As May comes to an end, Southwest Spine and Pain Center wants to encourage patients to ask their doctors about physical therapy to treat their chronic condition. May is Physical Fitness and Sports Month, and Southwest Spine and Pain Center uses physical therapy to help manage chronic pain for many patients. With summer just under a month away, patients are encouraged to seek outdoor activities to switch their routines up and keep their workouts fresh.
At Southwest Spine and Pain Center, we believe is following a multidisciplinary and conservative approach to pain treatment. We hope to treat patients the least minimally invasive way possible, correlating with healthcare providers from a number of different backgrounds. With four locations across Utah, Southwest Spine and Pain Center is the leading pain clinic in the southwest United States.
The Washington Post released an article in March 2014 about a 26-year-old swim coach and painter from Baltimore, Maryland whose chronic pain condition could not be managed by medication and physical therapy alone. Katie Pumphrey decided she would combat her pain head on, by pushing herself as far as she could. Pumphrey has been a chronic pain patient for nearly two decades and only recently discovered that “intense, exhausting exercise brought some relief from the strange symptoms of her fibromyalgia.” This condition is a neuromuscular disease that physicians and researchers still do not know much about.
With more questions than answers, Pumphrey decided to continue exercise as a pain management tool and take on a swim across the English Channel. This mighty feat has been completed by fewer people than have climbed Mount Everest, according to the article. Pumphrey’s motivation and inspiring story is just the kind of enthusiasm we hope to bring out our suffering patients.
Swimming is a great alternative to physical therapy. The buoyancy of the water allows people to move more freely and with reduced pain than working out on land. Water exercises can help build muscle, raise endurance, reduce pain, and loosen tight muscles. If you suffer from knee pain, chronic back pain, or any musculoskeletal disorder, talk to your Southwest Spine and Pain physician abut water aerobics and how you can incorporate swimming into your physical therapy regimen.
To read the full Washington Post article, please use the following link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/fibromyalgia-sufferer-takes-on-her-chronic-pain-training-to-swim-the-english-channel/2014/03/24/106aa134-a2f5-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html.
If chronic pain is impacting your life, don't wait to schedule an appointment at Southwest Spine and Pain Center. With three locations and growing, the pain management specialists at Southwest Spine and Pain Center are dedicated to helping those who suffer from chronic pain live the life they want to! To schedule an appointment, visit our locations tab!
The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.
©Southwest Spine and Pain Center, 2014
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