Dizziness and vertigo are problems that many people experience, and can be serious at times. These are common terms that we hear when people are describing abnormal sensations of either feeling like they’re spinning or like the world is spinning around them. There is a distinct difference, and understanding that difference allows us to better understand how to approach recovery. Dizziness describes a dysfunction in our sense of spatial awareness, where our balance feels off in a given environmen…

Headaches are something most people have likely dealt with multiple times, at least statistically speaking. According to the World Health Organization, one half to three quarters of adults have experienced a headache in the last year, 30% or more have reported migraine, and 1.7%-4% of the world’s population has reported headaches on 15 or more days over the last month. That’s a lot of people with a lot of pain and not a lot of answers. One way to understand how to best help headaches is to und…

Are you dreading another holiday spent with TMJ pain, or afraid that you may cause a flare up? Do you avoid eating certain foods, because it hurts to chew, or open your jaw even to eat a hamburger? There is no reason to continue to miss out on enjoying the foods you love again. TMJ symptoms can be treated, resolved, and self managed when seeking an appropriate TMJ specialist. The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) controls the alignment of your jaw. Misalignment of this joint can bring on stiffnes…

How are they related? Headaches associated with neck pain are often caused by problems occurring within the nerves, muscles, or bones in the neck. This means that neck pain or discomfort will usually start first and progress to headaches if not taken care of. Many people will experience pain on one side of the neck and face, a stiff neck, pain in the eyes, or pain with certain neck positions or movement. TMD (Temporomandibular disorders) or disorders that are linked to jaw muscles, joints, and …

In physical therapy, we use a variety of tools for improving patient outcomes. Sometimes what works well for one patient may not be as appropriate or effective for another. However, there is a commonality between successful interventions and functional improvements and that is a Positive Attitude. Positive Mental Attitude or PMA is the state of optimism or hope in a situation which attracts a positive change. One study of 167 people reports, 94% of the people agree that PMA can aid in recover…