So just a few days ago we looked at how to descend stairs when you have new pain/when going down steps reproduces the pain. 
Today, I would like to show you how to properly go up a step, what you can do, how to place your feet and how to optimize the right muscle use to prevent strain on your knee and prevent pain.
What is important to remember with climbing stairs is that most of us are actually climbing stairs the wrong way, or at least not the most optimal way.

So today I would like to talk to you about a question that I often see on forums online or I have been ask by patients is...
Is physical therapy or physiotherapy appropriate after a car accident? 
My answer today's is 100%, Yes!

Bell's Palsy is considered a rare condition but it still affects over 40,000 Americans between the age of 16 and 60.
A lot of the research and best course action to treat it remain a source of debate and disagreement.
It is a neuromuskuloskeletal condition since it affects both the facial nerve and muscles of the face it innervates.

​I may be be biased, but as a physical therapist (physio for anyone living outside of the USA), and as a fully recovered Bell's palsy patient myself, I believe it is my duty to educate the population with what physical therapy can do when suffering from this rapid, debilitating, physically and socially, condition.

It's February... We are right in the thick of winter. If you exercises outdoor, winter might not be a time you particularly relish. You might even have switch all of your workouts indoor by now. Or worse... You might have stopped exercising altogether because you have been less than motivated and feeling lethargic from the weather...
Curling up under a blanket by a fireplace likely sounds more appealing.

But know that winter tends to bring a weight gain of 5 to 10 pounds on average. Can you only blame the weather?
Winter is of course a great time for outdoor activities and cardiovascular activities.

Today, my only goal is to do a review of the risks, but mostly the benefits of exercising in cold weather.
You might have to take extra precautions and measures but will learn that winter brings on special benefits when it comes to exercising.

• Wouldn't it be nice to have your questions answered at your convenience when it comes to movement, joint and muscle pain? Do you ever wish you had a doctor in the family or at home, or  could talk to a physical therapist virtually when these questions come up? How about being treated without having to leave your house? Maybe you live remotely and attending a medical appointment is a two hour commute away...
  

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• Butheau Physiotherapy, a mobile physical therapy services company in Burien, WA now offers Telehealth consultations in addition to their increasingly successful mobile physical therapy services in their patient's home or work environment. 

Let's chat about a topic that is often overlooked and has potential of affecting someone's life and could be resulting in life changing injuries.
Over my 17 years career, I have treated patients in hospitals, outpatient clinics, private homes, skilled nursing facilities and rehab centers and hundreds of them for injuries resulting after a fall. Fractures of the hip and pelvis are the most common but hands, wrist, forearm, ankle and feet fractures are not too far behind.
And today, I 'd like to offer some insight and topics regarding balance and falls with....

You've probably read or been taught about various ways to stay or become healthier before... 

Some valid...like annual medical check -ups, colonoscopy after age 50, mammogram, routine dental cleaning and exams...

Some much less valid, confusing, and/or clearly misleading... Like TV news mentioning latest studies such as " drinking three cups of coffee a day could decrease your blood pressure and help you live longer"... Internet and social media advertisements on the latest gadget, vitamin or supplements that will prevent you to gain weight, make your back feel better, or prevent bunions....

But enough of that... Today, I am here to discuss an efficient and proven way that, if widely adopted, would save billions of dollars, countless hours of time wasted being treated in the healthcare system, and much less suffering...in Burien & Seattle, WA and throughout the world. And that is called a Movement Screen or Movement Screening.

Transcript:

Hi, this is Pierre-Yves Butheau, owner and physical therapist at ButheauPhysiotherapy here in Seattle. 
I would like to officially welcome you to my practice. 
We specialize in helping people return to their full physical potential, the activities and the sports that they love. We help people b come more mobile and active, all without requiring pain medications, joint injections and often, unnecessary surgery. 
We specialize in one-on-one, detailed, concierge style  treatments. So who are our treatments for?
If you identify with following, you are the perfect candidate for care with Butheau Physiotherapy: Do you have aches and pains associated with low back pain, sciatica, arthritis, neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, ankle or foot pain, hip pain, or headaches?
Have you been told? 
•    "You have the worst <spine, neck, posture, knee,...> I've ever seen!"
    •    "Your pain is just from getting old, arthritis.  You will just have to live with it?
    •    "Your pain is all in your head?"
    •    "Your only option left is surgery?

Are you tired of not being able to perform basic movements without pain? Of living in pain and discomfort, unable to do the activities you love and enjoy, as a sport activity or with family and loved ones?

Are you frustrated by having to take pain medications that do not seem to really help? Are you tired of all these doctors visits that don’t seem to be resolving your problem?

Have you already tried PT and feeling discouraged as it did not seem to help as much as you’d wish? Have you been told you need to get an MRI or surgery for your pain and want a second opinion?

Have you noticed that aches and pains tend to stay around longer?

Do you have an old injury that keeps creeping up every now and then ans are serious of resolving?

Are you active and worry a new injury might put you on the sideline for months? Not being able to play with your team?

Are you not able to play golf or tennis, hike or ski or participate in your favorite sports due to pain or an old injury?

Do you have  difficulty getting up in the morning because you are tired or hurting?

Do you suffer from regular fatigue or headaches on a frequent basis?

Are you worried about your child  or teenage athlete returning to play after they tore their ACL?

Are you a male with pelvic issue that is looking for an empathic and available practitioner that places patient first?
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I know this is a long list but know that at Butheau Physiotherapy, we are able to help with many conditions you might not have known was treatable with a thorough and patient focused movement and therapeutic approach. We do believe that movement is medicine.
We can help you or your family, friends, co-workers when you feel that your movement or activity performance is limited, and when you experience pain, tightness, numbness or tingling. 
We strive to help you reach your goal and potential so you can enjoy life to its fullest. 
Make sure you take advantage of our free online material that you can download below this video. Check our blog, Facebook and Instagram pages for even more free tips that could make a big difference in the way you feel. 
I would like to conclude with the fact that we are not your typical PT clinic. We have developed a model that help us provide the best level of care for our patients.
We work for our patients. NOT Health Insurances!
Don’t hesitate to contact us by phone, email, text with any questions you might have and sign up  below for a free phone consultation or any enquiring about our services. 

Have an awesome day!


Visit our website: http://www.butheauphysio.com

Butheau Physio on social media:

Ah.....Headache. Probably the most common type of ache a human knows from early on in life. There are many reasons for having a headache and sources are so varied that regrouping the different type of headaches under one umbrella would be counterproductive.
Today, I want to discuss Cervicogenic Headaches, a common type of headaches and how to address them on your own...and maybe also with a little help from a specialist.

Burien, Seattle and Greater Seattle residents,
Before typing “physical therapy near me,” and choosing a provider , make sure you're making the right decision...and consider all your options.
Butheau Physical therapy offers quality, private, one-on-one physical therapy treatments.
With us, you can pick a convenient time of treatment to your convenience. We drive to you: at home, your work, or location of your choice, with all the equipment needed. Done are the days of rushing out of work, taking time from your hardly earned banked time off,  and/or fighting traffic to get to your PT treatment on time.

A little addition to my last post showing the old way to practice healthcare...the one that gets both patients and practitioners frustrated, that is full of red tapes from insurance companies. A physical therapist will refer you to the appropriate healthcare practitioner as they are trained to recognize medical emergencies or anything that is outside of their scope of practice.  For so many other things (let's say back pain for example, and really any musculoskeletal pain...) though, seeing a PT first is your best bet to learn what to do and start actively working on the problem...which is key if you're interested in a faster recovery.

In my 15 years career as a physical therapist, I have worked in various inpatient and outpatient settings with different reimbursement / payment models. The one consistent reality I have had to face in regards to patient care is dealing with, advocating, explaining and justifying  for the care of my patients to insurance companies.
I have always have a hard time understanding how a non medically trained person sitting at a cubicle could solely decide on authorizing, allowing, finding medically necessary and/ or extending the care of a patient that has been deemed appropriate and/or necessary after assessment by a medical professional.

Let's face it, health insurances are big businesses and are in it for one thing: saving themselves money while increasing premiums, co-insurances, co-pays all while covering less and less medical and paramedical treatments, making their "beneficiaries" responsible with an ever increasing part of the bill.
I have spent countless hours on the phone, by fax, mail or emails justifying the benefits of my physical therapy treatments and allowing patients to receive the proper care anyone deserve. As a provider, this of course takes away from patient care time and stands against my values that healthcare is a necessity, not a luxury.

Insurance companies have made receiving and being reimbursed for medical care an increasingly difficult task, requiring more and more paperworks from both the patients and the providers, adding to the likelihood that mistakes will be made...all in order to simply deny services...And while delaying payments to both patients and providers.

This pattern has become clearer and clearer over the course of my career and has reached pathetic level of bureaucracy. Insurance companies simply don't have patients best interests in mind...Increasing premiums and decreasing reimbursement stating cost are rising, all the while giving their corporate high ranked employees a 7+ figures salary increase. I am no math wiz, but...???

This is why I decided to be an out-of-network provider (except for Medicare and Work Comp) when I started and set my business up. I want to work in a business model where my efforts, services and time go to my patients, not a multimillion dollar company that will make your work more difficult.  

Modern physical therapists and health care practitioners should focus on patients. This is why I offer a 20 minutes free phone consultation, allowing myself to determine if that potential patient is a good candidate for physical therapy, how I can help them or if he/she should be referred to another practitioner, and also if I will be a good fit to help them achieve whatever goal they might have. 

Nowadays, most clinics still spend these first phone calls or contacts only discussing insurance details such as benefits, co-pays, deductibles, booking the initial treatment depending on, guess what, insurance. Instead of finding out more about the patient problem, how long it has been, how it affects them in their life, what are they not able to do, what would they like to achieve, this first conversation is driven by the insurance and the patient's history and condition is barely addressed. Patients often make their decisions on receiving PT treatments only on this: "Is it covered by my insurance and what is my co-pay"...all the while forgetting about their high out-of-pocket deductibles.

Stating the above could be seen as futile because money and the cost of things are a concern for everyone... and I get that. 
This is where really understanding the cost associated with using your health insurance or not for physical therapy treatment becomes that much more important. The following might surprise you because most people are used to providers being in network and accepting their insurance and they never had to weigh the benefits an out-of-network provider might offer.

Gone are the days when patients had no co-pays (or under $10) for each treatment, low deductibles and infinite amount of covered visits. Instead, it is not unusual for patient to have co-pays ranging from $25 to $75 per treatment, out-of-pockets deductibles that are $1500 and above...and all this for care provided by an in network provider.  Physical therapy treatment reimbursements have been on a steady decline, with insurance companies switching to an increased patient/beneficiary financial responsibilities model.
In order for many clinics to keep their doors opened, therapists have to see 2 to 4 patients an hour(per therapist). As you may already know or can picture, this quickly leads to subpar care, with very limited (10-15mn) one-on-one care and least than adequate time to communicate. This lack of time spent with the patient can lead to unnecessary lengthy plan of care...even when patients are seen 2-3 times a week....leading to consequent bills if you multiply copays by # of visits and factor the cost of the treatments that the insurance will not cover until the deductible is met.

To put it simply, if you are far from meeting your yearly deductibles and are receiving physical therapy at an in-network provider, you will likely pay for the entirety of your physical therapy treatments out of pockets...
Which may surprise you since you spend so much money already on your insurance premiums and copays.

People are more and more savvy in looking up and get informed about their conditions on their internet. Sometimes , that also helps them cut cost by seeing the provider they know they will most likely benefits from, helping them save time and money at the same time.
Even though most people have insurance, they do realize now more than ever than they have power over the decision that will impact their health.

When I talk with prospective patients, it often becomes obvious that 99% of people value time, expertise, empowerment over their condition/ injury, personal attention and overall experience they receive. 
They realize that what I have to offer, the time spent with them one-on-one can lead to better care and better understanding of their condition and how to manage it. And for people with high deductibles and copays, the value that Butheau Physiotherapy provides becomes even more logical and pertinent since they are paying for physical therapy services even from an in-network provider.

Benefits of Butheau Physiotherapy treatments:
-One-on-one hands-on care 45, 60 and 90 minutes sessions
-Treatment packages and payment plans available, with no hidden cost.
-Holistic, comprehensive treatment approach, a look at the big pictures and all your complaints ( not only what the insurance dictates)
-Evidence based treatments with modern, proven and effective techniques
-A blend of manual therapy techniques, including The Mulligan Concept, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, exercises, neuroplasticity through Rekinetics™, pain science and pain reducing techniques, neuromuscular reeducation, taping.
-Treatment location convenience: your home or work space
-Appointments available within a few days at convenient times, often with short notice.

Call or text us at 4252814171 to learn more about our services.

Butheau Physiotherapy
15034 5th Ln S
Burien, WA 98148

Click here for a FREE Phone Consultation with a physical therapist

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As a PT, I often hear people saying they really don't know what physical therapy does, what kind of treatment or techniques a PT use and often even question why their doctor sent them for PT treatments.
To be honest, I think the physical therapy profession has been lackluster in promoting its benefits, at educating the population in regards to when seeking advice from a PT and at marketing themselves as movement specialists and as who should be the primary provider for musculoskeletal problem.  For too long we have been considered an ancillary profession to the medical management of millions of patients, have been passive in being "fed" patients "by prescription only" by doctors, who many still have no clue what conditions we help with(once again, our profession fault's).
So without diverging because I could go on and on about the above, the following could help you figure out if physical therapy is something you just consider. This list of questions is far from being exhaustive.

• Do you suffer from low back pain? Sciatica? Shoulder, hip or knee pain?
• Maybe you just sprained your ankle and are unable to walk? Or injured a joint and are unable to move or use your limb without wincing?

• Is your frustration at an all time high from not being able to move without pain? And missing out on fun activities or sports?

• Were you involved in a car accident and feel like your body will never recover?

• Would you like to live without experiencing chronic migraines?​​