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Being heavily into music, I’ve seen Dan Rather interview professional musicians on his television show “The Big Interview” many times. He’s obviously very good at what he does. Not being a huge fan of the artist by the name “Jewel”, I was intrigued by this particular episode and clicked it on for a few minutes. Worth learning about, hers is a very inspirational story but the reason I’m writing this is because of one singular idea that she talked about…the fact that what your hands do can really tell a great deal about you. So, I thought about it and, well, put my hands to work to type this column up. “The hands are the servants of your thoughts”. If you regularly watch what your hands do, I believe it will tell you who you are as a person. All of your priorities, likes and dislikes, hobbies, your health status can all be demonstrated in what you do with your hands. What an amazing concept! Although I’m wowed by the idea of listing the many examples that come to mind when processing the idea of this theory, I’m a healthcare provider and it is my ultimate duty to try to make people realize the importance of their own health. So, what are your hands doing on a daily basis? Are they holding a smart phone and watching 20 second videos or scanning Facebook to see what everyone else is doing? Are they on your remote control flipping through hundreds of channels on the television to find something worthy? Are they working hard to do your job, take care of your family and home? Is there any time during your day where they are working to help you become or stay healthy and mobile so you can enjoy life with zest for as long as possible? If not, what should they be doing? Go to the grocery store and use your hands to pick up plenty of vegetables and fruits, lean meats and fish, foods that are not laced with preservatives, sugar and man-made trash ingredients. Use your hands to put down the processed foods, breads and candies that destroy your cells. Use your hands to hold a book that will teach you about good nutrition and exercise. Take a look at your hands as you do push-ups, jumping jacks. Take a look at your hands as you take a brisk walk, go for a bike ride or simply stand up and sit down from your chair as many times as you can in a row (my favorite exercise for everybody by the way). Put your hands to work for you…make that a priority and the rest of your body will thank you for years to come with the ability to get out and enjoy yourself. “The hands are the servants of your thoughts”. They can either serve you well through helping you exercise and eating correctly, or they can slowly contribute to the breakdown of your body as you get older. But they don’t act alone…your thoughts must guide your hands’ actions. I hope I’ve made you think more about your health and that I’ve given you a way to use the energy of your hands to help you live a healthier life. Be good and do good!

Vestibular hypofunction is a condition where the inner ear balance system, known as the vestibular system, is not working properly. This can lead to symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, and difficulty with vision and coordination. At Achieva Rehabilitation, we offer specialized in-home physical therapy programs designed to address vestibular hypofunction and help you regain your balance and quality of life. What is Vestibular Hypofunction? Vestibular hypofunction occurs when there is reduced function in one or both parts of the vestibular system, which includes the inner ear structures and the brain pathways that help control balance and eye movements. Causes can include: Inner Ear Infections:  Infections such as labyrinthitis or vestibular neuritis can damage the inner ear. Aging:  Natural degeneration of the inner ear structures. Head Injury:  Trauma that affects the inner ear or brain. Ototoxic Medications:  Certain drugs that can damage the inner ear. Symptoms of Vestibular Hypofunction Dizziness and Vertigo:  A sensation of spinning or moving. Imbalance and Unsteadiness:  Difficulty maintaining balance, especially in the dark or on uneven surfaces. Nausea:  Feeling sick to the stomach. Difficulty Focusing:  Trouble with vision when moving, such as reading or watching TV. The Role of Vestibular Therapy Vestibular therapy, also known as vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT), is a specialized form of physical therapy aimed at reducing dizziness, improving balance, and enhancing overall functional mobility for individuals with vestibular disorders. Key Components of Vestibular Therapy: Gaze Stabilization Exercises:  These exercises help improve control of eye movements so that vision remains clear during head movements. This can be crucial for tasks like reading or driving. Habituation Exercises:  These exercises reduce dizziness by repeatedly exposing the patient to the specific movements or environments that trigger their symptoms. Balance Training:  Exercises designed to improve overall stability and coordination, reducing the risk of falls. Functional Training:  Practicing daily activities and movements to build confidence and improve safety in everyday tasks. Benefits of In-Home Physical Therapy for Vestibular Hypofunction At Achieva Rehabilitation, our in-home physical therapy program offers numerous benefits for individuals dealing with vestibular hypofunction: Convenience:  Receive high-quality care in the comfort of your home, eliminating the need to travel, which can be challenging if you're experiencing dizziness. Personalized Attention:  One-on-one sessions with a licensed physical therapist ensure that your therapy is tailored to your specific needs and progress. Safe Environment:  Our therapists help you practice exercises and movements in your own home, making the transition to everyday activities safer and more effective. Continuous Monitoring:  Regular assessments allow us to track your progress and adjust your therapy plan as needed. Success Stories from Achieva Rehabilitation Our clients have experienced significant improvements through our in-home physical therapy programs. Here are a few highlights from our Google reviews: John M.  shared, "After struggling with dizziness for months, I started in-home therapy with Achieva. The personalized exercises made a world of difference. I can now move around my home with confidence." Susan L.  noted, "The convenience of having therapy at home was a game-changer. My balance improved dramatically, and I feel more secure walking in my neighborhood again." Robert K.  commented, "The one-on-one attention I received from my therapist was invaluable. I never felt rushed, and every session was focused on my needs. Highly recommend Achieva!" Conclusion Vestibular hypofunction can significantly impact your daily life, but with the right intervention, improvement is possible. Achieva Rehabilitation's in-home physical therapy program offers the perfect combination of expertise, personalized care, and convenience to help you manage and overcome symptoms of vestibular hypofunction. Don't let dizziness control your life—take the first step towards better balance and well-being with our specialized in-home physical therapy services. For more information about our services, visit our website  and discover how we can help you achieve your rehabilitation goals. Keywords:  in-home physical therapy, mobile physical therapy, physical therapy at home, in-home rehab services, home-based physical therapy, elderly physical therapy at home, post-surgery physical therapy at home. More great information about dizziness and vertigo... www.achievarehab.com info@achievarehab.com 888-929-7677 https://www.youtube.com/@achievarehabilitation6370 Click HERE  for more info about the Achieva Rehabilitation In-Home Physical Therapy Program

A great thing to do if you are early on in your Parkinson's disease journey is to track your abilities. This will allow you to have a reference as time goes on to determine if you need more of one thing or another. For example, if you are able to walk for 2 miles today, write that down on today's date and compare it in 6 months to a year. Take a picture of what your posture looks like when you're just standing in a normal posture and compare that 6 months to a year down the road. Look at your walking stride length and take a picture or a video of how your stride is coming along. Assess your balance by taking a picture of you possibly standing with your feet together or maybe trying to stand on one foot. These references can tell you later on, in comparison, if you need some intervention to improve. If you have Parkinson's Disease, you don't have to let it win. You can live well with Parkinson's Disease. The following is a review and recollection of a patient with PD that was able to do so with our In-Home PT Program: "I have participated at other physical therapy facilities using their fancy machines. Achieva is different. They use what you have in your home so that you can function in your everyday life. You will not find anyone with more knowledge, compassion, or perseverance to help their patients achieve their goals more than Achieva Rehabilitation." This was a case that was pretty challenging. We did it all within the comfort of the patient's home and had amazing success. You see, because it is one-on-one for 60 minutes, it's just the therapist and the patient, and there's nothing more valuable than that. You just don't get that anywhere else. Always here and always available to help: www.achievarehab.com 1-888-929-7677 Another Blog about PD: https://www.achievarehab.com/single-post/thaw-out-the-freezing-of-parkinson-s-disease-learn-how-to-keep-your-feet-moving

So people with Parkinson's often experience what we call sticky feet. It can be called festinating or freezing, where it feels like your feet are just kind of choppy at certain points, where they want to kind of just flutter on the ground without actually lifting your feet to actually walk forward. What we find and is classic with people with Parkinson's is that when they experience that feeling, it's usually when they're changing direction, such as making a left or a right turn. It often occurs when they're going through doorways and the threshold is something that they have to think about. It often happens when they're approaching a more narrow space, and it often happens when they're approaching something new in their pathway, such as going in and out of a grocery store door or things like that. So if you have that feeling to any degree in your daily life with Parkinson's disease, I've got a few tips for you that help quite a bit if you employ them often. So what happens when you get that sticky feeling is your body and your brain try to continue to fight their way out of it. So you end up with this kind of fluttering feeling where your feet just don't want to come up, but it still feels like your body is moving forward. As you progress, that can be very dangerous because your body will continue to move and your feet will be stuck to the ground, and that leads to many falls. So what we encourage is the second you begin to feel that kind of freezy sticky feeling in your feet, you simply stop, relax yourself, don't try and move for at least 10 seconds, and that relaxes that sensation where you're not trying to push through it, you're just going to reset your system by the 10-second stop. After you stop and you reset, the most important, number two tip is to march your way through it by thinking about stepping with your knees. So when our lives are going well and we're not dealing with any kind of morbidities like Parkinson's disease, our walking is just natural. We don't have to think about it. Our brain tells our feet to move one ahead of the other. When we develop something like Parkinson's disease and there might be those sticky feet, your automatic response is to start thinking about lifting your feet higher so that you can get through that stickiness. What I think works much better is to generate some more force through the bigger muscles in the legs, which are more connected to the knees. So I find if you think about lifting and walking with your knees, lifting them up and marching, you have a much better chance of being able to prevent that sticky feeling. The other thing involved in the marching strategy is when you're changing direction to any degree, that might be making a left or a right-hand turn, it might be turning your body so that you're approaching a chair to sit down, you march through those direction changes. Now, you don't have to march where your knees are coming up to your chest, you just have to think about marching so that there's sort of a dance to it, left, right, left, right, left, right, and it's kind of musical. So if you're able to do that as you're going through your day, it helps quite a bit. Now, as you advance with your Parkinson's, you will notice this happening more often. So the earlier you start with these strategies, the better you are going to be. So if you feel the stickiness come on, stop 10 seconds, which resets your system. March through as you initiate that movement again to restart your walking. You're going to be thinking about lifting your legs with your knees, which will generate more power from the bigger muscles around your knees and your hips. When you have to change direction, march through those direction changes. Don't let your body lead the activity. March with high knee movement. If you have that freezy sticky kind of feeling with your feet with Parkinson's, I hope these tips can help you quite a bit. Please watch the video over again whenever you feel like you need a little guidance. It helps my patients quite a bit, and I think it can help you. If you like this video, literally press the like button, subscribe to our channel. We hope to be able to give regular content for people just like you in the future. www.achievarehab.com

If anyone remembers David Letterman, this was a joke that he used regularly to poke fun at his home state of Indiana whenever he would bring up statistics in his monologue. I recall it fondly whenever I hear that word. And now, I will bore you with statistics that may be very relevant and maybe even scary when it comes to your health and well-being. You’re welcome! One third of the population over age 65 falls each year. Falls are the leading cause of both non-fatal and fatal injuries among older adults. Every 19 minutes an older adult DIES from a fall. On the bright side, falling is NOT a NATURAL part of aging and YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR BALANCE AT ANY AGE! Low back pain is the number one cause of disability in the world. About 80% of the population will experience back pain at some point in their lives. 39% of older people cannot participate in daily activities because of their back pain. Here is the good news: Back pain is NOT a NATURAL part of aging. And YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR BACK PAIN AT ANY AGE. Obesity rates in the US are approaching 50% of the population for adults and near 20% for children. YES! Children! These are the highest rates ever documented. Waist size is now a predictor of life expectancy. That is right! The bigger your waist measurement, the greater your risk for premature death. I hope you are all aware of how this affects every single system in your body in a negative way. The good news is that gaining weight is NOT a NATURAL part of aging and YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR WEIGHT AND HEALTH AS A RESULT AT ANY AGE. The common thread here is that these problems and a host of other physical problems that we may encounter as we get older are preventable but also fixable with exercise. Sorry…there is no magic pill, no late-night infomercial with a product that will change your life forever. It is hard work through exercise. Now, some of these issues require specialized knowledge so please make sure you seek that knowledge to get the best results. A physical therapist is a great place to start as they are exercise experts. But even general exercise to any degree, such as walking, is much better than nothing. It's medically proven that people who do regular physical activity have up to a 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, up to a 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, up to a 50% lower risk of colon cancer, up to a 20% lower risk of breast cancer, a 30% lower risk of early death, up to an 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis, up to a 68% lower risk of hip fracture, a 30% lower risk of falls (among older adults), up to a 30% lower risk of depression, up to a 30% lower risk of dementia. What is next? Put down this paper, turn off your TV and get started. Not everyone exercises but everyone should! The greatest adventures start with one small step. Take that first step today toward a healthier you and make it contagious. Tell your friends and family and especially any young people in your lives…get moving so these statistics don’t apply to you!! Be well, be good, and do good!

When I started this column months ago, because I knew the topic would be everywhere, I wanted to avoid boring the reader with more talk of the pandemic. But there is a twist here, an angle worthy of comment. Pick something. Arthritis in your knee, back, hip. Problems with balance or dizziness. Movement challenges that come along with Parkinson’s Disease or Multiple Sclerosis. You name it…whatever physical issues you have to deal with will always be worse the less you move….always! So, it stands to reason that because we are all sitting around for what feels like years waiting for this thing to cease, our bodies have suffered from the loss of movement. The less you move, the worse your body functions AND the worse it feels! So, because you are also likely to be watching a lot more TV, I’m going to interrupt this regularly scheduled program with an infomercial: I’m here to provide you with an exciting, revolutionary, game-changing, life-boosting, supersized new health improvement product (read obviously in that cheesy infomercial style voice)! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…YOUR HOME!! What!!?? My HOME is a revolutionary health improvement product? Absolutely! In my In-Home Physical Therapy program, we use the patient’s home in creative ways to help them get stronger, improve their balance, and reduce their pain. Gym equipment? Pfft! Use your home and get creative while you are stuck there to not only prevent the challenges above, but to get better! You see, the human body needs to be tested over and over again in order to improve. But the test doesn’t have to be conventional gym equipment. Gyms have stair climbers…you have stairs!. Gyms have leg press and squat machines…you have chairs! In balance therapy, some clinics have specialized equipment that makes you wobble…your home has couch cushions to do the same! The good news is the body can’t discriminate between a chest press machine and a pushup. Take a 12-year-old boy who is on his first day in the fields for his family farm. Scrawny, weak, thin. Now take that same boy 6 years later after the work that is required of the industry and you will have a strong, tough, solid man…his body adapted to being tested because it needed to in order to pass the tests on the farm every day. All this without touching one barbell or machine. And all basically from home. For me, the home is an effective gymnasium if you change how you see it. If you change your thought process, you can change the outcome. Stand up from your chair as many times in a row as you can. Grab two soup cans and push them toward the ceiling. Put your hands on the wall at shoulder height and do wall pushups. Walk up and down your steps and extra 4-5 times per day or go for a walk outside if you can do it safely. And by all means, do not sit for longer than an hour at a time…yuck! There are not enough lines in this column to allow a complete list of ideas on how you can use the home to improve strength, balance, and even reduce pain. But I’m hoping to have sparked your interest in how to look at things a bit differently realizing that being stuck at home can be liberating. Your home, your world is a gym and can benefit you greatly if you take the right action. So, stay home. Stay safe. And keep moving! Oh! And because you own the “gym”, you get free membership for life! Make it a good life. Be good and do good!

Nothing is more important than the safety of our loved ones and no one person is more important than your mother! If you are fortunate enough to still have your mother here with you on this big blue marble that we call earth, you may be worried at times about her safety. Maybe she lives alone at this point. Maybe she has gotten weak over the years (from raising you perhaps...haha!). Perhaps she has already fallen or just can't move the way she did when you were younger? Do you ever feel that there is nothing you can do? Or...do you try to find every available option to increase the likelihood of her safety being consistent and continuous? Do you manage her medications? Do you have an emergency call system setup on a chain around her neck? Do you have the neighbors check in on her daily, etc.? I'm sure that you do...your roles are reversed. She took care of you and now it's your turn! What if I told you that there is a very strong connection between someone's mobility and their overall health? What if I told you that there is a very strong connection between someone's mobility and their stability? What if I told you that I know a whole lot about helping older adults improve their balance, yes, improve their balance so that they can be safer at home alone and in the community? Would that be something that you'd take advantage of to maximize the safety of your mother? Absolutely true! A person's balance can improve and if your mother has balance concerns, perhaps a great gift would be to have us check her out to see how we can help her be as safe as possible...it's an amazing gift and one that goes well beyond Mother's Day. It will help her live safely for a very long time! The Achieva Rehab In-Home PT Program specializes in working with older adults to improve their balance so their loved ones don't have to worry. Give the gift of safety...it's as simple as a call to us to see how we can help! You owe it to mom! www.achievarehab.com 888-929-7676 info@achievarehab.com Click HERE for more info about the Achieva Rehabilitation In-Home Physical Therapy Program

Over the past several weeks, I’ve seen outrageous offerings to healthcare providers in terms of sign on bonuses. I've heard on radio ads upwards of $20,000 for a sign on bonus for RNs, and believe me, I am not writing this to say that we as healthcare providers, especially nurses, do not deserve that. But as physical therapists, the way business works, to see sign on bonuses in the thousands of dollars for PT's and PTA’s causes me to step back a little bit. Think about this as a foundation for this discussion: The largest physical therapy outpatient provider in the nation has a publicly reported profit margin of about 4 to 5%. This means that the company as an entity only keeps about 4 to 5% of the total amount of money that they make. By proxy in most circumstances, the majority of providers of physical therapy, both large and small across the country that operate under the same insurance reimbursement model, and have the same types of expenses should also be producing a very similar profit margin. No pun intended, that profit margin leaves very little margin to add expenses such as sign-on bonuses. In the world of physical therapy, the largest expense to a company is the cost of a good staff. So, how can a company offer for example a $5000 sign on bonus when they are generating a five or even a 10% profit margin? The likely answer is that business is a give and take and when they give you 5k, they may take your time in return and you are likely going to have to work harder, and see more patients in your day in order for the revenue to cover your sign on bonus, and you’re ever increasing salary. In my opinion, that $5000 upfront bonus can slowly suck the life out of you personally and professionally because all big operations have to look at profit first rather than patient's first. The term "PT Mill" was generated long ago and represents the way that clinics had to increase their visit numbers and see multiple patients at once simply in order to counteract the continous and repeated cuts of reimbursement. One of the great overriding tenets of my life is that the only valuable currency that we have is time. Sure, young therapists, just starting out on their own with no family who are geared up and full of vigor can go out and really benefit from that large sign on bonus, but my hope is that most clinicians would rather be given time. Time to spend one on one with their patients so that they can give them everything they need and give them the best chance at an outcome that they deserve. Time to actually go home and spend with family. Time to have a life outside of your profession. I believe that providing physical therapy is absolutely essential for many health issues, and should be considered much more valuable than it is in the continuum of care and the healthcare spectrum in totality, but that is another topic. I would urge you to think twice about the money and think more about your impact and your ability to successfully impact your patients, as well as what you are giving up because you are receiving a lump sum on the front end of a signature. Can you have your cake and eat it too? To go along with this information, there are companies that actually do one on one physical therapy sessions which are way more valuable than cookie cutter, double up the schedule systems. They too are providing offers with a lot of coin in the form of a sign on bonus. Research these online and you’ll find plenty of information....information about the take part of the give and take. Certainly, most of you are not old enough to remember the television show the facts of life. The theme song had lyrics that said: "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the facts of life." The overwhelmingly attractive good in these offers is the dollar sign followed by a four or five digit number. The problem with a company giving is that it’s all about math, and they have to find a way to take in order to be balanced in their bottom line. When you get a sign on bonus, you’re often locked into a multi year commitment, clauses in your contract that indicate when you may have to pay back your sign on bonus, productivity quotas, which, if they are not met, will affect your salary, a lower starting, or lower average salary for the work that is being done, and certain other things like unpaid travel, unpaid meetings, no compensation for equipment, etc. The list of things that a company can take from you is longer than what they can give back in a great deal of instances. My advice to you if you read this far is to ask a boatload of questions based on this information when you are chasing the money. The money may be certainly worth some of the headaches that come along with taking the offer but be educated. If your goal is to make a decent living being as effective and helpful as you can in our profession, I would consider a company that pays you a higher perdiem rate, sees patients one on one, pays for travel, pays for meetings as needed, provides a 401(k) benefit , gives you free reign autonomy over your schedule, and one that is run by a physical therapist who makes company choices not only based on the bottom line dollar, but based on the happiness and success of the clinicians in the company knowing that their patients will be getting their best. We may not be the only one, but Achieva Rehabilitation is certainly one of those companies. So, as I’ve encouraged you to do, please reach out to us and ask us questions. We would love to see if we might be a fit for what your professional goals are at this point. www.achievarehab.com info@achievarehab.com #inhomephysicaltherapy #physicaltherapyworks #choosept

At Achieva Rehabilitation, we know how important it is to help people who feel dizzy or have trouble balancing. Our mobile physical therapy program brings expert help right to your home. Here are some examples of the exercises you might do with us to improve your balance and feel less dizzy. Head and Eye Movements These exercises help your brain get used to movements that might make you dizzy. Side-to-Side Head Turns : Sit or stand and slowly turn your head from one side to the other. Keep your eyes focused on a target in front of you. Up and Down Head Moves : Slowly move your head up and down, keeping your eyes focused on a point in front of you. Standing Balance Exercises These exercises help improve your balance while standing. Heel-to-Toe Walk : Walk in a straight line, placing the heel of one foot directly in front of the toes of the other foot, like you’re walking on a tightrope. Single Leg Stance : Stand on one foot for 10-20 seconds. Hold onto a chair or wall for support if needed. Dynamic Balance Exercises These exercises challenge your balance while moving. Marching in Place : Lift your knees high as you march in place. Try to stay balanced without holding onto anything. Sidestepping : Take small steps to the side, keeping your body straight and looking forward. Eye-Head Coordination Exercises These exercises help your eyes and head work together. Focus on a Target : Hold a card with a letter on it at arm’s length. Keep your eyes on the letter while moving your head from side to side or up and down. Ball Toss : Toss a ball against a wall and catch it, keeping your eyes on the ball and moving your head to follow it. Strengthening Exercises Strong muscles help keep you steady. Chair Squats : Sit in a chair and then stand up, using your legs to lift you. Sit back down and repeat. Calf Raises : Stand up straight and rise onto your toes, then slowly lower your heels back to the ground. Hold onto a chair for balance if needed. Why Choose Achieva Rehabilitation? With our in-home physical therapy, you get personalized, one-on-one attention without the need to travel to a clinic. Our therapists work with you in your home, focusing on exercises tailored to your specific needs. We help you practice movements safely in your own environment, making it easier to apply these exercises to your daily life. Great Results from Our Patients Many of our patients have seen fantastic improvements: Maria S.  said, "The exercises helped me walk around my house without feeling dizzy. I can even go outside more now!" Tom P.  shared, "I never thought I could balance on one foot, but now I can! Achieva's therapists are the best." Conclusion If you’re struggling with dizziness or balance, our mobile physical therapy program can make a big difference. At Achieva Rehabilitation, we bring expert care right to your door, helping you improve your balance and reduce dizziness safely and effectively. For more information, visit our website at Achieva Rehabilitation . Let us help you regain your balance and confidence with our personalized in-home physical therapy services. Keywords:  in-home physical therapy, mobile physical therapy, physical therapy at home, in-home rehab services, home-based physical therapy, elderly physical therapy at home, post-surgery physical therapy at home. Here's more valuable information if you are uncertain about your balance...Test Yourself... www.achievarehab.com info@achievarehab.com 888-929-7677 https://www.youtube.com/@achievarehabilitation6370 Click HERE  for more info about the Achieva Rehabilitation In-Home Physical Therapy Program

So within the home, there's a few things that you can do, especially if you're a senior or if you're a family member of a senior who is living alone and is alone a lot of times. Let's make sure that we optimize some of the things in our home. You want to make sure that you get your medications checked. Side effects of medications can be drowsiness, dizziness. You want to make sure that there's not medications that are interacting with each other to cause those symptoms that will elevate your fall risk. The second one is always get your vision checked regularly. Make sure that your vision is as good as it possibly can be, whether you need glasses or not. Get your vision checked because vision is absolutely essential for your balance. It's one-third of our body's balance system in terms of how it helps you stay up and active and mobile. The other thing relative to that is you want to make sure that you keep your house very well-lit. A lot of people will fall in the nighttime when they have to get up and go to the bathroom because it's dark. So it leads back to that vision. If your vision is not as good as it possibly can be and the lights are out, you're taking away one-third of your body's balance systems in terms of the sensations it requires to help you keep steady. The next thing is, look around your house: throw rugs, cords that are running across the floor, any kind of object that's on the floor, narrow pathways. Those kinds of things can be disastrous with people who may not catch their balance if they lose it. If you're fortunate enough to have good balance, throw rugs aren't a big deal. You trip on the throw rug, and you'll catch yourself. But as you get older, that reaction might be much slower if you don't work on your balance regulary. The other thing that you can do is exercise safely. Exercise is extremely valuable. The better shape your body is in, the better your balance is going to react. It's like keeping your car fine-tuned all year round. You gotta keep your body in shape. Exercise, exercise, exercise. If you're sitting a lot throughout your day, don't let it happen. Get up and move around. Take a walk every half-hour in the home and get your lungs moving, get your muscles moving, get a little bit tired with that. It will keep your body working at its optimum level. More balance tips here: https://www.achievarehab.com/ Go to the website and download our book full of tips to help you have better balance. In all, if you do have balance issues, you need physical therapy. Bottom line...the only thing that helps people with balance problems is physical therapy. AND!! It works...let us help you!

You've got questions..we've got answers! Wait! You've got answers...we've got questions! 🤔 Jeopardy always confused me...anyway, a lot of people are contacting us with these same questions about our brand new "Online PT" program and how it works and more importantly how it can help them as much as our "In-Home PT" program. So, we've compiled the FAQs and hope this helps you to want to reach out if you are having some difficulty due to pain, dizziness, poor balance, or mobility concerns. You don't have to wait for the world to re-open to get the help you need. 🤔  Here is how Telehealth works… ​ ✔️  As long as you have internet service, it's literally as easy as turning on your phone, your tablet, or your computer and clicking on a few buttons.  You see us and we see and hear you just like we would if we were together in your home.  ✔️  Each session will last about 30 minutes-60 minutes depending on your specific needs and the quality of life outcomes we are moving towards. During the session we will get an update on your progress and move your program ahead just like in a normal PT session.  We will have you go through your exercises with 1-on-1 instruction and correction if needed.  And of course, upgrade as able. ​ ✔️  The treatment will be conducted using a simple video system on your phone, your tablet, or your computer.  Our program uses Zoom.com ​ ​ 🤔  Will you help me find out if my insurance will pay for this? ​ ☑️   Please message us here or fill out the form from the button below for your FREE FIRST ONLINE PT SESSION and we will contact your insurance company to get your detailed benefits.  With the current times, most insurance companies have approved this program without question.​ 🤔  Can I use my laptop or an iphone or ipad? ​ ☑️   We've been using our Online Physical Therapy Program with many different devices with our patients.  This includes all types of laptops, computers, ipads, iphones, android devices.  As long as you have internet, we are 99.9% sure it will work.  The only thing we are more certain of is that you will get better! ​ ​ 🤔  Will I need equipment? ​ ☑️   Our program rarely requires equipment.  You should set up in a room with a comfortable amount of space to move, comfortable clothes and we will figure out the rest. ​ ​ ​ 🤔  Will this work with people like me? I'm a little skeptical... ​ ☑️   Studies support what we've seen... great results with patient with pain, dizziness or vertigo, mobility challenges from movement disorders, balance issues, joint replacement.  We will be able to determine your likelihood of success during the FREE FIRST ONLINE PT VISIT. ​ ​ ​ 🤔  I'm sure that I will have questions...can I call you to get quick answers? ​ ☑️   Our biggest policy is our Grandma Standard , meaning that we are going to treat you with the same care and advice and attention that we would give to our own Grandma.  So, anytime Grandma calls, we answer...same with you.  We are available at 1-888-929-7677 before you start, during your time with us, and after you meet your goals. ​ ​ ​ 🤔  How can you help me get better if you don't have equipment? ​ ☑️   We have never needed equipment.  You get better because you care more about your health than being in a gym with fitness equipment.  Our experience in our In-Home PT Program has proven 100s of times that our teaching, assessment, and education are way more valuable than gym equipment.  See what our past patients have to say to support our methods...We always think their words are more important that what we say anyway... Click HERE. ​ ​ ​ 🤔  Technology scares me...Can I actually do this? ​ ✔️  The resounding answer is a definite "YES".  If you can check email, use facebook or Google on your device, our brand of Online Physical Therapy is EASY to manage! We've got more information on how this works on our dedicated page. Click HERE to learn more about our "Online PT" Program or take the easy, old-school route and give us a call at 1-888-929-7677. Hope you are very well! Joel J. Digris, Owner Achieva Rehabilitation www.achievarehab.com

Our patients in our Physical Therapy Program often ask us whether they should use ice or heat for their particular conditions. When deciding on which of these thermal modalities to use, here are some rules and guidelines, which if followed, will reduce the risk of adverse effects or further injury and provide for the most effective way of using these therapies. Among the many different physiological effects that ice and heat have on a tissue, there are basically 2 that make the most difference. These are vasoconstriction and vasodialation. Simply put, ice results in a narrowing of the local blood vessels (vasoconstriction), while heat will increase the vessels’ diameter (vasodilation). It is because of this main difference that the use of these modalities will vary. While both help to reduce pain, they should be used at the right time and in the correct manner or adverse results may occur. The general rule is that if the injury is acute (72 hours or less) or if there is inflammation in the tissue, then ice is the treatment of choice. By the same token, if there is no inflammation and if the condition is in a subacute or chronic stage (3 days to several weeks after an injury), then heat may prove to be more beneficial. When applying ice, one should take caution NOT to apply the ice pack directly to the skin as there would be a risk of frostbite. There should always be one layer of a damp towel or T-shirt placed between the ice pack and the skin.The proper way to use ice therapy is to multiple, back-to-back applications by applying the ice pack for 10-15 minutes (longer than this, and it can have the opposite effect, vasodilation, which would be not ideal), leaving off for one hour, and reapplying it again. Best results are obtained when this is repeated at least 3-4 hours immediately after an injury. To prevent tissue damage, it is important to be sure that the tissue temperature has returned to normal before applying ice to the area again. When using ice therapy you can expect the tissue to feel cold, followed by a burning sensation that will in a short time turn into an ache and will finally begin to feel numb. The main benefit of this will be a reduction in pain, spasm and swelling. When using heat, once again, prolonged exposure should be avoided. The therapeutic benefit of heat is best achieved by 30 minute applications with an hour in between to allow the tissue temperature to normalize. Heat therapy should never be used in bed as the risk of burns increase if one falls sleep during application resulting in prolonged exposure. The benefit is increased circulation along with reduction of pain and spasm. Since ice reduces blood flow to the tissue, it is important to remember NOT to use ice when a condition has reached a sub-acute or chronic state. This will result in a slowing of the healing process as the tissue is deprived of oxygen and nutrients. There is a third method of application called “contrast therapy” and it is considered to be superior to using ice or heat alone. This is once again used after the acute inflammation has subsided and its benefit is in its ability to rapidly flush the tissue with blood. Heat will bring in increased blood flow and with it comes increased oxygen and nutrients and ice will cause the blood to rapidly leave the tissue and take the waste and pain producing elements away. This will aid in increasing tissue repair and hence improve speed of recovery. When using contrast therapy, heat is applied first and last and ice is alternated. The time application ratio is usually 3 to one (3 minutes of heat followed immediately with one minute of ice). This should be repeated for approximately 20 minutes and repeated every hour. Following these simple guidelines will help in better outcomes when managing your injuries and will reduce the risk of adverse effects. Make Your Own Heat and Ice Packs Homemade gel ice packs What you need: 1 quart or 1 gallon plastic freezer bags (depending on how large you want the cold pack) 2 cups water1 cup rubbing alcohol (70%) Instructions: Fill the plastic freezer bag with 1 cup of rubbing alcohol and 2 cups of water.Try to get as much air out of the freezer bag before sealing it shut.Place the bag and its contents inside a second freezer bag to contain any leakage.Leave the bag in the freezer for at least an hour.When it's ready, place a towel between the gel pack and bare skin to avoid burning the skin. As an alternative to rubbing alcohol you may simply use dish soap, which has a gel-like consistency and will also freeze/retain the cold. Another way to apply ice to your painful back is by freezing water in a Styrofoam cup, and then asking someone to rub on the painful area of your back to reduce inflammation. Homemade moist heat packs There are two types of heat therapy: dry and moist. Moist heat packs are less dehydrating to the skin than dry heat. They also allow heat to absorb better into the skin and may relieve pain faster. What you need: Cloth container (sock, small pillow case, fabric) 4-6 cups of filling (such as uncooked rice, flaxseed, buckwheat, oatmeal) Needle and thread (optional, but recommended) Instructions: Fill your cloth container with the filling.Tie or sew the container shut.Microwave container for 1-3 minutes. Follow the use instructions above. Thanks for checking this out. If you are having pain, take the next step and set up a FREE Phone Assessment with one of our Specialists. Follow the link below. Click HERE to Arrange Your FREE Phone Assessment