Welcome to the

SPC Archives

Find related articles and learn more about our process at SPC.

Search

Tag: pain management

Physical Therapy Exercises

At Smith Performance Center, physical therapy exercises are used to maximize healing, build resiliency, reduce pain, and correct abnormal motor patterns. We do not use an endless array of exercises that would take an hour or two every day.  We understand more than one to two exercises mean compliance, and performance plummets. Our team wanted to put up common exercises we use to help you remember the form.  We have it broken up by body part and there is some cross-over, so you may see the same exercise in a few different categories. Let us know if you have any questions. Spine Chin Tuck Exercise   Isometric Activation Exercise   Self Massage for the Upper Trap   Self Massage for Posterior Shoulder   Suitcase Carry   Upper Extremity T Exercise   Y Prone Exercise   Serratus Plank   Lower Extremity Clamshell Exercise   Posterior Tibialis Exercise    

Read More »
Smith Performance Center Tucson

Knee Pain Meniscus Degeneration and Clinical Experience

  How do you manage knee pain with a meniscus tear?   Meniscectomy, sham surgery, and clinical experience avoiding surgery for pain and function Clinical practice is filled with successes and failures. For some reason, the failures are the thing you remember most and for me, lead to the biggest changes in practice.  The patient that never feels better will never quite leave your mind even when you go home from work.  Knee pain and Meniscus Tear – Round 1 Since my main interest has always been the lower extremity, specifically the foot, ankle, and knee pathomechanics and pathology, I wanted to be the best at rehabbing these injuries right off the bat. My failure with a patient suffering from chronic knee pain led me to the literature surrounding meniscal surgery. The patient reported sharp pain with occasionally catching in the knee joint. The joint had mild joint effusion and

Read More »
Trigger Management Plan in Physical Therapy

Trigger Management: Why physical therapy exercises are not enough to get you better?

What is a Trigger? We use the term trigger as a catch-all term for the activities and movements during the day that makes symptoms worse.  Trigger investigation is critical because they are the bane of feeling better. ​ The term, trigger, is an event that causes something else to happen.   You trigger the headache when you look over your shoulder. You trigger back pain when you move from sitting to standing. You trigger the shoulder pain when you reach for the shelf.   Sounds simple?  Unfortunately, determining all of the triggers to your symptoms is as difficult as it is important.   We obsess about triggers and draw boxes and lines going all over! Why do we obsess on trigger management instead of building a huge list of physical therapy exercises? Imagine this scenario.  I am hitting a nail into the wall. Instead of hitting the nail, I manage

Read More »