Drayer Physical Therapy Institute

It’s the season of New Year’s resolutions! Statistics suggest that fewer than 50 percent of resolutions survive for more than four months. Most common on the list is weight loss. You can be the author of a happy, healthy new year by taking charge of your fitness goals. Here are six keys to success: ... - Have a plan: A goal without a plan is only wishful thinking. If you don’t have a roadmap, how do you get to your destination? - Keep it simple: You don’t need the fancy gadgets and exercise machines advertised on TV. - Set realistic goals: Shedding 10 pounds in 10 days is not reality and will not stick. A better goal would be to lose 3 to 5 percent of body weight over the course of the year. - Find a partner: Whether a spouse, friend or colleague, a partner will help you through those difficult (lazy) times when you don’t feel up to working out. - Log your workouts and diet: Keep track of how much you've accomplished to hold yourself accountable. - Have a positive attitude: Along the fitness road you will have peaks and valleys and many turns. Just like in life, nothing comes easy, but reaching your goals is rewarding once you go through the right process. The greatest obstacle to success occurs inside of us, not outside.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT ACT NOW TO STOP MEDICARE CUTS Congress must act immediately to stop drastic Medicare cuts from effect on January 1st. These regulations, proposed by unelected government regulators, would cut some Medicare services by up to 10% - limiting access to needed care for seniors during a health crisis. There is pending legislation in both the U.S. Senate (S. 5007) and U.S. House (H.R. 8702) that would stop these Medicare cuts.... Your help is needed - contact your Senator and Member of Congress today. Ask them to support and pass S. 5007 and H.R. 8702 before the adjourn for the year. Time is running out text APTA to 52886 or visit our take action page. It takes just a few minutes to protect seniors from these unnecessary Medicare cuts. Don’t wait take action right now! #FightTheCut https://bit.ly/34iYwsR

Chronic pain is defined as pain that is present for more than 6 months and extends beyond the expected healing time of an injury. It can be the result of a previous injury like a muscle strain or an ongoing process like arthritis, but can sometimes occur without a known reason. Growing research supports that the underlying cause of these symptoms are due to central sensitization (increased sensitivity of the central nervous system). Did you know physical therapy can help? ... Physical therapy is recommended as a first line treatment for chronic pain by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in their urge to reduce the use of opioids in favor of safer alternatives for chronic pain. The benefits of physical therapy include decreased pain, improved mobility, and increased independence as well as reduced risk of other health problems.

For all the risks you might associate with decades as a firefighter, it was a seemingly innocuous incident at shift change in his Arlington, Va., fire house that put Ralph Parsons’ career in jeopardy. Two days after Christmas in 2016, Parsons was performing his normal morning checks. As he attempted to climb into a parked fire truck, his foot missed a step. He caught himself by grabbing a hand rail. He immediately felt pain but dismissed it as just a pulled muscle. Returning... from a call that came in right after his accident, Parsons was hurting so badly that he couldn’t get his coat off without assistance. He rolled up his shirt sleeve to discover that his arm from the elbow up was no bigger than his wrist. Learn more about Ralph’s #UpliftedLives journey and how with the help of physical therapy he was about to return to the career he loves.

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://drayer.urpt.com/coronavirus-update-clean-safe-ready/

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://drayer.urpt.com//benefits-of-exercise-for-osteoar/

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

We Did it! Thank you so much for all of your help in raising awareness for breast cancer research and donating to an awesome cause!! As promised....pie to the face....Worth every second!! # BeatCancer #DrayerPT #PieDay

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 Alyssa Hughes. Alyssa chose to become a physical therapist because she always had an interest in healthcare and the the physical therapy career path was appealing to her. She enjoys building relationships and spending time with her patients. The best part of her job is being a part of each patient's recovery from start to finish. She specifically enjoys working in an outpatient physical therapy setting because of the variety of patient populations that she gets to work with on a daily basis.

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

Outpatient therapy can play a vital role in helping the adult population continue to lead an active, healthy lifestyle. By providing services such as orthopedic rehabilitation, wellness programs, pre-habilitation, fall prevention, and pelvic health services, our trained clinicians can help improve independence, strength/conditioning, balance, and overall general well-being. Proposed Medicare cuts could limit your access to these very programs and services that keep you active and healthy. Help us #FightTheCut by visiting urpt.com/FightTheCut

Happening now! We continue to fight for food security in our communities! This 5k was to benefit the Earl Besch Fund, which gives food to families in a local school district. So proud of these kids for running hard, understanding why awareness of the issue is important and for the teachers and district for supporting this great effort! #PillarsDailyBread

Last day of #PTMonth #SaturdaySpotlights and we're sad to see it come to an end. We've got a few more coming at you today to finish off the month strong, starting with Marisol Clark, PT, DPT. Marisol says she grew up with a family that was all about empathy and compassion. She knew she wanted to do something that was in the "helping others" field but was unsure of what that was. After taking a career test and job shadow opportunity, she knew she had found her calling with ph...ysical therapy. She worked as a PT Technician while working her way into PT school and fell in love with the field even more. "The best part of being a physical therapist is the sincere impact I can have emotionally, physically and mentally on a person through the rehabilitation process. I feel as though the more I give the more I get, and that fills my cup up half full and keeps me going. It is a feeling of home and hope that makes physical therapy way more than just a job," she says.

It’s a wrap! There is nothing more fitting than closing out #PTMonth with those that make a difference every single day: Our physical therapists. All are committed to helping our patients achieve their physical goals and improve the quality of their lives. Thank you!