Year: 2022

3 Tips for Safe Holiday Decorating

The Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s celebration season is upon us once again. As we exit 2022 and enter 2023, many of us will put a lot of time and effort into decorating our homes for the festivities. It should be fun and personally rewarding, but if physical limitations seem to constrain our creativity, we’ll need to make some adjustments to ensure a safe experience. In this guide, we’ll go over several tips for safe holiday decorating.

1. Work Within Your Reach

If you have difficulty with stretching and reaching because of arthritis or injury, or don’t feel like you have the same sense of balance or stability as you used to, there’s no reason to risk injury when there are many options for fun and festive decor within arm’s reach – no ladder needed. If you feel that a short step stool is still within your level of physical ability, make sure it’s placed with the legs squarely on the ground, and test the stability before ascending it. Once at the top, don’t get overzealous with your range of work area. If you need to access an area that requires you to lean, it is imperative that you descend the step stool and then once grounded, move it to the next section rather than risking a fall or strain from overreaching.

When it comes down to it, we have the opportunity to deck a whole lot more than the halls. In order to stay within your reach, consider focusing on seasonal throws and pillows on the couch, holiday-oriented placemats, table settings, and centerpieces for tabletops; maybe even antlers for the car.

2. No Shortcuts

It’s important to use the right tool for the job. A possible savings of time certainly isn’t worth an injury, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the safe and proper use of electrical extension cords, splitters, power tools, and anything else you may not routinely use throughout the rest of the year. Always read the instruction manual and abide by the manufacturer’s specifications for each product.

If you’re going to involve candles, holiday lights, or fireplace decor in your seasonal ambiance, don’t give the flame or electricity an inch – it’ll take a mile. Be sure to turn off electrical lights when leaving home or going to bed, and make sure they are securely fastened in place with insulated fixtures to avoid electrocution or fire hazard. If you intend to light a fire in the fireplace, ensure all hanging stockings or anything else flammable is somewhere away from the mantel.

Want to decorate beyond what you feel is your level of safety? Hire a professional. Sometimes the best tool for the job is someone who can do it for you. A simple Google search for “local holiday decorators” will bring up close-to-home options whether you live in Bradenton, Sarasota, or anywhere else.

3. Learn Proper Movement

Holiday decorating is a physical activity, so in keeping with the idea of hiring a professional, Licensed Physical Therapists are the professionals to turn to when you want help to move without pain. Recovery from injuries, arthritis, muscular imbalances, and back and joint pain are all problems in which our physical therapy doctors and assistants specialize in treatment. And the great thing is that they do it without invasive surgery or prescription drugs. Don’t let another year end without addressing your pain, call us at (941) 264-1414, email info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send us a direct message for more information or to set an appointment.

Bonus Tip!

The holiday generosity continues with a fourth bonus tip! Our own Sonia Mullis shares inspiration for decorating your home in her Facebook and Instagram Designs by Nina. Although there are plenty of current holiday oriented photos and videos to glean from, check out the links for creative home decor ideas for ALL the seasons, hosting & entertaining, and tablescapes.

Holiday Shopping Leaving You With Foot Pain?

‘Tis the season to start your holiday shopping. Black Friday and holiday sales are just around the corner, right on time for all the Christmas and Hanukkah gifts you enjoy buying for your loved ones. Unfortunately, what often accompanies the festive spoils is pain in the feet and ankles. One in three people over the age of 65 experience aching feet or stiffness, regardless of forays into the mall. There are several steps we can take to mitigate problems with feet as we gear up for the holidays.

Wear the Right Shoes

Studies show that a large proportion of the population wear incorrectly sized footwear that is associated with foot pain and disorders. Both length and width need to be appropriately sized, along with adequate arch and side support. You may need to choose healthy function over stylish form and leave the fancy shoes for the parties and get-togethers that don’t involve so much pavement-pounding.

Take Frequent Breaks

Your feet and ankles need to de-stress just like you do. Though you may be excited at all the holiday fare and presents you know everyone will love, a little rest will go a long way in keeping your lower extremities feeling good. Plan to get lunch mid-shopping, or stop and sit for a beverage or to make a call instead of trying to do these sorts of things while on the move.

Invest in Your General Health

One of the easiest but most neglected healthy habits is drinking plenty of water. Water makes up a very high percentage of your connective joint tissue, as well as being the most important part of joint lubrication. Try to get four to six cups per day and your feet and ankles will thank you for it. A healthy body weight also will go a long way towards happier feet. Since they bear the brunt of the rest of your body, decreasing the load to something more manageable will automatically allow them more stamina.

Get Professional Help

Many people’s pain extends beyond difficulties with extended bouts of walking. Each of your feet has 28 bones, 30 joints, and more than 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The ankle is no less complicated. Just take a look at its sophisticated structure. All that is to say that there’s a lot going on and a lot that can go wrong in these critically important supports for your body. A Licensed Physical Therapist has the proven expertise and experience to assess your problem and prescribe a treatment plan that’s designed specifically for you. Muscular imbalances, errant posture, arthritis, not to mention new or poorly healed old injuries, all can contribute to difficulty with walking. Most people don’t know if their pain stems from plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, inflammation, or who-knows-what? Thankfully, these are all dysfunctions that physical therapists specialize in diagnosing and correcting, as well as being experts in general wellness who can help you structure a body weight reducing, strength building routine. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida help you move without pain, and we do it without prescribing opioid drugs or invasive surgery.

Find out today what our friendly, highly rated, professional physical therapists have to offer by setting an appointment at our conveniently located office in Bradenton. You can reach us at (941) 264-1414, email info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send us a direct message.

4 Steps Toward a More Active Lifestyle

Manatee and Sarasota Counties are perfect places for outdoor activities year-round, but our mild fall season in particular invites people from around the world to enjoy the comfortable temperatures, low rainfall, and abundance of fun and enriching local events. Let’s go over some practical steps toward helping you engage in a more active lifestyle.

Step 1: Establish a New Routine

There are so many walking, hiking, birding, biking, equestrian, and pet-friendly trails to choose from you; could pick one or two per week and have more than enough for many months before even coming close to exhausting them all. Whether you prefer level, paved, short trails, or more rigorous hikes through sand and over gravel with inclines, Southwest Florida has it all. Plan on identifying a trail or two you want to explore each week. You’ll receive the benefits of outdoor exercise, meet other locals, and learn more about your community as you branch out and discover new areas of interest. Here are some very useful online tools to assist your planning: For Manatee, you can use this link to survey the range of parks, preserves, and beaches. Each entry offers descriptions of amenities so you can determine which venues are best for you. If Sarasota County is where you want to start, here’s a huge list of nature trails that also host a wide variety of walking experiences. If you want to narrow it down to more town-specific trails (for example, Bradenton) instead of the more broad county-wide sites, utilize this searchable database.

Step 2: Join a Group

Joining a group, whether it’s a team, club, or ongoing class, will help you settle into a new schedule of outdoor activity. In addition to meeting new friends and learning new skills, routinely scheduled group events ensure that you have a reason to be out and active often enough to gain the benefit of the outdoor lifestyle. Manatee County has a great calendar of outdoor group events and classes with everything from Sunset Tai Chi to gardening. You can also find your nearest pickleball or tennis court here, as well as many other health-conducive activities.

Step 3: Use Technology

Smartphones have endless options between their local settings and additional optional apps for using technology to assist your move towards a healthier lifestyle. Calendar reminders and notifications will help keep you on track to a normal schedule of getting outside. Consumer electronics like Fitbit can also give useful feedback about how much movement you’re getting and how much time you’re putting into your activities.

Step 4: Use Precaution

Lastly, don’t forget to take proper precautions for spending more time outdoors. Sunscreen for the fair-skinned, insect repellant for the more wild natural areas, and sunglasses and drinking water on hand are all smart ideas to keep your outings safe. It would be wise to also be sure to leave home with a fully charged cell phone so you don’t get caught out having run out of power.

Walking, playing, and enjoying the great outdoors shouldn’t be a chore fraught with pain or difficulty. Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida’s specialty is helping you move without pain. Our Licensed Physical Therapists and Assistants are passionate about identifying and rehabilitating people’s physical dysfunctions, instead of merely masking painful symptoms with prescription opioid drugs or needlessly resorting to surgery. No matter whether it’s back or neck pain, joint inflammation, balance problems, or just a general sense of recognition that you need a greater level of fitness for daily tasks, Dr. Mullis’ team draws from a wealth of educated knowledge and practical experience to set you up with a specific plan that will get you back to that healthy, active lifestyle you desire. Contact us today to find out how we can help you! Call us at (941) 264-1414, email info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send a direct message here.

Enough of That Pain in the Neck

It’s no wonder we say something is a “pain in the neck” if it’s bothersome, constraining, or wearisome. Actual physical neck pain is something you can’t just ignore. Whether it’s looking over your shoulder to check your blind spot while driving, backing into a parking spot, watching live sports, or shaving or putting on makeup in the mirror, neck mobility is something you constantly employ without ever even thinking about until it causes you discomfort. Neck pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders in the world with an annual prevalence rate of more than 30% of adults in the United States. Sadly, 5% of neck pain sufferers will become disabled as a result, and it’s ranked as the 4th leading cause of disability worldwide.

Causes of neck pain are sundry. Some common ones are:

• Injuries

Rear-end auto collisions can easily result in whiplash injury. This occurs if the head jerks backward and forward, causing strain to the neck’s soft tissues.

• Poor Posture

Hours hunched over a computer, smartphone, or television often strains the supporting muscles of the neck; especially if they are weaker than they should be for lack of proper use. “Text Neck Syndrome” arrive with the advent of the smartphone’s ubiquity and is not only endured by adults, but is increasingly common in children and adolescents.

• Worn Joints

Arthritis of the neck, more properly referred to as cervical spondylosis, occurs when disks and joints in the neck degenerate, possibly forming bone spurs that can painfully grind.

• Obesity

Being unhealthily overweight actually increases the risk of persistent moderate or severe neck pain after a motor vehicle collision, and places you at higher risk to develop osteoarthritis in the neck. Authors of a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology concluded that physical inactivity and high Body Mass Index (BMI) are associated with an increased risk of chronic pain in the neck.

If you are someone who can relate to the problems outlined in this article, we are pleased to be able to end it on a high note of good news. Neck pain is very often treatable. Licensed Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida’s expertise lies in helping you move without pain, and doing it without prescription drugs or surgery. Neck pain is a problem with which our Physical Therapy Doctors and Assistants hold a host of successful patient testimonials. Check out many more stellar reviews on our Google listing. Let’s revisit the above neck-pain-causing problems and learn about how Physical Therapy addresses them.

• Injuries

Injury rehabilitation under the watchful eye and guidance of a pain expert helps to ensure that the recovery is speedy and complete. Poor or slowed healing needlessly extends the amount of time you suffer. Allow our therapists to design a treatment plan specific to your situation.

• Poor Posture

Physical Therapists know how to alleviate muscular imbalances and joint misalignment caused by habitually poor posture. We can retrain your body to hold itself in a posture that is optimum for your body type and habits.

• Worn Joints

Arthritis is not an untreatable condition. We know how to help you learn how to move in a way that won’t exacerbate your joint pain, while simultaneously improving the supporting structures to take the load off painful parts.

• Obesity

Physical Therapists understand whole body health. A plan to strengthen your muscles and joints while decreasing excess fat weight will go farther than you may think possible in remedying your neck pain. One scientific study in Finland showed that strength training caused 75% of neck pain sufferers to report considerable or complete pain relief.

Find out how the Licensed Physical Therapy Doctors and Assistants right here in Bradenton are serving all of Manatee and Sarasota Counties residents by helping them move without pain! Call us at (941) 264-1414, email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or send us a direct message here.

Do You Suffer With Shoulder Pain?

Shoulder pain makes life harder than it needs to be. Writing, typing, driving, picking up children and pets, carrying groceries–these are just a few of the daily movements that people take for granted until they suffer an injury or start to develop chronic pain in their shoulders. Not to mention limitations on your golf or bowling swing, or a host of other recreational activities. Difficulties with shoulder pain are extremely common, with its greatest prevalence and severity in the 50-56 year age bracket. It’s more common in women than in men, with approximately 15% of men suffering with it and 10% more than that in women.

The glenohumeral joint is structurally classified as a synovial ball-and-socket joint and functionally as a diarthrosis and multiaxial joint involving articulation between the glenoid fossa of the scapula (shoulder blade) and the head of the humerus (upper arm bone).  All this complicated talk is to say that the shoulder joint is extremely complex and so there are many possible causes of difficulty with it. Everything from the obvious injuries and arthritis, to the more deceptive poor posture or muscular imbalances that can inflame the rotator cuff. The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint of the human body, so suffering a decrease in range of motion and/or pain can be a serious diminishment of your otherwise normal life activities. Assessing the spaces (how much space there is in the joint matters), capsules (tough membranes sheathing the joint), bursae (small, fluid-filled sacs), muscles, ligaments (bone connectors), and innervation (there are 3 nerves supplying the shoulder) of this very busy body part is best left to a pain specialist.

A Licensed Physical Therapist knows how to assess your pain and develop a treatment plan to not merely mask it with side effects-laden prescription medications, but to restore strength, mobility, and the ability to move again without pain. The pain drugs do nothing to heal, and surgery is not necessarily the only answer. If you’ve already had surgery, Physical Therapists have the tools to progressively get your strength back. Our patient Keith reported in one of our many 5 Star Google Reviews that Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida got him back on the golf course less than 8 weeks after rotator cuff and bicep tendon surgery.  Another patient, J. Toomis, happily informed review readers that they were able to avoid surgery for a rotator cuff injury and regain a better range of motion. Physical therapy offers solutions that contribute to your all around wellbeing by correcting postural weaknesses that may exacerbate shoulder pain, strengthen injury-weakened muscles, and increase the functional range of motion of osteoarthritic joints. Physical Therapy Doctors and Assistants are experts in training and rehabilitation. Call our friendly staff today to schedule an appointment and learn about how we can help you move without pain! We can be reached at (941) 264-1414, info@ptdoctorsfl.com, or messaged on our Contact Page and are located in Bradenton, so we’re conveniently located for all of Manatee and Sarasota Counties.

Injured by an Accident?

There were nearly 55.5 million preventable medically consulted injuries in the United States in 2020 (the most recently reported complete year). Over ¾ of those took place in the home, not to mention nearly 8.4 million nonfatal traffic accident-caused injuries according to the National Safety Council. Nearly 21 million unintentional injuries resulted in visits to emergency departments in the same year, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also informs us that falls are the #1 cause of nonfatal emergency department visits for all ages.

Plans, preparations, and actions can be taken to avoid accidents or stop them from taking place. Accidents often occur due to human factors such as:

• Unsafe Behavior
• Inattention
• Negligence
• Lack of Knowledge
• Inadequate Training

By choosing to be more mindful, we may very well decrease our risk of accidents. Some tips for older drivers that also apply toward preventing non-auto related accidents include:

1. Stay Physically Active

Staying physically active improves your strength and flexibility, giving you more control over the steering wheel, makes it easier to look over your shoulder when changing lanes or parking, and makes you generally more able to physically avoid slips and falls when walking. If you recognize the need to incorporate a physical fitness routine but feel unsure as to how to go about it due to pain related limitations, a Licensed Physical Therapy Doctor is a specialist in helping you move without pain. Physical Therapists have the know-how to improve your quality of life without prescribing drugs or surgery.

1. Eliminate Distractions

Texting while driving is illegal in Florida because it is unsafe. If you use an iphone, you can remove the distraction by utilizing the Driving Focus option. It will silence or limit your notifications while driving, and is fairly customizable; you can even set it up to detect when you begin driving and it will automatically activate.

1. Increase Your Knowledge Base

The State of Florida authorizes drivers who are 55 years of age or older to complete a Mature Driver Discount course that is approved by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). Upon successful completion of the course, the driver can provide the completion certificate to their insurance company for an insurance discount. This is a great way to both learn how to become a safer driver and save a little money while doing it. Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles provides a list of Approved Mature Driver Courses.

If you have already sustained an injury from an accident, or still experience pain or limitation from an older injury that’s never fully recovered, that’s not to say that you have no recourse other than to live with it and expect to miss out on activities you previously enjoyed. Back and neck pain, dysfunction in any of the joints, and balance or walking difficulties are all challenges that physical therapy is designed to address, and all without prescription opioids or invasive surgeries. The state-of-the-art facility of Physical Therapy Doctors of Florida is here for you in Bradenton, Monday through Friday. Our team of Physical Therapy Doctors and Assistants are happy to serve all of Manatee and Sarasota Counties with the best in personalized care. Give us a call today at (941) 264-1414 or email us info@ptdoctorsfl.com. You can even send us a direct message on our Contact page.