Yesterday NPR aired a piece titled "To Curb Pain Without Opioids, Oregon Looks To Alternative Treatments." In it they spoke with a woman who, when at 59 she began to experience pain in various parts of her body she was prescribed "Vicodin and muscle relaxants" by a physician.

Topics: Manual Physical Therapy, pain medication, physical therapy, ptfirst, getpt1st, Hot Topics, over medication
Of late,Twitter has been engulfed in a rather ferocious to and fro on dry needling. The current darling of the PT world has been challenged. As any chivalrous gentleman would do, swords were drawn from their scabbards in defense of 'her' honor. The two sides parried back and forth until, so far as I can tell, each became weary of the other and returned to their abodes with nothing in particular resolved. (See just a few points of view here, here, and here).
Topics: Manual Therapy, Dry Needling, dry needling debate, Hot Topics
Ultrasound: Why Do Manual Therapists Cringe At The Request?
Topics: manual therapy, Manual Therapy, Clinical Fellowship Program, Clinical Reasoning, Hot Topics, sports medicine, track and field PT, ultrasound, USATF
The True Role of the SI Joint in Lower Quarter Dysfunction
Where will you be on June 5 and 6? If you're a PT professional or student looking get to the bottom of some important questions regarding function, network and learn from some of the best in the field of manual therapy, you're going to want to be in Seattle earning 10 contact hours!
Topics: Manual Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy, PT conference, PT symposium, SI joint, clinical skills, Faculty, Hot Topics, Sacroiliac joint
Everyday PTs across the country are dedicated to finding prevention strategies and treatment solutions for patients experiencing debilitating back pain, and NAIOMT faculty, courses and fellowships focus on providing the tools, clinical skills and mentorship necessary to do so. We know this pervasive issue needs more coordinated attention to help the millions of Americans whose quality of life suffers.
Topics: Courses, Physical Therapy, back pain, back pain study, clinical skills, Hot Topics, treating back pain
Baby Steps Toward Efficient, Effective & Affordable Healthcare
The LA Times published an interesting article a few days ago focused on the role some large companies are playing -- Boeing Starbucks and Costco in particular -- in encouraging efficient, effective and affordable healthcare. You can read the full piece by Noam Levey here and take from it what you like, but we wanted to focus today on this little snippet.
Topics: Manual Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy, Hot Topics
It’s probably not unreasonable to say that the most controversial issue facing manual therapy right now is an internal one--that of whether or not to allow PTAs to perform manual therapy techniques and in particular, manipulation. As you may or may not know, CAPTE has recently begun to bow to significant pressure from the PTA "lobby" (for lack of a better term). CAPTE’s current position is as follows:
Topics: joint manipulation, Physical Therapy, PTA, CAPTE, Hot Topics