Can physical therapy help with diabetes?
You probably know someone with diabetes. It always hits the top list of conditions that affect both children and adults across America. Most people know that medication can help diabetes, but a less known fact is how physical therapy can help manage it. Here is a few things PTs can do to help not only manage but improve a diabetic condition.

What is diabetes?
Diabetes usually falls into 2 categories: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. The difference between the two is the way the body produces and responds to a hormone called insulin. Insulin is important because it is responsible for helping the body absorb sugars. In type 1 diabetes the body is not able produce insulin, but this type is not as prevalent. In type 2 diabetes the body makes insulin, however the body can’t use nor respond to it normally. In either condition, without your body’s ability to use sugars and other carbohydrates, your organs and vital body processes cannot function well.

Arthritis treatment may include physical therapy.

People with arthritis often have stiff joints -- largely because they avoid movements that can increase pain. By not moving arthritic joints, however, the stiffness and pain only get worse. Therefore, people with arthritis often benefit from physical therapy. A physical therapist can teach you how to work out stiffness without further damaging your joint. Physical therapy also is useful after an injury, such as from a fall, and after joint surgery, especially for artificial joint replacement.

Physical therapy can teach you how to reduce strain on your joints during daily activities. Physical therapists can show you how to modify your home and workplace environments to reduce motions that may aggravate arthritis. They also may provide splints for your hands or wrists, and recommend assistive devices to aid in tasks such as driving, bathing, dressing, housekeeping, and certain work activities.

Definition/Description
Lumbar traction is the process of applying a stretching force to the lumbar vertebrae through body weight, weights, and/or pulleys to distract individual joints of the lumbar spine. The word traction is a derivative of the Latin word "tractico", which means "a process of drawing or pulling, and various forms of spinal traction have been described, since the time of Hippocrates, for the relief of pain.

James Cyriax popularized lumbar traction during the 1950s and 1960s as a treatment for disc protrusions, and until today, it is still a common modality for treating patients with back pain and leg pain. Although its effectiveness is still being questioned by a few clinical trials, there are three benefits of lumbar traction described by James Cyriax: distraction to increase the intervertebral space, tensing of the posterior longitudinal vertebral ligament to exert centripetal force at the back of the joint and suction to draw the disc protrusion towards the center of the joint. Some other effects attributed to traction include widening of the intervertebral foramen and distraction of the apophyseal joints.

Overhead activities like throwing a baseball are difficult. Elevating your arm to put on a sweater is a challenge. Your arm feels weak. Do these symptoms sound familiar? If so, you may have a shoulder condition that makes arm movement difficult and/or painful.
 

What Is Cervical Radiculopathy?

Cervical radiculopathy is the damage or disturbance of nerve function that results if one of the nerve roots near the cervical vertebrae is compressed. Damage to nerve roots in the cervical area can cause pain and the loss of sensation along the nerve's pathway into the arm and hand, depending on where the damaged roots are located.
 

Back pain can sneak up on you when you least expect it. One minute you're sitting comfortably in front of the TV, and the next you try to stand up, and -- ouch! -- a sharp pain radiates through your lower back.

What’s causing it? Could you have a slipped or herniated disk? Chances are you might.

Your spine is made up of 26 bones called vertebrae that are cushioned by soft disks made of a jellylike substance. These disks are what allow you to move your spine around and bend over.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common conditions of the hand. It happens when there is pressure on the median nerve in the wrist. It can be caused by things like arthritis and fractures, but, ultimately, there can be many causes.
 
HERE ARE 5 SIGNS THAT YOU MAY HAVE CARPAL TUNNEL:
1.    Pain
2.    Numbness
3.    Tingling
4.    Weaker grip
5.    Tendency to drop things

The spine is almost always under pressure when upright, and therefore prone to the wear-and-tear that leads to osteoarthritis.

This degenerative condition can cause minor to debilitating pain. Understanding how osteoarthritis causes back pain can help patients stop or slow the disease's progression and also reduce pain.

Osteoarthritic Changes in Vertebrae
Facet joints connect the vertebral bone. On the back of each vertebra there are two upper and two lower facet joints. Facets are small, boney projections with smooth, flat surfaces that are normally covered in protective articular cartilage. The facet joint, where two facets meet, is wrapped a fluid-filled sac called a facet capsule.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) isn't the same as grandma's stiff joints (aka osteoarthritis). It's an autoimmune disease that causes a person’s immune system to attack their joints by mistake, causing pain and swelling and it most often shows up between the ages of 30 and 50, per the American College of Rheumatology.

RA isn’t super common among all cases of arthritis about 1.3 million people are affected by it, according to the American College of Rheumatology. But for those who do have it, it can be debilitating. Here’s what you need to know.

Knee pain and discomfort can be experienced many different ways: a dull ache, a sharp, stabbing pain, possibly accompanied by stiffness, warmth and swelling of the knee. Some people also experience weakness or locking of the knee joint, which can be a strange and discomfiting sensation and inhibit one’s ability to function.
 
Because the knee is such a complex and essential joint, it is important to pay attention to any type of knee pain and obtain an accurate diagnosis for the cause of the pain. Many people mistakenly consider knee pain just a normal part of aging, but a healthcare professional can often identify the cause and prevent progression of the symptoms.

Your doctor might suggest this type of treatment if you’ve had an injury or illness that makes it hard to do daily tasks.

Physical therapy (PT) is care that aims to ease pain and help you function, move, and live better. You may need it to:

• Relieve pain
• Improve movement or ability
• Prevent or recover from a sports injury
• Prevent disability or surgery
• Rehab after a stroke, accident, injury, or surgery
• Work on balance to prevent a slip or fall
• Manage a chronic illness like diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis
• Recover after you give birth
• Control your bowels or bladder
• Adapt to an artificial limb
• Learn to use assistive devices like a walker or cane
• Get a splint or brace

If baseball is to continue to be “America’s Pastime,” we need to make sure that arm injury prevention is a number-one priority. There is no question that Little League® International is working hard to keep our young athletes healthy. From my perspective, there is no youth baseball league that has done more to promote youth baseball as a safe and healthy sport, particularly Little League’s executive staff, along with the rest of the Little League International Directors.

For years, the arm injury rates in youth baseball has been on the rise. Due to this trend, several years ago, dramatic steps were taken by Little League Baseball® to make youth baseball a safer and healthier sport. This effort has been successful in curtailing many of traumatic injuries due to overuse. However, there is much more work to be done.

Decreasing Injuries
The initial step taken at Little League to decrease arm injuries was the development of the pitch count rules, The pitch count rules were generated after long periods of study and research at USA Baseball and the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI).