nof.org)

It should go without saying, that good nutrition, getting enough CALCIUM and VITAMIN D is essential for development of bone. You also need enough ESTROGEN to protect/keep the bone that you have.

After good nutrition, stress to the bone through weight bearing and muscle pull (weight training) helps to build the bone stronger.
Standing for 10 hours/week decreases risk of hip fracture by 28%, for 55 h/wk decreases to 46%
Walking for 4 hr/week at an average pace decreasing risk of hip fracture by 49%, and by 65% at a brisk pace.

“Leisure-Time Activity and Fish of Hip Fracture in Postmenopausal Women” Feskanich etal, 2002 (JAMANetwork.com)

CHILD HOOD TO AGE 30: Peak bone mass is generally achieved by the age of 25-30.

BE ACTIVE: Resistance/weight training and high-impact weight bearing exercises recommended if there are no other health problems or injury.

High Impact exercise includes dancing, high-impact aerobics, hiking, jogging/running, jumping rope, stair climbing, tennis/racquet sports, yard work (pushing lawnmower, wheelbarrows, lifting heavy containers etc).

THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Anything that interrupts the menstrual cycle in women can result in overall lower peak bone mass. This may include:
- Pregnancies, (especially in teenage years when bone is still being made at a rapid rate) multiple pregnancies close together (3 months), prolonged lactation.
- Eating disorders: Anorexia depletes nutrition with resulting bone loss
- Excessive exercise: If exercise intensity or frequency causes the interruption in the menstrual cycle, there will be a resulting decrease in bone health due to decline in estrogen that protects the bone.

AGES 30- TO MENOPAUSE (50):

BE ACTIVE: resistance training/weight training and high-impact weight bearing exercises continue to be recommended during this time. After 30 years of age, if you do not work on strength/muscle development, you start to lose muscle at about 1% rate/year.

Posture: Poor posture and lifting techniques can place excessive loads on the vertebrae causing micro-trauma which will result in the development of osteoarthritis later in life and can result in compression fractures in the spine. Work on improving your posture and lifting daily.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Heavy alcohol intake and smoking are both risk factors for developing osteoporosis.

MENOPAUSE AND BEYOND:

EXERCISE: If you are not already doing a high-impact exercise program, this is not the time to start with one until you get your bone health checked out. If your bone quality/density is not good, high-impact activities may cause a fracture. Start with low impact activities such as walking, stair-step machine, low-impact aerobics, elliptical machine.
If you have health problems that limit your ability to participate in weight training try BFR (blood flow restriction) exercise. This allows you to get the results of a heavier resistance program with using only light weights or only your body weight.

Balance training: You need good strength in the legs and core along with flexibility to keep your balance. It is important to work on your balance. Falls are the primary cause of fracture with osteoporosis. Tai Chi is highly recommended.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Yoga and Pilates are two popular exercise classes offered at most gyms but some of the postures and positions can place too much pressure on the spine and/or hips with resulting increased risk of fracture. These type of exercises do have ‘special’ classes for those with osteoporosis.
Yoga and Pilates are two popular exercise classes offered at most gyms but some of the postures and positions can place too much pressure on the spine and/or hips with resulting increased risk of fracture. These type of exercises do have ‘special’ classes for those with osteoporosis.

It is recommended that you do not do any flexion/ forward bending type exercise. Also be careful of any twisting motion of the trunk or pelvis.

For more information on Blood Flow Restriction exercise program please contact Carol at 573-694-4173 or check out the website bstrong.training

03/09/2022

Trigeminal Nerve (Cranial Nerve 5) and Stress

Many of my clients I see for jaw pain (TMJ), tooth or facial pain (Trigeminal Neuralgia) tell me that they are told their pain is caused by stress but they don’t feel stressed. In reality, their pain may be caused by the body’s response to stress, anxiety, anger, or frustration through clenching of the teeth. Some people who tend to be aggressive, competitive or hyperactive also clench their teeth. Clenching of the teeth may also be a coping strategy or habit when in deep concentration.

When we experience a stressor, whether it is real or perceived, the human nervous system is “hard-wired” (a normal reaction) to tighten the jaw muscles (which clench the teeth) in preparation for fight or flight. As soon as the stressor is gone, the muscles should relax. However when the stress is unresolved, these muscles may remain tight leading to increased sensitivity along the nerve keeping the stress response going.

The trigeminal nerve is the nerve that sends sensory information to our brain about pain, touch and temperature from the face. It also makes the muscles used for chewing work, therefore it is involved in this stress response by clenching our teeth together.

Chronic clenching of our teeth can irritate this nerve as it exits the skull close to the TMJ (jaw joint located right in front of the ear canal) or as it runs through these tight muscles causing TMJ pain, facial/tooth pain (Trigeminal Neuralgia) or headaches (Cluster and TAC’s type).

The usual (and good) advice these clients get is to maintain good health through exercise, balanced diet, drinking plenty of water, and regular sleep. They are also told to reduce stress (mindfulness/relaxation techniques comes to mind) and may also be offered medication by their doctor.

If the medication approach does not work for your body/mind set, then there are other ways to break this stress cycle helping to ease the pain.
- massage the muscles about the jaw/TMJ
- smile more (this helps to calm down the Vagus response of fight or flight (more on this another time)
- Get a CST (Cranio-Sacral therapy session) with a practitioner trained in working with the cranial nerves. Through a light touch, the practitioner will be able to find restrictions/tension along the Trigeminal Nerve and treat these potential sources of nerve irritation which will help to decrease the pain!

02/10/2022

Got to work with this sweet girl this week. At 3 months, she has an exaggerated startle reflex and sleeps only in 2 hour time periods. After one session of CST Mom reports that she is now sleeping 3 1/2 hours at a time and it is much easier to put her down in the crib without waking her up!

01/25/2022

Carol Sawyer Physical Therapist and owner of OPTimal Physical Therapy

As many of you may know, I worked at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City for 30 years ‘retiring’ at the end of 2018. Since that time I established my own business in 2019 called OPTimal Physical Therapy, renting space within the Integrative Medicine Clinic (Dr. Link’s office) in Jefferson City.

For those who do not know me, I graduated from Ithaca College in New York State with a degree in physical therapy in 1980. I worked in multiple setting in Michigan and Texas before finally settling in Jefferson City. I have continued my education through multiple myofascial release, cranio-sacral therapy, and most recently visceral manipulation coursework. These manual techniques utilize a gentle touch to help the body heal through release of connective tissue and muscle tension allowing the body to move freer and with less pain. It can also work on the autonomic nervous system to help improve energy levels, digestion and to reduce stress and promote overall relaxation.

I am also certified as a “Blood Flow Restriction” or BFR trainer. This is an exercise program to build muscle and bone that can be done by individuals recovering from injury or have other health issues (such as osteoporosis or back problems) that puts them at risk of further injury if they did heavy weight lifting or resistance.

When not practicing physical therapy, I volunteer with the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). This organization’s mission is to protect the American public by promoting safe and competent physical therapy practice. I have been inducted into this organization’s Advanced Item Writer Academy in 2008 and have been the recipient of the Outstanding Service and the President’s Awards.