Physical Therapist

If you are undergoing surgery soon, whether it is a knee replacement or back surgery, you may want to consider going to physical therapy sessions afterward. Going under the knife is a big deal and the recovery process can be long. Although surgery can improve your condition, it can also leave you weak and less mobile.

Here are a few reasons why you should attend physical therapy after surgery.

Alleviate Pain

It is not uncommon for people to experience pain right after they have surgery. The muscles around the surgical site tense up, which can cause you discomfort. This is one of the biggest reasons why you should go to physical therapy. During your sessions, a therapist will use various non-invasive methods, such as joint mobilization, heat and ice and exercise, to remove pressure from your muscles and joints, which will ultimately relieve your pain.

Improve Mobility

Surgery can be very hard on the body and may make you less mobile immediately afterward. You may have trouble walking around and need assistance with basic tasks. If you wish to improve your mobility, consider going to physical therapy. Your therapist can show you various exercises to help strengthen the affected area and improve your range of motion.

Prevent Scar Tissue

After surgery, the body will naturally produce scar tissue to close the wound. However, if you have too much scar tissue, it can restrict your movements and cause discomfort. That is another reason to consider physical therapy after undergoing a surgical procedure. A physical therapist may perform a massage and ultrasound therapy to soften scar tissue and speed up the healing process.

Boost Circulation

Blood transports nutrients and oxygen to the affected area, which reduces inflammation and speeds up the healing process. Physical therapy can actually improve blood circulation throughout your body, helping you recover quicker. For instance, your physical therapist may perform electrical stimulation to increase muscle contractions and blood flow.

Prevent Secondary Issues

All surgeries come with risks, such as blood clots and infection. One way to reduce your likelihood of these complications is to attend physical therapy. Your physical therapist can have you perform certain exercises to prevent secondary issues.

If you wish to attend physical therapy, you may want to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist, like Mid Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic, to discuss your goals. 

Your First Physical Therapy Appointment

If you suffer from an acute or chronic medical condition that could benefit from Bowie, MD physical therapy sessions, connect with Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic today to learn about our physical therapy services. We may be able to help you to improve your quality of life, speed your recovery, manage your pain, and otherwise promote your well-being in ways that are sustainable.

Physical therapy is a broad medical discipline. Patients seek out physical therapy services for all kinds of reasons. Commonly, individuals who have suffered an injury as a result of trauma, who are trying to rebound from a challenging surgical procedure, who are attempting to manage a chronic health condition more effectively, and those who are trying to deal with pain in ways that allow them to either avoid or minimize their usage of the medication seek out the services of physical therapists at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic.

Assessing Your Needs

While you are mentally preparing to attend your first physical therapy appointment, take a few moments to think about what it is like to meet with a doctor for the first time. Just as you do not expect that a doctor will know how to treat your symptoms until you tell them what those symptoms are, when they began, what makes them worse, if anything makes them better, and what you hope to achieve by seeking medical assistance at this time, so do our providers need to benefit from explanations of this kind.

Without access to detailed information about your situation, your goals for physical therapy, and whether you hope to achieve those goals on any specific timeline, we cannot effectively create a physical therapy treatment plan that will meet your needs. Similarly, we will need to evaluate you physically to some degree. For example, if you are seeking physical therapy services primarily because you suffer from hip pain, we will need to see your range of motion, how your hip functions in various ways, and whether your gait has anything to do with your pain.

Once we have thoroughly assessed your circumstances, the Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic team will provide you with our recommendations for your treatment. You will be encouraged to ask any questions that you might have and to voice any concerns that you might have. Physical therapy is not a set of directions to follow. It is a partnership between patient and provider.

Setting Expectations: Physical Therapy

If you could benefit from seeking Baltimore, MD physical therapy services, connect with the dedicated team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic today to schedule an initial consultation. The consultation process will allow you to tell us your story and to explain what you hope to achieve by attending physical therapy services. It will also allow you to understand how we may be able to help you and what you may be able to expect from the process of physical therapy over time.

Expectations: What the Physical Therapy Process Entails

One of the reasons why it is so important she set expectations at the beginning of the physical therapy process is so that you do not get discouraged when you hit bumps along the road ahead. Many people approach the process of physical therapy with the expectation that they will attend their sessions, do their homework exercises, and all their goals will be achieved according to the timeline they have developed in their minds as ideal. In reality, physical therapy is like any other kind of therapy. Sometimes, patients improve at a rate that is unexpected. Sometimes, challenges arise and improvement occurs more slowly than expected. Understanding that physical therapy is a process and is not something that can be approached with absolute certainty as to outcome can help to keep your mind open and flexible as you seek to achieve the most favorable outcomes possible under the circumstances.

What the physical therapy process will entail for you will depend upon the kinds of physical challenges that you are facing, your unique goals for this process, and the kinds of physical therapy that you are willing to try. For example, we may recommend that you use a piece of equipment known as a Pilates reformer to strengthen certain areas of the body. If you do not like the reformer and need us to take a different approach, we will do our best to accommodate that preference. Know that whatever approach we take, you can expect that you will need to work on certain aspects of your recovery at home because you can only achieve a certain level of results if you only work when you are at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic.

Expectations: Goals and Timeline

It is important to set goals within a short-term range, medium-term range, and long-term range prior to commencing your physical therapy treatment plan. Keeping these different goals in mind will help to ensure that you can remain focused and resilient during your physical therapy journey. We will revisit these goals and adjust them if necessary or appropriate. Because physical therapy is a process comma there is a certain amount of fluidity and flexibility required on behalf of both a provider and patient in order to achieve the most favorable result possible under the circumstances. To learn more about our approach to physical therapy treatment specifically and patient care generally, connect with Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic today. We look forward to speaking with you.

Your First Chiropractic Appointment

If you are thinking about seeking medical care from a PG County, MD chiropractor at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic, it is important to familiarize yourself with what to expect at your first chiropractic visit. Why? Setting expectations will help to ensure that you don’t encounter any surprises and that you don’t leave your visit with any lingering questions or concerns left unvoiced. We want to make sure that your time spent at our practice is spent in ways that impact you positively. Understanding what to expect when you walk through our doors will help to achieve that critically important goal.  

Assessing Your Situation

Just as you would expect a doctor to ask you questions about your condition in the event that you were sick, expect that our providers will ask you questions about your condition given that you are in need of chiropractic care. We will likely start by taking a patient history that focuses on any illnesses, injuries, or other circumstances that have contributed to your need for chiropractic treatment. For example, we will likely ask you about the severity of your pain, how often the pain occurs, what contributes to your pain, what alleviates your pain, and when your pain started.

Next, we will likely proceed to a physical exam that will allow us to assess your range of motion, any limitations that your condition has manifested, and the functionality of the areas of your body that are being affected by the condition you seek to treat.

Depending upon the kinds of tests and images taken by other providers prior to your first chiropractic visit, we may need to engage in some diagnostic testing or imaging in order to get a better sense of exactly what is going on with you and how we can help.

Setting Goals and Creating a Treatment Plan

The experienced team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic takes great pride in ensuring that all of our chiropractic treatment plans are personalized according to our individual patient’s needs. As a result of this philosophy, we will spend time with you constructing a treatment plan and a timeline for how that treatment plan will be executed. Laying this information out at the beginning of your chiropractic care process helps to set expectations and to facilitate reaching your goals. If and when any element of your treatment plan or any aspect of our proposed timeline needs to be adjusted, we will make necessary changes and will alert you to those changes if you have not been the one to request them specifically.

Starting Your Care

Depending upon how long it has taken us to work through the process of taking your patient history, assessing your needs, and creating an initial treatment plan, we may or may not have time to provide you with medical therapy at your first appointment. If not, we’ll dive right in when you return to Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic for your next session.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

If you have been thinking about seeking chiropractic care, it is a good idea to meet with a Bowie, MD chiropractor at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic to explore your needs, goals, and options. A common misconception about chiropractic care holds that the only people who can benefit from chiropractic care are those who suffer from back pain. In reality, individuals of all ages and abilities can benefit from chiropractic care, from infants to older adults from elite athletes to chronic pain patients, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t improve their quality of life by investing some time in receiving chiropractic care.

Treating What Ails You

Individuals with all kinds of medical issues benefit from chiropractic services. Depending upon what physical challenges you are dealing with at present, understand that chiropractic adjustments can help with connective tissue challenges, joint issues, range of motion, mobility, bones and cartilage challenges, and muscle problems. Even brand new infants who have spent months curled up on themselves in the womb can benefit from chiropractic care. Many parents can attest to the fact that babies who receive chiropractic services often benefit from improved sleep and reduced stiffness and tension in their little bodies. If chiropractic care can help some of the most flexible bodies on the planet, imagine what it can do for you if you are feeling sore, less mobile, and less functional than you’d like to feel.

Managing Pain

The professionals at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic help many patients to minimize, manage, and even to alleviate their pain. Chiropractic care can be especially beneficial for those who suffer from back pain, neck pain, headaches, and jaw tension. Members of modern society tend to spend a great deal of time hunched over screens. Chiropractic care can help to reset the ways in which the body adjusts to accommodate so much screen time. You may be surprised to find just how much chiropractic care helps you to manage tension in your body caused by influences like screen time, even if you were originally seek out services due to an athletic injury, advancing age, or other physical challenges that seemingly have nothing to do with the way that you hold your body all day every day. Posture and pain throughout the body are unquestionably linked.

If you are currently using more painkillers than you’d prefer to use, please know that chiropractic care can potentially help you to wean off of these medications or to minimize your use of them. Similarly, if you are starting to experience a great deal of pain and want to remain medication-free, know that chiropractic care may be able to help you achieve that goal. While there is no shame in taking pain medication if you are in pain, the professionals at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic take a great deal of pride in helping patients who want to reduce or eliminate their dependence upon pain medications to do so when appropriate.

Setting Expectations: Chiropractic Care

If you are thinking about seeking chiropractic care for an acute condition or a chronic one, it is important to discuss your goals and expectations for your care with a Crofton, MD chiropractor that local patients trust. If you don’t clarify your needs, goals, and expectations both at the start of your care and necessary throughout the duration of your treatment plan, you may not achieve the maximum results that you otherwise could under the circumstances.

Why is setting expectations, goals, and priorities so important? At Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic, we believe in personalizing our treatment plans to fit the needs of individuals. Unlike some other practices that tend to focus on the same kind of treatment plan regardless of a patient’s circumstances, we understand that the more personalized we make our care, the greater the chance that our patients will achieve the results that they seek. By clarifying your goals, needs, circumstances, and expectations with us, we can help you to both achieve what is achievable and to adjust any expectations, goals, or priorities that may not quite line up with what is possible over a specific period of time or with a specific approach.

Goals, Priorities, and Objective Truths

Sometimes, it is critically important for the Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic team to clarify some tough objective truths with our patients. For example, if a softball player has sustained a severe spinal bruise and they let us know that it is their goal to play in next week’s playoff game, so can we please just perform an adjustment that will allow them to play, we are compelled to explain that an adjustment isn’t going to fix the damage done by a spinal bruise… that although we can help to promote healing and recovery, they will need to heal for some time before they can safely resume play.

With that said, it is usually possible to create a treatment plan that facilitates a patient’s realistic goals, discernable needs, and that takes their circumstances and priorities into account. Most treatment plans consist of short-term, medium-term, and long-term components. What “short-term,” “medium-term,” and “long-term” mean depends upon the circumstances that a patient is facing. A patient with cerebral palsy may think of their “long-term” goals in measurements of years, whereas an athlete with an acute trauma injury may think of their “long-term” goals in terms of months. Know that whatever your circumstances may be, the team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic will personalize our approach to accommodate them properly.

A Note About Insurance Coverage

It is a good idea to check your insurance coverage before scheduling a consultation to set your expectations for chiropractic care. If your insurance provider is only going to cover a certain number of sessions, we will want to know that so that we can tailor our treatment approach to accommodate this reality. While you may wish to pay out of pocket for additional sessions, we want to be respectful of the reality that not everybody can afford to do so and that they may need us to adjust our approach to accommodate insurance limitations.

Chiropractors are skilled at treating many things, and you may find benefits from seeing a chiropractor PG Count, MD patients rely on for treatment. Whatever ailment or pain you are suffering from, you may want to consider if chiropractic care is a good option for you and your healing journey. Meeting with a chiropractor for an initial consultation will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you have, learn about the chiropractic process and philosophy, discuss any concerns you have, learn about your treatment options, and more. Call our clinic today to schedule your initial appointment and get started on your healing treatment. 

• Pain
  Living with pain can be debilitating and keep you from doing the things that you love. A chiropractor can likely decrease your pain, and possibly even eliminate it depending on your condition and situation. Your chiropractor will seek to fix the root cause of your pain to promote true healing and not just cover it up with something else that may have side effects.
• Arthritis
  Joint pain and arthritis can be life-altering in advanced cases but are not beyond the help of a chiropractor. It may take time and continued appointments, but your chiropractor can work to improve your arthritis condition and restore your movement and health as much as possible.
• Muscle Imbalance
  There are multiple factors that can lead to a muscle imbalance, such as repetitive movements, poor posture, over working certain muscles, and more. When you have a muscle imbalance it can cause other issues in your body like pain and misalignment of the spine or hips. Treating the root cause of the muscle imbalance will assist your body in correcting itself and relieving pain. 
• Nerve Issues
  A pinched nerve or other nerve issues can cause shooting pains or constant pains that are nearly impossible to live with. Chiropractors are skilled at hunting down the cause of the nerve pain and making adjustments in your body to relieve the nerve so that it stops causing pain
• Injury Recovery
  After enduring an injury of some kind, such as from an accident, you may have lasting injuries that a chiropractor can treat to help your body recover and get back to how it was before the injury. Depending on the severity of the injury recovery may take time, but you can likely have improvement with the treatment of a chiropractor.
• Pregnancy Discomfort
  Although pregnancy is a wonderful time and beautiful process, it can be uncomfortable as your body works to grow a baby. It may be temporary, but a chiropractor can help with your discomfort during the pregnancy and help to prepare your body for delivery. Postnatal treatment is beneficial for assisting your body as it goes back to its pre-pregnancy state.

Call Our Clinic Today

Whatever you’re dealing with, let our experienced chiropractors at Mid Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic assist you with your health care. We treat the body as a whole to correct underlying issues and can help you too. Call us today to schedule a consultation!

In recent years patients have turned to chiropractic care and received many benefits. For some time chiropractic care was not respected in the medical community, but it has rightfully gained some ground and a positive reputation for being a benefit to patients. A chiropractor Glen Burnie, MD residents can count on can provide you with the treatment you need to improve your health and relieve your pain or other ailments. Don’t hesitate to speak with an experienced chiropractor about your treatment options and health goals. Schedule your initial consultation today. 

• Pain Relief
  It is nearly impossible to live a normal life when you’re experiencing constant or shooting pains as part of your daily life. You deserve to live a full life that is as pain free as possible. A chiropractor can help you get there with treatment that is specific to your body. Your treatment plan will be unique to you and include adjustments and stretches that are designed to treat the underlying issues that are causing your pain. The chiropractic method seeks to treat the person as whole and use non-invasive tactics to correct the issue that is causing the pain and keep it from arising again as much as possible. 
• Healthy Pregnancy
  Pregnancy can be hard on the body and cause discomfort or pain. Seeing an experienced chiropractor can help to relieve pains and support a healthy pregnancy for mom and baby. Look for a chiropractor who has training and experience specifically for pregnant patients. The alignment issues and pains that arise from pregnancy are unique from other patient ailments and require special treatment. Pregnancy is a beautiful and happy time for most women, but that does not take away the discomfort associated with pregnancy. 
• Alignment Issues Resolved
  One of the main treatments that chiropractors offer and are known for is correcting spine and body alignment issues. When the body gets off proper alignment it can cause a host of issues, including pain and mobility problems. Chiropractors are well versed in the intricacies of the body and will work to correct your alignment that will lead to a healthier and properly functioning body.
• Muscle Imbalance Correction
  Many people with muscle imbalances aren’t aware of it and don’t realize that it could be causing issues or pain in their body. Muscle can get imbalanced for many reasons, such as poor posture, a past injury that causes you to rely on particular muscles, a job with repetitive physical movements that cause stress and overworking of some muscles, and more. Your chiropractor will work with you to correct these imbalances and improve your overall muscle strength. 

Call a Chiropractic Clinic Today

Whatever your needs for chiropractic care, work with an experienced clinic like Mid Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We would be happy to do a consultation with you to discuss your treatment needs and begin your journey to a healthier life with less pain. Contact our clinic today to schedule your consultation.

The Myth of Addictive Chiropractic Care

The practice of medicine is thousands of years old. Chiropractic is a relatively newer practice, being approximately 125 years old, and therefore, some myths and misconceptions persist about it. One of the most persistent is that chiropractic care is “addictive,” that once you start going, you have to keep going back for the rest of your life.

This is not true. Many patients stop having adjustments after completing their course of treatment and never go back to the chiropractor again. However, some patients continue going back to the chiropractor for maintenance treatments after completing their course of treatment. This is their choice, and they do so not because they cannot function without it but because they like the benefits that chiropractic adjustments offer to their health.

Is Chiropractic Care Addictive?

Chiropractic care is not compulsory. You can stop having treatments any time you want, even if your treatment course is not complete. The myth of chiropractic care being addictive might have arisen because people who stopped having treatments experienced recurrent pain. This may have occurred because they stopped treatment before finishing their course, just as if you stop antibiotic treatment before finishing all your medication, your symptoms of infection may come back.

The other reason is that people who stop chiropractic adjustments may have pain come back is that once they stopped treatment, even if they completed the course, they may have fallen back into the same habits that caused their symptoms in the first place. When you have ongoing visits to a chiropractor, he or she can recommend lifestyle changes that can help you maintain your current condition and avoid future pain. However, the notion that chiropractic permanently alters your spine so that you have to keep having adjustments is not true.

Why Do People Keep Going Back to the Chiropractor?

You might as well ask why people keep going back to the dentist after having a cavity filled. No matter how diligent you are about your dental hygiene, there are some cleaning tasks that you can’t do on your own. Similarly, you may do very well taking care of yourself and exercising, but just as you don’t have the tools and professional knowledge to remove tartar from your teeth, there are health benefits to chiropractic that you can’t duplicate by yourself.

An addiction is a behavior that you can’t stop even though it harms you. Chiropractic treatment does not qualify because there are few, if any, harmful side effects and the treatment has been clinically proven as beneficial for certain conditions. 

Speaking with a chiropractor in Crofton, MD from Mid Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic can help answer any of your questions and concerns. Contact our office to make an appointment for an initial evaluation.

How Much Does Chiropractic Care Cost?

Chiropractors have helped a great many people relieve pain and restore movement throughout their bodies. Their contributions have been extremely beneficial. Note that each of their services comes paired with a price tag. Take a look at this information regarding how much chiropractic care costs.

Service Types

There are many different types of chiropractic services; each one has a specific cost. Manipulative treatment of one region can cost up to $50 while manipulative treatment of five regions can cost up to $64. A new patient evaluation service can be $167, and an established patient evaluation service can be $109. Some manual therapy procedures cost $45, and some therapeutic exercises cost $42. There are muscle tests that are $21, and there are physical performance measurements that are $61. There are range-of-motion measurements that are as little as $13, and lower-level laser sessions that are $48 for every 15 minutes. Overall, most chiropractic services fall somewhere between $10 and $175. These costs are fairly affordable compared to most medical services.

With Insurance

Note that some insurance policies do not cover chiropractic care. For example, insurance policies that fall under Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans may not cover chiropractic care because such policies view chiropractors as alternative healers rather than primary care providers. Individuals who need chiropractic treatment for prolonged periods may be able to get their insurance companies to make co-pay agreements. Coverage plans that do cover and acknowledge chiropractic care may address 50% to 100% of the costs, making such care accessible and budget-friendly.

Without Insurance

People who do not have insurance should expect to pay, on average, around $60 for each chiropractic treatment session they participate in. Patients who have minor problems will likely pay less, and those with major problems will likely pay more. Chiropractic care is unlike other types of treatment, which typically cost thousands of dollars, so those without insurance should be able to make payments in full or develop a reasonable payment plan with the facility they utilize. Chiropractic treatment is regarded, in the medical world, as being inexpensive, so it is highly unlikely that those who lack insurance will meet chiropractors who are reluctant to treat them for that particular reason.

Most people will be able to afford chiropractic services, with or without the aid of insurance. Speaking with a Chiropractor in PG County, Maryland from Mid Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic today could help you learn more about the costs associated with the practice.