CAN A PHYSICAL THERAPIST GIVE NUTRITION ADVICE? WHAT THE LAW SAYS ABOUT A PT COUNSELING ON NUTRITION

Public health recommendations for lifestyle interventions, including diet, nutrition advice, and physical activity, have been widely publicized for the treatment and prevention of diseases, including chronic pain (1). One vital component of lifestyle, functional, and integrative medicine is nutrition. Nutrition education and counseling have steadily worked its way into the scope of practice of many […]

Transforming PT Clinics through Functional Nutrition Services

Should PTs include functional nutrition services to patients? Those suffering from chronic pain are often on a desperate quest for solutions that feel as tangible as the pain itself. It’s likely they’ve tried a number of treatments, medications, and/or even so-called “New Age” remedies which amounted to little more than trial and error. This can […]

Harnessing the Power of the Mind to Treat Chronic Pain with Physical Therapy

Waxing philosophical on the power of the mind can sometimes feel like wading through the deep end of a pool filled with tired clichés. From the likes of famous innovators and social justice warriors all the way to pop-culture characters encouraging people to “use the Force,” the internet is littered with memorable comments and quotes […]

The No-Pill Remedy: Targeting Lifestyle Habits to Reduce Chronic Pain

Chronic pain can truly be considered a pandemic, affecting a large swath of people all over the world -numbers vary, but 20% of the world population seems to be a conservative estimate (1). Introducing the no-pill remedy. Over the last few decades, as scientific understanding of chronic pain evolved, pure biomedical treatments focusing on drug […]

New study identifies changes in the gut microbiome in patients with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is an intriguing medical condition characterized by chronic widespread pain of unknown origin. Since musculoskeletal integrity is commonly well preserved in people with fibromyalgia, clues point to heightened pain perception as the prevailing cause (1).  It is known that physical or emotional stressors may trigger and sustain pain, but these (diffuse, generalized pain, sleep […]

Are Pain Catastrophizing, Mindfulness, and Pain Acceptance Related or Unique Constructs?

Chronic pain is by definition a bodily sensation, but its perceived magnitude depends on both physical and psychological processes. It has been suggested that attention to pain sensations might actually increase sensory flow of pain signals to the brain, accentuating pain perceptions (1). The attention paid to pain, and the importance we attribute it in […]