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Monday 8:30am - 6pm Tuesday 8:30am - 6pm Wednesday 8:30am - 6pm Thursday 8:30am - 6pm Friday 8:30am - 6pm

Discover Osteopractic Physical Therapy

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Skowhegan, ME
Discover Osteopractic Physical Therapy

Dr. Anna Staehli Wiser, DPT, FAAOMPT

03/02/2026

Dry Needling for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN)

If you’ve undergone chemotherapy and are now experiencing numbness, tingling, burning, or weakness in your hands or feet, you are not alone.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) occurs because certain cancer treatments can irritate or damage peripheral nerves. Over time, this can affect sensation, balance, and muscle function.

While medications like gabapentin or pregabalin may help reduce pain, they don’t directly stimulate nerve recovery.

This is where dry needling and electroacupuncture may help.

When a thin, sterile needle is placed near a peripheral nerve:

-Local blood flow increases
-Inflammation may decrease
-Nerve signaling can be stimulated
-The environment around the nerve becomes more favorable for healing

Adding gentle electrical stimulation to the needles can further enhance neural activation and circulation.

Research has shown that structured treatment programs (often 1–2 times per week for several weeks) can reduce symptoms and improve function in individuals with CIPN.

The earlier neuropathy is addressed, the better the potential outcome.

If you or someone you love is struggling with persistent neuropathy after chemotherapy, there may be options beyond simply “living with it.”

02/03/2026

Shoulder pain that won’t improve with exercise?
The problem might be deeper than rotator cuff muscles

Suprascapular nerve entrapment is an often-missed cause of shoulder pain and weakness.

The suprascapular nerve supplies key rotator cuff muscles that lift and rotate your arm. When this nerve becomes irritated or compressed—often from repetitive overhead activity—it can cause pain, strength loss, and poor shoulder control.

Common signs include:
• Deep or posterior shoulder pain
• Weakness with lifting or rotation
• Symptoms that don’t respond to typical “rotator cuff” treatment
• In some cases, visible muscle loss

This condition is frequently seen in swimmers, throwers, tennis players, and weightlifters.

The good news:
When identified early, physical therapy can reduce stress on the nerve, restore healthy shoulder mechanics, and prevent long-term weakness or muscle wasting.

01/24/2026

What is that cracking sound during a spinal adjustment?

Short answer: it’s not bones grinding or anything “breaking.”
It’s a normal, well-studied joint phenomenon called cavitation.

When a joint is moved quickly (as in a skilled spinal manipulation), the joint surfaces briefly separate. This creates a rapid drop in pressure inside the joint, allowing tiny gas bubbles to form in the synovial fluid — and that is what produces the audible “pop.”

Real-time MRI studies confirm that the sound comes from bubble formation, not collapse — and it’s completely benign.

Why do adjustments help pain?

Spinal manipulation doesn’t just “move bones.” It:
✔️ Stimulates joint and muscle nerve endings
✔️ Calms the nervous system
✔️ Reduces protective muscle guarding
✔️ Helps restore normal joint motion

For some joints that are stiff, irritated, or not moving well, a precise high-velocity, low-amplitude technique can act like giving a stuck drawer a quick, well-aimed nudge — suddenly, things glide again.

Important note 👇

The sound itself isn’t the goal — the neurologic and mechanical effects are.
And spinal manipulation is just one tool among many (exercise, dry needling, massage, education) used to help people recover efficiently and safely.

12/07/2025

What is Maigne’s Syndrome?
When there’s stiffness or dysfunction at the thoracolumbar junction (T12–L1), or irritation of nearby cluneal nerves, you might experience pain that feels like low-back, hip, or SI-joint pain — but it’s not.

Typical patterns include:
• Low back or iliac-crest discomfort
• Pain over the buttock/upper hip
• Radiating ache into the lateral hip or thigh

It’s often misdiagnosed — especially when lumbar imaging is normal. But when properly recognized, targeted manual therapy and soft-tissue work can make a major difference.

12/01/2025

Not all radiating pain is sciatica.

If your ache wraps from your lower back into the side of your hip or front of thigh, the real culprit may be higher in the spine — at T12–L1. That’s where small sensory cluneal nerves exit. When irritated, they can mimic lumbar or SI-joint pain.

The good news? Once identified correctly, this pattern — known as Maigne's syndrome — is highly treatable with a combination of manual therapy, posture correction, and therapeutic exercise.

Persistent “sciatica” that doesn’t behave like sciatica? It might be cluneal nerve irritation.

11/16/2025

For long-term improvement, however, you have to work on posture and exercise in order to feel your best.

11/02/2025

Healing isn’t just about your muscles — it’s about your mindset.
Studies show that optimism and confidence directly influence how your body heals.
Your nervous and immune systems talk to each other.
When you focus, stay positive, and trust the process, your body performs better — inside and out.

💬 “Rehab with confidence, not fear.”

10/26/2025

Movement is Medicine -- Load Builds Strength

The first few days after an injury, gentle movement becomes medicine.
Controlled loading helps align new collagen, maintain mobility, and prevent stiff, weak scar tissue.

✅ Pain guide: keep it mild (≤2/10).
✅ Progress slowly: isometric → isotonic → eccentric.
✅ Add tools like instrument-assisted soft tissue work or dry needling to boost circulation and tissue remodeling.

Smart movement = stronger recovery.

10/19/2025

The First 72 Hours Matter Most

After an injury, what you do in the first 3 days sets the stage for healing.
Follow PEACE & LOVE:
🔹 Protection
🔹 Elevation
🔹 Avoid anti-inflammatories
🔹 Compression
🔹 Education
After the first few days add:
🔹 Load
🔹 Optimism
🔹 Vascularization
🔹 Exercise

NSAIDs and too much ice can actually slow down healing. Use them carefully — your body’s inflammation response is part of the repair process.

10/12/2025

Your Body Has a Plan for Healing

Sports injuries heal in stages — and your actions guide the outcome.

When you get hurt, your body immediately goes to work:
1️⃣ Inflammation (0–5 days) – the clean-up crew.
2️⃣ Repair (1–6 weeks) – scaffolding goes up.
3️⃣ Remodeling (6+ weeks) – rebuilding strong, functional tissue.

Respecting these stages — and moving smart — can make the difference between short-term recovery and lasting performance.

💡 Don’t rush. Load gradually. Listen to your body.

10/10/2025

Movement is Medicine: Load Builds Strength

The first few days after an injury, gentle movement becomes medicine.
Controlled loading helps align new collagen, maintain mobility, and prevent stiff, weak scar tissue.

✅ Pain guide: keep it mild (≤2/10).
✅ Progress slowly: isometric → isotonic → eccentric.
✅ Add tools like instrument-assisted soft tissue work or dry needling to boost circulation and tissue remodeling.

Smart movement = stronger recovery.

10/05/2025

Sharp pain when climbing stairs? Clicking or catching in your knee? Swelling after activity?
These may be symptoms of a meniscus tear.
The meniscus is your knee’s natural shock absorber — and when injured, it doesn’t always mean you need surgery. Physical therapy can help identify and fix the underlying movement impairments that created the meniscus injury.

Early recognition + the right care can make all the difference.

Address

7 Leavitt Street
Skowhegan, ME
04976

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 6pm
Thursday	8:30am - 6pm
Friday	8:30am - 6pm

Telephone

+12078550715

Website

http://discoveropt.com/

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