Movement Dynamics Physical Therapy - Baguio

25/04/2025

An update on the 2019 editorial by Caneiro et al. on joint-by-joint approach to joint pain vs. the biopsychosocial approach.

They recommended "five actions" that all manual therapists should do when working with patients with [chronic] joint pain (or almost any kind of pain).

1. Spot the red flags
2. Use an updated pain questionnaire
3. Let patients be the storyteller
4. Personalize joint pain relief education
5. Build independence, not reliance on joint pain treatment

The biopsychosocial model of pain also applies to joint pain, but how could massage therapists apply this model to practice. Science may have an answer.

22/03/2025

It's very very common for physios to tell their back pain patients not to bend or curl their back. And sit ups or crunches are a big no. This in part is because of the prevalent but very wrong information that our spinal discs are like donut filled jellies where bending forward can squeeze the jelly outward that can cause disc bulging.

True enough, my patient's former physio told him exactly that. Imagine telling a young, active person to not bend on his back. That would put limitations on his movements and has to bend on his hips and knees every time he needs to pick something off the floor.

Nothing hurts a chronic pain patient more than telling them what they cannot do instead of empowering them to explore what their bodies can do.

So here, I made him do what many physios and chiros tell their back pain patients not to do.

17/03/2025

Most of the time. Certain things are worried about WAAAAY too much.

This can often be detrimental to actual engagement in the rehab or training process

So try not to sweat the small stuff too much. It often makes people look smart or attentive. But there is a dark side also

Credit to: CoreKinetic

01/03/2025

Tendon health is multifaceted and many of the factors can potentially be targets for treatment. It’s important to recognise this bigger picture, especially in complex tendinopathy cases that aren’t improving as expected.

Credit to: The Running Physio

05/02/2025

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), also called lifestyle-related conditions, include ischemic heart disease, smoking-related conditions, hypertension and stroke, obesity, diabetes, chronic pain, and cancer.

Many noninvasive interventions exist within the scope of practice of Physios to address these conditions, holding promise to reduce the need for more invasive interventions, such as pharmaceuticals and surgeries.

Especially when we consider integrative approaches to pain care, so many possibilities are open to us and our patients.

This is why I remain so excited about physical therapy and whole person pain care.

Every year, new modalities emerge, new research begins, and new patients are impacted.

Credit: Dr. Joe Tatta, DPT

31/01/2025

'Fearful thinking predicts hypervigilance towards pain-related stimuli in patients with chronic pain.'

Have a look at the video below to go over in more detail how hypervigilance and fear are big pieces in the production and maintenance of chronic pain and other chronic symptoms. The authors state in the takeaway from the study: "This study demonstrates that patients with chronic pain have increased attention towards pain-related information, and the fearful thinking about pain was positively correlated with this phenomenon."...

I reviewed a research paper titled ‘Fearful thinking predicts hypervigilance towards pain-related stimuli in patients with chronic pain.’ Have a look at the video below to go over in more detail how hypervigilance and fear are big pieces in the production and maintenance of chronic pain and othe...

13/01/2025

This image shows how pain is highly influenced by social, environmental, and psychological factors. To attribute pain to solely biomedical or biochemical factors like tissue damage, joint degeneration, and things that X-rays and MRI show is why a lot of patients with chronic pain struggle to get better.

(Image from Chronic Pain Australia)

02/01/2025

Bagong likod at balikat ba wish mo ngayong taon? Kaya natin gawin yan. Walang gimik, walang bola... Meron tayong mga technique para dyan.

16/12/2024

What myths have you heard about manual therapy?

This blog examines 6 myths of manual therapy, by world renowned physiotherapist, Dr. Chad Cook.

This blog is my take on the podcast episode with Dr Chad Cook (1) - "6 Myths of Manual Therapy" - on the Physio Explained podcast (where you can learn from

06/12/2024

When doctors tell patients that their arthritis is so bad that it’s “bone on bone,” how often is that actually TRUE? And if it is true … is okay to say it?

How often is it a exaggeration? And should we ever describe arthritis as “bone on bone” even when it’s accurate?

18/11/2024

It's very common for new stroke patients to have frustrations leading to depression and anxiety.

One way to combat this is to allow them to go for outdoor walks regularly. Nature is not only therapeutic by itself, but it also helps stroke patients get back to having connections with familiar environments.

Outdoor activities can help patients relearn skills lost due to stroke.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9310555/

09/11/2024

“Resistance training is linked to about 15% lower risk of mortality and 17% lower risk of heart disease compared to adults who report no resistance training.

Resistance training improves not only traditional heart disease risk factors, such as lipids, glucose and blood pressure, but also nontraditional heart disease risk factors, such as sleep, mood, quality of life and the way blood vessels function.

For example, resistance training is associated with a 0.34% decline in average blood sugar levels for the past two or three months in older people with diabetes.

In healthy people over 40, resistance training can help reduce blood pressure by -4/-2 units. There are greater reductions in people with higher blood pressure.”

A recent scientific statement from the American Heart Association suggests that resistance training is at least as safe as aerobic exercise for those with heart disease and other health conditions, and for most people can provide similar or additive benefits in lowering risk factors for cardiovascul