BenchMark Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is a medical, hands-on approach to relieving pain and restoring function. So, what can you expect at a physical therapy visit? It's pretty simple. So simple, we've broken it down into four sections. #PTMonth #ChoosePT #UpstreamFamily

Help us prevent devastating, proposed Medicare cuts that reduce patient access to outpatient physical and occupational therapy! You can start by sending a letter to your lawmakers in Congress asking them to oppose Medicare cuts to specialty providers. To #FightTheCut, visit https://bit.ly/3iZie3S and select the option Contact Congress Today and Raise Your Voice Against Medicare Cuts.:

We love to hear our patients’ success stories. How has your life improved through your experience with us? Are you moving better and feeling better? Do you have a therapist you want to applaud? Share your experience with us, and we might include your story in one of our upcoming emails or social media posts. https://bit.ly/3uhLypR

Physical therapy wound care is for patients who have open wounds as a result of pressure, vascular insufficiency, trauma, surgery, or diabetes. One of our therapists, Emily Myers, DPT, answers the common questions regarding wound care and physical therapy. #PTMonth #ChoosePT #UpstreamFamily #AskATherapist

Because of your votes, BenchMark PT won the Best of 2021 in the Physical Therapy Center Category! We are grateful to our customers and community and appreciate Best Self Atlanta Magazine for this honor.

"Sports have been part of my life since I was a young girl. I played baseball/softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and even a year of flag football. When I reached high school, I knew I wanted to do something that involved sports for my career. Throughout my time in athletics, I experienced no serious injuries until my senior basketball season when I tore a ligament in my knee. When this happened, I thought I was going to miss out on my senior softball season, my favorit...e sport I played and one that I aspired playing at the collegiate level. Carley Casado was my Athletic Trainer at the time and was the main person that supported me throughout my recovery and helped me return to softball and have a record-breaking season, which led to me being able to play at Penn State Altoona. After going through this experience, it made me realize that I wanted to be on the other end of this situation. I wanted to be the one that would help athletes to recover from injuries and return to playing the sport they love. There are so many aspects I love about being an Athletic Trainer. However, my ultimate favorite part is the relationships that I develop with the athletes. I get to be one of their biggest cheerleaders and be with them through all the successes and failures. I am the first person they see when they get injured, and the last person they see before they return to the sport they love. This process allows me to create important relationships and help shape them into not only a better athlete, but hopefully a better person overall. I hope to always have a positive influence on all my athletes’ lives in whatever way I can, whether that’s being an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, or someone to be their biggest advocate. The best part about this is that they also have a big impact on me as well, both as a clinician and as a person. They help me to grow every day as well!" ~Ashley Struble, ATC Happy National Athletic Training Month! We are celebrating by taking a time out with some of our athletic trainers to find out what athletic training means to them. Our athletic trainers and clinical staff work closely together and are committed to providing superior sports medicine services. #NATM2021 #UpstreamFamily

Tomorrow is the first day of spring - are you ready for some spring cleaning? 30 minutes of housework is considered moderate exercise. Who knew that getting your home into shape could get you into better shape, too? Now that the winter hibernation is over and it’s time for our spring cleaning, let’s take a look at how your household chores can improve your fitness.... https://bit.ly/3bZaDiG

Our clinic in Lake Oconee - Greensboro GA will be opening soon! The clinic is located at 6183 Lake Oconee Parkway and can be reached at 762-445-1940. For more information and to request an appointment, visit: https://benchmark.urpt.com/locations/lake-oconee/

Our clinic in Berwick - Savannah GA will be opening soon! The clinic is located at 5710 Ogeechee Road Suite 440 and can be reached at 912-777-3378. For more information and to request an appointment, visit: https://benchmark.urpt.com/locations/berwick/

Feel the benefits of physical therapy: 1. Stress Relief When you remove the stress of being unhealthy from your mind and body, you lower your cortisol levels. High cortisol levels have been linked to atherosclerosis, reduced cognitive functioning, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. 2. A Better Understanding of Your Condition Through physical therapy, you can learn more about your condition. 3. A Stronger Core Physical therapy focuses on core stability and strengthening to restore pelvis and back muscle health (whole body support).

This #wearitwednesday is a pretty special one and dedicated to one of our own - Georgia Account Manager, Amanda Hayhurst, and her son, Reese. On December 2nd Amanda’s family received earth shattering news that every parent prays they never hear. Their precious, lively, and loving 2-year old son was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Reese has been battling the leukemia ever since. You can follow his journey on Facebook under Rooting for Reese. This past #wearitwednesday was dedicated to him as Amanda’s fellow account managers, along with some clinics, choose to not only draw awareness to leukemia, but also rally around their teammate and friend in an effort send love for Amanda’s precious son, Reese. #UpstreamFamily #RootforReese #leukemiaawareness

Our clinic at McFarland Parkway in Alpharetta will be opening this month! The clinic is located at 1620 Oak Farm Drive, Suite 300 and can be reached at 470-385-6555. For a full list of services or to request an appointment, please visit https://benchmark.urpt.com/lo/alpharetta-mcfarland-parkway/

Is prehab right for you? Prehabilitation, or prehab is a compelling strategy to intervene on modifiable risk factors that influence post-operative outcomes for those facing cancer treatments. In fact, prehab before chemotherapy, surgery or radiation can improve fitness in as little as 2 weeks and can decrease the length of a hospital stay by 2 days. When taking part in a prehabilitation, supervised exercise program before mastectomy and/or breast reconstruction, you may reduce the risk of postoperative pain and other complications. Prehab can also improve both physical and mental health prior to undergoing cancer treatment.

Meet Eli: One of our patients who is a living example of determination, perseverance and courage. Learn more about his recovery from a traumatic brain injury and becoming "Stronger Every Day." Be inspired. Be UPLIFTED. #MotivationMonday

We are grateful for our associates that strive to make a difference in their communities. Each week we will be featuring some of the ways that we are giving back in our #SaturdayStories. Harvesters - The Community Food Network and local Kansas City affiliate of Feeding America, provides food and related household products to more than 760 nonprofit agencies including emergency food pantries, community kitchens, homeless shelters, children’s homes and others. They also offer ...education programs to increase community awareness of hunger and teach about good nutrition. Through Harvesters Stamp Out Hunger campaign, our associate Ms. DeeDee Naumann and her daughter, provided 50 volunteer hours preparing 7000 plastic grocery bags and envelopes to aid in a food drive for Harvesters. To support her volunteer efforts Pillars sent relief to Harvesters in the form of a grant in the amount of $2,500 to help stamp out hunger, which falls in line with our overall efforts this year to fight for food security for families and neighbors in our communities. #PillarsDailyBread

Our Top 8 Reasons to use Telehealth Physical Therapy: 1. Provides an option for patients looking to take extra precautions during this time of time of change and uncertainty. 2. Allows patients to participate in their physical therapy treatment from the comfort of ... their own home. 3. Can be used to complement your in-clinic treatment plan. 4. Quick access to care with no office wait. 5. Diagnosis, consultation, education and care management of their current condition. 6. Minimizes requirement to travel to a physical therapy clinic. 7. Telehealth PT also allows patients who live in a rural or far-away location to get quality care right at home. 8. Gives patients greater freedom to schedule appointments that meet their own specific schedules. #FeatureFriday #Telehealth See more

Our clinics are CLEAN. Our highly trained staff practices industry-exceeding techniques to ensure our facilities, linens and equipment are disinfected and handled properly each day. We follow all CDC guidelines for hand-hygiene, provide thorough sanitation between patient sessions and ensure access to hand sanitizer stations for all. Each clinic will always continue to adhere to additional safety measures and procedures as required by individual state guidelines. To read more about our the steps we are taking and our FAQ for protocols in place, please visit https://benchmark.urpt.com/coronavirus-update-clean-safe-r/

An estimated 23 percent of American adults suffer from arthritis, making it a leading cause of work pain and disability. But there is good news! You can take action to treat this disease and get back to doing the activities you love in your daily life. Though it seems counterintuitive, studies have shown that one of the best treatments for osteoarthritis is exercise. Read on for some evidence-based reasons why exercise is so important: https://benchmark.urpt.com//benefits-of-exercise-for-oste/

Is prehab right for you? When considering orthopedic surgery, prehabilitation, or prehab, prior to joint replacement prepares the body for extensive surgery and can assist in decreasing recovery times. In fact, with 4 weeks of prehab, postoperative functional exercise capacity increases significantly and individuals with better physical fitness prior to surgery have been shown to have better postoperative outcomes.

Invest in yourself - not only during your physical therapy visit, but at home. One of the biggest components of success in physical therapy is the home exercise program, or HEP. One could say the HEP is up to fifty percent of the reason you will achieve better outcomes; considering the average physical therapy visit ranges from 45-60 minutes, which may not be enough time to make the drastic change you need. The home exercise program will most likely be prescribed on the firs...t day and be geared toward your goals and the treatment that made you feel and/or move better. For example, if the radiating symptoms from your low back lessened after treatment on your back, your therapist will send you home with an activity to reinforce that movement on day one. Make sure your therapist teaches you the exercise and provides instructions on a take-home piece of paper that also includes frequency, duration, and number of sets and reps so you know what is expected of you. Staying motivated and adhering to your HEP can be difficult, but it likely will speed your pain relief or return to function. #MotivationMonday

Tell congress that you oppose Medicare cuts to speciality providers. We believe everyone deserves access to physical therapy! Click here to #FightTheCut www.urpt.com/FightTheCut

Our last #PTMonth #SaturdaySpotlight is on Kurtisha Norris, PT, DPT, CSCS. Kurtisha choose the physical therapy profession after observing a physical therapist working in a BenchMark clinic. She quickly fell in love with the profession throughout that experience and was fascinated by the power of the various treatment options to help patients reach their goals. She remembers how fun the environment was and how it made her excited to come back each day. Kurtisha learned that h...er passion for movement and the importance of integrating it into daily life was aligned with the goal of physical therapy. The opportunity to commit to sharing this and improving the quality of peoples' lives was one that she could not pass up. Kurtisha says her favorite part of the job is celebrating with her patients after they reach each and every goal. She loves to see the surprised looks on their faces and hearing the words "I didn't think I would ever be able to do that again."

We need your help! Voting for the Best of 2020 with Best Self Atlanta Magazine ends on November 2nd. We would love for you to cast your vote for BenchMark in the category of "Best Physical Therapy Center!"

This year, Upstream’s Pillars with Purpose is fighting for food security across the nation and has hosted a fund and food drive. Some of the numbers are already in: 8,351 pounds of food and 18K in donations...and we aren't done yet. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we gather data to report the final numbers. While the food drive may have ended, you can still join the fight with a monetary donation, visit https://pillarswithpurpose.org/fight-for-food-security/. #PillarsDailyBread