Whiplash is a very common injury due to automobile accidents or other high speed impact injuries. It is a syndrome in which the sudden trauma sends your musculature into an over responsive, hypersensitive, and guarded behavior mode. It is very common that this type of injury can last longer than you expect and cause more pain than you can expect leading you to question if you have something else wrong or that someone missed something on your diagnostics. You often just need the right treatment program and patience. Your body can return to a normal state after a whiplash injury. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of whiplash that will get you back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Arthritis, degeneration, and age-related changes are present in everyone and have been in progress long before you had any noticeable symptoms from it. It just depends on how much degeneration has occurred as to whether you have problems or not. Throughout our whole life we are losing disc height which allows our vertebrae to get closer to each other and have less space between them. The closer they get to each other, the more likely they are to come into contact with each other and potentially cause changes in the joint surfaces and surrounding areas. This leads to likely inflammation of various tissues and potential impingement of nerve roots as they exit the spinal cord; then causing a chain reaction of symptoms and muscle misbehavior in the neck, shoulder blades, upper back, arms and hands. You cannot change the fact that your spine has these types of changes and surgery should always be your last resort. Surgery for this type of spine problem involves the removal of bone tissue and often the use of plates and screws for stability and to maintain more space between vertebrae. Surgery is never a guarantee of being pain free. There are many things you can do to lessen if not fully resolve the symptoms and inflammatory behaviors that are caused by degeneration and arthritis. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of cervical degenerative and arthritic changes that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition, and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Arthritis, degeneration, and age-related changes are present in everyone and have been in progress long before you had any noticeable symptoms from it. It just depends on how much degeneration has occurred as to whether you have problems or not. Throughout our whole life we are losing disc height which allows our vertebrae to get closer to each other and have less space between them. The closer they get to each other, the more likely they are to come into contact with each other and potentially cause changes in the joint surfaces and surrounding areas. This leads to likely inflammation of various tissues and potential impingement of nerve roots as they exit the spinal cord; then causing a chain reaction of symptoms and muscle misbehavior in the neck, shoulder blades, upper back, arms and hands. You cannot change the fact that your spine has these types of changes and surgery should always be your last resort. Surgery for this type of spine problem involves the removal of bone tissue and often the use of plates and screws for stability and to maintain more space between vertebrae. Surgery is never a guarantee of being pain free. There are many things you can do to lessen if not fully resolve the symptoms and inflammatory behaviors that are caused by degeneration and arthritis. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of cervical degenerative and arthritic changes that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition, and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Stenosis refers to a narrowing of a space or opening. As each of our vertebral discs lose their height, the vertebrae above and below the disc get closer to each other. Each pair of vertebrae above and below a disc create an opening on each side for a left and right nerve root to exit the spinal column. If the vertebrae are getting closer to each other due to a disc having less height, that opening is becoming smaller or narrower around the nerve root making it easier to impinge it and cause pain and symptoms. This is foraminal stenosis. The position that you hold or “posture” yourself in can either open the space more or close it more. A surgical intervention for this would be called a laminectomy and would involve the removal of part of the vertebral bone to make a larger space for the nerve root. Surgery should be you last resort as there are risks and no guarantee of full pain relief.

Central Canal Stenosis refers to a narrowing of the space in the canal that your spinal cord is contained in. Also due to the loss of disc height and varying degrees throughout your entire spine, all of your vertebrae have gotten closer to each other. There is a group of ligaments that are on the inside of your spinal canal and run the length of your spine. If all of the vertebrae are closer to each other, those ligaments are being “given more slack” over time and therefore “bunching up” or thickening inside the canal. This thickening is taking up space and encroaching on the spinal cord usually causing radiating symptoms that will be felt distally down the nerve path in the neck, upper back, and upper extremities. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of cervical degenerative and arthritic changes including stenosis that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Diagnostic reports showing cervical disc bulges, herniations and tears are very common. They are also very common in people without symptoms. Having symptoms often means that there are other secondary circumstances that are present that, along with the disc derangement, cause pain or radiating symptoms. These findings DO NOT automatically mean that you need surgery or that you are destined for pain and suffering for the rest of your life. You should really change all the changeable secondary circumstances before considering surgery if feasible and your surgeon agrees. Many times, changing the other circumstances such as posture, strength, flexibility, movement technique, and body mechanics can lessen or resolve your symptoms to a manageable level not warranting surgery. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of cervical disc derangements that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

It’s common to strain a muscle with everyday activities. It will heal. It will take time. During the healing process, we often unknowingly delay that process due to our poor posture, faulty movement techniques, and body mechanics. To ensure that you heal in a reasonably timely manner with minimal compromise to your busy activity level let your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy and Wellness guide you through a personalized program that will not only address your injury but will also improve some of the related obstacles to that healing process. Call us. We will get you started right away.

Compression fractures in the spine can be caused by trauma as well as some simple daily activities depending on your quality of bone density. If surgery is not required, a physical therapy program can be instrumental in ensuring the protection of the fracture site(s) through postural training, learning improved movement techniques, improving strength, stability, and flexibility. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of cervical compression fractures that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

There are many ways that a nerve can become impinged in your neck and/or shoulder region. Some are changeable and some are not. Most everyone has challenges with postural awareness and control, which also involve deficits in or imbalances in joint mobility, soft tissue flexibility, strength, and endurance. Unless you really improve, if not correct those issues you do not know if your nerve impingement, be it from degenerative changes, injury, or disc derangement should require anything other than physical therapy. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs for cases of cervical or shoulder complex nerve impingement that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

The thoracic outlet is an opening between the first few ribs and cervical muscles. A large bundle of nerves that supply sensory and motor input into the upper extremity travel through the thoracic outlet. If the first few ribs or cervical musculature are dysfunctional, then the bundle of nerves become compressed or irritated causing symptoms such as pain in the neck, shoulder region, and numbness in the arm, hand and fingers which are also presentations for many other cervical and upper extremity pathologies. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in differentiating between potential causes of your symptoms and creating personalized programs for cases of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) and/or related or similar conditions that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Headaches are very common. There are many types of headaches and many causes. It is not uncommon for you to have multiple types of headaches as well as have multiple contributing factors. Some causes are chemical related, and hormone related yet are also impacted by orthopaedic imbalances. Some of these contributing factors can be helped with physical therapy through addressing your posture, strength, flexibility, endurance, and movement technique. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in differentiating between potential causes of your headaches and creating personalized programs for cases of orthopaedic oriented headaches that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Unless you have had a trauma shoulder blade region pain is usually related to lack of postural awareness along with the accompanying weakness, tightness, and poor muscle endurance. Injury to the cervical spine can cause referred pain or symptoms in the shoulder blade region also. These are all issues that are manageable with physical therapy. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in differentiating between potential causes of your shoulder blade region pain and creating personalized programs addressing these issues that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Scoliosis is a very common condition described as a sideways curve of the spine. It can be more prominent in one section of the spine, yet it will have an impact at every level due to compensation. So, what is happening in your lumbar spine will also have an impact on your neck. It is often the case that you can have scoliosis all your life with no significant issues until you live long enough to acquire significant degenerative changes that inevitably cause symptoms and pain. In some extreme cases they warrant surgery but if so, it is usually needed at an early stage of life. Commonly with the right management program for strength, stability, and flexibility training, the intensity of symptoms can be manageable with little restrictions on activity. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs addressing scoliosis that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Cervical instability and weakness are common and part of our tendencies to have posture related imbalances. Spinal segments that are weak or unstable can be strengthened and therefore stabilized. Shoulder/ shoulder blade strength, stability, and flexibility is closely related to cervical instability and can be achieved with the right treatment program. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs addressing cervical or postural instability that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Cervical immobility and tightness are common and part of our tendencies to have posture related imbalances. Spinal segments that are stiff and immobile can be mobilized and therefore start to do their part in your overall mobility. As our cervical discs degenerate it becomes more important that we are aware of our posture to ensure adequate joint space required for improved mobility. Shoulder/ shoulder blade strength, stability and flexibility is closely related to cervical immobility and tightness and can be achieved with the right treatment program. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs addressing cervical immobility and stiffness that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

Upper extremity neuropathy is very common. With a diagnosis of neuropathy, often people feel that it is a condition that they are stuck with. This creates a feeling that treatment efforts are useless. This is not true. While physical therapy isn’t the answer for everything, it has been proven that with the addressing of the many contributing factors that cause or at least exacerbate symptoms of neuropathy, it can be improved and managed. Just because your neuropathy is caused by diabetes, doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing things that are making it more intense. Everyone has challenges with posture. You do have the ability to improve it. With that improvement, some of your problems with neuropathy will at least improve if not fully resolve. You must be trained to be aware of your posture, gain the strength required to reposition yourself, and endurance to maintain your posture while you function in life. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs addressing neuropathy caused by mechanical nerve impingement, that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.

This is a rare disorder that can be present in the upper and lower extremity and can occur after an injury, surgery, stroke or heart attack. It is a somewhat unexplainable nerve behavior that involves nerve inflammation, pain, numbness, and/or sensitivity. RSD/CRPS is treated with medication but often requires physical therapy to regain strength, flexibility, joint mobility, and endurance lost during a period of decreased function as well as soft tissue techniques for desensitization. Your team at Breaux Bridge Physical Therapy are experts in creating personalized programs addressing RSD/CRPS, that will get you feeling better, able to manage your condition and back on track sooner. Call us. We can get you started right away.