Physical Therapy in Commack

 

What Are Common Sports Injuries And How Can PT Help?

Actively participating in sports is considered one of the best ways to improve cardiovascular health, maintain flexibility, and relieve stress. However, with the frequent movements that sports require, injuries can often occur as a result of insufficient stretching, or contact with other players. In some cases, taking steps on your own to strengthen key muscles and managing the health of the body can make some sports-related injuries preventable. Unfortunately, in many other cases, injury occurs by chance with no way to prepare. Because sports-related injuries are so common, your team could be suffering from an abundance of players who are missing time due to injury. The physical therapy in Commack team at Block Sports Chiropractic, and Physical Therapy have been trusted since 1993 to deal with injury prevention and recovery. Specializing in sports-related injury and care, you can trust our staff in providing the most effective treatment options available!

How Can PT Help?

Physical therapy is one of the best ways to help reduce your pain, strengthen the injured muscle or muscles surrounding an injured bone, and ultimately help you return to the playing field. Here are some common sports-related injuries and how physical therapy can likely help:

• Shin Splints – Often caused by repetitive stress to the legs such as running or jumping, shin splints refer to the painful inflammation of the tendons and muscles surrounding the tibia. Treatment with physical therapy involves ice and compression therapy, stretching, strengthening the surrounding muscles to prevent future injury, and making any necessary modifications to your current running form.
• Sprained Ankle – These usually occur when the foot twists inward, causing the weak outer ligaments to stretch or tear. Physical therapy for ankle injuries is essential for restoring stability and flexibility, while limited, exercising with an injured ankle is essential in maintaining what strength remains to prevent re-injury after healing.
• Pulled Groin – Soreness or inflammation of the groin or inner-thigh muscles caused by side-to-side motion. Gentle exercises are used to recover by increasing blood flow and range of movement in the hip area. Stretches and warm-up exercises are often recommended to prevent future groin injuries.

Physical therapy in Commack is made possible with the team at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy. When left untreated, many conditions caused by sports can either get worse or cause persistent pain in the future. These injuries do not have to keep you on the sideline any longer; recovery with physical therapy is an ideal way to become stronger and prevent future injury.   If you are looking for physical therapy in Commack, Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy has been serving the local sports communities for over 25 years. You do not have to struggle with your pain and recovery alone, reach out, and schedule an appointment with us today!

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Physical Therapy After a Shoulder Replacement

Each year, approximately 53,000 Americans undergo shoulder replacement surgery. Total shoulder replacement is a significant improvement to the function of your shoulder joint. However, this notable alteration takes time. Physical therapy can help bring the full function back to your shoulder. At Block Chiropractic and Sports Physical Therapy, our manual physical therapists help you recover as fast as possible. Start your path to better health today.

After shoulder replacement surgery, it is critical to prevent your shoulder from staying immobile. Slow, small motions of the shoulder will help with everyday tasks in the future weeks. Most patients can perform simple tasks such as getting dressed a few weeks post-surgery. Your physical therapist will create an individual plan for the following weeks. Below are some exercises for Physical Therapy in Commack. Do not try these before consulting your physical therapist, as inconsistency can cause more harm.

Exercises To Try:
Scapula Retraction – Pull your shoulder bones together by expanding your chest. Hold for ten seconds, release, and repeat. This exercise should be repeated 30 times, 3 times a day.
Supported Arm Pendulum – Bending forward so that your torso is parallel to the floor, use your non-surgical arm to lean on a chair, couch, or another object for support. With your other arm, make small circles in clockwise and counterclockwise motions. Like the previous exercise, repeat 30 times 3 times a day.
Shoulder Forward Elevation – Start by keeping your arms straight at your side. Raise your hand slowly without twisting your wrist. Repeat 5-10 times for 3 times a day. Be careful to prevent yourself from raising your shoulders, too.

Other exercises improve blood circulation from your fingers, up to your shoulder.
Grip Strengthening – Use a stress ball or other soft object to grip and flex your fingers into a tight fist. Repeat as necessary.
Elbow Motion – Slowly bend and straighten your arm, and then retract. This motion will decrease stiffness in your elbow from your sling.

Contact Physical Therapy in Commack:

At Block Chiropractic and Sports Physical Therapy in Commack, we will gladly answer any questions you may have. Our physical therapists are experienced in more than just shoulder conditions. If you have an upcoming shoulder replacement surgery, are considering surgery, or would like to know more information, schedule an appointment today.

What Is Direct Access Physical Therapy in Commack?

Healthcare costs and insurance premiums seem to be on a steady rise each year. When a person needs care, why should they need to jump through hoops and be placed under a financial burden to receive the care they want? Thanks to direct access to physical therapy, when you require care, you’ll be able to contact our team at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy directly and without hassle.

Direct access to physical therapy is exactly what the name suggests. When a patient suffers an injury that requires physical therapy, the traditional method of receiving it requires patients to be prescribed this form of care. However, thanks to the direct access law, patients are now legally allowed to go right to a physical therapist, like the experts on our staff at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, immediately following an injury.   

How Does It Work?

Granting patients access to physical therapy in Commack, without the need for referrals has been a hugely positive step taken by the medical community. However, there are limitations and restrictions to the direct access law patients need to be aware of so they can reap the most benefits of this process. Before being required to get a prescription for physical therapy, patients can receive either:

• 10 sessions of treatment.
• Treatment for up to 30 days.

Once these two timelines have passed, patients will need to reach out to their primary care provider if they wish to continue with physical therapy. However, 10 sessions or one month’s worth of treatment can go a long way in helping with a full recovery. 

The Benefits Of Direct Access Physical Therapy

It’s not hard to understand that the direct access law brings patients many benefits when it comes to physical therapy. When you choose to work with our team at Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, the benefits that can be had include:

• Eliminate the need to see multiple medical professionals for one injury.
• Find treatment immediately to greatly increase your recovery time.
• Reduce medical expenses by skipping over the co-pay that is required for many primary care provider visits.

Block Sports Chiropractic And Physical Therapy

At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, our team is committed to helping patients overcome any ailment and injury they are currently facing. If you need treatment now, don’t take the extra step of visiting your primary care doctor to receive a prescription for physical therapy. Contact our team immediately following an injury so that you can receive the care you need without hesitation.  

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Physical Therapy After an Ankle Fracture

Fracturing your ankle does not mean you have to put your life on hold. It is an extremely common injury In the United States for all ages. Over the last few years though, there has been an increased boom in the number of ankle fracture cases, caused in part by a more active older generation. If you are concerned that you might have sustained an ankle fracture, or have any of the symptoms/pain of a possible injury, contact Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy at our Selden or Smithtown location to schedule an appointment.

 

What is an ankle fracture?

Ankle fractures can develop through any sort of unnatural movement or incident involving the ankle. Most commonly, fractures are caused by rolling your ankle too far in either direction (inward or outward). When this occurs, the small-sized bones in your ankle break from stress. Ligaments can also be torn during the injury. This can be caused by landing poorly, missing a stair on a staircase, or simply stepping wrong while walking. In the summertime ankle fracture cases exist due to injuries sustained by outdoor sports or slipping on water at the pool, opposite to slipping on ice in the wintertime but with the same result.

Common symptoms of an ankle fracture include:

• Swelling
• Pain and tenderness at the source of the injury
• Difficulty in walking
• Bruising

 

How can physical therapy help?

When dealing with an ankle fracture, physical therapy is paramount to recovery. An ankle fracture takes weeks to heal properly, and only if it is provided the proper process to do so. If your injury is left untreated to become more injured (or is severe enough from the start) you might even be forced to partake in a surgical procedure to reposition your bone fragments back in place, which involves the high possibility of screws, metal plates, and rods placed into your ankle to assist in healing. It could take 4-8 weeks for the bones/ligaments to heal fully and several months following to regain full use of your ankle. Should you require surgery, that time period expands exponentially.

 

Block Chiropractic and Sports Physical Therapy will diagnose your injury by completing a thorough physical examination and work with you to build a treatment schedule that works best for your healing process. As with many bone or joint injuries, you will need to carefully build back up the strength of your injury site without further aggravation. Our physical therapy treatments will help to restore motor function and improve mobility. Additionally, physical therapy can reduce the amount of pain experienced during healing. In general, the goal of physical therapy is to prevent any physical limitations from remaining afterward, so you can get back on your feet with no complications. 

Physical Therapy For Shin Splints

Shin splints are an unfortunate condition that can make moving around difficult. Treating them right away will help prevent them from developing into a chronic ailment. While many people may not realize this, physical therapy is the perfect solution for shin splints. At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, a physical therapist in Commack can deliver the treatment you need to help you make a full recovery. For more information on our treatments, please schedule an appointment.

What Are Shin Splints?

Shin splints cause those dealing with it to suffer pain, which radiates down the shin bone area. It is often found in athletes or those who have recently increased the intensity of their workout habits. Shin splints occur when repetitive stress is placed on the shinbone and the muscles and tissues connected to it. Some of the symptoms that our physical therapist in Commack will be able to help with include:

• Pain.
• Swelling.
• Tenderness.
• Limited mobility.
• Problems with weight-bearing.

What Is Physical Therapy?  

When you sustain an injury, it’s easy to think that the best thing you can do is sit around and rest. While sometimes this is true, our team often finds that keeping the body active positively impacts the healing process. This is the foundation on which physical therapy is built. Physical therapy is an activity-based form of treatment that utilizes stretches and strengthening exercises to promote healing from within an injured area. Our physical therapist in Commack will perform a full assessment of your shin splints to determine what level of physical output your legs can handle before creating the treatment plan that gets you back to full strength.    

Treatment With Our Physical Therapist In Commack

As previously stated, stretches and strengthening exercises will make up most treatment sessions with our physical therapist in Commack. However, that is not the only thing that may go into the treatment process. Massage therapy, heat and cold therapy, and electronic muscle stimulation may also be utilized in conjunction with the therapeutic physical activities to allow for the optimal healing experience. When receiving physical therapy from our team, you can expect the below results:

• Reduced swelling in the shins.
• Elimination of pain.
• Regained strength.
• Improved mobility.
• Mitigated chance of shin splints returning in the future.  

Contact Our Team

At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, our number one priority is to eliminate the causes of your injuries and pain. When shin splints arise in your life, the first thing you should do is reach out to our physical therapist in Commack. They’ll be able to provide you with the stretches and exercises needed to get you back to being pain-free. To schedule an appointment for this type of care, be sure to contact our team today.

Tips For Running After An Injury

As an active person, few things can be more infuriating than suffering an injury. If you’re a runner and this happened to you, it’s easy to be chomping at the bit to get back out on the path. However, if you don’t take 

precautions when you do so, you can re-aggravate or worsen your initial injury. At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, we don’t want to see this happen to you. To keep you healthy, we’d like to offer some beneficial running tips for after an injury.

Ease Back In

After taking some time off to heal, you can’t expect your body to back to full strength the second you’re cleared to start running again. Pushing your body too hard too fast is a sure-fire way to cause more harm. To avoid this, our team recommends you ease back into your running habits. Before you begin to run again, make sure you can walk for at least 45 minutes without experiencing pain from the previous injury. Once you can do this, you can begin to work up to a light jog.

Build Your Strength

As a runner, you may assume that cardio training is the best to get back to running. However, increasing the amount of strength training you do can mitigate the chances of becoming re-injured once you begin running again. Examples of some great strengthening exercises include:

• Planks.
• Russian twists.
• Back extensions.
• Squats.
• Jump Squats.

Get New Gear

Those who do not replace their running shoes often enough increase their chances of becoming injured. It may have even been the reason you became injured in the first place. Experts recommend that running shoes should be replaced after they’ve been used to run 300 to 500 hundred miles. If you’ve shown loyalty to the same pair of shoes for a long time, consider replacing them before you start running again. Your new pair should:

• Offer ankle and arch support.
• Fit snuggly, but not tight enough to cut off circulation.
• Have an uncramped toe box.

Contact Us

At Block Sports Chiropractic & Physical Therapy, our team is in the business of keeping people healthy and active. If you’re looking to make a return to running after being injured, it’s essential to have a plan in place that will keep you protected. For more tips on how to stay healthy after a running injury, contact us today!