Are You a Patient with Anthem Blue Cross?

Do you use Anthem Blue Cross as your primary health insurance company? Have you received this letter in the mail?

Confused? Angry? You should be! Essentially, the people you pay so you can have access to medical care are telling you they’re going to start limiting your access to medical care. By hiring a third-party to decide if your physical therapy treatment is “medically necessary” (a legal term, not a medical one), Anthem Blue Cross (BC) is opening up new channels for being able to avoid paying for your medical care.

At Rausch Physical Therapy, we work hard to provide exceptional, quality care that is easily and affordably accessible, and it’s troubling that this practice of limiting your access to medical care has become the norm for medical care insurance companies.

 

How Rausch PT currently handles insurance companies/payment

Regardless of what that letter above implies, since the passage of the Direct Access bill in 2014 Californians have not needed a doctor’s referral/prescription before coming into a physical therapy clinic for treatment. You can come to Rausch Physical Therapy at any time for any injuries or impairments that prohibit your mobility, function, and/or quality of life. The issues only arise when it comes to figuring out who pays for this treatment.

Ever since it opened in 2006, Rausch PT has been on the leading edge of forward-thinking healthcare, and Direct Access made possible what owner Kevin Rausch had always envisioned: all people having an easy entry point onto the road to rehabilitation and recovery.

Currently, once our patients come in our door they have two options to pay for their medical treatment:

1. Pay an out-of-pocket cash rate
2. Have their insurance help cover the cost of their visit; once we submit their claim to and receive approval from their insurance company, the patient is only responsible for their copayment or deductible.

Whichever payment option you choose, everyone from our front office staff to your physical therapist to our billing department is dedicated to providing you with the best experience and highest quality of care possible.

How the introduction of OrthoNet affects you

Following the lead of other large health insurance companies, BC has decided to bring in a third-party management company, in this case OrthoNet, to handle the authorization of its physical therapy treatment claims. It’s OrthoNet’s job to scrutinize every claim request we submit on behalf of a patient to determine if said visit is—by OrthoNet’s definition—”medically necessary.” After we submit your claim, OrthoNet has two business days to gather all the necessary “clinical information” and either approve or deny your request. If they do approve your claim, OrthoNet will then tell you exactly how many visits it should take you to get better in and subsequently will only pay for.

Please note that this change does not affect BlueCard or Blue Cross Blue Shield members.

Why is this troublesome?

Let’s use the curious cases of Jenny and John as examples to illustrate the potential pitfalls of this increasingly-popular decision by medical care insurance companies to hire third parties to manage their physical therapy claims.

Jenny’s Case

What happens if your claim is denied?

[toggle title=”Click to read…”]Jenny loves to run, but she pushed herself a little too hard this triathlon season and now has knee pain that’s started to limit her ability to train. As an Anthem Blue Cross member, Jenny decides to take advantage of those 60 physical therapy visits she’s allotted per year and immediately makes an appointment at Rausch PT. During Jenny’s first appointment, the front desk sends a request to OrthoNet to get approval for payment for Jenny’s appointment. Jenny sees her PT, and after his initial, hands-on evaluation, he believes Jenny will be back to running pain-free after four or five visits.

Meanwhile, someone at OrthoNet is reviewing Jenny’s case and decides physical therapy treatment for her chronic knee injury is not medically necessary. She does not need surgery (yet) so they deny paying for treatment. They cover the cost of the initial visit, but Jenny now must decide if she’s going to pay cash rate to continue with her compelling treatment plan that will allow her to continue doing what she loves.[/toggle]

John’s Case

What happens if your claim is approved?

[toggle title=”Click to read…”]John is a senior in high school and has sprained his ankle playing basketball. John’s mom received the letter above, and per Anthem Blue Cross’ suggestion she makes an appointment for John to see an in-network doctor. Two days and $150 later, John comes in to Rausch PT with doctor’s approval in hand, ready to start getting better.

On his first visit, we send a request to OrthoNet to get approval for payment for John’s appointment. John sees his PT, and after her initial, hands-on evaluation, she tells John he should be 100% after four or five visits and back on the court before playoffs start in two months.

Meanwhile, someone at OrthoNet is reviewing John’s claim, and two days later they send a payment approval notification. However, OrthoNet has determined that John’s sprain isn’t that bad, so he should be able to start feeling better after a couple visits. BC will only help pay for two appointments to treat his ankle.

John and his PT work hard in those two visits, but he’s still only at about 60%. Inevitably, John is put in a difficult position: does he continue treatment by paying out of pocket so he can make it back in time for playoffs, or does he stop treatment and retire his jersey—or worse yet, try to play anyways and potentially cause lasting damage?[/toggle]

The takeaway

It’s unfortunate that even if your physical therapist—or even your doctor—understands your treatment as medically necessary, an outside company can still refuse to acknowledge it as so and require you pay for treatment on your own (on top of you still paying for health insurance.) It’s even more frustrating to us as a provider that we can be limited in the amount of treatment we can give people who come to us for help.

Our patients have and always will be top priority at Rausch Physical Therapy; our sole concern is getting you feeling better so you can get back to doing what you love. Our team of licensed physical therapists spent many years in school to receive their bachelor, master and doctorate degrees and licenses so they could diagnoses and relieve chronic pain and heal injuries to give someone a better quality of life. We don’t believe you should have to live with pain for any reason, especially if that reason is because an outside management company says treatment for your pain isn’t “medically necessary.”

What Rausch Physical Therapy is doing to help

1. During the last week of October, our front desk staff will be contacting our Anthem Blue Cross patients who are already scheduled for treatment on or after November 1. Together, we’ll work to complete the additional paperwork required to request “prior authorization” so we can continue providing you with quality treatment through the end of the year.  Again, this change is effective November 1, 2015.
2. At Rausch Physical Therapy, we believe that everyone should have easy, direct access to PT, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialty that we see change lives every single day. To prepare for the potential influx of BC claim denials after November 1, we are currently working on rolling out new, innovative ways to give you, our valued patient, more payment options so you will never have to rely on referrals or allow your health insurance company to limit your health.

 

What can you, the patient, do to help?

1. Raise a ruckus! Be proactive. Demand access to the care you pay for and deserve. Call the Anthem Blue Cross customer service number. Then email your friends, get on Facebook, Tweet, and share this.
2. If your claim is denied for being “medically unnecessary… Fight back and appeal. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, you have a 50-50 chance of getting your appeal approved if it’s an issue of medical necessity. It may take a little longer, but if the amount of money is significant or the issue important enough to you, it is worth the time you take to make it right. Get the forms you need and fill them out and send them off. Rausch PT and/or your doctor can help by providing additional medical information to the request to show exactly why it is medically necessary. Don’t be intimidated by your insurance company; we’re here to help. Click here for the forms you need to file a complaint.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office at (949) 276-5401 and we’ll be happy to answer any concerns you may have to make this transition as easy as possible.

Assess the conditions

As summer approaches, many triathletes are swimming in open water to prepare for upcoming races. Training in the pool is great to work on distance and technique. It is important to incorporate ocean water training to be confident in the conditions on the day of the race. Practicing a few swims at the race site will help you prepare mentally by becoming familiar with the surrounding environment and potential hazards. The more experience you have swimming in different ocean conditions, the more prepared you will be for race day.

Assessing ocean conditions is critical for successful swimming. One week before your event, check out the surf report! It is important to mentally and physically prepare for your upcoming ocean swim. Surfline.com is a great site for accurate forecasts.

 Getting in the water before the race has several benefits. First, you can assess the bottom to look for any inshore holes or rocks to avoid while entering during your race, the last thing you need is to sprain your ankle or twist your knee. Second, you can assess the power of the waves while also assessing the strength and direction of the ocean current. Assessing the current is one of the most critical things to do before an open water swim. This will help you gauge where you start on the beach to make the best water entry to hit the buoy without having to swim up the current. Assessing the current takes time and experience in the water, spend time getting comfortable in the ocean and getting a ‘feel’ for it. Third, taking a quick dunk in the water will help to avoid that initial shock when you hit the water at the start of the race. Lastly, I suggest asking local lifeguards about any possible hazards to be aware of during your water entry and exit to avoid possible injury.

Water Entry

Arguably, one of the most important parts of a competitive ocean swim is your water entry, not the amount of time you put in swimming laps. A good water entry starts with gauging were to enter the water after assessing the current.

A quick and efficient water entry through the surf line will separate you from the rest of the pack. Use high knees when running out through the surf line. As it starts getting more difficult to run, you want to start ‘dolphining’ through the surf line. ‘Dolphining’ is a technique used to get through the ‘impact zone’ efficiently. Start  ‘Dolphining’ in waist-deep water by diving with both arms over your head, grab the sand bottom to pull yourself forward while bringing your legs underneath your body to explode out of the water through the surf. Continue ‘Dolphining’ until the water gets too deep, then begin your swim. Swim with your head up through the surf line to keep an eye out for waves. In the case of an approaching ‘set’ of waves, it is always safer to swim toward the wave than away from it. Once past the waves, periodically take a few strokes with your head up to keep your eye on the buoy marker.

Rip currents

Rip currents can make or break you. While we are all taught to ‘stay out of rip currents’, these currents can be used to your advantage in getting through the impact zone more efficiently. Swimming with the outgoing rip current can save time and energy to swim faster through the surf line where waves generally don’t break. This technique should only be used by experienced ocean swimmers with good ocean knowledge and awareness.

 Water Exit

Once you round the buoy, use landmarks on the beach to swim straight. Make sure to avoid any rip currents swimming towards shore, getting stuck in a rip will cost you time and energy. If you find yourself swimming in sandy or foamy water not making any progress, chances are you are in a rip current. Swim parallel to shore to the blue water, then continue swimming towards shore.

In the impact zone, keep your head on a swivel by turning on your back or looking over your shoulder to look for oncoming waves. Bodysurfing can save a lot of time and energy in the impact zone. This takes time and experience to learn but can be a huge asset at the end of a swim. Continue swimming until your hand hits the sand, then start with high knees to exit the water. Remember, running is faster than swimming. Don’t fight the current, it will be faster to run back than to fight the current swimming.

Tips for ocean swims

•       Check conditions before your swim
•       Minimize your time in the ‘impact zone’
•       Use landmarks to help swim straight
•       Avoid rip currents on your way to the beach
•       Practice ‘ins and outs’ to have faster water entries and exits
•       Always swim with a partner

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Clay Simons

clay@rauschpt.net

Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us to!  (949) 276-5401

Disclaimer — All the information that you find on our blogs and social media pages is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as your personal professional diagnosis, or treatment. Come and see us for your excellent, personalized care! https://staging.rauschpt.net/

Maybe you know some of the dangerous side effects of too much stress in your life — which can lead to such outcomes as weight gain, poor memory, and a whole host of mental and physical health issues. Life places many demands on us, affecting us in different ways and on many levels. Add to that, returning to ‘regular life’ after a year of a pandemic can also be hard! Start this new period of life fresh and renewed with a new ‘habit’. Incorporate ongoing massage to combat your stress! Rx Massage offers a wide range of therapeutic treatments for when you need that break.

You didn’t get to where you are in life without learning how to relieve stress along the way. But just because you’ve “been there, done that” doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to be easier this time around. Granted life experience will likely have taught you the old refrain, “this too shall pass” but that same life experience will also likely have taught you something about the active role you need to take to combat stress from time to time and how we could all stand to benefit from a stress-busting reboot.

I think we all know the dangerous side effects of too much stress in our lives. Stress is a major contributor to many poor health outcomes, such as diabetes, weight gain, hypertension, poor memory, and a whole host of mental health issues. Therefore, how we manage the stress in our lives, needs to be revisited with a fresh and new perspective, in the same way, we need to clean out and freshen up our closet every so often.

Below are my top 10 strategies to relieve stress and restore energy with a fresh look at some old favorites that are guaranteed to help you self-optimize for health and happiness in body, mind, and spirit.

1. Compartmentalize—Prioritization on Steroids

People think of the compartmentalizing tactic in different ways, and there are negative associations with this term. However, when I suggest that you compartmentalize to manage your stress—or better yet, relieve stress—what I am referring to is the idea that you block out certain parts of your life that are distracting you from what you need to do in your daily life.

For example, you are at work but also have some extraordinary stress in your private life due to ailing parents with no siblings to share in the caretaking. Managing this alongside your own family and professional responsibilities, which were already heavy enough, places an enormous amount of stress on you.

When you compartmentalize, you put up mental blinders to help you focus on the task in front of you with the knowledge that managing your parent’s living and financial situation will be handled in due time after work hours.

Learning how to block out these different realms of your life will help you prioritize and manage the work that is in front of you.

2. Get Outside, It’s Like Therapy

Simply getting outside in the fresh air will automatically bring down your stress levels and restore some lost energy. The research around this growing field known as ecotherapy is proving once again how powerful nature is and how we can improve our mental wellbeing along with our physical and spiritual health with time outdoors.

When you are outside, you are more likely to have increased activity levels and will be exposing yourself to the mood-boosting sun, which helps our body create vitamin D. Research on vitamin D indicates that those who are vitamin D deficient may be more susceptible to inflammatory illness, depression and lowered resistance to stress, and more and more of us are becoming vitamin D deficient across the United States.

Spending as little as 10 minutes outside every day can be enough to improve mood, mental focus, and decrease blood pressure. Think of the increased concentration and improved efficiency you will get as a return on investment that yields way better growth on your aptitude and attitude for life.

3. Do an Organization Reboot

We all know the secret to success is largely due to organization or at least some form of it. I would argue that organization is a process. We build structures to organize information and life events based on our current demands. Over the course of your life, this will vary and probably increase as your life becomes more complicated, which will force you to innovate and change things up as you go.

What was enough in college or your first job out of college may not be enough at this point in your life? Furthermore, many, many systems can help us organize, and too many can detract from their intended benefits.

Assessing and weeding out the unnecessary systems or consolidating from the many to one might just be the answer.

Is a family calendar on Google more efficient than the calendar hanging in the kitchen? Don’t just assume that the answer will be in tech. Sometimes the old-fashioned pen and paper is more practical and might also serve as a better physical reminder—think of the whiteboard in the kitchen vs the hidden “to-do list” on your smartphone with reminders that consistently fail.

Another strategy for your organization reboot is an organization self-assessment. First, what it is that you need help organizing, and what the intended outcome is? Is it for communication purposes—to make sure that everyone is on the same page—or is it to help you process and think about the workload in front of you? Answering these 2 questions will help you move forward as you think about what makes the most sense for you, your family, or your team at work.

Another way to approach an organization reboot is to ask other people how they stay organized. This is especially helpful when taking on new responsibilities that might come with a job change or a new family dynamic.

I did this in a new position I recently took and by collecting data on how other people approached their work (think of the complex systems in public education), I was able to create “a best practice” that worked for me and that I could share with my colleagues. Something that could earn you some extra kudos is a bonus, especially when you are the new kid on the block.

4. Engage Your Creative Brain

When we engage the creative parts of ourself we tap into the part of our brain that releases dopamine, which has a naturally calming, therapeutic effect. Needless to say, this will almost immediately help us to relax and will lower our stress levels. One of the premises for which art therapy has been well established.

In one study, in particular, it was found that after just 45 minutes of engaging with artistic materials, regardless of the level of production or artistic talent the person had, there was a notable decrease of cortisol in 75% of the participants.

Music therapy is another form of creative art that can relieve stress and restore our energy. Many of us use music to help us decompress or move into another part of our day or activity. Music also taps into this part of our brain that increases focus and can help us emulate the feeling or “vibe” we perceive in the music. As we know, upbeat music will help you feel more positive while slower music can help you feel more relaxed by easing some of the tension in your body.

There are tons of great playlists out there aimed at stress relief. The next time you are on your preferred music streaming service, test out a few and see which works for you. Needless to say, music is one of those things that we can have in the background while moving forward with other parts of our day.

Perhaps this is another area in need of a reboot that could enhance your stress relief routine.

5. Do You Need a Vacation or Weekend Away?

Vacation opportunities may not be as readily available as we would like. However, it doesn’t have to be a week in the tropics to feel the benefits of a short break from your everyday routine.

If we are optimizing our time with some of the above strategies, perhaps we might be able to sneak in that weekend getaway or even just a day trip with the family. Getting out of your everyday environment, especially when trying to build in some respite and relieve stress, can do wonders for our mind, body, and spirit.

We may love our homes, but they do represent the endless “to-do list” and remind us of all the things that contribute to our stress levels. Getting away from this environment where you can get outside and engage in some of your favorite activities with your favorite people will free your mind and your body.

 

Granted, COVID-19 has definitely hindered our road trip or vacation opportunities. However, with a little creativity, we can build in the little breaks that we need to relieve some stress, reconnect with the people who are important in our lives, and help us to feel ready for the next hurdle in front of us.

6. Meditation and Mindfulness, Make Them a Habit

Meditation and mindfulness can offer endless benefits to us emotionally and psychologically, which will naturally relieve stress. Many of those benefits include increased focus, relaxation, and a decrease in the mental clutter in your head.

One of the biggest challenges with mediation or mindfulness is that to feel the impact, we need to practice it consistently, which takes discipline. The people who are most successful at integrating mediation and mindfulness into their self-care and stress relief routines are people who build it into their daily practices.

And as is true with many strategies, we don’t need to spend hours doing it. Just 5 or 10 minutes a day can make a difference, but we do need to make sure we are doing it.

Maybe there is a 5 or 10-minute window at the end or beginning of your day where you could fit this consistently? There are lots of great apps to help guide you through your mediation with music and visualization.

7. Fight Off “Aloneliness” and Find Your Alone Time

I read an article recently about “aloneliness,” which is the opposite of loneliness. As an introvert, I have always been that person who replenishes her energy from time alone but never quite thought about the craving as a likening to loneliness for the introvert.

The benefits of alone time are science-backed and include those things that many times go out the window when we are stressed and overwhelmed—things like creativity, mental strength, and productivity. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people without the opportunity to have their alone time, which could be another reason that you are feeling more stressed and less able to deal with your daily challenges.

You might need to be strategic, but you could build some alone time into your life with a walk outside to get lunch for example, which will also be incorporating strategy #2 on this list.

8. Find Balance in Your Life

Stress can turn our lives upside down and throw everything off-kilter. Finding your equilibrium, getting your bearings straight, and finding the balance in your life between the many demands of family, partner, work, and friends is essential.

If you are feeling increased stress, take a look at the demands around you and make sure that there is a balance between the different parts of your life—in particular, the areas where you find more nourishment for the soul.

Incorporating the well-known life coaching strategy “life wheel” is a great way to think about the different parts of your life to ensure that you are giving all areas the time and attention that they need.

9. Maintain Good Sleep Hygiene

It’s no secret that sleep can be your best friend or public enemy number one. As the saying goes, “what a difference a day can make” is in large part due to a restful night’s sleep. However, when we are stressed, sleep is one of the first things to get out of whack.

If you are going through a period of high stress, you are likely feeling an increase in outside or family demands. Finding the time to fit it all in may naturally creep into your sleeping hours or, on the other hand, the stress might keep you from being able to get a restful night’s sleep. Either of these two scenarios is a case where it might be good to take a look at your sleep routine and force you to be a little more protective of it.

Some of my go-to tips and strategies around maintaining healthy sleep hygiene are:

1. Plan ahead
2. Maintain your physical activity
3. Limit alcohol
4. Sleep in a cooler environment
5. Get plenty of fresh air

So, before you get to thinking that you can sleep “later,” remember that healthy people and well-balanced lives have a healthy amount of sleep in their lives.

10. Animal Love

There’s tons of research out there about the benefits of having a pet, in particular, a dog or a cat. Taking care of a pet or any member of the animal kingdom can have such a positive impact on our mood and psychological well-being that our brain releases a hormone known as oxytocin, dubbed the love hormone.We get this hormone from other nurturing (human) relationships as well, but we cannot underestimate the impact this can have on us when we care for and connect with one of our four-legged buddies. A case in point is the fact that many pet owners report feeling a connection to their pet that rivals that of any significant human connection and, in some cases, can even be more significant than a human-to-human connection.^[8]

Additionally, having a pet will likely promote other healthy habits. Some of which I spoke about above, such as being outside more often and increasing your physical activity. On a social level, connecting with friends and neighbors about your pet creates a shared connection—another protective factor in the fight against stress.

Bottom Line

Modern life places many demands on us which hits us in different ways during different periods of our lives. Maintaining our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being requires a fresh and renewed approach every so often.

If you take the time today—to take care of yourself for tomorrow by revamping the old worn-out items in your self-care toolbox—you will reap the benefits 20 fold! Learning how to relieve stress from our life is a process that we will need to revisit time and time again, each time getting better and better.

Reference: {https://www.lifehack.org/903519/how-to-relieve-stress-easily}

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George tested positive for COVID-19 in early November 2020 and was hospitalized for 36 days, on a ventilator for five of those days. He received physical therapy while in the hospital, which prepared him for his outpatient rehab. Three weeks after his release from the hospital in early January 2021, George began his physical therapy with Dr. Rebecca Gasca at our Laguna Niguel Rausch Physical Therapy location.

George had heard about Rausch Physical Therapy through a friend, and when he came in for his initial evaluation, he was extremely impressed with the outstanding, laser-focused evaluation that he received from Rebecca. She diagnosed that his back muscles were very tight due to COVID and that his balance needed improvement, as well as his weak core and weak leg muscles.

After recovering from COVID and his hospital stay, George had a ways to go in order to get back to the bike rides that he enjoyed so much. He spent his time with Rebecca working on balance, endurance, flexibility, and core strength. After all of his dedication and hard work, George now feels more energetic and flexible. Just last week, he was able to get back on his bike for his first ride since his recovery! George can not express enough how much his time working with Rebecca helped him get back to his peak physical strength and activity after COVID.

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Dr. Rebecca Gasca

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary consultation. We would love to meet you.

Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us too!
(949) 276-5401

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Disclaimer — All the information that you find on our blogs and social media pages are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be used as your personal professional diagnosis, or treatment. Come and see us for your excellent, personalized care! https://rauschpt.net/

How often have you heard a runner say my hip, ankle, knee hurt so I took some time off and it got better but then I started running again and it came back.

Running injuries are very different from the common injuries you hear about from football, basketball, or soccer. Rarely do they occur because of traumatic injury or a specific moment, most commonly it is an overuse injury caused by “training load error.” Basically what happened is the tissues you are stressing during running were overloaded for some reason be it mechanics, training stress, or tissue resiliency. The most important aspect to always look at is have you changed something about your running recently: mileage, intensity, frequency, or terrain? These factors change the accumulation of stress on your body and tissues, if you are not properly prepared for that then injuries will develop.

Pain is difficult to judge with running as there is always a level of discomfort/pain associated with running. So how can you tell if you can keep running, stop running, or as is most often the case alter how much or often you are running. The danger with stopping to run completely is you may not be helping the problem but actually making it worse. If you stop you will decondition the tissue you’ve injured and it will stop hurting but run the risk of restarting the same injury. This can lead to a bad cycle of run-injury-rest-run-reinjury etc. The best option is to alter what you’re doing and work on the tissues in order to strengthen them so that when you resume running at your goal mileage/intensity etc you will be able to handle the load.

The best way to judge what you need to change is to ask yourself a few questions about your
injury/pain.

1. Does it hurt all the time?

If it hurts all the time you probably should stop running and get it checked out by your PT.

2. How long does it take for the pain to start?

If it kicks on at X miles or after X minutes then just run less than that for a few weeks and gradually start lengthening it back out

3. Does your pain get worse if you keep running?

If your pain keeps getting worse the further you run then you probably should back off.  Keep an eye on whats happening but take it easy and probably get it checked out by your PT.

4. Are certain workouts better or worse?

Speedwork or hills is the only thing that irritates your injury? Avoid that specific type of running for a few weeks and then slowly try to ramp back into it.

5. Does your pain return to normal after?

If you stop running and everything feels fine again, give it a few days or a week. If it’s not improving then go see your PT.

Overall stopping to run is not always the best option, there are plenty of ways that you can modify what you’re doing in order to keep forward on your goals or keep active.

Rausch Physical Therapy remains your caring team and can accommodate you with a specific, personalized plan. Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/rauschpt or call us at (949) 276-5401 to learn how we can help you. Don’t forget: there’s no prescription needed to see a PT in California.

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Dr. Max Biessmann PT, DPT

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary consultation. We would love to meet you.

Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us too!
(949) 276-5401

 

 

There are many aspects that are important in training for athletic endeavors including strength, flexibility, and speed. One area that can be forgotten is balance. Balance is very important because much of what we do while performing different sports activities involve being on one leg at a time even for a very small amount of time. Running for example is really a series of alternating single-leg balance. When you push off one leg and swing it forward towards its next step you are standing on the opposite leg for a split second. Adding the change of direction that many sports involve increases the need to be able to not only perform this series of single-leg balances but also to perform this while quickly moving from one direction to another. Improving balance helps to increase your ability to control and stabilize your body’s position during the demands of sports activities requiring these quick changes of direction movements.

As we age, balance continues to be very important. Falls in the older population can lead to catastrophic injuries including broken hips, legs, arms, shoulders, arms, wrists, and even head trauma. Balance training can be effective in limiting the risk of loss of balance leading to falls and decreasing the risk of potential injuries.

The easiest way to begin balance training is by performing a single leg balance on each leg. Start with 2-3 sets of 30-second hold and continue to progress your time if this is easy. Progression of challenging single-leg balance can be achieved by adding unstable surfaces including foam pads, ½ foam rolls, balance discs, and Bosu balls. Also, closing your eyes increases the challenge further by taking your vision away, a key component of balance.

Check-in with one of our physical therapists today and have someone on our team to help progress you with your balance and recovery!

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If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment.
Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us?
(949) 276-5401

 

 

 

Prior to becoming a patient at Rausch Physical Therapy, Carol Parsons had gone to another Physical Therapy clinic for rehabilitation after having two major surgeries in a year: hip revision in September 2019 and spinal surgery in March 2020. She wasn’t satisfied with the quality of help and atmosphere at this first PT clinic. Due to Carol’s frustration, she decided to switch to Rausch Physical Therapy for her rehabilitation treatment. To her surprise, not only was Rausch Physical Therapy’s location more convenient, but she was also impressed with the largeness of the space, the friendliness of the staff, and the effectiveness of the one-on-one training that she had with her Physical Therapist, Dr. Rebecca Gasca. After Carol’s initial consultation she knew she was in for success, finally!

Carol suffered no back pain, but was still experiencing excruciating pain down her left leg. She initially started with therapy related to her back but presumed the pain was definitely from the hip area. Because of this, Dr. Rebecca Gasca came up with the best solution… Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy! Carol was thrilled that there was a possible cure for her pain. Previous to working with Rebecca, Carol had never heard about Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy, but she was willing to make it work. And with Rebecca‘s attention to detail and Carol’s determination, it really did work. Carol was so impressed with Rebecca’s determination! She was on a mission to help Carol get better and Carol could feel that ambition.

Carol likes to refer to Rebecca as her “angel”. Physical Therapy with Rebecca has altered her in such a positive way. Rebecca’s perseverance, incredible knowledge, dedication, positive encouragement, and her desire to succeed have led Carol to success!!

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Dr. Rebecca Gasca

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Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us too!
(949) 276-5401

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Disclaimer — All the information that you find on our blogs and social media pages is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be used as your personal professional diagnosis, or treatment. Come and see us for your excellent, personalized care! https://rauschpt.net/

Around the office, they call me “The Baseball Guy.” My years of clinical treatment of ballplayers at Rausch Physical Therapy and Sports Performance, coupled with my interest in biomechanical research, has motivated me to find new ways to reverse the alarming increase in youth baseball arm injuries. In fact, for the past two years I have been developing injury prevention programs for southern Orange County baseball leagues to help protect our youth’s elbows and shoulders.

And it looks like I am not the only one getting on base with this initiative. Major League Baseball and USA Baseball recently teamed up to launch their Pitch Smart program, which is designed to educate parents, coaches and young athletes about how to avoid overuse injuries. It includes information on pitching guidelines, injury risk factors, Tommy John surgery and more.

 

Did you know: If you pitch more than 100 innings in a year, whether little league, club or showcase, it will increase your risk of injury by 3.5 times If you pitch greater than 8 months in a year, it will increase risk of surgery by 5 times

The number one risk factor for injury

I have found that out of all the risk factors that can cause injury, the number one is pitching too much, both in a game and in any given year. New research is coming out every month about the correlation of throwing too much and arm injuries in little league athletes.

Kids should take off about 2-3 months of competitive pitching in a year and engage in other sports or active rest where they are still using their arms, just not in a pitching motion

As a healthcare professional, I believe that change needs to occur in the traditions and schedules of little league baseball across the nation. The Pitch Smart initiative proves to me—and hopefully to parents and coaches—how crucial injury awareness and prevention is. I want to take this information and use my skill to prevent, rehabilitate and treat the youth of little league baseball.

If you have any questions about throwing injury prevention or rehabilitation, please send me an email and I will be happy to answer them. For now, take care of those elbows and shoulders!

Sincerely, The Baseball Guy

Jonathan Meltzer, D.P.T. | jonathan@rauschpt.net

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About the Author
Jonathan Meltzer graduated from the University of Redlands with a bachelor of arts in biology and a minor in physical education. Following graduation, Jonathan discovered his passion for physical therapy while working as a Physical Therapy Aide. After graduating top of his class from Loma Linda University in 2012 with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, Jonathan began his career at Rausch Physical Therapy and Sports Performance. Jonathan’s goals are to identify limitations and treat his patients with the most recent and innovative techniques in order to maximize functional independence and obtain his patients’ individual goals.