[re+think]

So you want to get a better night's rest? Stress Free Mattress Shopping by Chelsey Brown, SPT USC DPT Class of 2017 image source:  http://sleepdelivered.com/best-mattress-for-back-pain-buy-online/ "I am not sleeping well; maybe it’s my position, my mattress or even my pillow?  I want something healthy for my back but I am overwhelmed by the information."   Does this sound like you? Then you have come to the right place. We are going to spend the next few paragraphs outlining 1) why a good mattress is needed, 2) the levels of firmness and 3) the pros and cons of different mattress types to equip you for a more informed mattress-shopping extravaganza. Why a good mattress? : Let’s first think about the benefits of having a good mattress.  They can be expensive but they are also a crucial foundation to facilitate your sleep and restfulness.  As your MD, PT or friends have probably told you, we all have natural spi...

Tight hip flexors are everywhere.  But, especially for older adults and people with neurologic disorders, tightness in the hip flexors can really influence movement.  I have had clients who improve their gait speed after a good hip flexor stretch! Most people comment that they can move much more smoothly and with longer strides.  Or, even better, without back pain.   Below are 3 different ways to stretch the hip flexors and between the three of these, you should find one that is doable and feels like a good deep stretch.  Try them out just before you get moving and notice how your movement improves!   Standing hip flexor stretch- -a good one to do on the go, before a walk or other standing exercise. Kneeling hip flexor stretch.  This is my personal favorite because it isolates the muscle so well--less room for cheating. Lying down hip flexor stretch.  This version is great if it is difficult to get in the other po...

Physical Therapists—Your Movement Experts Did you know that physical therapists (PTs) are the experts of human movement?   If you are a PT—you know it!   If you are a client in our practice you know it because we are constantly videotaping and watching how you move.    But, perhaps not everyone is aware of our area of expertise.      In fact, when the California Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association surveyed the public—the word movement never once came   up! I just spent two and half  days in DC with 100 of the most expert of experts (I really was kind of star struck) discussing movement, why we are the experts and how we communicate this to others.   I have left feeling very excited about movement and want to share a few ideas about what makes PTs unique in this area: 1) We listen When we meet a client we are skillfully able to listen to your description of the problem you are having in life (ie—maybe you t...

With the spring semester in full swing at USC, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the juggling act that we often find ourselves in when we, as clinicians, take on multiple roles: clinician, faculty member, clinical instructor, researcher, etc. What are the benefits? What are the struggles? Is it possible to be proficient at all of them (especially at the same time)? Teaching in the classroom allows me to challenge myself not only by making sure I know what the best practice is for my patients, but also by holding me accountable to be able to teach it to other soon-to-be physical therapists. I end up asking myself many questions…Is this the best technique? Is that assessment considered best practice? Are there other ways for us to reach the same outcome? What’s the most important piece of information here and was it conveyed to the students? These teaching moments are great opportunities to demonstrate, improve and share my knowledge. However, appreciating and knowing the...

Dr. Caudill and I have the privilege to teach in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at USC, where we recently taught in the Neuropathology course.  As many of my students know, I love the cranial nerves!  There is something charming and lovely about the 12 small pairs of cranial nerves exiting from the brainstem.   More importantly, the cranial nerves provide exquisite insight for neurologic differential diagnosis.    I cannot emphasize enough the importance of completing an efficient and accurate cranial nerve screen for patients with neurologic dysfunction.  The students in our class are now completing their final internships and I received a request from one of them to post “5 minute Cranial Nerve Screen” video that I had filmed for our class.   I put this short video together in my kitchen one afternoon with my then 4 year old daughter in order to demonstrate that a brief cranial nerve screen could be done in 5 minutes or ...

As a nice follow up to last month's post, we thought we'd put together a little resource for physical therapists who work with patients with dystonia.  Dystonia is a difficult diagnosis to treat and requires such a broad approach.  Traditional PT has not been shown to benefit those with dystonia.  And the more Julie and I learn, the more we realize this, so we thought it would be nice to put together some resources for physical therapists.  Today's blog includes a treatment approach and ideas for working with patients with cervical dystonia.  It was adapted from the Sensorimotor learning article (actually an article for focal hand dystonia, but with many relevant concepts) by Byl, Archer, McKenzie, 2008 and from our recent course "Sensorimotor Processing Dysfunction and Movement Dysfunction" presented by Byl, McKenzie, and Merzenich in July 2013.  I think it's a nice little jumping off point for a therapist to work with this incredibly challenging diag...