by Stephanie Hartman PT, DPT, PRPC | Jul 26, 2021 | Pain, Rotator Cuff
Shoulder pain can be debilitating — anyone who feels a pinch while trying to grab something overhead, a sudden pain when reaching behind their back, or the inability to put on a shirt without clever maneuvers will tell you so! Shoulder pain is the third most common... 
by Stephanie Hartman PT, DPT, PRPC | May 27, 2021 | Pain, pelvic floor, Physical Therapy, Wellbeing
“My labia feel like a cactus…” “My underwear feels like sandpaper…” “When I try to have sex, it feels like my tissue is tearing…” These are all soundbites from patients I’ve treated who have been diagnosed with Vulvodynia. Vulvodynia is one of many diagnoses I... 
by Stephanie Hartman PT, DPT, PRPC | Sep 2, 2020 | Low Back Pain, Pain, pelvic floor, Physical Therapy, Wellbeing
Chances are that at some point in your life, someone has told you to ‘brace/engage/contract your core.’ What exactly does this mean though? And why are you instructed to do this so often before and during exercises? Let’s dig a little deeper into what the ‘core’ is,... 
by Sandra Stryker PT, MPT, COMT, FAAOMPT | Mar 6, 2019 | Exercise, Pain, Physical Therapy, Wellbeing
After 22 years of practicing as a physical therapist, thousands of my patients have complained of what I call, “cold weather pain.” In Oregon where I live, when the hot and dry summer weather changes to cold and wet fall weather, joint pain complaints increase. As the... 
by Erin Courtney PT, DPT | Mar 6, 2018 | Chronic Pain, Low Back Pain, Pain, Physical Therapy
Why do we feel pain? What is our body telling us? Learn 10 facts about pain and how physical therapy can help treat it. 1. Pain is a protective device. Things shouldn’t hurt for no reason. In a healthy body, pain is a sign that something is wrong. It’s a signal from... 
by Sandra Stryker PT, MPT, COMT, FAAOMPT | Feb 27, 2018 | Musculoskeletal Pain, Pain, Physical Therapy
In prior blogs, I’ve talked about the value of having a good physical therapist on your health care team. I’d now like to be specific about the actual costs and benefits of having musculoskeletal physical therapy compared to other common treatments. Musculoskeletal...