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The aim of this case series is to clarify if a physiotherapy program can reduce the frequency, intensity and duration of the headache episodes in patients with cluster headache. A 7-case series with cluster headache patients was conducted. Every subject received physiotherapy treatment based on manual therapy and exercise, maintaining pharmacological treatment prescribed by the neurologist. Frequency, intensity and duration of the episodes, pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and psychological variables were measured 5 times: pre-intervention, post-intervention, 1 month follow-up, 2 months follow-up and 3 months follow-up. Two of the seven subjects decreased their frequency of headaches over 50 % and another in 16,67 %. There were no significant changes in duration or intensity. Results also showed an improvement in impact of headache in 6 of 7 cases. Those cases that decreased more their headache frequency also decreased their pain catastrophizing. A program of physiotherapy based in manual therapy and exercise, might be an effective and safe complement to decrease the frequency of the episodes of CH in short-term (4 months follow-up) including interdisciplinary working with neurologists and other health care professionals.

Back pain can disrupt your daily life, but with a few tips and tricks, you can lead a healthier and pain-free life. Learn about effective strategies, exercises and lifestyle changes to alleviate and manage back pain.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230724/New-AI-based-system-aims-to-facilitate-the-rehabilitation-process-for-stroke-patients.aspx

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society says that over $50 billion was spent in 2015 treating people 65 or older for falls. The study goes on to say that unless fall risk assessment and prevention, then those costs will surely rise as the baby boomers age. This blog post was created by Planetrehab. The information provided is informational only. Planetrehab combines comprehensive but easy-to-use scheduling, documentation, billing, reporting and collections for single or multi-clinic physical therapy and occupational therapy companies. Our practice management software is integrated with our practice management service that includes access to our team of experienced management consultants that will help identify and correct potential lost revenue and maximize per visit submissions and to our expert management staff that has experience identifying and correcting deficient areas of any practice. To find out more, visit www.planetrehab.com or call 800-982-5447. #falls #physicaltherapy #occupationaltherapy #babyboomers

1. Quicker Reimbursements and Reduced Number of Denied Claims. Unless you are experienced at billing physical and occupational therapy claims, it can be difficult knowing what information needs to be submitted to get paid for the claim. Using a reputable and experience physical and occupational therapy billing company can drastically reduce the number of non-pays due to submitting incorrect and/or incomplete claims. And when claims are submitted electronically they are entered into the claims process quicker than when they are submitted using standard mail, thus the claim is paid faster. 2. Reduce Accounts Receivables and Improve Cash Flow. When a physical and occupational therapy claim is submitted with the correct information, the number of days a claim goes unpaid is drastically reduced, therefore reducing your accounts receivables. This shortens the period of time from when the treatment was provided to the time you get paid, thus your cash flow position improves. 3. Increase Amount Paid Per Treatment Provided. Physical and occupational therapy billing software will maximize the number of codes billed per session, ensuring you are billing for all treatment conducted. And the software should be able to prevent you from billing for a procedure that the patient's insurance company will not pay. 4. Minimize Disruption Due to Employee Turnover, Reduce Your Staff and/or Make Your Staff More Efficient. One of the most disruptive events in any business is the loss of a key employee(s), especially one with the skill set to handle physical and occupational therapy billing and collections. Finding an experienced replacement can be costly and time-consuming. And hiring someone that is inexperienced means they will be learning on the job. Using an experienced physical and occupational therapy billing company eliminates the problems that come with employee turnover. 5. Standardize Documentation and Mitigate the Impact of Audits. Software provided by the physical and occupational therapy billing company will ensure your documentation is standardized, consistent and compliant. You can mandate that each therapist document treatment in the same way. This eliminates inconsistent or poorly written notes and makes it much easier to defend yourself in case of an audit. #physical #occupational #therapy #billing #company

What are the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing for physical therapy clinics? Cloud computing has been in use for quite some time. Everyone who accesses their email online (webmail) is using a form of cloud computing. In the coming years, there will be an even greater use of cloud computing. Google Apps and MSOffice 365 are poised to centralize word processing and spreadsheet functions. Online backups, such as Mozy, Carbonite and Jungle Disk are becoming the standard as is online picture storage (Shutterfly and Photobucket). Cloud computing is perfect for these functions. Being able to access your data from any computer that has an internet connection allows the user to be more mobile and more productive. However, depending on a working internet connection to access time-critical data is much more worrisome. In a clinic setting, users must be able to access patient data immediately. And if their internet connection is not working, even for a short period, they will not be able to check in or schedule patients, review past documentation or check on the status of a claim until their internet connection is restored. Most businesses can wait 30 minutes to access their email, but cannot wait 30 minutes when they have a waiting room full of patients. Installed software generally offers more security and dependability. It also offers greater speed. Accessing data over a local network as opposed to retrieving data over the internet is much faster. And what happens to your data if your cloud-computing vendor goes out of business? A common misconception is that physical therapy cloud software is easier to use than installed software. Just because software is available over the internet does not mean that is easier to use. In fact, depending on the way the interface is laid out, online software can be more difficult to navigate. Any potential user should fully evaluate a software’s interface before deciding on a particular package. Another misconception is that physical therapy cloud computing is less expensive because a business does not have to maintain costly hardware. But, every user must have a computer that is on a network so they can access their software and patient data. Thus, a business must purchase and maintain hardware and insure the viability of their computer network. In the current software environment, users should expect to have the option of using installed software, a cloud version or a combination of the two. The perfect scenario is to have installed software that is distributed over a local network. And if the computer that contains the clinic’s data or their network were to fail, then users could access their data via the internet until the hardware or network is repaired. Mobile users could also access from any computer that has an internet connection (but, again, understanding the limitations of spotty internet service). Planetrehab offers the installed/cloud hybrid physical therapy software. #physical #therapy #billing #cloud #computing

New research provides the first evidence that sensory recalibration — the brain's automatic correcting of errors in our sensory or perceptual systems — can occur instantly. "Until recently, neuroscientists thought of sensory recalibration as a mechanism that is primarily used for coping with long-term changes, such as growth during development, brain injury or stroke," said Ladan Shams, a UCLA assistant professor of psychology and an expert on perception and cognitive neuroscience. "It appeared that extensive time, and thus many repetitions of error, were needed for mechanisms of recalibration to kick in. However, our findings indicate we don't need weeks, days, or even minutes or seconds to adapt. To some degree, we adapt instantaneously. "If recalibration can occur in milliseconds, as we now think, then we can adapt even to transient changes in the environment and in our bodies. "In Shams' study, reported in the March 23 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, 146 individuals, primarily UCLA undergraduates, performed what is known as a fundamental perceptual task. They looked at the center of a large screen that had eight speakers hidden behind it. Sometimes they heard only a brief burst of sound somewhat like radio static; sometimes they saw only a quick flash of light; and sometimes they both heard a sound and saw a light. They were asked to determine where the sound was and where the light was. They participants, the researchers found, were much more accurate in determining where the light was than where the sound was. Click to read the rest of the article about perceptual errors. #brain #injury #therapy #perceptual #error

On February 9th, the United States Congress fully repealed the Medicare Cap. In a post on their website, the APTA fully explains what this means. In the post titled “A Permanent Fix to the Therapy Cap: Improved Access for Medicare Patients Comes With Pending APTA-Opposed Cut to PTA Payment” they explain that the “looming threat of a hard cap on physical therapy services under Medicare has been eliminated. As part of a sprawling bipartisan budget deal passed today, Congress enacted a permanent solution to the problematic hard cap on outpatient physical therapy services under Medicare Part B, ending a 20-year cycle of patient uncertainty and wasteful short-term fixes.” As expected, the AOTA has also lobbied hard for the full repeal of the Medicare cap and released a good explanation of what the repeal means. This blog post was created by Planetrehab. The information provided is informational only. Planetrehab combines comprehensive but easy-to-use scheduling, documentation, billing, reporting and collections for single or multi-clinic physical therapy and occupational therapy companies. Our practice management software is integrated with our practice management service that includes access to our team of experienced management consultants that will help identify and correct potential lost revenue and maximize per visit submissions and to our expert management staff that has experience identifying and correcting deficient areas of any practice. To find out more, visit www.planetrehab.com or call 800-982-5447. #Medicare #cap #repeal #APTA #AOTA

People who have trouble lifting their arm above their head, have trouble when putting on a jacket or have trouble sleeping at night because of shoulder pain, physical therapy instead of surgery may be the answer. The cause of the pain may be rotator cuff impingement and physical therapy using joint mobilizations on the shoulder may help restore proper function of the rotator cuff without having to resort to surgery. This article goes into detail about the healing potential of joint mobilization. This blog post was created by Planetrehab and is strictly informational and should not be used as a replacement for advice from a doctor or professional caregiver. Planetrehab combines comprehensive but easy-to-use scheduling, documentation, billing, reporting and collections for single or multi-clinic physical therapy and occupational therapy companies. Our practice management software is integrated with our practice management service that includes access to our team of experienced management consultants that will help identify and correct potential lost revenue and maximize per visit submissions and to our expert management staff that has experience identifying and correcting deficient areas of any practice. To find out more, visit www.planetrehab.com or call 800-982-5447. #physicaltherapy #shoulder #jointmobilization #rotatorcuffimpingement #surgery

Too often, Leah Stanley shows up at a doctor’s office or hospital feeling lousy. And she must, yet again, detail the 17 medicines she takes. Sometimes she gives up and directs attention to where she has stored the tally of drugs in her iPhone.“It’s like, ‘I’m sick,” said the 50-year-old nursing instructor. “I don’t want to have to tell my story again.” She pines for the day when records collected at one place will, in a flash, be shipped electronically wherever they’re needed. That would certainly make her life easier and avoid the odds of error that increase every time her medical history is re-entered into a computer or on a paper chart. We’re getting there. Government and industry are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar electronic medical records spending spree. Click to read the rest of the article about the gradual change to digital recordkeeping.

In the latest edition of Popular Science, physical therapist and spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association Eric Robertson, says there is no such thing as perfect posture. Although various health conditions are attributed to poor posture, Robertson says that “the research just hasn’t borne that out that there’s a strong correlation.” Although pain may not be caused by poor posture, poor posture can be a symptom of an underlying health condition that a physical therapist can help remedy. Read the entire article here. This blog post was created by Planetrehab. The information provided is informational only. Planetrehab combines comprehensive but easy-to-use scheduling, documentation, billing, reporting and collections for single or multi-clinic physical therapy and occupational therapy companies. Our practice management software is integrated with our practice management service that includes access to our team of experienced management consultants that will help identify and correct potential lost revenue and maximize per visit submissions and to our expert management staff that has experience identifying and correcting deficient areas of any practice. To find out more, visit www.planetrehab.com or call 800-982-5447. #physicaltherapy #posture #backpain #health #body

Two to three in every 1,000 children are born with a hearing loss that is likely to impact development. Research of the auditory system at its early developmental stages, and efforts to identify hearing loss and initiate appropriate rehabilitation strategies, can be crucial to the healthy development of a child. Laurie Eisenberg, Ph.D., is a House Ear Institute investigator on two multicenter projects involved in understanding the effects of hearing loss on young children as they mature; both studies are funded by the National Institutes of Health. The first project is a 10-year, multicenter study entitled "Childhood Development After Cochlear Implantation, (CDaCI)," in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, and University of Miami. In this study, Dr. Eisenberg and her staff are investigating the long-term outcomes in young deaf children fitted with cochlear implants before five years of age. Click to read the rest of the article about the importance of pediatric auditory research. #pediatric #therapy #audio #speech