ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness

Lifestyle Changes to Stay Active, Healthy, and Happy

I am a physical therapist (Susannah Azofeifa, PT, DPT) – that being said, I already have a bias towards exercise and physical activity...

I love to encourage others to engage in any type of physical activity that they enjoy for their own benefit...

Not only do these lifestyle changes make you feel better, but it is also imperative to your overall health and well-being...

As a physical therapist, most of the time patients come to see me because they are in pain or unable to do something they would like to due to pain...

Through rehab, I try to instill the importance of not just doing your home exercises for a few weeks, but implementing them into a daily routine for a healthier lifestyle...

Learn more: https://pro-activehealth.com/lifestyle-changes-to-stay-active-healthy-and-happy/

Sitting: The New Smoking?

Some may say that sitting is the new smoking due to the negative health effects...

Sitting for long periods and being relatively sedentary can cause various chronic health conditions...

Many jobs require excessive sitting, some may report sitting for 8-10 hours per day at a desk/computer...

Sitting for prolonged periods has been linked to higher risks of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity...

Not only can sitting be harmful physically, but it can also negatively impact your mental health. Prolonged sitting is also associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety...

Learn More Here: https://pro-activehealth.com/sitting-the-new-smoking/

There is a recent documentary on Netflix called “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones”.

It is a great watch if you’re looking for something wholesome and enlightening.

In it, Dan Buettner travels to 5 communities around the globe where people consistently live healthy lives into their 100s.

Check out this article, where Courtney O'Neal, PT, DPT shares some insights she's gleaned from this documentary.

https://pro-activehealth.com/blue-zones-augusta-ga/

We're excited to welcome a new team member here at ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness, stepping in to provide Occupational Therapy Treatment!

Leah Klima graduated from Auburn University (War Eagle!) in 2021 with a bachelors in Human development before graduating with her Masters from Augusta in 2024. Leah completed her rotation at Proactive where she found her love for the vast populations we serve. As an occupational therapist, she is dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals through compassionate care and evidence-based practice.

She brings a wealth of experience in promoting independence and improving quality of life. She enjoys spending free time with her family and friends traveling and spending time outdoors. Leah is excited to join the team at ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness.

Learn more about our team here: https://pro-activehealth.com/team/

Can barefoot walking really reduce pain from plantar fasciitis?

In this video, Rafi Salazar from ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness breaks down the results from a recent study that indicates walking barefoot may help reduce pain from plantar fasciitis.

Check it out here: https://youtu.be/EufKDKp3Zj8

Want to know what people say about us?

Here's just a few quotes from our 100% 5 star reviews on Google:

"This is the best group ever. They are all so kind and welcoming. They make you feel so at ease."

"Wonderful and caring staff. Everyone is so kind. Take the time to explain your treatment you. Thank you ProActive"

"The physical therapists have helped me regain right knee function after total right knee replacement. I have only great things to say about ProActive Physical Therapy. I will go there again should I need PT in the future."

"This place is Awesome. Each employee is beyond nice. They really care for their clients. From the time you walk in until the time you leave you feel like you are welcomed and cared for."

"The therapists here are top notch and the support from the PTAs is excellent as well. Their front desk staff are really friendly and kind and get to know everyone who walks in the door.

This office is small but with that, you get much more personalized therapy. This is not a cookie cutter, you have knee pain, so do these 5 exercises every visit and we'll discharge you after 5 visits. They listen and adjust treatment based on patient feedback, much moreso than any other PT office I've ever been to. I thought my problem was just arthritis in my knees - but they were able to get to the reason why the arthritis developed to treat the source. My whole family has gone to Proactive and we know how valuable it is to our health."

If you're looking for a place in Augusta to get help overcoming an injury, recovering from surgery, or trying to prevent needing surgery or injections, give us a call at 706-814-6887

The worst thing that can happen is you'll have a lovely conversation with our care coordination team...

The best thing that can happen is you'll start your journey towards long-term, pain-free living!

Reach out today!

Or check us our online: https://pro-activehealth.com

Often when treating patients we see bodies that have been harmed, or pain that has been worsened because of inactivity or sedentary lifestyles.

Sometimes this is a result of illness or injury, but often it is the result of a slow fade away from exercise and activity as we age.

Our bodies are made to move and when we don’t, we experience injuries, health complications, and decreased quality of life.

Learn more here: https://pro-activehealth.com/made-to-move/

Are you a physical or occupational therapist interested in adding home accessibility assessments to your business?
..
Maybe it could add some additional revenue?
..
Maybe it could expand your client base?
..
If you're interested in learning how you can do that, we've created something for you...
..
The course: Home Accessibility Assessments

A Process & Framework to Market, Sell, and Complete Home Accessibility Assessments.

Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) first began doing home assessments while working as a consultant on a multi-million dollar project for Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD).

When he was working as a consultant for the department, one of his projects included finding a way to make sure that individuals who were leaving State Hospitals would be as safe and independent as possible in their homes once they discharged.

This project involved not only making sure that the individual’s accessibility and safety needs were well understood, but also that any modifications or equipment recommended was necessary and used properly.

As part of this project, Rafi developed a Home Accessibility & Safety Assessment Process, which became a foundational piece of the transition process for individuals leaving State Hospitals.

After that project ended, Rafi then began offering this process to private individuals, workman’s comp organizations, and other healthcare plans as a way to use this proven process and method to help anyone who may have accessibility or safety needs in the home.

Rafi has developed proprietary templates and resources for completing these home assessments and for guiding contractors and individuals through implementation of the recommendations.

Check it out here: https://courses.pro-activehealth.com/courses/home-accessibility-framework

Falls, with or without injury, can significantly impact the quality of life of older adults.

Most older adults want to maintain their independence and stay in their home as long as safely possible.

In order to do so, research shows that home modification can reduce fall risks even in those who are at a moderate to high risk.

Check out this list of home modifications that can help you or a loved one decrease the risk of falls: https://pro-activehealth.com/home-modification-for-fall-prevention/

Home Accessibility & Safety: For People wanting to Age in Place

Whether you are a family member caring for an aging loved one or someone who is planning for the future, there can be a tremendous amount of information to sift through.

Hopefully, this guide will help provide some clarity around all of the information you may find on the internet around home accessibility & safety.

The information in this guide comes from clinical experience and evidence, as well as guidelines provided by the folks over at ADA.gov.

Check it out here: https://pro-activehealth.com/home-accessibility-safety-for-people-wanting-to-age-in-place/

DON'T FALL!

More than one out of three people 65 years old or older fall each year, and these falls are recurrent in half of these cases [1].

Check out the acrostic below to learn about several ways to reduce fall risks at home.

When considering the high cost of an injury from a fall, particularly in the elderly, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Learn here: https://pro-activehealth.com/dont-fall/

Thinking About Having Surgery?

Oftentimes, when people hurt themselves they may think that undergoing surgery is the only option. However, this is far from the truth!

Physical therapy provides a low risk, highly beneficial option to address a recent injury or a chronic ache/pain that won’t seem to go away. While there is absolutely a time and place for surgical intervention, it may not always be the most beneficial first choice.

In this video, we share a list of reasons you should opt for physical or occupational therapy before undergoing surgery (if your injury is not life-threatening, of course).

Here's a list of reasons to choose PT or OT 1st:

1. Low Cost
2. Low Risk
3. High Benefit
4. Possibility of avoiding surgery

Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s0qlPns7RI&t=383s

Jiu Jitsu Mobility: Avoid Injuries & Improve Performance

OK, maybe you’v been bitting by the Jiu Jitsu bug...

You started training a little bit ago, and now it’s all you think about. You get to the gym as often as you can and spend as much time rolling as possible.

After a while, you’ve started to notice some stiffness, soreness, and the occasional ache or pain with certain movements.

Maybe you've been training for a while and have just developed those chronic aches and pains all too common to jiu jitsu athletes...

Perhaps, you’ve begun to think about finding a good Jiu Jitsu Mobility Program to help prevent injuries so you can spend more time on the mats...

If that’s the case, this article will get you started off on the right foot.

There's even a bonus mobility program and strength training recs at the end: https://pro-activehealth.com/jiu-jitsu-mobility/

Are you a physical or occupational therapist interested in adding home accessibility assessments to your business?

Maybe it could add some additional revenue?

Maybe it could expand your client base?

If you're interested in learning how you can do that, we've created something for you...

The course: Home Accessibility Assessments

A Process & Framework to Market, Sell, and Complete Home Accessibility Assessments.

Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) first began doing home assessments while working as a consultant on a multi-million dollar project for Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD).

When he was working as a consultant for the department, one of his projects included finding a way to make sure that individuals who were leaving State Hospitals would be as safe and independent as possible in their homes once they discharged.

This project involved not only making sure that the individual’s accessibility and safety needs were well understood, but also that any modifications or equipment recommended was necessary and used properly.

As part of this project, Rafi developed a Home Accessibility & Safety Assessment Process, which became a foundational piece of the transition process for individuals leaving State Hospitals.

After that project ended, Rafi then began offering this process to private individuals, workman’s comp organizations, and other healthcare plans as a way to use this proven process and method to help anyone who may have accessibility or safety needs in the home.

Rafi has developed proprietary templates and resources for completing these home assessments and for guiding contractors and individuals through implementation of the recommendations.

Check it out here: https://courses.pro-activehealth.com/courses/home-accessibility-framework

Home Accessibility Assessments Home Accessibility Assessments. A Process & Framework to Market, Sell, and Complete Home Accessibility Assessments.

Lifestyle changes that can help with Managing Chronic Pain

There are multiple categories of pain that exist including: neuropathic, nociceptive, musculoskeletal, inflammatory, psychogenic, and mechanical.

In a physical therapy clinic – these can all be seen and treated. In the outpatient setting, the most commonly encountered and treated are nociceptive, musculoskeletal, and mechanical.

One of the main ways we try and manage chronic pain involves lifestyle changes.

In this article, Susannah Azofeifa, PT, DPT shares 5 lifestyle changes that can help manage the symptoms of chronic pain.

Check out the full article here: https://pro-activehealth.com/lifestyle-changes-managing-chronic-pain/

“Should I Get an X-Ray or MRI?”

Sometimes, when we have a pain in a muscle or a joint, the immediate reaction tends to be “get an x-ray or an MRI to see what’s going on in there.”

But is that really necessary, or even the best way to go? Especially, when dealing with some kind of chronic or persistent pain, imaging or scans have unintended consequences.

Sometimes, those scans and tests may increase anxiety or stress about the pain.

So when answering the question should I get an x-ray or MRI for pain?, the answer is: “It depends.”

Here's a link to an article and video of an interview where Rafi Salazar interviews a pain expert on the topic of scans and x-rays for pain: https://pro-activehealth.com/xray-mri/

Are you a Physical Therapist who's thinking about offering assessments for patients and clients seeking objective medical evidence to support disability claims?

We've been doing this for some time and have been working with a doctor who helps veterans navigate the VA Disability Claim process.

We collaborated to put together this resource document and template for functional gait analysis to support disability claims.

Check it out here: https://courses.pro-activehealth.com/courses/gait-analysis

If you're a patient trying to find a Physical Therapist to do one of these assessments for you, you can always share this link with them. It provides a detailed "how to" and template to make the process as smooth as possible.

We'll be putting more together related to upper extremity assessment, global functional assessment and the like...stay tuned!

Want to Understand the MOST Important Things About Home Safety & Accessibility?

I talk to a lot of people who want to "age in place", or who have loved ones who want to stay in their homes as long as possible as they age.

But they have a problem: it's overwhelming to think about all of the things required to make a home accessible and safe to people as they age.

And, if you call a contractor, you'll likely get a quote for expensive modifications that might be what you need...but it could also be an expensive project that needs to be redone in a year.

I saw this first hand when I was working with a state health agency to support people with high medical complexities in their homes. The biggest challenge they faced was home accessibility & safety.

When I was working with those people, I developed a process for completing home assessments focused on increasing safety and accessibility.

And I've put all of those insights in this ebook.

What's Included:

✔Clear guidelines and information around accessibility & safety within the home

✔What to look for when considering home modification projects

✔A home accessibility & safety checklist to score your home

✔The 4 steps in the home accessibility & modification process

Whether you are a family member caring for an aging loved one or someone who is planning for the future, there can be a tremendous amount of information to sift through.

This ebook will help provide some clarity around all of the information you may find on the internet.

Check it out here: https://courses.pro-activehealth.com/products/digital_downloads/home-accessibility-safety-ebook

Want to Understand the MOST Important Things About Home Safety & Accessibility?

Get this simple, clear, ebook now!

What's Included:

✔ Clear guidelines and information around accessibility & safety within the home

✔ What to look for when considering home modification projects

✔ A home accessibility & safety checklist to score your home

✔ The 4 steps in the home accessibility & modification process

Whether you are a family member caring for an aging loved one or someone who is planning for the future, there can be a tremendous amount of information to sift through.

This ebook will help provide some clarity around all of the information you may find on the internet.

Check it out here: https://courses.pro-activehealth.com/products/digital_downloads/home-accessibility-safety-ebook

New Digital Download Most people want to age in place. They want to live in their home despite losing function and mobility. In Home Accessibility & Safety, we share ADA guidelines for home accessibility & safety, key areas to focus on, and what to expect...

Are you a Physical Therapist who's thinking about offering assessments for patients and clients seeking objective medical evidence to support disability claims?

We've been doing this for some time and have been working with a doctor who helps veterans navigate the VA Disability Claim process.

We collaborated to put together this resource document and template for functional gait analysis to support disability claims.

Check it out here: https://courses.pro-activehealth.com/courses/gait-analysis

If you're a patient trying to find a Physical Therapist to do one of these assessments for you, you can always share this link with them. It provides a detailed "how to" and template to make the process as smooth as possible.

We'll be putting more together related to upper extremity assessment, global functional assessment and the like...stay tuned!

Gait Analysis Framework & Template Gait Analysis. A resource manual & procedure for completing functional gait analysis for the purposes of disability rating & objective medical evidence.

Telehealth Physical Therapy Services in Augusta GA

One of the positive things that came from the COVID-era was an increased focus on telehealth services and virtual medical visits, including Telehealth physical therapy services.

Most insurance companies now pay for virtual visits for physical therapy, and most patients already have the technology needed for visits on their phones or laptops.

Learn More Here: https://pro-activehealth.com/telehealth-physical-therapy-services-in-augusta-ga/

We're looking for a Physical Therapist to Join Our Team!

Send resumes to [email protected]

Why Work With Us?

Awesome team, great patient population, and lots of room for growth! Anything else we need to say?

But if you really want to learn more, here's what we're offering:
-Competitive Pay
-Paid Time Off (PTO)
-Paid Holidays
-Flexible work from home options available
- 1:1 treatment (we rarely, if ever, double!)
-Paid Content Creation Time
-Profit Sharing Opportunities
-Opportunities for advancement

If that's something you're interested in exploring, send a resume and a note to [email protected]

What should you do if you experience back pain?

In our clinic, back pain is one of the most common diagnoses we see...

And it’s not surprising considering that a person’s lifetime incidence of a back pain in adulthood is as high as 84% (1).

Chances are, if you are reading this article, you either have back pain now, or have in the past.

So, it’s very likely you or someone you know has asked the question, “What do I do if I have Back Pain?”

In this article, Courtney O'Neal, PT, DPT shares a few simple exercises to help relieve back pain.

Check it out here: https://pro-activehealth.com/back-pain-try-this-first/

We're excited to welcome a new team member here at ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness to provide Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Treatment!

Katelyn Thrift, DPT attended Georgia Southern University where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology/Exercise science in 2015. She then attended the physical therapy assistant program at Athens Technical College and worked as a PTA for three years before deciding to return to school to receive her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from South College – Knoxville in 2022.

During this program, she had the opportunity to complete a specialty rotation involving orthopedic and pelvic floor conditions where she discovered her passion for treating patients, both men and women, with pelvic floor dysfunction.

She has experience treating both orthopedic and pelvic floor conditions and has had the wonderful opportunity to be mentored under a certified Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner for over a year.

She is passionate about creating one on one relationships with her patients, helping individuals reach their goals through movement and function.

To learn more about our Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Program, check it out here: https://pro-activehealth.com/pelvic-floor-physical-therapy/