Raleigh Premier Manual Physical Therapy
Raleigh Premier Manual Physical Therapy

Services

Services

What can I expect during my physical therapy session at Pro Motion Physical Therapy?

During each Initial Evaluation and throughout the treatment the Physical Therapist will determine what is appropriate for your case. If you come to PT with specific intentions of receiving a certain modality please inform your PT. These techniques are in conjunction with exercises, stretches and a home exercise program to make sure you are getting the best care possible.

There is no extra cost for any of these services - they are included in your Physical Therapy care.

Dry Needling:

The APTA (American Physical Therapy Association) defines Dry Needling as “a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissues for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments.”

Dry Needling in Pro Motion Physical Therapy is used for many different purposes. It is mainly used to release active and latent trigger points to decrease resting tone of the muscle, restore proper function and decrease pain in the muscle. By puncturing the tendon and/or muscle we are creating bleeding in the area which stimulates the healing process in that area. Finally, Dry Needling can also be used to internally to manipulate scar tissue and fascia to help promote tissue movement.

The typical sensation of getting dry needled is a slight prick at the surface when the needle is inserted and then a dull "tooth ache" sensation when the needle inserts into the trigger point. During the entire time the therapist is communicating with the patient to make sure everything is appropriate.

Conditions that would benefit from Dry Needling include:

  • Low back and neck pain
  • Shoulder Impingement
  • Migraine or Tension Headaches
  • TMJ pain
  • Tendinitis
  • Sciatica
  • Plantar Fasciitis

Manual Therapy:

This is a very broad term used to describe any hands on treatment from a practitioner. Here at Pro Motion Physical Therapy, we describe it as specifically mobilizing a joint, muscle, or fascia in a particular restricted pattern with the intent of increasing mobility and range of motion. Each physical therapist has the in depth knowledge of every joint in the body, knows the specific anatomy of each muscle and understands the quality of movement expected from each joint and tissue. By identifying what is limited in movement or what displays dysfunctional movement patterns, we are able to specifically mobilize the tissue in the specific limited direction. This is a great technique to restore proper movement then follow up with specific exercises to train the muscles to maintain what was gained in each session. Without restoring proper joint and tissue mechanics and only doing exercises and stretches you are in a way training your joints or tissues to work in a dysfunctional pattern.

Conditions that would benefit from Manual Therapy include:

  • Low back and Neck Stiffness
  • Tension headaches
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Sciatica or Radicular pain
  • Foot/Ankle pain
  • Knee pain
  • Rotator cuff or shoulder pain

Cupping

Cupping therapy is based on creating a negative pressure and drawing body tissues outwards by applying special cups to the skin. Cupping may help to increase local circulation, improve lymphatic flow, release scar tissue/fascial adhesions, relax muscles, release trigger points, and decrease swelling and pain. Most clinicians use the traditional method of cupping by applying multiple cups to an area and keep them in place for a long period of time. This leads to the typical circular bruising you commonly see. Here at Pro Motion we use the cups to create a different dimension to manipulate the tissue. With traditional massaging you can only push down into the tissue. The cups allow us to pull the tissue up and separate adhered tissue. We move the cups as well as having the patient perform movement patterns to free up restricted areas. Rarely is there bruising with our technique of cupping.

Conditions that would benefit from Cupping include:
  • Low back and Neck Stiffness
  • Tension headaches
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Sciatica or Radicular pain
  • Foot/Ankle pain
  • Knee pain
  • Rotator cuff or shoulder pain

Bloodflow Restriction Therapy (BFR)

Blood flow restriction, BFR, therapy is where a restriction cuff is used to form a sort of tourniquet around either your arm or leg to prevent blood from leaving you limb but allowing blood to enter. So a proper amount of pressure is used to fully occlude the venous output but not enough pressure to occlude the arterial inflow of blood. This causes a pooling of blood in your limb while exercising. This gorging of blood while wearing BFR cuffs during physical therapy allows the muscles to get stronger and increase muscle size while only using low resistance exercises. Studies show that within 1-3 weeks patients see strength gains similar to high resistance exercise while hypertrophy or muscle growth occurs even sooner. This is great for patients who recently had surgery and aren’t able to do more aggressive strengthening done later in the rehab process. PT can get the same muscle strength gains by using BFR and doing low intensity exercises. This will progress your rehab faster and get you to tolerate the more complex exercises sooner. It is also great for the older population and patients not in as good physical shape. By using BFR you can fatigue the muscle and get stronger faster without the soreness most people have after going the the gym. This allows you to be more active with less rest days between exercising and you don’t have to be in pain from the soreness. There is no extra charge for blood flow restriction at Pro Motion PT.

Conditions that would benefit from BFR include:
  • Post surgical patients, both upper and lower extremity
  • Chronic Tendinitis
  • General weakness and deconditioning
  • Difficulty with walking and/or balance