Physical Therapy in Tupelo

Ford Physical Therapy, serving patients in Tupelo, Mississippi, and the northeast part of the state, is distinguished for its effective treatment of a wide range of orthopedic conditions including back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ), and headaches. Services include, but are not limited to the following:

Back and Neck Pain

Back pain, especially lower back pain, is an issue for more than 80 percent of Americans at some point in their lives. Around the world, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says lower back pain is the leading cause of disability.

It can be treated effectively; however, allowing patients to recover and return to their active lifestyles without living in chronic pain or becoming dependent on medications.

We achieve success with our manual therapy approach combined with prescribed exercises between visits.

We treat many patients with both back and neck pain combined. We create customized programs of care that are designed to reduce pain and inflammation and restore movement as quickly as possible.

Hip and Knee Pain

As our society embraces a more active lifestyle as we age, knee pain and hip pain brings many patients to the point of consulting a physical therapist.

We will assess the root cause of your pain and then combine hands-on therapy with customized exercises to help you reduce pain and inflammation and restore strength and motion.

Hip pain can be complicated because the pain may be coming from the joint itself, or from the structures around it. It may even be referred from your back.

To get to the root cause of your pain, we do a thorough assessment to determine the underlying source and cause of the pain. Once we have assessed the cause, we set about to develop a customized program of physical therapy and exercise to combat it.

Headaches

Physical therapy is often prescribed for patients suffering from chronic headaches.

We treat headache patients by doing a thorough musculoskeletal evaluation to determine what might be contributing to the headache symptoms.

We then devise a treatment plant to decrease the pain and increase the ease of movement of the head and neck. In addition to manual therapy techniques, we can perform dry needling to those areas and prescribe exercises to help decrease or resolve the headache.

Integrative Dry Needling

Dry needling is a special procedure that helps reduce acute or chronic pain in patients.

It works by reducing muscle tension, promoting healing, and increasing range of motion.

Patients who have neck, back or shoulder pain, arm pain, headaches, jaw pain, fibromyalgia or osteoarthritis of the joints or temporomandibular disorder (TMJ) among other conditions may benefit greatly from dry needling.

The process itself involves having our specially certified physical therapist insert a disposable acupuncture needle into your skin and muscle tissue.

It works because the needles are directed at the area along the peripheral nerves or points that cause and refer pain throughout the body. High concentrations of chemicals that cause pain can be found in these trigger points.

When the needle is inserted, it helps to normalize these chemical levels and decrease muscle tension and pain.

Dry needling is not like acupuncture other than the tool used to accomplish it.

Manual Therapy

Our hands-on approach and customized physical therapy program for each patient is the foundation of our success for patients who need to get back to their busy lives as quickly as possible.

We utilize a wide spectrum of manual therapy techniques to help you return to your normal level of activity as quickly as possible.

Manual therapy involves moving the joint to a normal position from the therapist while you are performing the movement that hurts. If the joint is positioned correctly, then the offending movement will be pain-free. Most of the mobilizations we apply are pain-free. If they are not, most of the time, they are not used.

It is an effective way to reduce pain and soft tissue inflammation and improve mobility in areas where movement is restricted.

McKenzie Method MDT

Aaron Ford, Doctor of Physical Therapy, is nearing completion of his certification for the Mckenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy. This is an internationally acclaimed method to assess and treat spinal pain and pain in the extremities.

The program was developed by New Zealand physiotherapist Robin Mckenzie.

Physical therapists who possess this certification are trained to assess and diagnose all areas of the musculoskeletal system.

Using the Mckenzie Method means we will be able to promote the body’s potential to heal itself without medication or surgery and address a patient’s desire to develop self-treatment skills.

Mulligan Concept

Aaron Ford, Doctor of Physical Therapy, is a Certified Mulligan Practitioner (CMP).

The Mulligan Concept of mobilization with movement is a manual therapy approach in treating patients with musculoskeletal pain. We use it successfully to help people improve movement restrictions, reduce pain with movement, and resolve functional restriction.

We work to improve the patient’s movement with the application of pain-free hands-on techniques.

It has been found to be particularly effective in treating jaw or TMJ pain and movement restrictions, tennis elbow or lateral elbow pain, headaches due to neck problems, post-surgical conditions causing loss of pain-free movement, and loss of motion due to arthritic conditions.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

We have acquired a distinguished reputation for treating temporomandibular joint disorders. We are experienced in determining the cause of the problem and preparing an effective program of therapy to bring about relief.

The temporomandibular joint is the one that connects your jaw (mandible) to the temporal bones of your skull. These bones are located in the front of each ear.

TJM issues can occur from whiplash from a motor vehicle accident, from unrelenting stress that pushes a patient to tightly clench their teeth and tighten their facial muscles, from grinding teeth or teeth clenching during sleep, or through problems with how the teeth line up during chewing. Sometimes it is related to a problem of the disc between the ball and socket of the joint. Occasionally, it can radiate from the upper part of the neck.

Physical therapy can be particularly effective in treating and preventing further TMJ disorders.

Prescribed Exercises

We encourage you to become a partner in your own recovery by doing prescribed exercises between clinic visits.

The exercises you receive at each visit to our clinic are custom designed to aid in your recovery and lessen the number of visits you will need overall.

By building resistance, flexibility, and endurance, you will be able to return to your normally active lifestyle faster.

Post-Operative Rehabilitation

Patients who receive post-surgical physical therapy, especially after complete joint replacements, have been found to recover faster and more completely than those who do not.

We will work with your surgeon and your physician as a team to ensure our treatment plan is effective and safe for you.

We work to help you regain mobility and your normal level of activity as quickly as possible.

Shoulder Pain

Rotator cuff tendonitis, throwing a baseball, swimming, bursitis, or frozen shoulders are among the many causes of shoulder pain that can be successfully treated with a program of physical therapy.

We will work with you to evaluate the cause of your shoulder pain and work first to relieve the pain and then to strengthen your shoulder with manual therapy and prescribed exercises. Our goal is to get you back to your normal level of activity as quickly as possible.

Workplace Injuries

Working as a team with your physician and Worker’s Compensation representative, we will help you recover from workplace injuries and develop treatment plans to get you back to work as quickly as possible.

We will assess whether you are able to return to the rigors of your workplace at various stages of your treatment. We will conduct a program of work hardening or work conditioning to provide you with a graduated, safe return to your workplace and avoid recurring injuries.

Sports Injuries

We treat sprains, strains, and fractures and provide sports conditioning programs to ensure you avoid re-injury when you get back to the sport of your choice.

Our patients include everyone from the active grandmother who wants to run marathons on the weekend to people who participate in sports as part of a recreational team or semi-professional team.

Owner Aaron Ford is a dedicated triathlon competitor and frequently serves as race director in his region and is well versed in helping patients recover from running injuries.

We have a detailed understanding of the complexity of sports injuries and the desire of athletes at every level to heal and return to the sport of their choice without the risk of re-injury.

We also treat repetitive strain issues arising from sports, such as tennis elbow and golfer’s shoulder.

Fibromyalgia

The chronic pain of fibromyalgia impacts millions of Americans each year and costs lost work days and impacts the patient’s quality of life.

The pain can persist for weeks, months and even years if it is not treated.

We will work with you to customize a program of physical therapy, manual therapy, dry needling, and exercise to help you regain your life and avoid dependency on medication.

Our goal is to help you feel better and move better.

We are certified to offer dry needling which has been found to be effective for many patients impacted by this painful condition.

Individualized Run Coaching

Aaron is the only RRCA certified run coach in the area. We offer several options to meet your running or exercise goals. First, you will be given an extensive questionnaire and we will tailor your training to your specific goals, needs, and schedule. We provide free access to our mobile and online training platform, Final Surge. Your week will be planned and adjustments will be made according to your schedule, phase of training, and goals. Then, when you are finished with your run or workout, it will sync automatically with Final Surge and Aaron will receive a notification and details about the session. He will then comment or adjust your training as necessary to best meet your goals and prevent over or under training. Since he is a physical therapist, any injuries will be addressed and run sessions will be tailored specifically for you.

Have you been running for years and your progress has plateaued?

Are you a busy professional with limited training time?

Did you set a New Years resolution to be more active and lose weight?

Are you constantly injured?

Have you been running in the middle of the pack, but want to breakthrough and possibly place at the top of your age group?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then FPT Run Coaching is for you.

Aaron has been competing in triathlons for over 13 years and completed the Ironman Triathlon, 8+ Ironman 70.3 triathlons including the Ironman 70.3 World Championships, over 60 triathlons, and multiple running races including a sub-3 hour Boston Marathon. He has managed to continue to be competitive in triathlon while running a business full-time and being active with his 3 young children.

Call or email today for more information!

Pelvic Floor/Women's Health

Frequently, we hear complaints from women who exhibit the signs and symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction (see below). This prevents them from doing the activities they previously enjoyed, such as: exercising, running, lifting weights, traveling, or even lifting things around the house. Fortunately, there are specialized treatments for these conditions performed in a quiet, comforting environment by a trained physical therapist. Questions? Call (662) 554-9699 to speak to a therapist about your condition to see if we could possibly help you.

Signs and symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction:

  • Urinary leakage with coughing, sneezing, or activity
  • Urgency (a sudden need to go to the toilet, with or without leakage)
  • Urine retention (inability to use the toilet)
  • Increased frequency (going to the toilet too often)
  • Nocturia (getting up at night to go to the toilet)
  • Pre- or post pregnancy pain in pelvis/low back
  • Pain with urination
  • Pelvic pain
  • Pain with intercourse
  • Pelvic organ prolapse (as diagnosed by a doctor, or a feeling of
    heaviness/something coming down)


What causes this?

  • Tissue destruction caused by trauma, pregnancy, or exercise
  • Muscle weakness over time
  • Sudden change in weight (gain or loss)
  • Menopause


What treatments can be done for this?

  • Medications
  • Physical therapy
  • Surgery


What specific treatments do we provide?

  • Pelvic floor evaluations
  • Soft tissue mobilization (massaging and mobilizing the tissues around the pelvic floor)
  • Strength retraining (specific exercises targeting the area)
  • Behavior retraining (bladder diaries)
  • Other, more traditional therapies may be included such as: dry needling, therapeutic exercise, neuromuscular re-education, and modalities


What outcomes can you expect after treatment?

  • Improved understanding of pelvic floor muscles and the connection between the bladder, brain, and muscles to control continence
  • Decreased pain and/or symptoms associated with your condition
  • The ability to enjoy your life again


Is this covered by insurance?

  • This is a normal physical therapy service and will be covered per your insurance plan. We also have a self pay option.