Sitting is Bad for Your Health

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A new meta-analysis shows that sitting too much increases your risk of early death from any cause.  The other important finding is that this increases your risk even if you exercise.  Further, the study showed that the less active you were, the more likely you were to die prematurely.

Previous studies have also showed that you should get get up 35 times a day or get up about every 15 minutes throughout the day.

For many of our patients in the Christiansburg, Radford, and Blacksburg area, the struggle after successfully completing physical therapy has been finding a way to continue to exercise and keep moving afterwards.  Valley Sports & Spine Clinic and Valley Active are committed to finding a personal exercise plan to keep you regularly moving for a healthy lifestyle.

 

Good Luck!

 

Dr Ethan Colliver

The cure to low back pain?

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BackPainSMRegenerative Medicine may hold the cure to chronic low back.  Low back pain is commonly due to painful lumbar discs.  There are many treatments, but to-date there has never before been a cure.

Regenerative Medicine works to repair, replace, or restore normal function to injured body parts.  For example, mesenchymal precursor cells are throughout the body and can differentiate into bone, cartilage, tendon, and even muscle and nerve cells.  Your body uses these cells after injury to help heal and to avoid scarring.  Researchers have been able to harvest large numbers of these cells from bone marrow and have used them to help heal knee, hip, and other joint injuries.

Mesenchymal stem cell displaying typical ultrastructural characteristics. Robert M Hunt 1997

 

One study used concentrated precursor cells from patients’ bone marrow to help relieve lumbar disc pain.  Twenty-six patients with disc pain and MRI evidence of early degenerative disc disease had mesenchymal precursor cells injected into 1 or 2 discs and were observed for 12 months.  Researchers found that the average improvement in disability was 56.8% and a 58% improvement in pain.

Another research group separated out mesenchymal precursor cells to inject into patients with painful discs and found that those patients were 3 times more likely to have 50% relief in pain and disability than patients who received a placebo.

Why is this exciting?  Most treatments for low back pain last a few weeks.  This treatment shows improvement for at least 12 months. Most mesenchymal precursor cell research shows improvement out to three years.  Also, these past two research papers show evidence of reversing of disc degeneration. That is like regenerating a degenerated disc. That is exciting!

At Valley Sports & Spine Clinic, we have used Regenerative Medicine techniques for four years with great success and continue to find new applications for Regenerative Medicine techniques for our patients.

We are committed to not just covering up the symptoms but helping to restore your function and truly heal.

Good Luck!

Dr Ethan Colliver

What do I do next?

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Rehabilitation is a continuum of care.  As someone goes through the three phases (pre-rehab, rehab, and post-rehab) of recovery from an injury, the goals change and so should the rehabilitation provided.

Pre-habilitation is the exercise, conditioning, and education someone may go through prior to undergoing a hip replacement or other major surgery.  For example, patients who are stronger and more functional before they have a hip replacement will recover quicker and be more active after a their surgery.

Rehabilitation is the phase of training, education, and recovery from an injury or surgery which often occurs with a physical therapist and may last for several months.  This is a very critical time for many patients as it may be the first time they have had a major injury or have participated in a formal exercise program.  The physical therapist and physician work closely to help the patient establish goals, create a home exercise program, and help the patient envision how they will return to their normal everyday activities.

Unfortunately, 75% of patients stop doing their home exercise program within 6 months of stopping physical therapy.

rehabInsurance companies usually only cover physical therapy until a patient can carry out normal activities in the home; however, insurance will not cover rehabilitation aimed at the goals of returning to a sport or to a demanding work environment.

Post-rehabilitation is the phase afterwards, focusing on helping you maintain a home exercise program and establish new goals.  This is important for an athlete who needs to continue getting stronger and faster to meet the demands of his/her sport.  But it is also important for an industrial worker who has a demanding job or for a 65 year old grandmother who needs to pick up her grandchildren.

Having the patient create a personal exercise routine, under the supervision of a therapist helps you successfully stick to a healthy lifestyle and decreases your chance for recurrence of many painful conditions, and improves overall health.

Valley Sports & Spine Clinic and Valley Active help people through all phases of rehabilitation.  We are committed to helping people improve their function and return to their life.