What's New

Riding the Waves

The past few years have been full of ups and downs that even the most diligent business owner could never prepare for!  From a global pandemic, to transitioning our medical billing in-house, to a housing crisis that is having an enormous negative impact on our staffing, the Granite team has been riding the waves.

Our team continues to “run the river” which seems like the perfect analogy since we forge ahead by looking downstream, scouting the hard rapids, and navigating the best line through the challenges ahead.  The GSM team is dynamic, not getting stuck in an eddy circling round and round, but taking these challenging situations head on and determining our cleanest run. 

Knowing our schedules were full, our waitlist was long, and opportunities for growing our staff were slim, we brainstormed how best to meet the needs of our community.  We began offering acute care visits, prompt pay visit bundles for under and uninsured patients as well as punch cards for relevant modalities such as blood flow restriction, effectively lowering patient costs.  We decided to take our knowledge and develop online content that could support our patients locally and reach a larger audience.   We now have a robust YouTube channel with a number of ideas on how to resolve various issues as well as a strong social media presence full of relevant tidbits.  Our first online class, Active Prenatal and Post-Partum Life created by Dr. Alison, is now live and more courses are in the works! 

With the availability of online content, our goal is to offer our patients a blended model for physical therapy that is more cost effective and efficient.  Nothing beats a one-on-one visit to diagnose your issue and identify the most important steps to get you on the path to recovery.  In-person visits reinforced by online materials allow us to foster more autonomy, resulting in the same great outcomes in fewer PT visits with less financial burden.

Looking down river, we are so thrilled to share that Sydney Williams, DPT will be joining our team in March.  Not only is Sydney a great PT, but she and her husband are also outdoor enthusiasts with 3 dogs, which is a perfect match for us!   Dr. Alison is on maternity leave enjoying a healthy baby girl and will be returning in April as well.  Within a few months, we will be back to full capacity with our team as strong and robust as ever!

Soon, we will find ourselves in the calm pool beneath the big drop, a bit relieved that once again, we ran the rapid cleanly!   And of course, we will be a bit giddy with excitement to see what the next bend will bring.   Thanks to everyone for being so patient, so supportive, and so great to work with.  Your feedback, enthusiasm, and loyalty continue to drive our vision at Granite.  We look forward to cruising together on our journey!

                                                                                                            -Written by Darcy Cook, PT, MSPT

Are shoes the secret to a new start in 2023?

January can be the epitome of a boom-bust cycle, where social pressure pushes us to make big changes and take charge of our lives. It’s easy to come out hot and burn out quickly.  To build on the importance of wellness that we discussed last month, let’s dive into strategies for making attainable, sustainable change.

I once worked with a pediatric physical therapist who instructed parents to buy only tennis shoes for their child.  She pointed out that when kids wear slip-ons that they can’t easily run around in, it unintentionally reinforces stillness and lack of movement.  We can use this same jedi-mind trick on ourselves! Darcy puts on her gym clothes and shoes early in her morning routine so it’s mentally harder for her to NOT do her workout—after all, her gym shoes are already on! I change into my gym shoes before I leave the office for the same reason.  Am I really going to change clothes just to go home? Nope. If the shoes are on, I’m going to the gym. Initiating a workout routine is often harder than the exercises themselves. Building new habits is all about finding the path of least resistance.  Don’t try to make yourself into a morning person AND start a 5:00 a.m. workout routine! Fit your routine into your day, whether that means a walk outside at lunch or an evening stroll after the kids are in bed.

A great way to jump-start your wellness is by putting on your walking shoes! Yep, just start with the shoes. Once they’re on, see if it’s easier to get yourself to trek down your driveway, or maybe around the block. Start with walking every other day and see if you can make it a week. Once you have proven to yourself that you can make that commitment, increase to five days a week. Perhaps you’ll notice that by the time you’ve laced up, you’re willing to walk an extra block or two to get more bang for your buck.

Let your shoes become the cue that reminds you how much better you feel after movement. The days when you really don’t want to move are the days you will benefit most from doing it anyway.  The mental toughness of powering through a low-motivation day is huge. Putting your shoes on and going for that walk even though you didn’t feel like it is an even sweeter win than going when you’re up for it. Good habits are what offer consistency when we are out of motivation.

So step into 2023 with confidence, consistency, and kick the boom-bust cycle to the curb! Those shoes were made for wellness.

                                                                                    -Written by Lexi Klawitter, DPT

Self-care has gained a reputation for meaning a bubble bath and a glass of wine.  While that sure sounds good to me, I want to challenge you to redefine what self-care means.  Self-care is an umbrella term that captures many aspects of our wellness including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and more.  The fad diets, supplements, and pharmaceuticals market themselves as the latest and greatest, but of all the dials we can adjust that contribute to our wellbeing, movement is the biggest dial we have.  Since physical wellness is our bread and butter here at Granite, we will dive into that!

Physical self-care includes many things, but a combination of aerobic and strength training exercises has the biggest impact on your wellness.  Blocking out time in your schedule to do your PT exercises, your Move Better workout, or any other workout routine is self-care! 

Sometimes, making that time for yourself can be harder than the exercises themselves.  Time is a hot commodity during this season when everyone is juggling added responsibilities and time commitments, and it can be difficult to prioritize your wellness before taking care of others.  But, as the delightful airline safety lecture says, “secure your own oxygen mask first before helping others!”  If you aren’t investing in your physical well-being now, you may not be able to care for yourself, let alone others, down the road.  That timeline can happen sooner than you think!  Physical self-care helps us be the best version of ourselves.  It builds confidence and increases function so you can do more of what brings you joy.  It will let you play on the floor with your grandkids, take care of your aging folks, help you age gracefully, and keep your dog walked and happy!

Physical self-care also has benefits that overflow into emotional well-being.  Regular exercise decreases stress, boosts endorphins, and improves mood.  More movement equates to less frustration and stress. Participating in an exercise class provides a sense of community and boosts our social wellness (ask me about suffering through the burpee trenches virtually with my fellow Move Better Series folks). If you are new to exercise, going for a brisk walk requires zero equipment and can have a big impact on wellness.  It really can be that simple! 

Let’s reclaim the word self-care together to build your wellness through this month and into the new year. Remember that self-care is NOT selfish!

                                                                                    -Written by Lexi Klawitter, DPT

One comment I regularly hear from clients is, “why didn’t I do this sooner?” These days with hordes of information (and misinformation) at our fingertips, navigating a pregnancy can be overwhelming. As a pelvic floor therapist who is currently pregnant, I want to get the word out about the importance of pelvic floor therapy (PFT) before, during and after your pregnancy. Can I exercise during pregnancy? How can I prepare for labor? What if I need to have a c-section? When can I start having sex? Pregnant moms and partners have so many questions. I love working with seasoned moms, new moms and moms-to-be, answering questions and making individualized plans for all stages of pregnancy, postpartum and beyond.

You don’t need to have pain or dysfunction to come to PFPT! While pelvic therapy can help with pain and dysfunction that can come with pregnancy and post-partum, that is not the only reason to do pelvic therapy while pregnant, and PFPT can even prevent many of those aches, pains, and anxieties. Labor and delivery can be one of the most challenging experiences of a woman’s life and you wouldn’t go run a marathon without training for it, would you? It is so important to keep moving to prepare yourself for that incredible day of having your baby and then to be healthy to care for your baby when you are healing from childbirth.

What kind of exercise can I do during pregnancy? What exercise should I not do during pregnancy? These were some of my concerns when I got pregnant. Really the rule of thumb is keep doing what you are used to and if you try and learn something completely new, make sure to get some good education around it. Our bodies are resilient and like routine, if you have gone to that lifting class at the gym for years, you don’t need to give that up when you get pregnant, you just need to recognize the changes that are happening in your body and listen. If you aren’t a regular exerciser, this may be the time you find 20 minutes in your day to walk. Walking is gentle on the body, increases your heart rate, improves circulation, and helps with swelling.

Postpartum is a jam-packed time is a new mom’s life. Your body has changed drastically in the last 9 months, you’ve just “run a marathon” with childbirth, and now you are home in charge of a tiny human! There is a lot going on both emotionally and physically. During this time, I often hear about the expectations people are placing on themselves or having placed on them by others: “I need to lose the pregnancy weight,” “I need to get back in the gym,” “I should be back to work already,” “I need to start running again.” Everyone’s story is different which means everyone’s healing timeline will look different and that is how it should be. It also means that it may be time to create a support team following labor and delivery. This may include a counselor, sex therapist, nutritionist, lactation consultant and pelvic floor specialist. A pelvic floor specialist will evaluate your tissue healing and provide you with an individualized plan of care as well as education related directly to your story to assist you in returning to your favorite activities.

Don’t be stuck saying, “why didn’t I do this sooner!” Let’s navigate your journey together. 

                                                                                                                -Written by Dr. Alison Shannon-Lier, DPT

In 2012, an ankle injury brought me into Granite as a high school track athlete.  Returning to Granite nearly a decade later as a PT myself has given me a lot of perspective on how much the profession has changed since I limped into my first session.  The ever-evolving world of PT research is one of my favorite things about the field.  It demands that its practitioners continue to learn and grow well into their seasoned years.  Because October is PT month, I want to highlight just how far PT has come since my early days as a patient.

Remember when it was widely thought that you only go to PT after an injury or surgery?  Focusing on proactive care to prevent downstream issues is a big part of our profession as well. Whether it be fall prevention, preparing for your ski season, or gearing up to pack out a big bull elk, PT is there to guide, motivate, and inspire you.  PT has a high return on investment for getting ahead of aging too!  Check out our Move Better Series to learn more about proactive, preventative, functional strengthening.

Another area of PT that has changed dramatically is our understanding of pain.  Pain is no longer strictly viewed as a sign of isolated tissue damage.  We now know how complicated pain is, and how it can be affected by past injuries, life stressors, and even outlook on recovery.  The practice of pain neuroscience education helps patients understand this complexity and analyze the layers of their pain.  This allows for better understanding between PTs and patients about what they are experiencing in their body.

One of my favorite developments in the PT world is blood flow restriction training (BFRT), which uses a cuff to decrease blood flow to an arm or leg while performing exercises.  While this sounds counterintuitive to healing, it actually tricks our body into thinking we’re moving huge weights when we’re really not.  It can be used for a variety of problems from ACL rehab to chronic pain.  Check out our Featured Service tab to learn more!

Lastly, physical therapists now take a much more active approach to treatment.  PT is no longer something that is done to patients, but instead is a process in which patients collaborate and participate in their treatment goals.  While we still use functional dry needling and soft tissue mobilization to help manage symptoms and aid in pain relief, these modalities have taken a backseat to active movement.  As the old adage says, “Movement IS medicine!” and we know it is our #1 tool for wellness.

Since I first walked through the clinic doors almost a decade ago, Granite has been a clinic on a mission.  Every day, our team strives to provide the highest level of evidence-based physical therapy individualized to your needs.  We have the tools to impact your wellbeing and our progressive, enthusiastic style will motivate you along the way!

 Written by Lexi Klawitter, PT, DPT

Step up September!

“If you have the aspiration of kicking ass when you’re 85, you can’t afford to be average when you’re 50.” —Peter Attia

This quote from Dr. Attia’s podcast “The Drive” literally made me exclaim “huh!?” and really got me thinking.  I know exercise is the single most powerful “medicine” that promotes us to live long, healthy, independent lives but I had never thought about it in such a concrete timeline.   Let’s delve into this idea further and look at why you should make a change now, not when work slows down, when you have more time, or next year.

One exciting new finding is that your genetics are less influential on your mortality rate than your activity levels are.  Active lifestyles are associated with lower mortality risk, regardless of genetics. Great news!  You can reduce your mortality risk by improving your cardiovascular health and strength.  What is most inspiring is that the population who benefits the most from starting to exercise are the unfit folks that work up to average fitness!

If we do not do strength training, we will predictably lose 1-4% of our strength per year over the age of 40. That may not sound like a lot, but it adds up over the years, resulting in 18-54% loss of strength in just 20 years without strength training. Yikes! Talk about interfering with quality of life, from packing out an elk to standing up from the toilet!  In addition, certain functional strength metrics which include the length of time that you can hang on a pull up bar has been linked to longevity.  So, even if you haven’t been on a pull up bar in years, start with your feet touching the ground and hold until you are fatigued several times per day.  You will improve your overall capacity and slow down the inevitable loss of muscle mass and strength.

Small changes can add up to big results and at GSM we are always trying to make things accessible and attainable.  From individualized programs to our Move Better Series, we can help you get stronger and reduce mortality risk regardless of where you are starting from.  

I teamed up with Max Bartlett, DPT, OCS, to build the Move Better Series to help folks safely and effectively build cardio capacity, strength and ultimately, longevity in the active population.  I didn’t start lifting until my early 40’s and at 48 I’m lifting heavier than ever!  The Move Better Series was influential in my progress. I can honestly say it is doable and amazingly addicting!  

I get it; we all lead busy lives and time seems to move at warp speed sometimes, BUT the time is now.  The data is strong.  We have ideas and encouragement.  Read our posts and put them into action, come see us for some 1:1 coaching, or sign up for the Move Better series.   Let’s kick ass together now AND later!  

                                                          -Written by Darcy Cook, MSPT