Freedom Physical Therapy Blog
Articles from our expert therapists
Level Up Your TMD Knowledge with Mike Karegeannes
Course Overview Are you ready to level up your TMD treatment knowledge? Most physical therapy programs spend 2-4 hours total in school on temporomandibular disorders and most do not cover craniofacial pain. This two-day course provides an introduction to...
Dry Needling Can Help EDS
Dry Needling Can Help EDS What is Dry Needling? Dry Needling is the use of a microfilament needle that is inserted into a trigger point (a tight spot in the muscle) to cause a “twitch” response. This helps to reduce pain, inactivate trigger points, and restore...
Exercise Today to Stay Safe Shoveling Snow Tomorrow!
Exercise Today to Stay Safe Shoveling Snow Tomorrow! As the weather gets colder, fall becomes winter, and rain becomes snow. That means, eventually, we will have to get off our cozy couch with our warm hot chocolate, coffee, or tea to bundle up, venture outside, and...
Causes and Treatment of Jaw Pain
Causes and Treatment of Jaw Pain “I never knew PT could help my jaw!” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that! Most people are not aware that there is a conservative treatment option for head, face, and jaw pain, and it can be as simple as finding a Physical...
What are micro-workouts?
What are micro-workouts? Do you climb into bed at night and wish you had had more time in your day to get a workout in? Seven in ten Americans wish they had more time in the day to get in exercise. Research has found that the total duration of exercise is more...
Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep
Tips for a Better Night's Sleep Did you know that sleep is one of the best ways to help the body recover? Sleep plays a crucial role in performance and recovery by decreasing cortisol levels (the body's stress hormone) and allowing growth hormone to begin repairing...
Help! My Back “goes out” Every Year
Help! My Back “goes out” Every Year Every year, oftentimes through gritted teeth or grimaces of pain with almost any movement, countless people utter the phrase “I threw my back out again.” These repeat, acute onsets of low back pain that often resolve within days,...
Top Tips for Travel Days from a Physical Therapist
Top Tips for Travel Days from a Physical Therapist As the Wisconsin winter months approach us, many are eager to travel to warmer areas to avoid frigid temperatures and runny noses. Most of us have figured out how to book a flight, plan a road trip, and arrive at our...
Discover the Value of Physical Therapy
Discover the Value of Physical Therapy Quality of Life Investing in physical therapy is a commitment to a fuller life with more freedom. Long-term benefits include: returning range of motion, improving flexibility, balance, strength, and mobility to recover from an...
Why Suffer with Back Pain?
Why Suffer with Back Pain? Did you know that an estimated 580 million people have suffered from low back pain at least one time in their lifetime? Roughly 8 out of 10 people experience low back pain at least one time in their lifetime. I want to spend some time...
6 Tips for Supporting Breast Health After 40
6 Tips for Supporting Breast Health After 40 Breast health is an essential part of overall health, and as we age our breasts change and our risk of cancer increases. Cancer is caused by a mutation in the DNA within a cell, creating an abnormal cell that then divides...
How Long Will My Injury Take to Recover?
How Long Will My Injury Take to Recover? You have just suffered a new injury. No matter the injury, you are probably wondering, “When will I be back to normal?” "How long with my injury take to recover?"The answer to this is not always straightforward. However, our...
Is a Weekend Warrior a Bad Thing?
Is a Weekend Warrior a Bad Thing? What is a weekend warrior? It can often be hard to fit in time for exercise and wellness throughout your busy week between juggling work, family, and other commitments. A weekend warrior is someone who typically doesn’t exercise...
Put The Spring Back In Your Step
Put The Spring Back In Your Step Have you ever noticed your feet are put through a lot more wear and tear through the summer months? In the summer, your feet are more exposed to the elements. With more barefoot walking in and outside of the house, wearing sandals and...
Living With Vertigo
Living With Vertigo: Daily Tips and Lifestyle Changes What is Vertigo? Vertigo is an illusory sensation of motion of either the self or the surroundings in the absence of true motion. The two different types of vertigo are peripheral and central. Peripheral vertigo is...
PT for the Jaw?
PT for the Jaw? One of the most common questions I have received from patients is, “Can Physical Therapy help my jaw pain?” The short answer is YES! The second question that shortly follows is, “How?” This answer is longer and not as easy to answer. Patients come to...
Picking the Right Workout for You
Picking the Right Workout for You There are so many varieties of cardiovascular exercise that people can choose to do to meet their health goals or needs. Low-intensity steady state (LISS) and high-intensity interval training (HITT) are two types frequently discussed....
Living With Arthritis
Living With Arthritis Arthritis may impact one or several joints in your body and often results in pain, inflammation, stiffness, and/or difficulty with mobility. There are several tools available to help alleviate pain from arthritis so you can continue to...
New Moms: How to Care for Yourself After Giving Birth
New Moms: How to Care for Yourself After Giving Birth Post-partum, sometimes called the “fourth trimester” is the first weeks to a couple of months after the infant arrives. It is important to optimize the health of the mother and baby and a post-partum plan can help...
Lifestyle Tips for Living Well with Osteoporosis
Lifestyle Tips for Living Well with Osteoporosis Being given the diagnosis of osteoporosis does not mean you need to quit doing all the things you enjoy. Those living with osteoporosis can live full and active lifestyles through small modifications and tips. Here are...
Sleep Enhances Athletic Performance
Athletes and Sleep Athletes must be sure they obtain the highest quality and quantity of sleep to ensure they are both performing and recovering well to enhance their future performance. It has been shown that lack of sleep has negative effects on nearly every facet...
How Do I know if I Have Achilles Tendinitis?
How Do I know if I Have Achilles Tendinitis? What is Achilles Tendinitis? Achilles tendinitis is characterized by pain in the Achilles tendon or the thick cord on the back of your ankle. The Achilles tendon attaches your calf muscles to your heel bone. Achilles...
What You Need to Know About Osteoporosis
What You Need to Know About Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a medical condition where bones become brittle over time. This is caused by a decrease in bone density due to hormone changes and a loss in calcium and/or vitamin D deposits. It affects nearly 20% of women older...
Stretching for Pelvic Pain
Stretching for Pelvic Pain: Optimal Men’s Health Includes a Well-functioning Pelvic Floor Many people think that pelvic floor physical therapy is for just women after they have children to help them regain control over their bladder.While it is true that many women...
Prevent Pickleball Injuries
Prevent Pickleball Injuries Pickleball started in 1965 when three men from Bainbridge Island were trying to entertain their bored children with badminton and didn’t have the correct equipment. The men improvised using table tennis paddles and a perforated ball. As the...
Why Is My Hip Hurting?
It is almost summer here in Wisconsin! This means people are getting outside for activities like walking, running, biking, hiking, gardening, and swimming. Starting these activities again, you may notice an old injury that creeps to the surface or a new injury that...
Should I Keep Exercising?
Should I Keep Exercising? One of the biggest questions I have received from patients in the past few months as a physical therapist is, “Should I just rest and not do anything or should I continue to be active?” This question typically happens after an injury has...
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction & Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Pain at the sacroiliac joint is a common problem that affects 25% of people with low back pain. See the diagram below. I will help you to figure out if your pelvic floor dysfunction is causing Sacroiliac Joint Pain (SIJ).Causes of SIJ pain Sacroiliac joint (SIJ)...
High Tech Baseball
Occurrence of injuries in sports Here in Wisconsin, spring sports are getting to the start of their season for 2023. Players from 10U-18U are getting into the swing of the season with games being played throughout the week as well as on weekends. With this increase in...
Leading Edge Hand Treatment
Leading Edge Hand Treatment Our hands are the most important part of our body for interacting with the world around us. We greet people, cook, and care for ourselves and others using our hands. When a person has hand pain, they are greatly affected by what they are...