Physical Therapy Treatments

People often feel ringing in the ear, cheek pain, fatigue in the muscles of the face, gnashing of teeth and even migraine and they do not know that these symptoms can have a common cause: temporomandibular disorder.
Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are disorders in the jaw, jaw joints and facial muscles that control the movement of the mouth. In addition to problems in the region itself, these disorders may cause deviations in the cervical spine, just as disorders of the cervical spine may alter the functions of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
The TMJ is the joint responsible for the movement of the jawbone, responsible for chewing and speaking. The musculature around this joint is responsible for controlling the movements of the jaw.
These disorders are more common in women who are between 20 and 50 years old. The causes vary, but are usually related to blows, stress, misaligned bites, bruxism (habit of grinding teeth during sleep), briquism (habit of clenching teeth during the day), misaligned prostheses or muscle spasm.
With the physiotherapeutic treatment of the TMD, it is possible to reduce the symptoms and even heal completely, because the treatment focuses precisely on reprogramming the opening and closing movement of the mouth, on the relaxation of the muscles that are stiff and on the shortening and better functionality of the joint.
The treatment is simple, based on exercises with short movements of the mouth, as well as massage and the stretch of the facial musculature, both inside and outside of the mouth.
The pain relief is felt in the very first session because of this massage.
Therefore, if you feel any of these symptoms, do not forget to schedule an evaluation, conservative treatment can solve your problems, preventing the use of medicines and/or surgical intervention.
Santibras Fisioterapia is here to give you quality of life and to assure its patients to make the most of life free of pain.

Created in the United States in 1895, the method is aimed at fixing problems in the locomotor system, which includes muscles and bones. Doing so, it may solve disorders in the spine and relieve pain in a general way. Despite being considered by many as an alternative medicine, which makes many people afraid to adopt it, it is recognized and affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The objective is to fix the problem without the need for surgery or the consumption of any type of medicine. For this technique, both the spine and the nervous system are essential for the resolution of the disorder, whatever it may be. The objective is to make adjustments only with the movement of the hands of the physiotherapist, and because of that his training needs to be complete to prevent subjecting the patient to any type of risk.
In addition to treating problems in the spine, chiropractic also takes care of other areas of the body in which there is muscle pain, such as arms and legs. Treating problems in the joints of the shoulders, elbows, wrist, knees, and ankles; muscle tension; neck, lumbar and head pain; and herniated disc. The practice may also improve the well-being of the patient, making him sleep better and reducing his stress levels, for example.

The global postural reeducation method (GPR) was developed by the Frenchman Phillipe Souchard. It is present all over the world and it arrived in Brazil in the mid-80s.
The GPR treats body disorders, taking into consideration particularities, because each person reacts in a different way to the suffered aggressions. Its principle is the correction of postural deviations through certain positions that lead to global stretches that involve all muscle chains, helping the patient have a better perception of the body in space, taking this correction to the patient’s daily life, such as keeping in the correct posture throughout his workday or when practicing sports.
This technique entails a series of practical exercises to prevent and relieve many types of pain with movements that help stretch the muscles and contribute to shaping the body.
When the patient undergoes this technique, among other dysfunctions, posture can be fixed, chronic spine problems can be solved, muscles can be toned, asthma and bronchitis may improve, besides growing from two to three centimeters, as the bones are correctly positioned. Adequate posture even helps to reduce the undesirable tummy, because by fixing the posture, you may lose belly.
Doctors are already aware of the benefits that GPR can bring to the health of their patients and indicate the treatment along with the use of medicines for a faster response.
The treatment consists of 45-minute consultations, 1 to 2 times a week according to the patient’s need, which will be evaluated by the physiotherapist. Right at the first assessment, the physiotherapist will give you an estimation of the time to be dedicated and the duration of the treatment. The possibility of application is huge, and the treatment method should match the level of complexity of each case or pathology.

It was created during the American Civil War in the late 19th century by the American physician Andrew Taylor Still, who, through observation and research, made a correlation between pathologies and their physical manifestations.
Osteopathy is an autonomous system of primary health care based on distinguished diagnosis, as well as the treatment of various dysfunctions and health prevention without the aid of drugs or surgery. Osteopathy focuses on patient-centered actions, rather than the conventional disease-centered system. The osteopath is a distinct health profession, who has a degree and specific clinical training. Osteopathy uses several manual therapeutic techniques, including that of manipulating the musculoskeletal system (bones, muscles, and joints) to help in the treatment of diseases.
Osteopathy is a discipline of alternative medicine, or unconventional therapy, for its philosophical principles differ from those of conventional medicine. A holistic approach to health is favored in its treatments, understanding that the body’s ability to recover can be increased by stimulation of the joints. In fact, osteopathy treatments are focused on back, neck and other joint pain.

The program for pregnant women is based on scientific studies and clinical practice, and it was developed to improve the quality of life of the mother-to-be throughout this special period.
Many mothers have never practiced any type of physical activity and because of the weight gain and change in the center of gravity, they feel lower back pain, swollen feet and legs, abdominal discomfort, joint pain, and excessive tiredness.
The purpose of this program is:

• To facilitate venous, lymphatic return and prevent water retention.
• Body and respiratory awareness.
• The maintenance of blood pressure and heart rate.
• To get adequate cardiovascular conditioning.
• Gestational Diabetes control (if any).
• Endurance and muscle stretching.
• To strengthen the pelvic floor.
• Guidelines for carrying out daily-life activities.
• To understand the phases of the gestation period and maternal sensations.
• To improve motor skills and body balance.
•  To provide feelings of well-being, self-confidence, self-esteem, reducing anxiety and increasing pain tolerance.
• To facilitate postpartum recovery.

The exercises planned for this program are aimed at strengthening the pelvic floor, which dilates as the baby grows.
Also strengthening the lumbar region, which is burdened with the belly overweight. With the center of gravity moving forward, it is common to find pregnant women walking with the increased base and the hand lying on the lumbar region due to these changes.
The strengthening of the upper limbs is also carried out, since after the childbirth the mother has to take the child out of the crib and place it on her chest to breastfeed countless times a day. This strengthening has the objective to prevent injuries such as De Quervain’s tendinitis, very common in mothers of children who still breastfeed.
This program should only start after the third month of pregnancy and with the recommendation of the responsible gynecologist/obstetrician, to be safe for both the mother and the baby.

Manual therapy is a set of physiotherapy techniques aimed at the benefit of the patient that uses only the hands as a treatment instrument. The most prominent techniques are Osteopathy, Maitland, Mulligan, Muscle chains and Fascial rails, among others. They favor a global view of the organism, using distinguished diagnostic and therapeutic resources in structures that conventional physiotherapy does not approach, such as making accessory joint mobilization complementary to simple primary joint mobilization, myofascial and neural release. These techniques are very useful to reach the point of origin of the pain, which often does not coincide with the point where it hurts.
Osteopathy is a therapy created by Andrew Taylor Still 1828-1917, based on the theory that the body can create its own medicines against diseases when its structure is balanced, when it has favorable environmental conditions and adequate nutrition. It uses medical traditional methods for diagnosis and treatment, although it may emphasize mechanical and manipulative methods of detecting and fixing flaws in the body structure.

The Maitland and Mulligan methods were developed to fix these small flaws, making use of techniques that combine accessory joint mobilization with painless active physiological movement. It is one of the safest and most comfortable manual therapy techniques for the patient. The expected result is immediate pain relief and increased arc of motion.

By classical definition, given by Françoise Meziéres (known as Madame Meziéres), muscle chains are: “a set of poly-articular muscles, of the same direction and whose insertions overlap one another like tiles on a roof”.

From practical observations and anatomical studies, our pioneer lady in this field also described three laws related to muscle chains as follows:
·         Every attempt at local correction will generate a distance compensation.
·         Every attempt to tension a muscle chain results in a tendency of internal rotation of the limbs.
·         Every attempt to strain a muscle chain leads to the tendency of respiratory blockage in inspiratory apnea.

What holds our body standing is the chain of static muscles. The muscles that constitute this chain have a greater amount of connective tissue and higher tonus, for they exert an antigravitational function, requiring a constant partial contraction. These muscles tend to be more tense, hypertonic, shortened and less flexible, and they are the most affected in cases of pathologies.

When the static muscles shorten too much, bone deviations and joint compression can occur. When a muscle of a muscle chain is affected, all the others of the same chain are affected as well.

For our main movements, we use the chain of dynamic muscles. These muscles have a smaller amount of connective tissue and less muscle tone, for this reason, they can become extremely flabby and hypotonic. A classic example of this is the abdominal muscles of sedentary people.

Dry needling is a great option for people who suffer from muscle pain (myofascial pain). This technique is also recommended for muscle movement recovery.
These pains may be caused by several factors, such as repetitive, sudden, and excessively fast movements, falls, ischemia (lack of muscle oxygenation), inflammation, lack or excess of physical exercise, emotional stress, nutritional deficiencies, and postural deviations.
The treatment consists of applying acupuncture needles directly to the nodules formed in the muscle fiber, called trigger points, which are traumas caused by the situations mentioned above.

Gametherapy is a treatment performed with the help of video games. Developed in 2006, in Canada, the use of this method in orthopedic physiotherapeutic sessions enables engagement and accessibility to patients, in addition to humanizing the treatment, which can often be painful and exhausting.
There are different types of treatment, in the most common, the patient (player) is placed in front of motion sensors that process their actions. The movements made by him are reflected on the screen, enabling the process to be controlled and supervised by the physiotherapist responsible for the treatment.
Gametherapy provide patients with many benefits, the main ones are: improving torso control and motor skills, strengthening muscles, increasing muscle endurance and functional ability, improving dynamic balance, stimulating brain activity, raising the level of attention, influencing the vestibular system, improving spatial orientation, and favoring neuroplasticity.

Did you know that your posture and pain frames can be improved with the use of proprioceptive insoles?
This technique, known as podoposturology, has both a preventive and therapeutic approach. It is of French origin and aims to integrate the influence between the feet and the posture.
During the postural evaluation, gait analysis and plantigraphy (plantar pressure assessment), we can observe the postural and tread deviations that can generate pain from the feet to the cervical spine, through the ankles, knees, hips, and lumbar spine. Podoposturology uses human neurophysiology as its basic principle.
Just like posturology, podoposturology also studies posture control, but more specifically the feet receptors and how they interfere in body posture and orthostatic balance.
It is assumed that the central nervous system (CNS) uses information from neural receptors located in the skin of the plantar region to organize posture with physiological balance.
It is from the region of the soles that the necessary information arises for the regulation of static and dynamic posture. So, all the stimuli of the insoles excite the neural receptors of the plantar skin, leading to the reprogramming of the postural strategy as a response.
The purpose of the insoles is to positively stimulate the neural receptors of the soles of the feet to improve posture.
The insoles are recommended for: flat foot, hollow foot, pain in the heels, calcaneal spur, plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, metatarsalgia, neuroma, bunion, pain in the plantar region, in the knees, hips and spine, herniated disc, postural deviations, differences in the lower limb, also for runners who want to improve their tread and, consequently, their running.
Since the insoles are made with extremely fine materials, it can be placed in any type of footwear, both social shoes and sneakers for physical activity.