Back On Track Physical Therapy

Back On Track Physical Therapy is seeking part-time to full-time Physical Therapists and/or Physical Therapy Assistants to join our team in VT. Back On Track Physical Therapy is a privately owned outpatient orthopedic clinic. Our patient population consists of motivated orthopedic patients who are eager to get back to activities. We use a combination of manual therapy, dry needling, Graston, cupping, and other modalities along with corrective exercise to achieve maximum potential. We offer a flexible schedule, competitive wages and benefits.

𝘙𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴:
𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Graduate of an accredited physical therapy or physical therapy assistant program
𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲: VT PT / PTA License
𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: New Grads and experienced PT’s welcome

A new BJSM review from November 2023 correlated faster walking speeds with significantly less risk of diabetes.

This systematic review concluded that walking at a speed between 2.5-5mph (or 4-8km/h) was associated with a 39% decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

It might be time to lace up your walking shoes and hit the pavement, trail, or treadmill and get those faster steps in to keep you healthy!

A 2023 review in the BJSM looked at identifying the best exercise prescription for depression and anxiety.

The study determined short duration high intensity resistance strengthening was the best mode of physical activity for depression.

With anxiety, yoga and other mind-body activity was found to be the most beneficial.

Regardless, this review also showed that all modes of physical activity (aerobic, resistance, yoga, etc) have been correlated with less depression and anxiety symptoms.

As we continue to head into the cold winter months, make sure you are still making time for physical activity especially with higher occurrences of seasonal affective disorder.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.

Hypertension is also a risk factor that we can have control over managing WITHOUT pharmaceuticals.

🔍 Research has conclusively shown for years that exercise has major cardiovascular benefits including decreased mortality.

🔍 Up until now research has primarily shown aerobic exercise to be the recommended approach for managing resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

‼️🔍A 2023 meta-analysis by Edwards et al now shows isometric exercise training as the most beneficial form of exercise to help lower both systolic and diastolic BP. Specifically isometric wall squats. This is followed by aerobic training, specifically running.

✨ In general this meta-analysis did conclude that all forms of exercise including aerobic exercise, dynamic strengthening, combined training, HIIT, and isometric exercise training are all effective at lowering resting blood pressure.

✨ If you have high blood pressure or even normal blood pressure, consider trying exercise as the first line of defense to lower your resting BP and decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Happy Halloween and Taco Tuesday from Back on Track! 🎃🌮

Have you been told based on your MRI that you have:
❌ Disc Bulges
❌Degenerative Disc Disease
❌Degenerative Joint Disease

Have you also been told that you will have
📌Pain
📌Stiffness
📌Limited mobility
BECAUSE of these findings?

While changes in the spine can contribute to increased pain and decreased function, there are things you can do about them!

🤯 You are not destined for a lifetime of pain because your MRI isn’t “normal.”

The research doesn’t lie. Many people have spine findings on imaging because these findings are associated with normal age related changes. But many people also live without any symptoms limiting them. You can too!

Do you suffer from migraines? Headache disorders are the third leading cause of disability in adults and effect up to 46% of the world’s population at any given time.

Many times people are prescribed medications including a newer class of drugs, Calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRPs), to help prevent the occurrence of migraines, however because these medications are less than 10 years old, little research has been done to know the long term ramifications of prolonged CGRP use.

Our goal as physical therapists is to assess your headache symptoms and determine whether there is a neuromuscular issue that is helping to contribute to your symptoms (many times there are—just look at the referral patterns above for different muscles in your head and neck!)

Functional dry needling (FDN) is a treatment technique that uses acupuncture needles to address muscle trigger points and help reset the neuromuscular system. FDN has shown to be effective at decreasing headache frequency and tenderness in muscle trigger points and increasing neck range of motion and overall quality of life.

Consider trying physical therapy to help with your migraine symptoms with the goal of getting off your migraine medication!

Vivify will be at Back on Track again on Monday 9/11/2023 for IV hydration appointments. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, please call our office to schedule!

We are excited to announce we will be partnering with Vivify Vermont! They will be running IV hydration appointments out of our office on the following dates in August:
Wednesday August 8/23
Monday August 8/28

Please call our office to schedule your appointment.

**Visit their website below to see the different IV hydration cocktails they offer so they can plan accordingly and to see what the cost of your appointment will be**

https://www.vivifyvt.com

When you put on your shoes do you feel like your toes are crammed in or do you feel like they have room to spread out?

If your toes fit like the shoe on the left, you are forcing your feet into positions that aren’t natural and are more likely to develop conditions like bunions.

Consider getting shoes that encourage the natural position of your foot to give your toes room to breathe!

It takes 4-6 weeks to begin building strength in your muscles. Do not get discouraged when you don’t see immediate results!

When you look down at your feet are they pointed forward or do they point outward?

If they point outward, you have a deviation in your posture known commonly as “duck feet.” 🦆 Most of the time this postural change is acquired in life due to injury/pain, weakness, or poor posture and positioning.

Why is this an issue? If you have patterned this way for a long time you are putting undo stress on your hip, knee, and ankle joints, and you may develop pain in one or multiple of these joints. Toeing out results in decreased shock absorption, decreased ankle and knee stability, and decreased glute activation among other things.

The good news is you can correct this postural adaptation with strengthening certain muscle groups to retrain your muscles to hold you in a better position. Consider working on your duck feet to prevent pain and injury!

Guide | Physical Therapy Guide to Walking Problems (Gait Dysfunctions) Changes in your normal walking pattern often are related to a disease or problem in another area of the body. This guide describes how treatment by a physical therapist can help you restore a healthy gait (walking).

💦This is your reminder to drink water! After a summer holiday yesterday, increased humidity, and hot temperatures, make sure you are staying hydrated! Remember your goal is to consume half your body weight in ounces of water!

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is:
*Left lung has 2 lobes
- Upper lobe
- Lower lobe
*Right lung has 3 lobes
- Upper lobe
- MIDDLE lobe
- Lower lobe

The lungs are just a good example of how we all have asymmetries in the body! These anatomical asymmetries may contribute to preferred movement patterns or everyday posture.

Stop what you're doing and notice what position you're in. Are you sitting, standing, lying? Does your body seem symmetrical from left to right? Is 1 leg crossed over the other? Is 1 arm further away from your body? How is your neck positioned?

We want the body to assume many positions, but when we get stuck in 1 position that can lead to muscle imbalances and may eventually present as pain. If you notice yourself always in 1 position or favoring 1 side of your body, take that as a reminder to start switching it up!

Stay tuned for the correct answer later this week!

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is 27 bones in each hand!

We've got:
- 8 carpal (wrist bones)
- 5 metacarpals (hand)
- 5 proximal phalanges (fingers and thumb)
- 4 middle phalanges (fingers)
- 5 distal phalanges (fingers and thumb)

Joints are made up of connections of bones and are held together by ligaments and require muscles for movement. All to say, the hand is complex and has a lot going on in there. Just like all our other joints in the body, movement helps to maintain good function. Try to move your fingers up/down and side to side. Notice what directions feel more natural and what creates more a stretch sensation (where you might be tight).

For a quick range of motion exercise simply curl your fingers tight into a fist and then let your fingers extend long. Repeat x10.

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is the ACL.

The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is a ligament in the center of the knee that prevents the shin bone (tibia) from moving forward on the thigh bone (femur) (i.e. hyperextension of the knee). It also helps to limit excessive rotation of the knee. ACL injury is common in sports involving cutting, twisting and jumping (soccer, basketball etc) and occurs in ~ 1/3000 people.

In order to keep our knees safe and avoid ACL tears and repairs, it is important to maintain strong hip and knee muscles. Ligaments are passive structures designed to limit range of motion at a joint. Muscles are active structures that can control movement and therefore aid in limiting excess range of motion. The good news is we can always improve muscle strength and there's never a bad time to start.

If you're concerned about your knee health, a PT assessment can identify what muscles need strengthening.

Stay tuned for the correct answer later
this week!

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is that digestion begins in the MOUTH.

There are two main functions of digestion that occur in the mouth:

MECHANICAL DIGESTION - Chewing food not only helps it go down easier, but also helps ease the digestive process once it is in the stomach. Try chewing your food at least 5-10x before swallowing to ensure good mechanical digestion.

ENZYMATIC DIGESTION - Enzymes in our saliva start to break down the food immediately. Saliva also helps to moisten the food which makes it easier to swallow.

So before you wolf down your lunch, think about chewing slowly to allow both of these important digestive mechanisms to occur!

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is SITTING (especially with poor posture)!

Prolonged sitting is a frequent cause of low back pain. Whether you spend a lot of time sitting at the computer or on the couch, driving or texting on your phone, we could all benefit from sitting less. Research continues to show that prolonged sitting puts increased load and pressure to the spine, even more than standing and moving.

So what do we do to counteract the negative effects of sitting and decrease risk of low back pain? It's simple - get up and move! Taking frequent movement breaks every ~30 minutes is the best way to decrease load to the spine.

Thorne can help fill the gaps in your health with individualized testing, educational resources and products to support your health goals!

Check out their offerings for strength and recovery for athletes, gut health, women’s health and more. Because we love these products so much we got our patients and community 20% off all orders - just use our link!

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is pregnancy and postpartum! While this post focuses on the postpartum experience, DRA can can affect any body and physical therapy can help.

Diastasis Rectis Abdominis (DRA) is the separation of the diastasis recti muscles (6 pack muscles). During pregnancy this occurs as the belly grows to accommodate the baby, the abdominal muscles become more lax, and the linea alba widens. Sometimes in the early postpartum period the abdominal muscles naturally return to their pre-pregnancy state, but this doesn't always happen and results in a continuation of this abdominal separation.

While some folks don't like how this looks, the bigger issue we see and hear from our postpartum patients is a decrease in abdominal strength, which limits them from returning fully to daily activities and exercise, and can make carrying their infant a challenge.

You are postpartum if you've ever carried and delivered a baby, whether it was 6 weeks ago or 16 years ago. If you're concerned about abdominal separation and continue to feel weakness in your core, reach out to get evaluated for DRA and learn how to address it!

We are excited to share that Back on Track Physical Therapy is partnering with Thorne! As physical therapists we know nutrition is a huge part of the recovery and healing processes and so often people are not able to meet their nutritional needs on diet alone. Thorne can fill this gap!

Thorne is a leader in optimizing health through individualized testing, educational resources and products to support specific health goals and needs at every age and stage of life. From daily vitamins, protein powder, and supplements to improve gut health, Thorne offerings can help aide in your health and rehab goals.

Save 20% on all orders by shopping through the Back on Track link below!

Back On Track Physical Therapy - Dispensary | Thorne

The correct answer to Tuesday’s trivia is the psoas muscle!

The psoas muscle has 2 important jobs. It connects the upper and lower halves of the body, AND the front and back of the body.

Frequently the psoas muscle gets tight, leading to restrictions in movement and low back pain. Our bodies are smart and will try to compensate for these restrictions by altering posture and movement patterns. Over time this can lead to chronic low back pain, poor posture, pelvic asymmetries, and weakness in the legs.

We want to make sure our psoas stays happy and in good alignment. If you have low back pain that you haven't been able to kick, the psoas may be the culprit!