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I Am Worried I Have Sciatica-What Do I Need to Know?

Author/s: 
Grace Y Zhang, Michael A Incze

This JAMA Internal Medicine Patient Page reviews sciatica, its symptoms, and treatment options for those who have it.

Sciatica is a type of pain that is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve. This nerve travels from the low back down the legs. Sciatica most commonly happens when a disk in your spine gets damaged or worn out and presses on the sciatic nerve.

Keywords 
Sciatica physical therapy pain management back pain numbness

Integrating Physical Therapists Into Primary Care Within A Large Health Care System

Author/s: 
Bodenheimer, T., Kucksdorf, J., Torn, A., Jerzak, J.

Background: Bellin Health in Wisconsin has pioneered the colocation and integration of physical therapists into primary care pods.

Methods: This is an observational study based on one in-person visit and several interviews.

Results: For patients with musculoskeletal complaints, providers make warm handoffs to the physical therapist, who is a few steps away. The physical therapist performs most of the visit, providing diagnosis, treatment, and patient education. Research studies show that-compared with physician management-appropriate patients managed by physical therapists have better outcomes, lower costs, and higher patient satisfaction. In a fee-for-service environment, the business case for this innovation requires an increased number of follow-up referrals to the physical therapy department. In the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era, physical therapists can provide video visits with equal quality compared with in-person visits.

Conclusion: The Bellin Health program is a blueprint for other primary care practices to integrate physical therapists into primary care teams.

Keywords 
Patient Care Team Physical Therapists physical therapy primary health care Wisconsin
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