October is National Physical Therapy Month

“Treating the body to prevent injury is as important as treating the body due to injury.”

October is Physical Therapy month and I wanted to share with all of you what Physical Therapy is and what I personally treat as a physical therapist.  

 As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I love working with all kinds of patients.  I have experience with pediatrics all the way to college and professional athletes. Currently I am treating out of the beautiful ESO Live Well Space in Newport Beach California, located rite across the street from the beach <3 In the space I provide Manual Orthopedic Care, Yoga, and Pilates based Therapeautic Exercise. Programs are custom designed with each individual patients personal history taken into account.  Current Diet and nutrition are also discussed to get to the root cause of what’s going on inside the body.(** Read my last post on “What is Holistic Nutrition” to learn more)

 Physical Therapy is a healing practice that includes postural awareness, soft tissue and joint mobilization, breath work, functional mechanics, visceral mobility, and therapeutic exercise. My main work as a physical therapist is to assess each individual’s human anatomy and analyze function.  Listening to each patient’s individual story gives me insight into what is truly going on and how we can work to fix it.  Finding the true root of the problem is key for long lasting results.  

 All shapes, all sizes, and all ages can benefit from Physical Therapy. Some of the goals patients can work on include improvements in activity performance, balance, fall prevention, post-pardum rehabilitation, weight-loss management and more.    Aside from current and past aches and pains Physical Therapy can help everyone in all walks of their life.  Prevention is key and maintaining health for long-term use is vital. 

Below are a few of the patients I am currently treating at the ESO Live Well Space.  They all work so hard and I am honored to be apart of their journeys.  Each one of them have dedicated time in their lives to better their health. 

Lauren Heald

Lauren has been with me for almost a year now and we work weekly on postural control, abdominal bracing, balance, Upper and Lower Quadrant strength, and functional skills.  Lauren is an athlete and participates in dance, swim, horseback ridding, yoga, and spin. She is a true Rockstar and my day is brightened knowing I get to treat her. 

Andrew Stellar

Andrew first came to Physical Therapy for manual care due to a herniated disc in his lumbar spine.  Andrew is a seasoned surfer with goals of traveling for waves and being active with his family. Andrew is a true athlete who is focused and works hard to achieve goals.  His favorite piece of equipment is the Balanced Body Core Align because he says it helps his duck dives on big swell.  

Rocco Azzarito

I have had the privlage of treating Rocco since he was only a few months old.  Rocco was born with a right-sided brain bleed at birth resulting in mild Cerebral Palsy. Rocco presents with spasticity in his Left upper and lower quadrant.  He is a true gentleman and at age 4 is such a hard worker.   Rocco and I use Yoga, Pilates, manual care and other functional exercises during our sessions.  Our goals are to improve range of motion, balance, strength, and efficiency in functional activities.  Our sessions are the best, especially when they are at the park on the beach! 

Carl and Linda Schiefer

Carl and Linda sought out my care to help with nutritional needs and overall physical health.  Carl has Parkinson’s Disease and Linda was dealing with a suppressed immune system.  We revamped their diet with simple and sustainable changes.  We cooked, went grocery shopping, and even made gluten free vegan Oatmeal Rasine cookies for Carl.  Physical Therapy focused on overall strength, balance, soft tissue mobility, fall prevention and functional tasks.  Their attitude on health has changed and they both work daily to better their lives.  

 Kim 

Kim is another dedicated athlete that has worked hard to maintain her movement health, which includes flying, sailing, race car driving, and more. Kim originally came to me to find a program that would keep her from straining her neck. Through our sessions we were able to find what we needed to strengthen and what we needed to correct with alignment, engagement and breathe.  We were able to find a program that was tough but also smart!  She is a super hard worker and I love our sessions. 

 The body is intricate and complex and paying attention to the messages we receive allows us to age with steadiness and ease. Everyone deserves to experience a body that works and functions for life, work, recreation, and performance. Body work through physical therapy is a continued practice of preservation.

Come visit me at the ESO space on October 13th from 10:30 to 12pm to go over Self-Care with Yoga Tune up Balls and Simple Core Stability Exercises. First 10 people to sign up on ESO Mind Body Online will get a free set of yoga tune-up balls. Sets of tune-up balls will be available for purchase at the workshop. Come visit me and ask questions about physical therapy and overall health!

Yin/ Restorative Legs up the wall Series

This is a simple restorative or yin series for legs up the wall that will help promote relaxation, decompression and opening in the legs, hips and chest.  Getting your legs up the wall is a great way to re-energize when feeling tired or to meditate and find steadiness. 

Start:

 Find a quite place in your home where you can lay with your legs up the wall.  Place a blanket or mat on the floor and have another blanket for under your head and possibly to lay across your chest for some pressure and warmth. 

To get your legs up the wall the easiest sit on the floor with your Right hip against the wall.  As you start to lay down, cartwheel your legs up the wall trying to keep your butt as close to the wall as possible.

 Simple Legs:

For the first 5-6 minutes start with both legs up the wall with a little space between your heels.  Place your arms down with the palms up on the floor and find a neutral position in your back.  As soon as you find a comfortable position that you can keep without moving too much start to focus on your breathing.  Simple inhales and exhales out of the nose while trying to stay gentle and soft in the body

Wide-Leg’s up the Wall:

Keeping your back soft against the floor start to separate the heels from one another until you feel a comfortable and tolerable stretch in the adductors or inner groin area.  If your back starts to peel from the floor try and bring the heels closer to one another and maintain a neutral position in the low back area.  As your ease into this pose you can challenge yourself and see if you can separate your heels without letting your back lift from the floor.  Once you find a position where you know you can stay still start to bring your focus back to your breathing.  Lay in this position for up to 4 minutes.

Frog Pose up the Wall:

Transition from a wide leg position into Frog Pose up the wall by drawing the soles of the fee together.  The lower your drop your heels towards the floor the deeper the stretch you get, but if you feel your low back peeling from the floor lift the heels a little higher until you can keep a soft back position. For some added depth in this pose you can lightly press your knees towards the wall with your hands.  Lay in this position for up to 4 minutes. 

Piriformis Stretch up the Wall.

Transition from Frog up the Wall to Piriformis stretch by lengthening the legs back up the wall.  Start first by placing the Right ankle across your Left thigh.  You should start to feel a stretch around the outside of the Right hip.  You can add some depth here by placing your Right hand on your Right knee and lightly pressing the knee towards the wall.  For an even deeper stretch you can stat to bend the Left knee and placing the Left foot on the wall.  The lower you drop your Left foot down the wall the deeper the stretch you will get, but stay mindful of the low back.  Stay in this position for up to 3 minutes and repeat on each side.

End:

End your session with legs going back up the wall again and lay there for about 3-5 minutes for a Savasana.  Bring both legs into the chest and roll to the Right or Left side and lay there for a minute before getting up into a seated position. 

Namaste…..

Lower Extremity Stretches

Hip Flexor Stretch

·Start with your L foot forward and right foot back with the Right knee grounded (Use a towel or blanket under the grounded knee to protect the patella) 

·With both hands on your hips slightly tuck the Left hip under for good alignment of the pelvis

·Here you are stretching your Right Hip Flexor so lean your Right hip forward while keeping the belly engaged and shoulders on top of the hips

·For added mobility lift the Right arm in the air and lean forward, as well as bring the Right arm out into a T and perform a slight rotation

· Hold each position for 60 seconds and perform on each side

Hamstring Stretch

·Lay on your back with both knees bent and feet flat on the floor.  Allow your low back to lightly press down, slight chin tuck (place blanket or pillow under head if chin is jetting up towards ceiling)

· Place Left foot in strap with both hands and each side of strap and start to straighten back of knee forward while pointing toes towards your face

· Adding ankle pump and letting the leg come out to the R and L side will allow for some added mobility in the lower extremity. 

·Hold each position for 60 seconds and perform on each side

 

Piriformis Stretch

·Lay on back with knees bent and both feet on the floor.  Low back lightly pressing into the floor with neck neutral and chin slightly in ( use blanket or pillow under head if this is hard to achieve)

·Place your Right ankle over your Left knee with the Right toes flexed up towards the Right shin.  Start to press the R knee away from you and hold for 20 seconds

·Slowly grab for the Left shin with both hands while keeping your back and head on floor. 

·Hold for 60 seconds and repeat on both sides

Adductor/Inner-Groin Stretch

· Lay on back with blanket or pillow under the head for support.  Start with both knees bent and the feet flat on the floor.  

·Start to separate the knees from one another until you feel a stretch in the inner thighs.  If the low back peels off the ground you went too far with stretching the knees apart.  Place blankets under knees for support.  

· Hold this position for up to 5 minutes. Arms can be by the sides or overhead.  

Toe Stretch

·Kneel on floor with both knees supported by a blanket or towel

· Tuck toes under and hold position for 20-30 seconds and perform 2 times each

·Add upper extremity arm movements like “Eagle Arms” for added mobility into the shoulders.