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Learn about common pain-causing health conditions, their progression paths, their causes, and effective treatment options. Our blog offers valuable information to people who experience pain and anyone who wishes to learn more about long-lasting, safe, and noninvasive treatments.

These articles also explain how Superior Physical Therapy addresses these common health problems through an innovative approach called the Superior Method. This approach aims to accurately identify the underlying cause of pain in order to develop a more tailored and collaborative treatment plan.

Single-Leg Balance: The Most Overlooked Key to Full Recovery After Hip Replacement

Roughly 40 percent of every walking cycle is spent balanced on one leg. If your single-leg stability isn't there after hip replacement, nothing feels safe — regardless of your range of motion.

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Scar Tissue After Hip Replacement: The Invisible Barrier — and the 6-to-12 Week Window

Scar tissue forms in every hip replacement. Whether it restricts your recovery depends almost entirely on whether it's addressed during the 6-to-12 week remodeling window — and most PT programs miss it.

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"Am I On Track?" Your Week-by-Week Hip Replacement Recovery Roadmap

The question I hear more than any other in my clinic. Here's what normal progress actually looks like across the 12 weeks after hip replacement — phase by phase, with realistic milestones.

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You Are Not Required to Go Where Your Surgeon Sends You: How to Choose the Right PT After Hip Replacement

Michigan is a direct-access state — the PT referral in your discharge packet is a recommendation, not a requirement. Here are the five questions to ask before you commit to any clinic.

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The Strength Bank Account: Why What You Do Before Hip Replacement Surgery Changes Everything

Patients who do prehab before hip replacement recover faster, hurt less, and get back to independence sooner. Here's why almost nobody does it — and how to start.

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Was Your Hip MRI or X-ray Really Worth It?

Was Your Hip MRI or X-ray Really Worth It? You finally got the imaging. After weeks—or months—of hip pain, your doctor ordered an MRI or X-ray. You were hoping for clarity. Answers. A clear path forward. Instead, you got a...

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Why Does My Hip Hurt All of a Sudden?

Why Does My Hip Hurt All of a Sudden? It always seems to happen out of nowhere. You wake up, take a few steps… and there it is. A sharp pinch. A deep ache. A stiffness that wasn’t there yesterday....

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3 Simple Self-Tests to Understand Your Hip Pain

3 Simple Self-Tests to Understand Your Hip Pain—And What to Do About It   Hip pain can feel confusing. Is it coming from the joint? The muscles? The tendons? Or something else entirely? While a true diagnosis should always come...

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Dispelling the Myth of Hip “Bone on Bone” with Biotensegrity

Dispelling the Myth of Hip “Bone on Bone” with Biotensegrity   If you’ve ever been told you have “bone on bone” in your hip, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common—and most alarming—phrases patients hear after an orthopedic...

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Walking the Greens Without Pain: Solutions for Knee Pain in Golfers

Walking the Greens Without Pain: Solutions for Knee Pain in Golfers There’s something timeless about walking the course—the rhythm of your steps between shots, the quiet anticipation before a swing, the connection between your body and the game. But when...

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The Golfer’s Elbow: Exploring Effective Treatments

The Golfer’s Elbow: Exploring Effective Treatments   Golfer’s elbow, medically known as medial epicondylitis, is a condition characterized by pain and irritation on the inside of the elbow. Despite its name, it’s not limited to golfers—any repetitive gripping, lifting, or...

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Unlock Your Hips, Fix Your Golf Swing: Play Pain-free Again with More Power

Unlock Your Hips, Fix Your Golf Swing: Play Pain-free Again with More Power   Many golfers focus on their swing mechanics when something goes wrong on the course. They adjust their grip, change their stance, or try to modify their...

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BMJ: Guideline Strongly Recommends Against Arthroscopy for 'Nearly All' Patients With Knee OA or Meniscal Tears

In countries with data available, knee arthroscopy is the most common orthopedic procedure Data reviewed by an international multidisciplinary panel that included physical therapists Guideline makes a "strong recommendation" against the use of arthroscopy in nearly all patients with degenerative...

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CDC: Arthritis Affects 1 in 4 in US; More Emphasis on Physical Activity Needed

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) latest snapshot of arthritis prevalence, severity, and related physical inactivity reported in 2017 looks a lot like its previous one, based on 2015 data. As then, an estimated 1 in 4...

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New Clinical Practice Guideline for Shoulder Pain Makes the Case Against Surgery

Should patients experiencing chronic, atraumatic shoulder pain for three or more months undergo surgery? A new paper recently published in the BMJ advises strongly against it. The paper’s authors summarized their evidence-based recommendations into a new Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG),...

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Subacromial decompression surgery for adults with shoulder pain: a systematic review with meta- analysis

To determine the benefits and harms of subacromial decompression surgery in adult patients with subacromial pain syndrome lasting for more than 3months. Download PDF File

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Prevalence of knee osteoarthritis features on magnetic resonance imaging in asymptomatic uninjured adults

Knee MRI is increasingly used to inform clinical management. Features associated with osteoarthritis are often present in asymptomatic uninjured knees; however, the estimated prevalence varies substantially between studies. We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis to provide summary estimates of...

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FDA Warns About Dangers of Epidural Steroid Injections for Back Pain

The Food and Drug Administration has just issued what’s called a “Medwatch Alert” warning that Epidural steroid injections or “ESIs” for back and neck pain can be extremely dangerous. The alert says: “Injection of corticosteroids into the epidural space of...

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Many Orthopedic Surgeries Don’t Work

Unlike drugs, orthopedic surgeries can be sold to the public before they undergo any rigorous testing to ensure they are safe and effective. Thus, millions of surgeries for knee, shoulder, and back pain have been done even without any research...

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MRI and X-Ray Often Worse than Useless for Back Pain

When it comes to diagnosing most back pain, MRI machines are like Monty Python’s medical machinery that goes “bing.” For back pain, MRI and X-ray are medical machines that make false alarms. They don’t always make false alarms, of course....

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Stop and Think Carefully about Back Surgery

If you’re considering having spinal surgery as the final fix for your back pain, I’d like to help you to think again about your options.I’m a spinal surgeon and I want you to know that surgery is not your best...

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JAMA opinion piece slams our addiction to ‘unnecessary’ MRIs, CT scans

When the Food and Drug Administration approved magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners in 1984, the machines seemed incredible. They offered an inside view of the human body, making it easier to diagnose disease, injuries and physical abnormalities. Today, they’re part...

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57% of People with No Pain show Knee Osteoarthritis on an Image

The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the prevalence of abnormal magnetic resonance imaging scans of the knees of asymptomatic subjects. A prospective analysis of magnetic resonance imaging to arthroscopic findings in symptomatic knees was also performed. Download...

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The Dramatic Increase in Total Knee Replacement Utilization Rates in the United States Cannot Be Fully Explained by Growth in Population Size and the Obesity Epidemic

Total knee replacement utilization in the United States more than doubled from 1999 to 2008. Althoughthe reasons for this increase have not been examined rigorously, some have attributed the increase to population growth and the obesity epidemic. Our goal was...

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