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- How Does "Online PT" Work?
Whether you have pain, dizziness, poor balance, or mobility challenges in your home or community, physical therapy is a necessity to address those issues helping you work towards the outcome you desire. With Online PT by Achieva Rehab, physical therapy is more accessible than ever. Get connected with a physical therapist on your smartphone or computer for quality, patient-centered care from anywhere. As we all practice safe social distancing, remote care remains the best option for many PT patients. Comprehensive physical therapy evaluations are only a few "clicks" away with Achieva Rehab's Online PT Program. You don’t need a prescription for physical therapy, and the convenience of our cornerstone program, out In-Home PT is simply carried out just a little differently with the same effectiveness. Every telehealth visit with Achieva Rehab begins with a comprehensive evaluation. We talk to you in detail about your current life, your prior abilities, and the life you want to live. We talk about the reasons you are unhappy with how your issue (pain, dizziness, mobility challenges) is making you feel and what is important TO YOU. We then assess what is causing your main issue and develop a program that helps you cross that bridge from where you are to where you want to be...your desired outcome free from worry about pain, dizziness, or mobility challenges and free from the concern that you might get worse or even lose your independence. When you participate in a Virtual Visit with Achieva Rehab, we are simply moving your PT form your Home to your Home-Screen and that doesn't change the quality of what we offer. During your visit, your physical therapist will perform a thorough evaluation of your strength, range of motion and a functional analysis of the injured region on live, two-way video. Together, you will develop a comprehensive treatment program to address your needs. Treatments will include exercises and stretches that can be completed at home under advisement of your physical therapist. Your physical therapist will walk you through your treatment plan, addressing any and all concerns. Follow-up virtual visits will be scheduled accordingly to monitor your progress. Signing up for Achieva Rehab's Online PT service is easy! Fill out a contact form on our website, and we will reach out to you shortly to collect all the necessary information. We will send you electronic forms to fill out in your email, and you’ll receive an email link to connect with your physical therapist! Achieva Rehab's Online PT program is compatible with Apples, Androids and computers/laptops. Right now, our Online PT program allows you to not wait to address your concerns before it's too late. Waiting another day may be like driving in the wrong direction...it causes you to take a longer trip to get to your destination. Get there sooner. Joel J. Digris, Owner Achieva Rehabilitation 1-888-929-7677 www.achievarehab.com/online-pt
- H2Oh!!! I didn't realize water was that important?
Your body needs water for each cell, tissue, and organ to function effectively. Especially today as our lives are changing due to COVID-19, our routines may be altered, but staying hydrated should not be an afterthought. Staying hydrated improves your health because your body relies on water to help move junk out of the body, transport nutrients to the cells, lubricate joints, regulate body temperature and improve its overall wellness. I just had this conversation with a new patient of ours this week. His lips were dry and he also wasn't eating very well, yet we were working really hard with him physically. I took ten to fifteen minutes to detail why it's so important to get water into his system so that all his work and recovery would be maximized. Without the water, the work is not as effective. Why Staying Hydrated Is So Important There is a standard recommended amount of water to be taken in a day but the truth is, the amount of water each person needs in a day differs depending on different factors. The recommended 6-8 glasses of water might not be enough for someone who is mostly physically active, especially athletes. This is because an athlete loses more water through sweating hence they will need to take more water to stay hydrated. Drinking water can also reduce the body's response to stress. Hydration makes your body better equipped to deal with stress, both mental and physical. Don't we all need that right now?? Signs of Dehydration The most common sign of dehydration is thirst. Other signs include a dry mouth, headaches, dizziness, dark colored urine, muscle cramps, and exhaustion. However, this does not mean that you should wait for a sign for you to drink more water. The best way to stay hydrated is by drinking adequate amounts of water. Other drinks might quench your thirst but they might end up adding more calories and sugar to your body. If you do not like to drink water, try adding a slice of lemon to give it taste. To help stay hydrated, carry a bottle of water with you and sip on it throughout the day or keep a bottle at your desk. There are also several smart phone apps that can assist in reminding you to stay hydrated throughout the day. Take charge of your health and stay hydrated. It is important that we maintain hydration especially as our lives change. Changes in your life due to COVID-19, like working form home and increased stress, can make us forget some essentials. For more ways of getting and staying healthy, especially those that help your body in the ways that physical therapy can, contact Achieva Rehabilitation. 1-888-929-7677 www.achievarehab.com
- Virtual PT Visits...by Achieva Rehab...Same Outcomes / Different "Delivery". 😉
"What is your favorite pizza?" Everyone has their favorite pizza. Now, let's say you order that pizza on Monday and "Clarence" delivers it to you in a Cadillac. Then, let's say you order that pizza on Wednesday and "Clarence" delivers it to you in a Ford Pinto. Disclaimer: "Clarence" is the delivery guy. And a Ford Pinto (an old entry model vehicle from the 80s) is probably aging me quite a bit right now. 👴🏻 But, I digress..the pizza is equally as delicious no matter how it was "delivered". It's still your favorite pizza, same quality, same consistency, same efforts by the pizza maker, so, it's the outcome that matters...a delicious meal that you enjoy immensely, regardless of how it was "delivered!" 🚗 What's my point? Achieva Rehab's In-Home PT Program has been so effective for so many people over the last five years. We changed the way some people think of the "delivery" of Physical Therapy. We have a legion of past patients who are proof that our brand of PT works amazingly well..dare I say, better than with brick and mortar PT. Then comes the coronavirus. Ugh!! 😟 Many of you still struggle with pain, dizziness, poor balance, or mobility challenges even more now that you are all jailed in your own homes. You need a solution to those issues now more than ever. But, how do you get help if you can't even open your front door without the worry of being a statistic in this pandemic? As always, Achieva Rehab is finding ways to help! Introducing our "Online PT" service. As you watch the news, you constantly see two, three, maybe even four boxes with reporters and guests in those boxes communicating in real time with each other. That is what our "Online PT" program is like. If you can click on a link in your phone or tablet or computer, you and I can be in one of those boxes on your screen and we can communicate about your problem and find the solution to ease it or make it go away. Worried that you may be losing your independence? Struggling to get up the stairs? Has it become a challenge to even take care of your home or yourself because you are getting dizzy and it's scary? Maybe you've fallen and are now sitting most of your day because you don't want it to happen again fearing you may need to go to a hospital during the pandemic? The way we "deliver" PT doesn't matter..our brand of PT is built around education, training, assessment, monitoring, and using techniques and exercises that don't often require us to be in the same room. For that reason, our "Online PT" Program is doing very well with people with dizziness, movement disorders, pain, or generalized weakness for other reasons. We are even setting up folks for after their elective surgeries get scheduled again...it's very exciting. Remember "Clarence?" If "Clarence" takes a wrong turn and goes in the wrong direction when "delivering" your pizza, it takes much longer to get there and the outcome is that the pizza is not as warm and delicious. The same is true right now for the issues that you are dealing with...the longer you wait to address them, the longer it takes for you to reach the outcome you desire. We would not choose a "delivery" method that wasn't proven to be effective to help you get to your outcome. So, I encourage you to reach out to us, check out our "Online PT" page for more information and answers to your questions. We are offering the first visit FREE to make sure that we can make it work with you and to give you the confidence to learn for yourself that it's the Achieva Rehab brand that matters most...not how it is "delivered." For more information, don't hesitate to call or text: 1-888-929-7677 or visit www.achievarehab.com/online-pt Be well! Joel J. Digris, Owner Achieva Rehabilitation
- Was healthcare better in black and white?
Color TV didn't arrive until the 1960s. MRI and CT scans came along in the 70s. Before this time, doctors made house calls and prescription medications were not the uber monopoly that is present today. The reason for this blog is to revisit those good ole' days when doctors had more than five minutes with you, weren't being pulled in ten different directions by regulations and insurance requirements and limitations, and had the ability to focus on you and only you. Those were better times. Months ago, I did a series of short informational snippets on why primary care doctors are in an environment that doesn't lend to the patient having the best outcomes. I called it "Doc Holland did it better" because he was my doctor as a youth and he was there for you anytime, anywhere. Today, the system would restrict Doc Holland significantly...and that stinks. Today, the norm is to add pills, call a specialist, and get MRIs, CT scans etc. But, I'm a physical therapist who owns a therapy company that provides In-Home Intensive PT sessions, and that's how Achieva Rehab is revisiting a better time. Our amazing therapists come to the patient's home to work one-on-one for 60 minutes of intensive interventions. Just the equipment we can bring to the home and our creativity and the patient's compliance...that's absolutely ALL WE NEED!!! It's a NEW, BETTER WAY TO REHAB that revisits an OLD, BETTER WAY to provide care to patients. I'm biased, but, it's awesome! If you are reading this, we need your help to get the word out..we've got amazing results and incredible patient reviews documented but we need doctors out there to recognize that this is a great way to help their patients. Pass it along!! Thank you for reading. www.achievarehab.com Phone and Fax: 1-888-929-7677
- Share? Nope!! Be selfish with your Physical Therapist!
Sharing is generally a great personal and social policy to adhere to as a child or an adult. Everyone knows that and everyone has been taught that at some point. I'm pleading with you to not share your Physical Therapist. Don't let your family member share their Physical Therapist. Don't let your friends share their Physical Therapist with other patients during their valuable treatment time. Sharing is a terrible idea! Keeping your therapist engaged with you and only you for your entire treatment session is so valuable to you as a patient, that you must not allow them to lend their expertise to anyone else during your sessions. In my opinion, there are many factors that lead to amazing results in therapy, but, the single most important factor in achieving excellent results is having a therapist all to yourself. Seeing every repetition of your exercises, being able to discuss every little aspect of your case, providing feedback constantly during your treatments only comes when a therapist is completely locked in with a patient. One-on-one physical therapy sessions don't often happen...most settings rarely have the ability to provide a one to one therapist to patient experience for every visit. Hospitals, outpatient facilities, inpatient rehab facilities, nursing homes...not likely to happen in those settings. If you can find a great therapist or group that provides one-on-one sessions with no outside influences, that situation is very likely to give you your best opportunity to meet your goals in your time of need. Regardless of your reason for functional decline, be selfish with your physical therapist until you meet your goals. Then, share them with anyone who has a need! At Achieva Rehab, we bring a mentality of intensive, one-on-one therapy sessions for 60 undistracted minutes right to your doorstep. Our results and reviews speak for themselves. Tell your doctor about us, share our program with your friends, and keep us for yourself if and when you need physical therapy.
- Man vs. Machine...Unfair fight.
Look at this picture...a rehab gym full of state of the art equipment...that's terrific!! Now, go to google and type in "how to choose a physical therapist" and see how many machines pop up into the discussion. That's not by chance. It's a fact....science has proven that we therapists don't need modern machinery to rehabilitate our patients. If your therapist is creative enough, and place great value in the human aspect of rehab, successful rehabilitation is possible in most environments....even within the comfort of YOUR OWN HOME!! John Henry, the "Steel Driving Man" was said to have taken on a steam powered hammer in a race to dig holes in rock to aide in mining. John Henry won that match with only a rudimentary old hammer. Man wins. The profession of physical therapy goes back before the 1900's but the history is better documented to have begun to rehabilitate wounded soldiers during WWI and more prominently WWII. Jack Lalanne invented exercise "machines" such as pulleys, smith machines, leg extension machines in the 50's, around the same time that treadmills were invented. I never thought I'd be the type that uttered the words "back in my day", but, let's consider that phrase....Physical therapists didn't need machines prior to 1950 and I can guarantee you that we don't need them now. Sure, they are great in certain ways for certain patient populations. But, the majority of patients in need can't even get out of their own home.....enter the creative therapist! The NEW, BETTER WAY, is using the patient's home as the place of service. The education, experience, and creativity of a good therapist will always far outweigh the fancy, "state of the art" machinery in a big time rehab gym. Give me a handful of mobile treatment tools and the "tools" in the patient's home, and the team consisting of patient and therapist is on the way to successful outcomes. So, when you or your physician think that it's essential to actually go to a rehab facility to get therapy, think again and rest easy in the fact that there are great therapists out there that want and NEED to help you when you can't help yourself...when you can't get to a therapy clinic....when you've declined and aren't doing well. Stay in your home, and let Achieva Rehab come to your home and turn it into the best therapy gym in town. Man wins!!!
- I'm too old for muscles!
Excuses, excuses, excuses. I don't accept them and I won't accept this one: "I'm too old to get stronger!" All too often, our great seniors have this belief that weakness is part of old age and that the geriatric body simply cannot get stronger. They believe that it is essentially inevitable that they will have more difficulty with functional activity as time goes on in their lives, which results in an unfounded level of hopelessness. Folks in their 80s are 40% weaker than they were in their 20s, but, their ability to improve strength is still very viable. Look...exercise should be considered in the same vain as prescription medication. Patients take pills when prescribed by their doctors without question. But, there are many who balk at the idea of exercise (therapy) when "prescribed" by the same physician. The contrast is in the fact that pills are easy and exercise is not. Pills take no effort and exercise is all about effort. There is belief that pills work at any age but exercise is only for the young. Exercise should be performed as regularly as taking your pills. Science is a great thing because it produces facts. The fact is that the muscles of the human body will react in the same manner at any age when exposed to regular exercise. Without going into details and statistics, there are numerous studies that prove this fact. Thus, we can improve strength at any age. If I could simplify my livelihood, it would center around this fact. I work every day with folks in their 80's, 90's, and even over 100 years of age and THEY GET STRONGER if they are compliant with our interventions. So...here is a formal invitation to all the readers out there and their elderly family members. If you are young, get off your butts and get moving because the more you move, the healthier you will be...consider it practice for old age...prepare your body to live happily into your "golden years." If you are close to or sitting in those "golden years", find a way to take advantage of the professional guidance of a therapist who will evaluate your functional weakness and make recommendations in order to get back your quality of life. Do not yield to the mistaken belief that you cannot improve....you can! Old age ain't for sissies...This was quoted from Bettie Davis, and she is absolutely correct. The good news is that I don't know many sissies that have made it to "old age." There are 168 hours in a week. Take 3 of those hours and get moving so that you can enjoy your life as long as possible. Fight osteoporosis, arthritis, lethargy, pain, and even dementia!! If you don't know how to do it, we can certainly help you...it's our job to help you improve your quality of life. Each journey starts with one step...take that step. Call for a FREE CONSULTATION 1-888-929-7677
- I approve this message...
You might say: "How can Joel think of Parkinson's Disease AND the impending 2016 presidential election and combine them in a blog? It's very easy in my eyes...So very often, patients and families who deal with Parkinson's Disease are in circumstances where hope dwindles slowly over time as it is a progressive neurological disorder. So too, is my hope that something positive might come from this presidential race dwindling slowly over time. This campaign season has become much like a progressive disorder of sorts. Parkinson's Disease is a disorder of the central nervous sytem, the brain. There is a change in the functioning of the communication pathways within the brain in multiple areas. Those areas affected include the basal ganglia, which is an area that is critical to monitoring normal movement and postural CONTROL. Coordination and management of intensity of movement and initiation of movement is more and more affected over time. Tremors, freezing, balance issues, motor planning etc. are the most well known symptoms of the disorder. With normal functioning pathways in this area of the brain, movement is fine tuned and monitored at a very rapid pace and with extreme accuracy which allows us to have control over each of the 600+ muscles in the body and the combinations of muscles that coordinate together for functional movement. With Parkinson's, if this area of the brain was a nightshift security guard, he'd be nodding off taking a nap every once in a while instead of being alert and motivated all of the time. The monitoring of the direction, distance, and intensity of movement by these communication pathways is not up to par, and thus, you see those symptoms. Other areas of the brain are also affected in the same way, but, most of the symptoms above are the ones that folks think of with this disease. Parkinson's Disease ranks second to Alzheimer's Disease in neurogenic disorders and therapy is infintiely valuable in the fight against the progression. The Michael J. Fox Foundation recently recommended a fairly new, well studied intervention strategy specifically for Parkinson's Disease by the name of LSVT LOUD for speech needs and LSVT BIG for physical and occupational therapy needs. The program promotes BIG or LOUD movements respectively...large AMPLITUDE, high INTENSITY movements such as over-exagerrated stepping forward, backward, sideways, over-exagerrated trunk movements and as scientifically proven as the program is, it is amazing in it's simplicity. I love simplicity when it comes together with science...I love it! Results of studies have proven it more effective than traditional interventions. I am personally excited to continue to learn more and more about this program and I have already implemented the program with my patients...it's really exciting to put an idea to the grindstone and push it along to success. Nevertheless, Parkinson's Disease needs more research to continue to move towards a cure, but, in the meantime, I am excited to continue to broaden the number of tools that I can offer to my patients to help them fight against the effects of this disease and dramatically slow down the pace at which hope is dwindling for them and their families. Let me know how the 2016 presidential race turns out.....I'll be in a bunker in Nova Scotia. You can learn more about LSVT here: http://www.lsvtglobal.com/ Please call for a FREE CONSULTATION 1-888-929-7677