Physical Therapy Baltimore, MD
Visit our Rosedale Location
Rossville Professional Center
1232 Race Road, Suite 203
Rosedale, MD 21237
Give us a Call
(410) 498-8828
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday
9AM - 7PM

Blog

Physical Therapy Tips To Keep You Healthy

LeMoine Physical TherapyBlog
By LeMoine Physical Therapy Uncategorized

Ideas to Incorporate in an Alzheimer’s Memory Book

As we age and get older, there are many different things we like to accomplish or take care of. Things such as traveling, spending more time with loved ones, and even taking care of our possessions. Estate planning is essential for those that want to provide for their family and friends, especially before one’s health declines. Failure to do so may result in delay for family members and costly court fees.

For those living with Alzheimer’s, it is hard to accomplish all the things that were planned. However, a memory book of how life was like is a wonderful asset for recentering and refocusing. A curated book of past memories is a great activity for reminiscing. Caregivers and home health aides who are interested in creating a memory book can easily make one with the following concepts.

  1. Family Members

A great addition to a memory book is a beloved family member. Add photos of the member with simple captions that categorize their name and relationship. If the family member has passed away, and your elderly individual is cognizant of this passing, you can still put them in.

  1. Homes (Past and Present)

Nothing triggers a more visceral reaction than a photo of a previous home! If you have access to photos of an old home, this would make a great addition to a memory book. Try and find detailed photos that will trigger a fond memory. Look for photos that include an old tire swing, treehouse, or beloved childhood bedroom. Your goal is to foster a conversation that will allow your loved one to freely associate memories.

  1. Old jobs

Another great addition to a memory book are tokens of an old job. This could be a photo of an old workplace, an employee ID, or the embossing of an old uniform. Try to gather all of the stimuli in one place, to allow your loved one a solid foundation for jumping off of.

  1. Furry friends

There is nothing better than the memory of a beloved pet! Gather together photos and supplement a collar, chew toy, etc. If your loved one is in a later stage of Alzheimer’s and cannot differentiate the memory of a pet that has passed away and the present moment, it may be best to omit this. As with everything, use discretion and tailor the book to your loved one’s needs!

  1. A favorite food

For many of us, our history lies in the food we eat. Nothing can bring us back to a memory more than the smell of a favorite snack or dinner. Although you cannot incorporate a full meal into a book, you can always incorporate more ideas. Take photos of the ingredients; incorporate the dish that it was traditionally served in; you can even invest in a scratch and sniff to trigger fond memories!

 

 

 

By LeMoine Physical Therapy Uncategorized

Healthy Foods Associated with Living Longer

When it comes to living longer, you are what you eat! According to science, incorporating healthful and nutritious eating habits can add years to a life. Although there is no miracle cure that can prolong life, there is a direct correlation between longevity and healthier living.

For those seniors looking to make the most out of their golden years, here are five healthy foods associated with living longer! These are also great for home health aids, to know so that they can cook well for their patients. 

  1. Whole Grains

Whole grains are a treasure trove of energy production. They include ample amounts of iron, magnesium, and vitamin B. All of these molecules coalesce in a healthful boost of energy to keep seniors active throughout the day. Even more so, they also can help reduce inflammation and lower bad cholesterol. 

When looking for whole grains, home health aides and caregivers should search for products like barley, brown rice, corn, quinoa, and wheat. 

  1. Leafy Greens

Our parents were right: we’ve got to eat our greens! Dark leafy greens are especially dense in nutrition. Heavily dosed with Vitamin K, they can aid in the reduction of bone fragility. 

Leafy greens can help keep the brain sharp throughout the process of aging. In fact, a study reported by the National Institute of Aging found that seniors who eat one serving of green leafy vegetables per day underwent slower age-related cognitive decline. 

  1. Salmon

For seniors, eating salmon is a great way to prolong longevity. Rife with Omega 3 fats, salmon has been directly correlated with healthy aging. This could be because Omega 3s can facilitate improved circulation, better heart health, and neurological wellbeing. Salmon is also lower in mercury than other fish, making it a safer diet choice for aging loved ones. 

  1. Legumes

Beans are so much more than musical fruit! These legumes are packed with fiber, which aid in jumpstarting older digestive systems. They have loads of healthful vitamins and iron. Beans also provide the same protein amounts as red meat, without including the bad cholesterol. This all coalesce to make legumes a great addition to any senior diet!

  1. Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables are akin to crunchy vegetables. These are veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. The compounds that make up these vegetables are believed to protect cell degradation. This cell degradation can be seen on every sphere: be it protecting from bacterias, viruses, or inflammation. Cruciferous vegetables are even believed to help prevent certain cancers!

Do not hesitate to give this list to anyone you know who is caring for an elderly person. It is important to eat well to have good health and continue functioning well. A good diet and physical therapy can help keep a person feeling young for a long time. 

By LeMoine Physical Therapy Uncategorized

Inherent Dangers of Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Auto accidents are all serious in their own way, but motorcycle accidents are typically more dangerous than others. One-third of motorcycle accidents are caused by other drivers on the road, so even if you are committed to safety, you could get injured while on a ride. Why are motorcycle accidents so dangerous?

Motorcycles Don’t Offer the Same Protection

Think about the structure of a car compared to the structure of a motorcycle. In a car, you are encased by a metal frame that protects you when you are in an accident. On a motorcycle, there is nothing that protects you. You receive the brunt of the crash. Cars also have other safety features such as seatbelts and airbags, and you won’t find those on a motorcycle. 

Motorcycles Don’t Have the Same Braking Power

Braking on four wheels often comes with more control than braking on two wheels. The brake system of a car is going to be stronger than the brake system of a motorcycle. When a motorcyclist slams on the brakes, the cyclist is often thrust into a spin or a slide that results in more serious injuries. Riders also get thrown off their bikes quite often when braking too quickly. 

In some cases, the motorcycle brakes are simply faulty, and that can happen in a car as well. Unfortunately, when a motorcycle has faulty brakes, the results are often more severe than when a car has faulty brakes.

Motorcycles Don’t Offer the Same Control

The steering capability of a car is also a lot stronger than the steering capability of a motorcycle. If a motorcyclist gets startled by something, that small action can result in a big accident because the steering is so sensitive. Drivers of cars often have more slack when they are startled on the road, so they don’t crash as often for those same reasons.

Motorcycles Don’t Get Seen as Often

Unfortunately, too many drivers are quick to look for large vehicles when changing lanes or making other driving maneuvers, but they are slow to look for motorcycles. It can be easy for a driver to miss a motorcycle that is passing in a blind spot, but if drivers would take just 20 more seconds, there are many accidents that could be avoided. Cars and trucks are much easier to see.

Getting Legal Representation After an Accident

If you are injured in a motorcycle accident, you deserve legal representation offered by a qualified motorcycle accident lawyer like one from Davis & Brusca, LLC. Regardless of why your accident happened, you could be entitled to compensation. Contact a motorcycle accident lawyer today.

By LeMoine Physical Therapy Uncategorized

Types of Physical Therapy Intervention for Traumatic Brain Injury

After a traumatic injury, you may have loss of movement and strength. However physical therapy can actually help you, because physical therapy helps individuals with their mobility via various targeted interventions to the areas that they’re having issues with. And of course the primary goal of physical therapy for someone with a traumatic brain injury is to regain independence, and you need to be able to move independently to truly have independence.

The brain is very malleable in some ways. One of those ways is called neuro- plasticity, and this is the central nervous system’s ability to re-circuit the brain. So repetitively performing a behavior is going to be able to help your brain to figure out what way to categorize the movement in the brain. If there is a part of the brain that is not functioning correctly, then your brain may use neuroplasticity to recategorize that movement to an entirely new part of the brain.

Practicing weakened movements helps to reinforce the demand for that movement in your brain and will help to promote neuro-plasticity.

Please reach out to a physical therapy office if you have questions about how physical therapy can help your traumatic brain injury. There is more than just neuro- plasticity that can help after you have a traumatic brain injury. This is not an exhaustive list but it is some of the most common treatments for someone with a TBI working with a physical therapy office, such as the ones available at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab.

Neuromuscular reeducation is the retraining of the nervous system to get that normal movement that you’re missing. Sadly after a brain injury the relationship that the brain and the muscles in your body have is being disrupted. This means that your brain has to learn how to activate neuroplasticity so that new neural connections can be formed.

Passive exercise is another type of physical therapy process where a therapist is going to move the effect that area for you; and this is done because after a TBI the active area is usually unable to be moved by the person that is experiencing the traumatic brain injury.

Home exercise, because physical therapists do believe that consistent exercise is the key to brain injury rehab, is another way for you to regain function and make a recovery. Your physical therapist is going to encourage you to continue exercising, even if you are not at the clinic. Almost anything can become a physical therapy exercise.

Vestibular training is going to be important when you have balance issues after a physical incident that has left you with a traumatic brain injury. Vestibular training looks something like your therapist performing a series of vision and balance tests, and then they will create a customized exercise plan to address your issue.

Last but not least, gait training and tasks training is important. After a traumatic brain injury you may not know how to walk, you may not know how to do things like picking stuff up. So one of the types of training that you may undergo is relearning the motions before you actually try to walk or hold something.

By LeMoine Physical Therapy Therapy

7 Reasons to Consider Telehealth Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy

Telehealth makes it possible for individuals to see and chat in real-time video with their Physical Therapists through the use of computers, smartphones, or tablets. Telehealth offers real advantages to patients and is becoming a popular option that enables patients to see and talk to their health care providers, including a growing number of PTs, from the comfort, safety, and convenience of their home.

Here are a few considerations and benefits of telehealth physical therapy:

  1. Accessibility: Telehealth can help you stay connected with your physical therapist after initial in-person visits. Telehealth may also increase your ability to connect and with a PT who is experienced in treating people with your condition who may not be near you. It also can help people who live in areas where access to physical therapy is lacking or people who have difficulty leaving their homes.  It serves as an opportunity to ask questions, to receive direct feedback on your exercises, and to advance your home exercise program as needed to keep you on the right path to recovery.
  1. Home safety and comfort: If falling or your health is a concern, a virtual telehealth appointment with your PT is an opportunity to discuss ways to improve the safety of your home. Your physical therapist also can discuss what you should do if you fall or having safety concerns.
  1. Improved assessment: During a private telehealth visit, you will work one-on-one with your PT, without distractions. You also can involve family members or caregivers in your appointment, if you like in the safety of your home. Telehealth can give your PT an advantage because they can see you in your home environment.  Physical therapists can observe you and assess your ability to navigate and take care of yourself in your home.
  1. Successful outcomes: Patients who take part in telehealth physical therapy are more likely to stick to their home exercise programs and achieving your PT goals. Your PT can provide you a safe and effective home exercise program to do at home based on your specific needs and goals. Sticking to your exercise prescription is a crucial part of your short and long-term success.
  1. Efficiency: There’s no waiting room and travel time! And after your telehealth appointment, you can quickly get back to what you were doing at home/work without having to spend time on the road. Telehealth works well for all people. We know that time is a valuable asset that hard to come by these days.
  1. Transportation: No need to drive to your PT appointment! A telehealth appointment reduces the burden of commuting to and from your PT appointments. Telehealth works well for all patients, those you don’t have a vehicle or easy access to transportation to those who have home demands such as caring for a child or elder family member.
  1. Control of infectious illness: To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, flu, and other infectious diseases, PTs can use telehealth appointments to prescreen patients for possible infectious disease. It also saves sick people from having to come in to the office. Less exposure to other people’s germs helps everyone, especially those who are chronically ill, pregnant, elderly or immunocompromised.

Studies show that telehealth physical therapy can result in equal or better outcomes.

The majority of patients who have participated in telehealth physical therapy were satisfied with their experience and would do it again. Patients expressed feeling connected and supported by their telehealth physical therapist. Having this support at home while going through rehabilitation is important for a success outcome.

Participate in telehealth physical therapy.

People of all ages with a variety of symptoms and medical conditions may be suitable for telehealth. A few examples of conditions for which a PT can help you virtually include:

  • Safety and balance.
  • Pre and post-operative care.
  • Managing of chronic pain.
  • Other conditions your PT determines are appropriate for telehealth.

Laws governing the use of telehealth services vary by state, so check with your PT and insurance company.

Considerations for telehealth physical therapy.

Telehealth may or may not be available in your area or may not be covered by your insurance provider. Additionally, for your initial PT evaluation, you likely will need to meet in person with your physical therapist to determine if telehealth physical therapy is the right approach for you.

Generally, you will need an email address and access to a computer or device that has a video camera and microphone such as your mobile phone or tablet. If your PT offers telehealth services, they will supply more details and instructions.  Your PT will answer any questions or concerns you may have.

To advocate for telehealth physical therapy services for Medicare/Medicaid recipients, tell Congress to waive restrictions.

If you have questions about how telehealth and physical therapy may help you or someone you care about, please don’t hesitate to ask your health care provider or contact LeMoine Physical Therapy of Rosedale, Maryland at 410-918-0080 or visit https://lemoinephysicaltherapy.com/ for information.

By LeMoine Physical Therapy Therapy

10 Reasons Why Physical Therapy is Beneficial

Physical Therapy Baltimore, MD

Physical therapy helps people of all ages and should be the first choice of treatment for people who have medical conditions, illnesses or injuries that limit their regular ability to move and function. People with chronic pain or restrict mobility can benefit greatly from physical therapy.

A customized physical therapy program can help individuals return to their prior level of functioning and encourage activities and lifestyle changes that can help prevent further injury and improve overall health and well-being. Primary care doctors often refer patients to physical therapy Baltimore, MD recommends at the first sign of a problem since it is considered a conservative approach to managing such problems.

Here are 10 ways physical therapy may benefit you:

  1. Manage pain. Chronic pain can be one of the most frustrating conditions to experience, especially if the underlying cause is unknown.  However, physical therapy techniques and therapeutic exercises can help mobilize your joints and soft tissue and restore muscle function, reducing aches or eliminating pain altogether. Therapeutic exercises and manual therapy techniques such as joint and soft tissue mobilization or treatments such as ultrasound, taping or electrical stimulation can help relieve pain and restore muscle and joint function to reduce pain. When patients continue to perform the prescribed physical therapy plan, such therapies can also prevent pain from returning.
  2. Prevent injuries. One of the key aspects of physical therapy involves assessing the weak areas in the patient’s body and formulating a PT plan that helps strengthen these vulnerable points. A physical therapist can evaluate and analyze how likely it is that a patient will suffer injury and create an exercise program that targets and strengthens weak muscle groups and joints, thus preventing future injuries in these areas.
  3. Help avoid surgery.If physical therapy helps you eliminate pain or heal from an injury, surgery may not be needed.  While surgery is unavoidable in some cases, you may benefit from pre-surgery physical therapy to help reduce complications of surgery. If you are going into a surgery stronger and in better shape, you will recover faster afterwards in many cases. Furthermore, by avoiding surgery, health care costs are greatly reduced.
  4. Improve mobility and balance.No matter your age, if you’re having trouble standing, walking or moving, physical therapy can help. Stretching and strengthening exercises help restore your ability to move. Physical therapists can properly develop   therapeutic exercises to restore mobility, making walking and moving around safer and help balance in patients who ae at high risk for falls. By customizing an individual care plan, whatever activity that is important to an individual’s life can be practiced and adapted to ensure maximal performance and safety.
  5. Recover from stroke.It is common to lose some degree of function and movement after stroke. Physical therapy can help strengthen the body’s weak areas and improve gait and balance. Physical therapists can also improve stroke patients’ to be more independent around the home, reducing their burden of care for bathing, dressing, and other daily activities.
  6. Help prevent dependence in pain medication. Frequently, individuals who undergoes surgery end up having a dependence on their pain medications (mainly opiods) to help them manage their pain issues. Physical therapy is often a great safe alternative choice to address the pain issues from surgery. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes this significant issues facing Americans and recommends using physical therapy instead of pain medications like opioids.
  7. Recover from or prevent sports injury.Physical therapists understand how different sports can increase your risk for specific types of injuries (for example, stress fractures for runners). They can design appropriate recovery or prevention exercise programs for you to ensure a safe return to your sport, including improving circulation, strengthen muscles and flexibility.
  8. Improve your balance and prevent falls. When you begin physical therapy, among other things, you will get screened for fall risk. If you’re at high risk for falls, your physical therapist will provide exercises that safely and carefully challenge your balance as a way to mimic real-life situations. Therapists also help you with exercises to improve coordination and assistive devices to help with safer walking. When the balance problem is caused by a problem in one’s vestibular system, Physical therapists can perform specific maneuvers that can quickly restore proper vestibular functioning, and reduce and eliminate symptoms of dizziness or vertigo.
  9. Manage age-related issues. As individuals age, they may develop arthritis or osteoporosis or need a joint replacement. Physical therapists are experts in helping patients recover from joint replacement, and manage arthritic or osteoporotic conditions conservatively.
  10. Manage heart and lung disease.Physical therapy can often individuals recovering from heart attack through cardiac and lung rehabilitation if their daily functioning is affected. Stretching and conditioning exercises may increase your blood circulation. Heart patients often undergo lots of shocks. Physical therapy helps in complete body rehabilitation.

According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), a physical therapist is a trained and licensed medical professional with experience in diagnosing physical abnormalities, restoring physical function and mobility, maintaining physical function, and promoting physical activity and proper function.

If you have questions about how physical therapy may help you or someone you care about, please don’t hesitate to ask your health care provider or contact LeMoine Physical Therapy of Rosedale, Maryland at 410-918-0080 or visit https://lemoinephysicaltherapy.com/  for information.

By LeMoine Physical Therapy Uncategorized

Why Self-Adjustments Aren’t The Greatest Idea

Physical Therapy

If you’re dealing with a spinal subluxation, you might try to take matters into your own hands with self-adjustments. Unfortunately, someone without proper chiropractic experience typically won’t do the adjustment correctly. Even chiropractors don’t complete their own adjustments, and will go to a colleague to find that relief for themselves. The following will basically explain why you should avoid self-adjustments.

Specific Maneuvers

Chiropractors complete assessments before making any adjustments. They may have you do a variety of movement exercises, flexibility tests, strength tests, and may also do a visual assessment. It’s possible you will be asked to do an x-ray, MRI, urinalysis, or blood test. With all these steps, the chiropractor is able to pinpoint your issue and determine specific maneuvers that will actually help.

When a chiropractor makes an adjustment, he or she is completing a specific maneuver for your issue. When people pop their own necks, they are just grabbing the top of the head and the chin and twisting. They have no idea what type of move they are completing and they have no idea what vertebra has moved into which position. A chiropractor can assess your situation to determine exactly how to move which vertebra so you can find good relief.

Different Directions

One vertebra can go in 16 directions. If you crack your neck on your own, you don’t know which direction it’s moving. You might feel that relief you seek, but it is typically short lived. Have you ever noticed you have that urge to “pop” your neck again after only 15 minutes of doing it the first time? That happens because you’re experiencing a rush of endorphins entering your bloodstream when it pops. As soon as those exit the bloodstream, it doesn’t feel good anymore because you haven’t moved it in the right direction. A chiropractor moves your vertebrae in the right direction so you feel immediate and lasting relief.

Additional Damage

Someone without experience could cause additional damage while trying to self-adjust. Chiropractors have the experience necessary to avoid injury and encourage healing. Sometimes pain presents itself in one area, while the actual problem is in another area of the body. If you try to adjust yourself and don’t know where you’re targeting, you could end up in more pain.

Contacting a Professional

If you’re considering adjusting your own subluxation, that may not be your best idea. Take some time to contact a chiropractor, like a chiropractor in Silver Spring, MD, to discuss treatment options instead.

 

 

Thanks to AmeriWell Clinics for their insight into why it’s not the best idea to perform a self adjustment.