How We Help

Neck

Neck pain can result from a variety of causes, ranging from overuse injuries and whiplash to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and meningitis. For example:

1. Injuries: Rear-end collisions often result in whiplash injuries which occur when the head is jerked forward and then backward, stretching the soft tissues of the neck beyond their limits.
2. Muscle strains: Overuse often triggers muscle strains. Neck muscles, particularly those in the back of your neck, become fatigued and eventually strained. When you overuse your neck muscles repeatedly, chronic pain can develop. Even such minor things as reading in bed or gritting your teeth can strain neck muscles.
3. Worn joints: Just like all the other joints in your body, your neck joints tend to experience wear and tear with age, which can cause osteoarthritis in your neck.
4. Diseases: Neck pain can sometimes be caused by diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis, and cancer.
5. Nerve compression: A variety of problems in your neck’s vertebrae can reduce the amount of space available for nerves to branch out from the spinal cord, including:
   1. Stiffened disks: As you age, the cushioning disks between your vertebrae become dry and stiff, narrowing the spaces in your spinal column where the nerves exit.
   2. Herniated disks: This occurs when the inner gel-like material of a disk protrudes through the disk’s tougher outer covering. The protrusion can press on the spinal cord itself or on nerves exiting the spinal column, causing arm pain or weakness..
   3. Bone spurs: Arthritic joints in your neck can develop bony growths that may press on nerves.

Studies show that treatment by a physical therapist can provide both short- and long-term relief for people with neck pain. Breakthrough PT can design a program tailored to your specific needs to relieve your neck pain and improve mobility without expensive surgery or side effects of pain medication. Information courtesy of the Mayo Clinic and American Physical Therapy Association.

Shoulder

Shoulder pain can arise from within the shoulder joints and surrounding muscles, ligaments and tendons. On occasion, it is caused by a problem within the shoulder that worsens when you move it. Shoulder pain that isn’t worsened by moving your shoulder is more likely to be something called “referred pain,” which is caused by diseases or conditions affecting structures in your chest or abdomen. If shoulder pain is accompanied by difficulty breathing or a sense of tightness in the chest, please seek immediate medical attention as it may be a symptom of heart attack. Rotator Cuff Your rotator cuff is made up of the muscles and tendons in your shoulder. These muscles and tendons connect your upper arm bone with your shoulder blade. They also help hold the ball of your upper arm bone firmly in your shoulder socket. The combination results in the greatest range of motion of any joint in your body. A rotator cuff injury includes any type of irritation or damage to your rotator cuff muscles or tendons. Causes of a rotator cuff injury may include falling, lifting and repetitive arm activities — especially those done overhead, such as throwing a baseball or placing items on overhead shelves. Frozen Shoulder Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a condition characterized by stiffness and pain in your shoulder joint. Signs and symptoms begin gradually, worsen over time and then resolve, usually within a two-year period. Your risk of developing frozen shoulder increases if you’ve recently had to have your arm in a sling for several weeks, or if you have had surgery in which your arm was immobilized in a specific position for a prolonged period. Information courtesy of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Elbow

Your elbow is a complex joint formed by three long bones in your arm. Four sets of muscles help move the joint and are attached to the bones by thick tendons. Damage to any of these structures or to the joints network of nerves, blood vessels and ligaments can lead to elbow pain. Most elbow pain isn’t serious, but because you use your elbow in so many ways it can be disruptive to daily life. Most elbow pain can be improved with simple home treatments. However, if your elbow pain results from injury, physical or occupational therapy at Breakthrough PT can help in healing and preventing future problems. Information courtesy of the Mayo Clinic.

Back

Physical Therapy at Breakthrough PT plays an important role not only in treating persistent or recurrent low back pain, but also in prevention and risk reduction of future occurrences. If you have experienced low back pain, you are not alone. Approximately one quarter of Americans report experiencing low back pain within the past 3 months at any given time. Low back pain often occurs due to overuse, strain or injury. This includes too much bending, twisting, lifting, and even too much sitting. How Can You Prevent Low Back Pain?

1. Keep your back, stomach, and leg muscles strong and flexible. Maintain a regular fitness regimen – staying active can help prevent injuries!
2. Don’t slouch – keep good posture! Keeping your body in alignment allows it to be more efficient when you move.
3. Ask for help or use an assistive device to lift heavy objects. If you are lifting something heavy, keep the load close to your body.

 Information courtesy of the Mayo Clinic.

Hand/Wrist

Your wrist is a complex joint made up of eight small bones arranged in two rows between the bones in your forearm and the bones in your hand. Tough bands of ligament connect your wrist bones to each other and to your forearm bones and hand bones. Tendons attach muscles to bone. Damage to any of the parts of your wrist can cause pain and affect your ability to use your wrist and hand. If you are experiencing wrist pain, the cause may be: Injury

1. Sudden impact: The most common method of injuring your wrist is when you fall forward onto your outstretched hand. This can cause sprains, strains and even fractures.
2. Repetitive stress: Any activity that involves repetitive wrist motion — from hitting a tennis ball or bowing a cello to driving cross-country — can inflame the tissues around joints or cause stress fractures, especially when you perform the movement for hours on end without a break. De Quervain’s disease is a repetitive stress injury that causes pain at the base of the thumb.

Arthritis

1. Osteoarthritis: In general, osteoarthritis in the wrist is uncommon, usually occurring only in people who have injured the same wrist in the past. Osteoarthritis is caused by wear and tear on the cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones. Pain that occurs at the base of the thumb may be caused by osteoarthritis.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis: A disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues, rheumatoid arthritis is common in the wrist. If one wrist is affected, the other usually is, as well.

Other diseases and conditions

1. Carpal tunnel syndrome: Carpal tunnel syndrome develops when there’s increased pressure on the median nerve, which passes through the carpal tunnel, a passageway in the palm side of your wrist.
2. Kienbock’s disease: This disorder typically affects young adults and involves the progressive collapse of one of the small bones in the wrist. Kienbock’s disease occurs when the blood supply to this bone is compromised.
3. Ganglion cysts: These soft tissue cysts occur most often on the top of your wrist opposite your palm. Smaller ganglion cysts seem to cause more pain than do larger ones.

Information courtesy of the Mayo Clinic.

Hip

Hip pain can be caused by problems with your hip joint. This type of hip pain tends to be felt on the inside of your hip or in your groin. Hip pain can also be caused by problems with the muscle, ligaments, tendons and other structures that support your hip joint. If hip pain associated with these problems, it tends to occur on the outside of the hip or the upper thigh. Diseases and conditions in other areas of your body can sometimes cause hip pain, and is called referred pain. Information courtesy of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Knee

The knee is the most commonly injured joint in all age groups. It is especially susceptible to damage during athletic activities and exercise. Many knee injuries can be treated conservatively with rest, ice, mobilization, and physical therapy. Knee pain may be the result of an injury, such as a ruptured ligament or torn cartilage. However, certain medical conditions, including arthritis, gout and infection, may be at the root of your knee pain. Some common causes of knee pain and injuries include:

1. A blow to the knee, either from contact during sports, a fall or a car accident
2. Repeated stress or overuse, which may occur from playing sports or any other activity that requires frequent repetition.
3. Sudden turning, pivoting, stopping, cutting from side to side, which happens frequently during certain sports.
4. Awkward landings from a fall or from jumping during sports, such as basketball.
5. Rapidly growing bones, which are especially prone to injury during sports.
6. Degeneration from aging.

Ankle

Your ankle, the joint where your foot and leg meet, is an intricate network of bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Strong enough to bear your body weight, your ankle joint can be prone to injury and pain. Injury to any of the bones, ligaments or tendons in the ankle can cause ankle pain. Most ankle pain, however, is the result of a sprain, which occurs when your ankle rolls over your foot, causing a ligament to stretch or tear. Though sprains are often sports-related, they can also occur when you walk on an uneven surface or simply take a misstep. Common causes of ankle pain include:

1. Achilles tendinitis
2. Achilles tendon rupture
3. Avulsion fracture
4. Broken ankle/broken foot
5. Gout
6. Osteoarthritis
7. Pseudogout
8. Rheumatoid arthritis
9. Septic arthritis
10. Sprained ankle
11. Sprains and strains