NEWSLETTERAugust, 2018Featured in this issue:
Favorite Doctors and Health Care Practitioners 2018 Chesapeake Family Life Magazine 2018Congratulations Doug Wallop, PT and Mike Wells, DPT!!!!!!!!When looking for a health care provider, regardless of the type of care you need, we all look for the same attributes: someone who is knowledgeable, caring, patient and attentive. Here are a few excerpts from the comments our patients submitted with their nominations:
Thank you to everyone who voted and who honored us with this distinction! At AFPT, all of our therapists embody the philosophies that were mentioned in the comments above. Our company motto is "we treat you like family" as we truly believe every patient who walks through our door IS a lifetime member of our family! Phyllis Hayden, PTPhyllis has always been interested in the medical field and she likes working with people. After graduating with honors from the University of Maryland in 1985, Phyllis began her career at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) as a staff therapist. Following extensive lower extremity biomechanical courses, Phyllis started a gait lab in 1985 and fell in love with making custom foot Orthotics. She has specialized in this area of physical therapy ever since. Phyllis joined AFPT in 1995, where she continues to specialize in lower extremity biomechanics with correction using custom foot orthotics. She uses advanced 3D imaging equipment to make the orthotics. She also works with general orthopedic and sports medicine patients. Phyllis finds it fascinating to look at someone's gait pattern and be able to change it for the better with the use of custom foot orthotics. Outside of work, Phyllis' passion is dog agility and gardening. Most people are unaware what dog agility entails. It is running an obstacle course with your dog and it is scored on accuracy and time. Phyllis competes in dog agility on a national level with her Border Collies and teach a class one night a week. Her second love is gardening. She recently designed and built a small greenhouse where she grows most of her flowers and vegetables from seed. It is such a feeling of accomplishment to harvest your first set of crops. To schedule an appointment with Phyllis, please call our Riva Road office at 410-266-6626. The Importance of Wearing Proper Fitting ShoesWe live in a world of flip-flops and running shoes. It is all about comfort and style with very little regard to structure and support. The fact is, by the time you are 50, you and your feet have traveled an average of 70,000 miles. Of all of our various body components, the health of our feet is probably the most neglected, and yet proper foot function is the key to mobility, balance, optimal weight distribution and postural stability. The foot is a complex body part and a beautifully constructed network of bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons designed to perfectly facilitate movement and balanced weight distribution. The quality of the life that you lead is directly proportional to the efficiency of your mobility, and the key player here is your feet. Did you know that all ankle, knee, hip and back stability and health is impacted by the integrity of walking mechanics and it all starts with your feet? It is just logical… if there is a flaw in the way you walk, over time, that insult will impact the function and stability of all of the other joints which comprise that functional chain. This ultimately leads to the breakdown of various joint complexes that form that chain, with resultant deterioration in the form of tendinitis, bursitis, joint instability, and eventual arthritis. There is compelling evidence to demonstrate the impact that poor or worn footwear has upon the health of your feet and the deteriorative implications to other parts of the lower limb, pelvis and spine. Beware of ankle issues with prolonged flip-flop and sandal wearing, as there is no ankle support in most of these shoes, and they can leave you prone to trips and falls. If you love your flat flip-flops or sandals, try to only wear them to the beach or out somewhere that doesn’t require much walking and wear an athletic shoe to run errands around town. With regard to athletic shoes, wearing a newer pair will ensure that the shoes have not worn out of their supportive and shock absorption features. Also, choose athletic shoes that are appropriate for the sport or activity for which you are participating. Running shoes are for running, cycling shoes are for cycling, tennis shoes are for tennis, etc. These shoes are specifically engineered to not only help with your performance in these sports and for the unique conditions of the environment, but they are also designed to be the best types of shoes for your feet as you participate in these activities. Our office has biomechanical specialists who will look at your gait patterns, feet and shoes to determine whether you might benefit from custom designed shoe inserts (orthotics) that balance the biomechanical inadequacies of your feet. Call for your evaluation today! The days between July 3 and August 11, often referred to as the "dog days of summer," are some of the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere. Contrary to popular thought, our canine companions have nothing to do with the phrase's origin. Instead, the term "dog days of summer" has deep historical roots dating back thousands of years and is actually intertwined with the movement of the stars. The ancient Greeks and Romans are thought to have helped coin the term in reference to the star, Sirius, or Dog Star, that rose just before the sun in late July. Despite this fact, we thought we would share our "dog stars," AKA the AFPT Dog days of Summer," featuring a few of the crazy canine family members of the AFPT Team! Remi - Shelley's dog Bailey - Courtney's dog Finn & Velvet - Joy's dogs Hazel - Michelle's dog Millie - Liz's dog Cole - Joanie's dog Chewy Penelope - Tara's dog Momo - Karen's dog (with Chewy) Scooter - Gena's "dog" |