What is Wellness? Recently, the term “wellness” has been tossed around quite a bit, but what exactly does this mean? Simply put, wellness is defined as “the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health.” However, the concept in it’s entirety is not quite as simple as it’s definition. Wellness can be broken down into the following six dimensions:  Physical wellness (i.e. fitness, nutrition) Intellectual wellness (i.e. finding solutio...

What Types of Problems Do Physical Therapists Treat?  Many people are not aware of the types of problems that physical therapists manage. Physical therapists treat a variety of conditions. The common denominator of all of these conditions is that they involve movement dysfunction. Anything that impacts your ability to move in a relatively pain-free way can fall within the scope of physical therapy practice. Most of the time physical therapy care is associated with injuries or for post-sur...

The impact of Exercise on the Brain  We hear a lot about the positive effects of exercise on the body. Every major system of the body benefits from exercise, especially the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine systems. Recently, however, attention has turned to the positive effect of exercise on the brain, which of course is part of the nervous system. This is an exciting and growing area of research. There are many aspects of brain function that have been found to im...

What is value-based care?  The healthcare system in the US has been changing for several years under healthcare reform. While the expansion of insurance coverage for Americans is the most obvious change under Obamacare, there are many other changes that all serve what is referred to as the “triple aim” of healthcare reform. These three components are: Improving the patient experience Improving health outcomes Controlling healthcare costs  It is quite well kno...

What happens after the joint replacement?  More and more people are undergoing joint replacement surgery in order to reduce joint pain and improve function. The most common joint replacement procedures are for hip and knee osteoarthritis. So it was interesting to read the results of a recent study that investigated how hip or knee replacement impacts physical activity levels. This study was a systematic reviewArnold JB, Walters JL, Ferrar KE. Does physical activity increase after hip or k...