Most people spend a lot of time researching and weighing options for a large purchase or a decision like changing a job.

Think about the last time you made a big purchase, say $1,000 or more. Did you go out and buy the first thing you saw? Take one recommendation from somebody? Or did you research it, learn some things, compare it to other options, and select something that was right for you? Most people tend to be educated and research large purchases like cars, televisions, or the newest cell phone.

 So why do we so often fail to do this with healthcare?

So what can you do to become a more educated healthcare consumer? Ask questions to understand what your options are, what is being recommended, and why. Some good questions to start with are:

● What are the risks and benefits of this treatment?
When a treatment or procedure is recommended, the patient often assumes that it will make them "better." But what the patient expects and what the healthcare provider expects are often two different things. For example, a patient having back surgery expects to be pain free after surgery. The surgeon probably doesn't expect that to happen. A large study of 1450 patients in the Ohio worker's comp system showed that after 2 years 26% of patients who had surgery returned to work. Compare that to 67% of patients who didn't have surgery. There was also a 41% increase in the use of painkillers in the surgical group

● What other options do I have?
Never feel bad about asking about the alternatives to the treatment. We want you to be educated on your decision to have a particular treatment! 
 
● What's it cost?
This last question is becoming more important as patients bear an increasing share of the cost of healthcare. Even if you don't have a high deductible plan or hefty co-pays, by being financially responsible today, you'll probably see smaller price increases in your premiums down the road. That back surgery that we've been talking about? It'll likely cost between $60,000 and $80,000. An educated consumer would learn that physical therapy is a viable alternative to surgery with comparable outcomes, much less risk and lower cost. In fact, a large study of 122,723 subjects showed that people with back pain who got physical therapy in the first 14 days lowered their healthcare costs by 60%. 

We have two physical therapists here at Family Physical Therapy that have a passion for pediatrics, Ila and Lexi. We love coming up with new and creative ideas to keep physical therapy fun while helping children reach their goals!
Shlok gets a patient spotlight this week because he has been working hard during his physical therapy visits with Lexi and each visit he continues to improve in his balance and overall gross motor skill development. We want to share how proud we are of all of his hard work! Thank you for working hard, Shlok, and thank you to his mother for giving us permission to share a part of his story. 

In observation of Independence Day, Family Physical Therapy and Next Level Performance and Sports Therapy will be closed on Thursday , July 4th.


Family Physical Therapy Roseville and Auburn will be open for business as usual on Friday. Next Level Performance and Sports Therapy will be open for you to continue crushing your goals on Monday!
​

Have a safe and fun holiday!

You may remember last year, when we posted here about Ila and Kirsten becoming Myofascial Decompression Certified.  We have blogged the past few years (here, here, and here) about our commitment to furthering our physical therapist's education in the field of myofascial decompression. Last week, we were at it again and Lexi became Myofascial Decompression Certified!

 About a week ago, one of our physical therapists, Lexi, took the Level 2 MFD course in San Diego, CA. Level 2 focused on a different way to use the cups - to inhibit a muscle! Why might you want to inhibit a muscle? A few common areas that need to be inhibited are upper traps, quadratus lumborum (a muscle in your lower back), and hamstrings. Let's say you are trying to perform an exercise to strengthen your middle or lower trap, but your upper trap keeps "taking over" and doing the work, making it difficulty to know what the correct movement pattern is to activate your middle/lower traps. One way you can help learn the correct movement pattern is to apply the inhibitory technique using cups to the upper trap and performing the exercise again. This inhibits the upper trap from doing the work so the work comes from the muscles that the exercise is meant to target! 
​
One of the fun things about taking these classes is finding out where we need to work on ourselves! Pictured above, Lexi is working on stretching her right hip flexor. Without the cups on, she was unable to feel the stretch in her hip flexor because she was arching her back too much (using her quadratus lumborum, QL). With the inhibitory technique applied to both of her QLs, she was able to immediately feel the stretch in her hip flexor. 
​
After taking Level 1 and Level 2, Lexi was eligible to take the exam to become certified. She took the exam last weekend and passed! We are so happy to have the opportunity to gain new certifications and learn new techniques to help our patients reach their goals. Ask your physical therapist for more information if you are interested in learning more!