Can Manual Therapy Help Back and Neck Pain? When Hands-On Care Fits the Treatment Plan
Manual therapy for back pain, hands-on mobilization or manipulation of the spine by a trained clinician, can modestly ease pain and stiffness…
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Blog Category
Physiotherapy & Rehab
Articles on physiotherapy and rehabilitation: exercises, realistic timelines and milestones after surgery or injury, and how to get the most from work with your therapist. Follow your own programme; these pages explain the principles.
What Swallowing Rehabilitation Involves: Exercises, Texture Changes and Safe Eating Positions
Swallowing rehabilitation, usually led by a speech-language pathologist, combines three things: targeted exercises that strengthen and retrain the tongue, throat and airway-protecting muscles; changes…
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Driving After a Stroke: The Rules and the Assessment
In most places you should not drive for a period after a stroke, commonly at least one month for private car drivers and considerably…
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How to Tape a Knee: Step-By-Step Methods for Support, Pain Relief and Sport
To tape a knee, clean and dry the skin and bend the knee slightly. For front-of-knee pain, anchor rigid tape on the outer edge…
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Stroke Rehabilitation Timeline: From Hospital Bedside to Outpatient Therapy and Home Practice
A stroke rehabilitation timeline usually begins at the hospital bedside within about 24 to 48 hours, moves to an inpatient rehabilitation unit or home-based…
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Manual Therapy vs Chiropractic Adjustment: How the Approaches and Evidence Differ
Manual therapy is a broad family of hands-on techniques, including joint mobilization, soft tissue work and manipulation, used mostly by physical therapists as part…
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What Physiotherapy Involves, and What to Wear to Your First Session
Physiotherapy (called physical therapy in the United States) is a licensed health profession that restores movement and function after injury, surgery, illness, or long-term…
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CPM Machines: What Continuous Passive Motion Does After Knee Surgery
A CPM (continuous passive motion) machine slowly bends and straightens the knee on a motorized cradle, with no effort from the patient. Large reviews…
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What Does Stroke Rehabilitation Involve? Physical, Occupational, Speech and Cognitive Therapy
Stroke rehabilitation is a coordinated program that helps the brain and body relearn lost skills after a stroke. It usually combines physical therapy for…
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What Happens at a Physical Therapy Evaluation and How It Shapes Your Program
A physical therapy evaluation is the first, longer appointment where a physical therapist interviews you about your problem, health history and goals, then examines…
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Dry Needling Benefits: What Patients Report vs What Studies Measure
Dry needling is a technique in which a trained clinician inserts thin filament needles into tight muscle bands to reduce pain and improve movement.…
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Dry Needling vs Acupuncture: Same Needles, Different Logic
Dry needling and acupuncture use the same thin, solid filiform needles, but the reasoning behind them differs. Dry needling targets myofascial trigger points, the…
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How to Strengthen Your Knees: Exercises Physiotherapists Use
To strengthen knee joints, build the muscles that control the knee rather than the joint itself: the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, and calves. Physiotherapists typically…
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TENS Units: How They Work, Where the Pads Go, What to Expect
A TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit is a small, battery-powered device that delivers mild electrical pulses through adhesive skin pads to ease pain…
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How Vestibular Rehabilitation Retrains the Brain: Gaze, Habituation and Balance Exercises
Vestibular rehabilitation exercises are a structured physical therapy program that uses repeated head, eye and balance movements to help the brain recalibrate after an…
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Orthotics: What Custom Supports Can and Cannot Fix
Orthotics are shoe inserts that redistribute pressure, cushion tender tissue and modestly alter how the foot loads. Evidence shows they can ease plantar heel…
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Stroke Recovery Exercises: What It Means, What to Expect and When to See a Specialist
Stroke recovery exercises are repetitive, task-focused movements guided by a rehabilitation team to help the brain rewire around damaged tissue. Most gains come in…
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Private Rehabilitation Hospital: What It Means, What to Expect and When to See a Specialist
A private rehabilitation hospital is a facility, or a dedicated unit within a larger hospital, that provides intensive, coordinated therapy after a serious illness,…
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