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According to the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, 80% of women who suffer from incontinence can be successfully treated without surgery or drugs. Kelly Gerl, a physical therapist, pelvic health specialist says "My job is helping women to get acquainted with what their pelvic floor is and how to use it," said Gerl. Read how Gerl helped Barb Strutz battle incontinence through physical therapy. 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 #incontinence #pelvicfloorhealth #bladdercontrol

The APTA has issued five guidelines that therapy practitioners should be aware of now that the cap has been eliminated. Below are the guidelines, but you can see the entire post on the APTA PT in Motion blog. The elimination of the hard cap is retroactive to January 1, 2018, but not all details of the post-cap system have been worked out, and it's possible that some may change before their implementation dates. In the meantime, here are the basic elements of the new system. 1. It boils down to a threshold for using KX modifiers and a trigger for possible medical review. The basic idea is this: outpatient therapy under Medicare now has a $2,010 threshold; services delivered beyond that require a KX modifier indicating that the service meets the criteria for a payment exception. When therapy reaches $3,000, it's subject to possible targeted medical review—although CMS didn't receive any additional funding to conduct these reviews. 2. Physical therapy and speech-language pathology still are lumped together in the thresholds. Just as in the previous payment system that included a hard cap and exceptions process, the new system doesn't separate physical therapy from speech-language pathology in establishing thresholds. Those $2,010 and $3,000 limits are for physical therapy and speech-language pathology therapy combined—another element opposed by APTA. 3. The thresholds apply to all part B outpatient therapy services—including services provided by hospital outpatient departments. For the brief time beginning in January when the therapy cap was in place, hospital outpatient facilities were not subject to the cap. That changed with the adoption of the budget package, and now these departments or clinics are subject to the thresholds: $2,010 for use of the KX modifier and $3,000 for potential targeted medical review. 4. The PTA payment differential will start in 2022—along with a special claims designation. In the post-cap payment system, outpatient therapy services performed by physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) will be reimbursed at 85% of the Medicare physician fee schedule—a change opposed by APTA. However, that's not set to happen until 2022. For now, claims do not include a way to designate whether a service was delivered by a PTA, but that too will change by 2022, when CMS will develop a modifier to make that distinction. Between now and then, look for opportunities to comment on proposed rules around this process, along with guidance and more details as they develop. 5. Home health also will be subject to the PTA payment differential, absent a plan of care. The 85% payment differential for services provided by a PTA or OTA will apply to home health care provided to Medicare part B beneficiaries—but only when a home health plan of care is not in effect. The budget deal that resulted in the end to the hard cap also established other new rules for home health. 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 #occupationaltherapy #speechlanguagepathology #speechtherapy #cap

A bandage-like sensor applied to the throat of a recovering stroke victim measures important rehabilitation data. For example, the band aid-like, stretchy sensor measures things like the patient's ability to swallow, speech patterns and aphasia. “Stretchable electronics allow us to see what is going on inside patients’ bodies at a level traditional wearables simply cannot achieve,” says John A. Rogers, engineering professor at Northwestern University. “The key is to make them as integrated as possible with the human body.” Read More 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. #stroke #speech #speechlanguagepathology #aphasia

Medscape reports that Lymphedema Education and Prevention study suggests that "women who are taught a series of exercises aimed at improving their arm mobility after lymph node dissection for breast cancer regain full range of motion (ROM) in both arms sooner than women who receive education alone". The study was presented here at the Cancer Survivorship Symposium (CSS) Advancing Care and Research. 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 #Lymphedema #exercise #lymphnode

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

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently published a media release that strongly recommends "the use of pre-surgical treatments to ease pain and improve mobility, including corticosteroid injections, physical therapy and non-narcotic medication (specifically acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or tramadol) for pain and Both anterior and posterior approaches for total hip replacement (THR) surgery." The release also the the new criteria highlight when "hip replacement may be appropriate even when patients have modifiable risk factors, such as obesity, mental health disorders, smoking and diabetes," said Robert H. Quinn, MD, AAOS AUC section leader on the Committee on Evidence-Based Quality and Value. Read the entire Media Release 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 #hip #AAOS #AUC #therapy

A new book by investigative journalist Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery” concludes that there is little evidence to support the standard medical interventions of surgery, injections and opoid medicines. The book takes a hard look at that the $100 billion back pain industry. Over 77 million people in the United States have been treated with the standard procedures and Ramin says that about 20% of patients treated through standard interventions still suffer from back pain as a chronic condition. Ramin gave an in-depth interview to MarketWatch. Click here to read the interview. #physicaltherapy #occupationaltherapy #surgery #back #pain

Rxercise (pronounced R-exercise) uses a team approach with other health professionals, physical therapists and nutritionists to achieve safe and measurable program results and apparently it is showing great results. Bill Gvoich, director of the Medical Wellness Program for Peak Performance Physical Therapy, is credited with developing the program and many patients are thankful. According to Audrianna Atkinson, she is able to walk with the assistance of a cane after suffering from paralyzation of her right side after a 20 day migraine over 3 years ago. She was confined to a wheelchair for 2 years before starting the Rexercise program. Others tell similar stories. To read the rest of the article, click here. #physicaltherapy #treatment #rehabilitation #occupationaltherapy #exercise #Rxercising

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh are developing a machine learning algorithm that enables an exoskeleton to learn how to customize its movement for each individual. In the article on Inverse, Kirby Witte, a mechanical engineer and a Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon, explained “they can be really awesome like having someone jump real high or kick down a door, or really significant like helping someone walk after a stroke.” Witte goes on to say that she expects her research would prove useful to people in physical therapy. #physical #therapy #physicaltherapy #exercise #rehabilitation #treatment

A new study says yoga may work as well or better than physical therapy for chronic lower back pain. Adults with an average age of 46 with severe to moderate lower chronic back pain were studied. Of the 320 study subjects, almost two-thirds of them took pain medication. According to the article in The Washington Post, "all were randomly assigned to participate in 12 weeks of physical therapy (15 one-hour sessions plus home exercises) or 12 weeks of yoga (a dozen 75-minute classes plus home practice) or were given a self-help book and periodic newsletters on back pain plus phone check-ins. After the initial 12 weeks, the yoga and physical therapy groups had occasional sessions and did exercises or practiced at home for nine months; the others continued to get support by phone. By the end of the study, the physical therapy and yoga groups, on average, showed more improvement in pain levels and in ability to function than did the others, and they were more likely to have stopped taking pain medicine. The results were essentially the same for people who had practiced yoga and those who had gotten physical therapy." #physical #therapy #yoga

In their study, Northeastern professors measured the degree to which participants had irregular knee alignments. Osteoarthritis (OA), caused by the breakdown of joint cartilage, leaves more than 20 million people in the United States suffering from recurring pain and frustrated over their limitations in movement. But physical therapy and mechanical and industrial engineering researchers at Northeastern University have broken new ground with an interdisciplinary study of factors that cause and exacerbate OA. To explore these factors—including body weight and knee-joint abnormalities such as frontal knee alignment—the study required subject-specific knee-joint analyses. Researchers found that these individualized assessments from 3-D imaging, along with earlier diagnosis based on a patient’s knee alignment, are critical factors in dramatically improving treatment and prevention. Their research, which was recently featured on the cover of the Journal of Orthopedic Research, advances Northeastern’s research mission to solve global challenges, with a focus on health, security, and sustainability. A recent Northeastern graduate, Nicholas Yang, spearheaded this research as the basis for his PhD thesis in mechanical engineering. Yang was the paper’s lead author, joined by three coauthors: professor Hamid Nayeb-Hashemi and assistant professor Ashkan Vaziri—both in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering—and Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Paul Canavan. “It’s groundbreaking because we’re integrating the biomechanics, physical therapy, gait analysis and the engineering,” Canavan said.“Not only can we see if someone is more at-risk, but we can apply this subject-specific model for interventions in the future,” Nayeb-Hashemi said.Researchers said sharing their expertise in human anatomy and calculating force distribution was integral to the collaboration. “The project was very interesting and challenging, because I had to learn how the human body works so I could apply engineering principles to answer biomechanical research questions,” Yang said. The knee is one area where osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, can develop. The research indicated that people with irregular knee alignment — either varus (bow-legged) alignment or valgus (knock-kneed) alignment — are more susceptible to developing this condition. Northeastern students volunteered for the study, which required them to walk on a platform that measured applied force to the knee while high-speed motion analysis cameras captured their movements. This data was fed into software to build 3-D models of each student’s knee joints, allowing researchers to measure individualized stress levels on the knee cartilage. Given that the geometry of knee joints varies from person to person, researchers said their methodology more accurately gauges strain and stress distribution to the knee joint when compared to past studies that have used generalized assessments. As a result, preventative measures such as customized shoe inserts, strengthening of specific leg muscles or weight loss, can be tailored to each person. “This (subject-specific method) is something that makes our research unique,” Vaziri said. Link to original article. #arthritis #physical #therapy #prevention

Playing two Wii Fit video games-Step and Hula-can provide adequate exercise to improve health and physical fitness, reports a study in the March issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. These Wii Fit games "can be used as an effective mode of physical activity to improve health in adult women," according to the study by honors students Jennifer R. Worley and Sharon N. Rogers, and their advisor, Robert R. Kraemer, Ed.D., FACSM, of Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond. However, the researchers emphasize that players "should strive to participate at higher (intermediate) game levels" to gain exercise benefits. Click to read the rest of the article about how the Wii Fit can improve health and physical fitness. #physical #therapy #wii #exercise