I don't know what it is about spring, but when it comes, everyone around here thinks that the hibernation of the winter is over and they are bound and determined to get some work done. They are stacking slash piles, cleaning outside windows, putting in patios, cleaning out theirs garages and getting their gardens ready for planting, plus biking, running and hiking Canfield. Everyone is outside doing something, and I am sure that this week there are some backs, necks, shoulders and knees that are mighty sore.

In physical therapy, we often see an increase in injuries this time of year, due to everyone loving the good weather and being anxious to begin their springtime projects. Everyone goes out with great enthusiasm, and pretty soon, the hauling of fences and rocks for the new yard takes it toll. We see a lot of tendonitis, sprains and strains. Suddenly Advil is your new best friend, and we wonder how this project that was suppose to take two Sundays now has taken four whole weekends. We also wonder why our elbow is now talking to us 24 hours a day.

A common injury at the elbow is called “tennis elbow.” It can happen because of tennis, but more often, it happens because of a repetitive activity that you have been doing that strains the common extensor tendon of the elbow. This overuse syndrome occurs when we have irritated the tendon and caused a localized inflammation. If you think of how a rope frays with overuse and becomes weak, this is exactly what happens to the tendon.

Often you will have pain when you touch the area, when you lay on it, when you stretch out your arm or when you try to pick up something even as light as your coffee cup. So there goes the projects right out the window, and we were hoping to have them done before Memorial Day.

Well, here is where physical therapy can help tendonitis, a sprain or a strain. Any time there is an injury the body's natural response with a muscle, joint or tendon is to send fluid to the area. We call this the inflammatory response. This is an important part of the process, because it means the body has recognized that something is just not right and it needs to be alerted. The problem is that often the inflammatory response has occurred, but the next step of proliferation and then healing has somehow not been allowed to happen. So the body is caught in the inflammatory circle and healing is not occurring. When we were young, the process of moving through these stages of healing an injury happened efficiently and with little to no assistance. However, after about the age of 28 this process slows and often the body needs help.

Physical therapy plays an integral part in promoting the stages of healing. It utilizes all types of interventions — from electrical to mechanical to light energy — to facilitate tissue healing. All types of tissues heal at different rates and with different interventions. Thank goodness for cold laser therapy, which is wonderful for tendonitis and muscle strains. Transverse friction massage on tendonitis works amazingly to assist a tendon in healing. Soft tissue mobilization works well to assist a shoulder with stiffness, and joint mobilization works wonders on that back and neck that is stiff.

Whatever you are doing this spring, remember that your body is trying to tell you something if you are achy, stiff and sore and reaching for the Advil every night for more than a week. Most likely you need to use your ice pack, rest and compress and elevate whatever is talking to you. If you find that after two weeks of self-care you are still struggling with the same thing, you really need to contact your physical therapist. In our state, you are allowed to see a physical therapist without a MD's referral — unless of course your insurance requires you to do so. So don't let your sprain or strain land you behind the eight ball on your home improvement projects. Come in and see your physical therapist today and we will get you back on track.

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Sheree DiBiase, PT, is the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy and she and her staff would love to get you back on your DIY projects as quick as possible. Please call for an appointment in Coeur d'Alene at (208) 667-1988, in the Spokane Valley at (509) 891-2623, and in our new Hayden office at (208) 762-2100.