Did you know that we have an infrared light sauna at the Wellness Institute? There are a variety of health benefits of this advanced therapy, and it's available right here in the Lowcountry! Watch the video below for more information.
Call to make an appointment at 843-547-4058.
Wellness Institute Managing Partner Craig Weyer, PT, DPT, M.ED, ATC, COMPT, recently gave a presentation at Sun City Hilton Head about holistic treatments for pain management and pain prevention.
Dr. Weyer explained that you can be proactive when it comes to pain by getting an evaluation with a physical therapist, maximizing movement with the help of a therapist, and participating in recovery with a rehabilitation specialist. He also suggested utilizing physical therapy for pain relief instead of using prescribed opioids and before considering surgery.
He also suggested that treating pain, through the use of opioids, without treating the underlying issues is not proactive. This is confirmed by the recent warnings from the CDC and AMA of the danger and long-term ineffectiveness of the use of opioids and that utilizing skilled physical therapy to give the body a chance to heal should be attempted before considering surgery. An active lifestyle with daily exercise and stretching is critical to maintaining good health for muscles and joints.
We'd like to say "thank you" to Cherie Bronsky and the Sun City Hilton Head Community Association for organizing the free presentation for residents. It was a great turnout, and we hope that the material was useful to all in attendance.
Dr. Weyer is available to speak to a variety of organizations. Please contact the Wellness Institute at 843-547-4058 for more information.
A native of South Africa, Dr. Weyer brings a unique blend of experience to the Wellness Institute. Originally trained as an officer in the Airborne Forces, Craig retired from the military with the rank of Captain and was recruited into the business arena to manage a corporate sales team. He received a diploma in Business Management at Damelin Business College but decided that his interests lay in a different direction. In 1994, he returned to college to study physiotherapy. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from GC&SU receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, he obtained his national certification in Athletic Training (ATC), followed by a Masters in Physical Therapy (MPT) from AASU. Craig has since undergone additional specialization and completed the Australian Physiotherapy program in Orthopedic Manual Therapy specializing in spine rehabilitation with emphasis on lumbar and cervical dysfunction (COMT). He received his doctorate from the University of St. Augustine, specializing further in manual based therapy and has his certification in the use of Dry Needling (Cert DN). Craig is also a guest lecturer at AASU in Savannah. As a 27-year veteran in the game of rugby, Craig is the team physical therapist for the USA developmental team, the Panthers (USA Rugby South). In his spare time, Craig enjoys the outdoors and an active lifestyle including competing in Ironman distance triathlons, traveling internationally, and the occasional golf game.
The Wellness Institute was proud to sponsor the Okatie Ale House 5K on Super Bowl Sunday in Bluffton, S.C. We enjoy being involved in our local running community in Okatie, Hilton Head and Bluffton, and supporting great causes. The annual race benefits efforts to fight pediatric cancer.
Congrats to our Wellness Institute Director Craig Weyer for winning first place in his age group in the 5K!
What is Group Training?
Resistance training workouts with just the right amount of cardio to help you with goals like fat loss, weight control, performance, and fitness. Sized small enough to be personalized while still working among other members. This is NOT just another fitness class, and it’s not a cardio class of sorts. Our class size limit is 15 people in a session.
So what are the benefits of Group Training? There are a handful.
Fun and social setting (or personal) - want to interact with others when you workout? Not a problem. Prefer to workout without distractions of others? Just the right-sized group will allow you space and ability to focus on your session, too. Meet new people, or bring a friend, coworker, or family member.
Support and accountability - keeping the size moderate allows for things to be personal, which also means coaching that is semi-personal. Check-ins, communication, recommendations, guidelines, and pertinent education is available to all participants. Plus, you’re provided workouts when you miss class that you may do on your own at home or your community gym.
Structure - though each session is different, most group training programs run on some sort of program design structure. At Wellness Institute Fitness, we run on a 3- to 4-day training split, targeting the body in different ways over the week.
group training
Achieve your fitness goals with our help and the encouragement of your fellow classmates!
Accommodates Variety - all ages and fitness levels are welcomed and fit in, as well as both men and women.
Targets Your Goals - including fitness, fat loss, weight control, performance and strength.
Quality and Results - focus is always on form and proper execution of exercise. It’s important to be challenged in your workouts. A coach can ensure you’re doing the exercises in the correct way, which you may not get in a large fitness class.
Prime time to workout - in a group class, you can work out at prime time of the day when the coach is usually highly sought after.
The Wellness Institute will host a Coffee Networking event from 8:30-10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The event is in partnership with the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. Join us for coffee, breakfast and a tour of our facility.
More information:
https://www.facebook.com/events/900744460075751/
Before undergoing surgical spinal fusion, patients with degenerative disk disease should first try physical therapy.
A study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital ("Operative and Nonoperative Treatment Approaches for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease Have Similar Long-Term Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With Positive Discography" - September 15, 2013) found that "patients with back pain and concordant discography did not demonstrate a significant difference in outcome measures of pain, health status, satisfaction, or disability based on whether the patient elected for fusion or nonoperative treatment."
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Thinking of going under the knife for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS)?
According to a new study, you can have equal success skipping surgery and going straight to physical therapy.
"Surgery is a riskier procedure, with about a 15% complication rate, and half of those are life-threatening," said Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, FAPTA, in a Reuters article about the study ("Physical therapy may be as good as surgery for common back problem" – April 6, 2015). "It isn't a life-risking procedure to do physical therapy," at least give it a chance.
Delitto led the study, published in the April 2015 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, which is the first to directly compare a single, evidence-based physical therapy regimen with decompression surgery among patients who agree to be randomly assigned to either approach. Previous studies have focused on comparing surgical and (mostly unspecified) "nonsurgical" elements, and allowed some patients to self-select their treatment groups. Make sure your physical therapist has the right training and post graduate training in spine treatment ideally a certified manual therapist.
In an editorial that accompanies the study, it was concluded of the 2 treatment approaches, "These data suggest that patients with LSS should be offered a rigorous, standardized [physical therapy] regimen. Those who do not improve and ultimately consider surgery, should be informed that the benefits of surgery are likely to diminish over time."
Resources:
Why get surgery if you don’t need it? Those who experience nontraumatic rotator cuff tears, for example, would do just as well with "conservative treatment" such as physical therapy.
That's according to a study published in Bone and Joint Journal ("Treatment of nontraumatic rotator cuff tears: A randomized controlled trial with one-year clinical results" – January 2014), which found that patients who received physical therapy alone for rotator cuff tears showed similar rates of physical improvement and patient satisfaction to those who received arthroscopic surgery or open surgical repair, combined with physical therapy.
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Before you undergo expensive or invasive surgery, try physical therapy! For many conditions, including meniscal tears and knee osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tears, spinal stenosis, and degenerative disk disease, research has shown that treatment by a specialized physical therapist has been found to be as effective as surgery. Read below…
Mild meniscal tears and moderate knee osteoarthritis send some people under the knife, when all they really need is physical therapy.
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found no significant difference between individuals who received surgery and those who received physical therapy alone, thus avoiding the unnecessarily invasive procedure and related costs. Research has also indicated that a diet rich in foods with anti-inflammatory properties, such as turmeric curcumin, may aid in the reduction of inflammation associated with arthritic conditions.
Dr. Edward Laskowski, codirector of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center, told Men's Journal that physical therapy might prove equally effective for other knee injuries, including MCL, PCL, and cartilage tears (Try Physical Therapy Before Surgery - April 29, 2013).
"If you have good range of motion, physical therapy may very well settle down the symptoms over time," Laskowski said.
1. Pain is output from the brain. While we used to believe that pain originated within the tissues of our body, we now understand that pain does not exist until the brain determines it does. The brain uses pain to advise you of tissue that it suspects may be in danger. This process acts as a means of communication between the brain and the tissues of the body, to serve as a defense against possible injury or disease.
2. The degree of injury does not always equal the degree of pain. Research has demonstrated that we all experience pain in individual ways. While some of us experience major injuries with little pain, others experience minor injuries with a lot of pain (think of a paper cut).
3. Despite what diagnostic imaging (MRIs, x-rays, CT scans) shows us, the finding may not be the cause of your pain. A study performed on individuals 60 years or older who had no symptoms of low back pain found that 36% had a herniated disc, 21% had spinal stenosis, and more than 90% had a degenerated or bulging disc, upon diagnostic imaging.
4. Psychological factors, such as depression and anxiety, can make your pain worse. Pain can be influenced by many different factors, such as psychological conditions. A recent study in the Journal of Pain showed that psychological variables that existed prior to a total knee replacement were related to a patient's experience of long-term pain following the operation.
5. Your social environment may influence your perception of pain. Many patients state their pain increases when they are at work or in a stressful situation. Pain messages can be generated when an individual is in an environment or situation that the brain interprets as unsafe. It is a fundamental form of self-protection.
6. Understanding pain through education may reduce your need for care. A large study conducted with military personnel demonstrated that those who were given a 45-minute educational session about pain sought care for low back pain less than their counterparts.
Adapted from article by Joseph Brence, PT, DPT, FAAOMPT, COMT, DAC
America's opioid epidemic is being felt nationwide.
Recent guidelines and consensus studies from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American College of Physicians, and the National Academies (Health and Medicine Division) encourage health care providers to pursue safer alternatives, like physical therapy, for most non-cancer-related pain management. Choosing physical therapy is a safe and effective alternative to manage and treat pain, and can help you avoid the risks and side effects of opioids.
Statics from the CDC, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reveal the gravity of the problem.
1. In 2016, health care providers across the US wrote more than 214 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, a rate that demonstrated 66.5 prescriptions per 100 people. Some counties had rates 7 times higher than that.
2. As many as 1 in 4 people who receive prescription opioids long-term for noncancer pain in primary care settings struggle with addiction.
3. From 1999 to 2015, more than 183,000 people have died in the US from overdoses related to prescription opioids.
4. While opioid abuse is down in younger Americans, it has risen among older adults. For adults aged 50 years and older, opioid abuse doubled from 1% to 2%.
5. Every day, more than 1,000 people are treated in emergency departments for misusing prescription opioids.
6. Veterans are twice as likely to die from accidental opioid overdoses as non-veterans.
7. Opioid-related hospitalizations among women in the US increased by 75% between 2005 and 2014.
Do you know someone in pain? Encourage them to talk to her or his physician or physical therapist about safe ways to manage pain.
The American Physical Therapy Association’s #ChoosePT campaign raises awareness about the risks of opioids and the safe alternative of physical therapy for chronic pain management.
a new direction to health…
