Gravity: the constant

It’s been over two years since I have immersed myself into the Gravity Fit system. On reflection I feel I missed acknowledging the obvious and its worth for the first 15 years of my clinical practice.

The obvious being gravity is the ONLY constant in your life. It's dependable, it's unchanged, it's predictable and it's the same all over the world at any given time.

But what changes is its effect on you and your interaction with it during life. When you were a baby you had to overcome and learn to hold yourself up to gravity. You practiced and fell down a couple of times until you got proficient to be able to turn, walk, run and jump.

Your joints and gravity found a balance and harmony -- you moved and negotiated movement through gravity’s force.Then came sitting for hours at school, infront of the TV, the computer and smartphones. The age of technology caused us to lose our relationship with gravity as loss and lack of motion caused us to have loss of sensitivity to its force.

Yes, you lose the ability of your anti-gravity muscles to support you. So when you run or jump or walk or turn in gravity without being sensitive to its force --- you hurt yourself.

Not to mention while you age and become less supple in your ligaments your joints degenerate while gravity stays constant. To help combat this at Duffy and Bracken we have two gravity programs that we offer our patients- Gravity Fit and Gravity Training System (GTS). Your hands and corrective exercises provide the ability to align yourself with the force of Gravity, then these programs turn on the muscles needed to maintain this relationship and combat the adverse forces of a sedentary lifestyle.

So my motto " the sooner you get into a HAPPY relationship with gravity the less movement problems you have in your lifetime "

Renuka Pinto, PT, MA
Clinical Director
renuka@duffyandbracken.com

Health Insurance vs Health Assurance

It's a perspective on the Quantity to life vs the Quality of life.

We always prepare for the worst and roll with the punches! And we use the same approach for our health.

We have health insurance for all the possible things that can wrong and we get an annual physical, annual dental and get screened for cancers.Then we sit back and roll with the punches.

We accept the low back stiffness, neck pain, headaches, rickety knees and tight hips. 

What if you had health assurance? Then you would enjoy the QUALITY of life rather than the quantity.

So when health expenses is your number one expense--- don't you want to be in the driver seat?

Here's how you can do it:

1. Screen the system you use the most-- your muscles and joints

2. Find out how you place within your age group

3. Change the future by investing in the present

Here at Duffy and Bracken we offer wearable sensors technology to measure the movement of your spine and impact on your joints. Then we provide solutions to help keep them healthy.

Our approach is specific -- it's individual --  it's scientific --  it's quantitative -- it's innovative -- it's the future!

We believe you can have a pain-free life if you move efficiently.

Why not check your score and improve your game plan!

Renuka Pinto, PT
Clinical Director 
renuka@duffyandbracken.com

Protecting your package

Testicular Pain in Men after exercise

There is no denying the numerous benefits that exercise has to offer. It helps to increase your energy level, improve muscle strength and helps to maintain a healthy weight just to name a few. For some men a high impact or high intensity workout is your way of reaping those benefits. But as a physical therapist who specializes in Pelvic Floor dysfunctions, I remind my patients to protect your package.

What do I mean by that? Some of these high intensity or high impact exercises can lead to testicular and groin pain in men. It can be accompanied with symptoms of increased urinary urgency, frequency, difficulty to initiate urination, painful intercourse and constipation. Plus there can also be some abdominal pain or discomfort.

Although, it is important to rule out more serious causes like a hernia, testicular torsion, epididymis etc. often times the injury is from a musculoskeletal cause such as abductor muscle sprain, strain, pelvic floor muscle injury or spasm which can be aggravated by heavy exercise. There can also be altered body mechanics or posture which can put your muscles in compromising positions which make you prone to injury.

So What Do You?

• Visit your doctor to rule out serious pathology
• If there is a sprain, strain or pelvic floor spasm, visit a physical therapy clinic with a pelvic floor PT. 
• Wear cotton breathable supporting underwear to reduce irritation from sweat and help minimize excessive movement 

Here are some stretches that might help you if tight abductors or your pelvic floor is the cause:

Butterfly Stretch

Happy Baby

Frog Stretch

Piriformis Stretch 

What we do at Duffy and Bracken 

• We are a team of sports, orthopedics and pelvic floor physical therapists who follow a team approach to use our skills to your benefit
• Our Pelvic Floor physical therapists work with you for pelvic pain and urinary/constipation symptoms
• You are assessed for proper mechanics and posture using wearable sensor technology called dorsaVi
• We help to improve your movement patterns to eliminate the cause of pain and/or injury

Bhavti Soni, PT
Pelvic Floor Therapist
bhavti@duffyandbracken.com