If you are looking for Expert Sciatica Treatment in Alexandria,Va, the information below will help you make a better decision as well as help you avoid unnecessary and expensive healthcare treatment.

What is Sciatica and Three Main Causes of Your Pain

Sciatica is a general term that describes pain that usually is felt in the lower back and radiates down into the buttock, thigh, and often the back of the leg.  It’s called sciatica because the pain is in the same area that the sciatic nerve is located (i.e. originating in the lower back, running through the buttock, down the back of the thigh and leg).

Sciatica Isn’t Just a Pinched Nerve

Some experts more specifically define sciatica as a pinched nerve root in the lower back that causes shock-like or burning low back pain combined with pain through the buttocks and down one leg, occasionally reaching the foot. 

Important: doctors have done research decades ago that demonstrated that more than just a pinched nerve can cause radiating pain into the buttock and thigh.

What You Need to Know – Don’t Insist on an MRI Right Away

Sciatica pain can be severe and disabling.  Patients that experience sciatica pain understandably, want to know what’s causing the pain.  Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI does an excellent job of taking pictures of the spine, but here’s what you need to know. MRI tests often show “false positives”.  This means that while the pictures of your lower back may reveal something that doesn’t look right, in many cases, it is NOT the cause of the pain. Consider the results of this scientific research report:

Imaging findings of spine degeneration are present in high proportions of asymptomatic individuals, increasing with age. Many imaging-based degenerative features are likely part of normal aging and unassociated with pain. These imaging findings must be interpreted in the context of the patient’s clinical condition.
Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4464797/

This clinical research study is one of many research papers concluding an MRI shows a lot of age-related changes in the spine that are not likely to be the cause of your sciatica.  

What to Do First – See One of Our Sciatica Pain Experts in Alexandria or Lorton Va

If you are experiencing lower back pain with or without symptoms radiating down the back of your thigh, you should not immediately think that you have a serious diagnosis, no matter how bad the pain is.  

Conservative, natural care, which is what we provide here at our practice, is what you should try first.  The advantages of seeing one of our physical therapy experts are as follows:

• No waiting – In most cases, you can see us right away,
• No side effects – In most cases, the treatment we provide has little to no side effects and can make you feel much better,
• It’s more affordable – an average course of treatment cost much less than tests, injections, or surgery, 
• Seeing one of our physical therapists within 14 days means you’re not likely to need additional care, special tests, injections or surgery,
• Seeing one of our physical therapists first means you are less likely to need addictive opioid drugs.

How Our Sciatica Specialists in Alexandria and Lorton will Care for You

Each patient is different so here’s how our specialists will approach your sciatica:

• An in-depth initial evaluation where we ask you about your pain, medical history, and current condition.
• A detailed physical exam looking at movement, strength, flexibility, of the spine & nerves.
• A personalized plan of care to meet your goals.
• Patient education – details of what we’ve found during the exam and how we will help you address these limitations.
• Manual Therapy – hands-on techniques for pain relief and to restore mobility.
• Neuromuscular Reeducation to address restrictions, weakness, and range of motion
• A Tailored Home Program – we teach you what you can do to optimize healing at home as well.
• Modalities – specific treatments to address your pain if needed.

Start with Full Hour personalized one on one Hands-on Care, from Our Patient Focused Team of Physical Therapy Professionals. 

Physical therapist directed care is proven to be an effective treatment approach for sciatica.  . For more information, visit our contact page. We look forward to helping you.

Same-day/Next-Day Appointments are Available. Click here for our contact information

Give Us a Call at 703-924-2650 or 703-372-5716 to Get Started

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If you are looking for expert shoulder pain treatment in Alexandria, the information below will help you make a better decision as well as help you avoid unnecessary and expensive healthcare treatment.

Seven Medical Diagnoses that Cause Shoulder Pain

There are seven common diagnoses that cause shoulder pain and usually respond very well to physical therapist directed treatment. These diagnoses are:

• Shoulder Impingement
• Shoulder Tendinitis
• Rotator Cuff Tears
• Subacromial Bursitis
• Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)
• Calcific Tendinitis
• Shoulder Dislocation

What You Need to Know – Don’t Insist on an MRI

Before you go down the path of expensive imaging studies like MRI and CT scans, you should know that these types of tests often produce false positives.  

What this means is the test might indicate that something is wrong in your shoulder but it a. isn’t the source of your pain or b. doesn’t require immediate surgery.  

To illustrate this point, consider the conclusion of this study and this article published in the NY Times:

Magnetic resonance imaging identified a high prevalence of tears of the rotator cuff in asymptomatic individuals. These tears were increasingly frequent with advancing age and were compatible with normal, painless, functional activity. The results of the present study emphasize the potential hazards of the use of magnetic resonance imaging scans alone as a basis for the determination of operative intervention in the absence of associated clinical findings.

Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7822341

The pitchers were not injured and had no pain. But the M.R.I.’s found abnormal shoulder cartilage in 90 percent of them and abnormal rotator cuff tendons in 87 percent. “If you want an excuse to operate on a pitcher’s throwing shoulder, just get an M.R.I.,” Dr. Andrews says.

Reference: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/health/mris-often-overused-often-mislead-doctors-warn.html

What to Do First – See One of Our Shoulder Treatment Experts in Alexandria & Lorton

If you are experiencing shoulder pain, you shouldn’t try to self-diagnose the problem.  Our specialists can help you with this.  

In almost all of the patients we see, natural, hands-on physical therapy is the treatment that you should try first.  The advantages of seeing one of our physical therapy experts are as follows:

• No waiting – In most cases, you can see us right away,
• No side effects – In most cases, the treatment we provide has little to no side effects and can make you feel much better,
• It’s more affordable – an average course of treatment cost much less than tests, injections, or surgery,
• Seeing one of our physical therapists right away means we can quickly alleviate the pain and help you avoid additional doctor visits,
• Seeing one of our physical therapists first means you are less likely to need addictive opioid drugs

How Our Shoulder Specialists will Care for You

We want to make sure that we are providing you with the appropriate treatment.  As such, here are the steps that new patients go through:

• An in-depth initial evaluation where we ask you about your pain, medical history, and current condition.
• A detailed physical exam looking at movement, strength, flexibility, soft tissues and nerves of the neck, shoulder blade, shoulder joints, and arm.
• A personalized plan of care to meet your goals.
• Patient education – details of what we’ve found during the exam and how we will help you address these limitations.
• Manual Therapy – hands-on techniques for pain relief and to restore mobility.
• Neuromuscular Reeducation to address restrictions, weakness, and range of motion
• A Home Program – we teach you what you can do to optimize healing at home as well.
• Modalities – specific treatments to address your pain if needed.

See One of Our Experience Shoulder Professionals Right Away

Physical therapist directed care is proven to be an effective treatment approach for the shoulder conditions described above.  For more information, visit our contact page. We look forward to helping you.

Same-day/Next-Day Appointments are Available.  Click Here for Our Contact Info

Give Us a Call at 703-924-2650! 

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If you are looking for an expert in plantar fasciitis treatment in Alexandria, Va, the information below will help you make a better decision, as well as help you avoid unnecessary and expensive healthcare treatment.

What is Plantar Fasciitis and What Causes It

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia which is a think, wide, ligament-like soft tissue on the bottom of your foot.  The plantar fascia runs from your heel bone (calcaneus) down to your toes.  

Plantar fasciitis symptoms include sharp pain at the base of your heel that can radiate into the arch of your foot.  Sometimes there’s noticeable swelling as well.

Causes of Plantar Fasciitis Include:

• A rapid increase in physical activity
• Repetitive motions like distance running
• Limited flexibility of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (your calf muscles), 
• Poor arch support and/or excessive foot pronation
• Overweight patients are also more likely to develop plantar fasciitis.

What You Need to Know – Don’t Insist on an X-ray Right Away

Over 2 million people experience heel pain each year.  It’s a common condition. In many cases, x-rays offer no additional information as to the cause of your pain and as such, are not needed.  The first line of action should be conservative care. 

Physical Therapy First is Clinically Proven to Help

There are a variety of options for the treatment of plantar fasciitis.  We are strong advocates for natural, conservative, hands-on treatment and clinical research support our view:

The guidelines present evidence that strongly suggests a combination of manual therapy and rehabilitative exercises to help patients with this foot condition. In a more recent study published in the February 2017 issue of JOSPT, researchers reviewed the records of people with plantar fasciitis who were sent to physical therapy. The results of this study support prior studies that show faster recovery time for those who receive evidence-based physical therapy for their foot pain.

Reference: https://www.jospt.org/doi/full/10.2519/jospt.2017.0501

What to Do First – See One of Our Plantar Fasciitis Experts in Alexandria, Va

If you are experiencing plantar fasciitis, you shouldn’t wait more than a week to see if it gets better on its own. Conservative, natural care, which is what we provide here at our practice, is what you should try first.

The advantages of seeing one of our physical therapy experts are as follows:

• No waiting – In most cases, you can see us right away.
• No side effects – In most cases, the treatment we provide has little to no side effects and can make you feel much better
• It’s more affordable – an average course of treatment 
• Seeing one of our physical therapists within 14 days means you’re not likely to need additional care, special tests, injections or surgery
• Seeing one of our physical therapists first means you are less likely to need addictive opioid drugs

How Our Plantar Fasciitis Specialists will Care for You

The key to rapid and successful recover is to see one of our plantar fasciitis specialists right away.  

We will perform a thorough initial evaluation, discuss your treatment goals, provide you with a custom treatment program, and schedule follow-up visits based on the agreed-upon plan of care.

How will Your Plantar Fasciitis Specialist in Alexandria, Va  Treat This Condition?

Your treatment plan depends on what we learn during your initial evaluation but often includes the following:

• Modifications to your daily activities, 
• Stretching, 
• Avoiding aggravating activities, 
• Over-the-counter orthoses, 
• Hands-on soft tissue and mobilization techniques, and
• A home program
• Full body SFMA movement assessment and tailored home exercise program
• Fascia Strain Counter Strain

 

Practical Advice

If you are experiencing plantar fasciitis, we can help.  We’ve successfully treated many without the use of addictive drugs, risky injections, expensive tests, or surgery.

Same-day/Next-Day Appointments are Available.  Click here for our contact info. 

Give Us a Call at 703-924-2650 to Get Started