On the blog, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Bobby demonstrates exercises to relieve acute low back pain. Low back pain is the most common condition treated by physical therapists, affecting 30% of Americans each year. Low back pain can involve dull, burning, throbbing, sharp, or shooting pain in the lumbar spine and through the buttocks and leg. Physical therapy is the first line of treatment for low back pain. A physical therapist can improve and restore mobility in the low back as well as reduce low back pain without expensive surgery or pain medications.

Our February Newsletter covers the latest news from Mangiarelli Rehabilitation including how physical therapy can help you recover from Covid, an update on our recently renovated warm water therapy pool, how dry needling works as a physical therapy treatment, and how physical therapy can help you manage sciatica.

Dry needling is an effective physical therapy treatment for musculoskeletal pain. Using thin filiform needles, a physical therapist inserts the needle into a taut band of muscle, called a trigger point, to release tension, minimize pain, and restore range of motion and mobility. Dry needling is used to treat a variety of conditions, including fibromyalgia, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and low back pain. Dry needling has a number of benefits such as reducing pain, increasing blood flow, and improving function and movement. It’s minimally invasive, cost-effective, and reduces reliance on pain medications.

Check out our infographic on physical therapy for sciatica pain! Physical therapy is the most effective treatment for sciatica pain. Sciatica is nerve pain that originates in the low back and radiates down the length of the leg due to irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve. Physical therapists treat sciatica pain through targeted strengthening of the low back, hips, and gluteal muscles, a progressive exercise program, manual therapy, and aquatic therapy.

What is the difference between manual therapy and massage therapy? Often manual therapy and massage are used interchangeably despite the fact that there are fundamental differences. Physical therapists provide manual therapy, which is a hands-on treatment technique to regain movement, activate muscles, and reduce pain and inflammation. Manual therapy includes soft tissue and joint mobilizations, myofascial release, muscle energy techniques, manual traction, cupping, dry needling, lymphedema, thrust manipulation, and strain-counter-strain techniques.

A shoulder labral tear involves partial or total separation of the labrum from the shoulder socket, often due to excessive trauma to the joint from overuse or direct injury. The labrum is a ring of cartilage that surrounds the rim of the shoulder socket, providing stability to the shoulder joint and a cushion to the shoulder during activity. Physical therapy can help those with shoulder labral tears regain strength, stability, and range of motion in the shoulder joint through manual therapy, postural training, and a stretching and strengthening exercise program.

The jaw joint is one of the most complex joints in the human body, allowing you to open your mouth, chew, talk, and yawn. Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is a disorder of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is a hinge joint that connects the jaw to the skull in front of each ear. Physical therapy offers a non-invasive treatment option for TMD that can ease pain, restore normal jaw movement, and lessen daily stress on the jaw.

Plantar fasciitis affects two million Americans each year. It is a common condition that causes foot and heel pain, affecting those of all ages, athletes and non-athletes, men and women. Plantar fasciitis is a condition that frequently develops due to repeated activities that strain the plantar fascia of the foot. Physical therapy helps patients effectively manage and overcome plantar fasciitis, reduce pain, and restore walking ability. 

TMD, or temporomandibular joint disorder, is a common condition that limits the jaw’s normal function. Physical therapy is an effective treatment for TMD and can help ease pain, regain jaw movement, and lessen daily stress on the jaw. Physical therapy treatment includes posture education, manual therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises, and dry needling.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that involves generalized chronic musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tender-to-touch areas of the body. Physical therapy is a safe method to decrease pain and symptoms as well as improve fitness and quality of life. Physical therapists create an individualized treatment plan based on the patient’s symptoms and condition. Learn more about physical therapy treatment on the blog!

Neck pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal issues in the United States with 35% of the population experiencing chronic neck pain. Whether you are experiencing mechanical neck pain, a pinched nerve, or whiplash, physical therapy can help. Physical therapy is the most effective treatment for neck pain and includes manual therapy, dry needling, neck stretching and strengthening exercises, and posture improvement.

Chronic pain is a condition that can dramatically affect and limit an individual’s activities, physical function, work, and daily life. For too long, chronic pain was treated with pharmacological methods and prescriptions for opioids became pervasive. In 2016, the CDC recommended that the preferred treatment for chronic pain is non-pharmacological methods, particularly physical therapy and exercise interventions. Physical therapy is an effective treatment for chronic pain, using exercise therapy, manual therapy, aquatic therapy, and dry needling to manage and reduce pain.

Check out our May 2020 Newsletter with features on Telehealth Services Offered at Mangiarelli Rehab, A Spotlight on Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month, Dry Needling as a Physical Therapy Treatment, and Mangiarelli Rehabilitation's New Website.

Paula Mangiarelli is a physical therapist and owner and director of Mangiarelli Rehabilitation. She specializes in industrial, injured worker rehabilitation and chronic pain. She is certified in dry needling. Paula started Mangiarelli Rehabilitation because she wanted to have a clinic where a therapist could provide specialized care. Her focus for Mangiarelli Rehabilitation is excellence as well as compassion. Her vision is that each patient who comes to the clinic feels they have received the best care available and a clinic that has multiple therapists who specialize and in doing so, provide patients with a number of options for care.

Dry needling, or intramuscular manual therapy, is a physical therapy treatment that treats acute and chronic pain. It is a valid manual therapy technique that can speed up the recovery process, improve a patient’s ability to move with decreased pain, and enhance healing after an injury. It is used to increase range of motion that is limited due to muscle tightness. It involves the physical therapist pushing thin filiform sterile needles through the skin of the patient into trigger points to stimulate the tissue.

Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the muscles of the forearm involving swollen tendons that create pain in the outer elbow, forearm, and wrist. It is an overuse injury caused by repetitive activities, such as tennis, golf, and professions that include painters, plumbers, autoworkers, and musicians. Physical therapy can help treat tennis elbow by strengthening an individual’s grip, wrist muscles, and forearm muscles. Manual therapy and dry needling are other effective physical therapy treatments that can be used to treat tennis elbow.

Jenifer Kiernan-Story is a physical therapist at Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, specializing in vestibular dysfunction, vertigo, and women’s health. Her favorite part of her job is working with high-level, skilled therapists and helping individuals with pain and physical impairments improve their function and quality of living.