On-Site Physical Therapy On-Demand for the Performing Arts & Sports in New York City

On-Site Physical Therapy On-Demand for the Performing Arts & Sports in New York City

Workplace injuries happen everywhere and to all employees regardless of their role, or the physicality of the work.  This is why health and safety is a top priority for all employers, including those who operate with employees at temporary locations.   Temporary location work is commonplace in the performing arts, sports & recreation industries where unfortunately the average number of workplace injuries exceeds national averages with nearly 5 cases per 100 workers.  

Since all employees are essential to the continuing success of a performance, production, or an event, these injuries typically cause significant disruptions, expenses, along with declines in productivity.   Many of these injuries are musculoskeletal disorders  (pains affecting muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones) and are usually preventable from becoming debilitating with early intervention and rehabilitation. Thus keeping your employees safe, healthy and active is the goal of Palmer Concierge Physical Therapy and we accomplish this by delivering on-site physical therapy on-demand from highly trained and certified practitioners.  

On-site physical therapy on-demand includes therapeutic treatment, assessments, and prevention education of musculoskeletal pain.  Identifying and treating problematic musculoskeletal symptoms early is the key to preventing chronic and debilitating injuries.  Simply put, we provide rapid treatment on-site of any physical injury or pain employees experience – so they can swiftly resume their job assignment, function, or task with as minimal disruption and loss to productivity as possible.

Could On-site Physical Therapy Benefit You?

Physical therapy works because it’s focused on the underlying cause of injury or pain. Research indicates employees who are swiftly treated for an injury or pain with physical therapy can resume work quicker and are far less likely to experience chronic issues.  Several musculoskeletal injuries can be treated in a small handful of physical therapy sessions at the workplace, if the employee is seen quickly upon awareness of the pain or injury.

Our physical therapists provide on-site solutions for those competing, performing and providing support services at: 

• Performing Arts
• Sporting Events
• Music Concerts and Festivals 

What types of services can be delivered with on-site physical therapy on-demand?

Types of services offered as part of onsite work include:

• Treating Common Performing Arts, Sports & Recreation Injuries: While workplace injuries come in all shapes and forms, the most common are associated with overexertion, slips, trips, falls, repetitive motion, shoulder, neck, and back issues.  On-site physical therapy enables employees to receive treatment for these injuries with minimal impact to their day.  It’s also important to be mindful these injuries typically require some measure of ongoing therapy – all of which is handled by our on-site support or concierge service at the employees home or hotel residence. On-site physical therapy on-demand treatments generally start by listening to the injured employee and performing a range of motion assessment.   (click here for a comprehensive overview of range of motion physical therapy).  Once informed, the injury assessment is followed up with some form of treatment.  On-site treatment usually involves recovery physical therapy and can address many different issues including sprains/strains, back and neck pain, shoulder instability, ankle pain and instability, foot pain, sports injuries and more (click here for a comprehensive overview of recovery physical therapy).

• Performing Arts, Sports & Recreation Fitness Screenings:  An individual fitness or performance screening helps in preventing injuries by identifying a performer’s movement inefficiencies, strength, and mobility imbalances, neuromuscular deficiencies, and postural asymmetries. An individualized program, including corrective exercises and self treatment techniques may be prescribed.  This is a form of what’s referred to as “POET development and testing”.   POET (post offer employment testing), is a physical exam performed to determine if the potential employee is physically able to perform the essential functions of the job for which they have applied. A screening program is a valuable tool to identify and secure, safe and able-bodied talent, crew, and an overall workforce. 

• Injury-Prevention Workshops: Injury prevention and education workshops are adapted to each specific production, venue and or event.  The workshop content is developed by paying close attention to the tasks of supporting crew employees, cast, and any choreography, stunts, fight scenes, acrobatics, tumbling, and aerials to be performed.  Workshops generally cover education on proper utilization of a warm-up, core conditioning, self-treatments, corrective exercises, biomechanics, nutrition, hydration, and much more.  Education and employee ‘buy-in’ goes a long way to keeping debilitating injuries to a minimum when employees learn how to recognize adverse musculoskeletal symptoms early and how to keep them from worsening.    

The Benefits of On-Site Physical Therapy On-Demand

The global pandemic elevated workplace safety is a top priority and strategic initiative for every organization’s success.  On-site physical therapy on-demand is fundamental to the goal of creating a workplace “safety culture” that prevents employee injuries and downtime while improving employee wellness and productivity.  

• Convenience & Personal Safety Benefits: A key advantage of on-site physical therapy is safety, since it removes the burden of transport to a clinic or hospital. For moderate pain and mobility issues, injured people understandably want to avoid outside movement by taking it easy at home or hotel residence.  However, more importantly, on-site physical therapy on-demand enables us to spot symptoms and injuries at a very early stage, where they are readily treatable and tasks can be modified to avert any worsening of the pain or injury. 

• On-site physical therapy can reduce expenditures as we combine the need for easily accessible physical therapy at a cost comparable to or lower than traditional clinic-based therapy.   With the need to keep talent, crew, and all workers away from work as little as possible, on-site physical therapy eliminates medical appointments and those injured can get back doing their normal daily activities often within an hour. The fact that talent, crew, and all employees can stay at their workplace for treatment eliminates the costs for travel and lost work time.  Both organizational productivity and the bottom line are improved.

• We can perform physical therapy that is more meaningful, treatment that is work-tailored and immediately transferable to the employees tasks.   A key difference between clinic-based physical therapy and on-site is the focus on returning the employee to their specific job function.   When on-site, we can take the time to really understand the physical stresses and demands on the employee  or cast  and tailor treatment accordingly.  

On-site physical therapy on-demand is available hourly, part-time, and full-time and these flexible options are adapted to fit the needs of each location, production, venue or event.  All equipment and supplies are provided; special requests can be made.  Being on-site allows a physical therapist to more clearly evaluate tasks, advise on how to best perform tasks on a musculoskeletal level, and provide more responsive support for the inevitable  injuries that performing arts, sports & recreation industries produce. 

On-site physical therapy on-demand enables for immediate 1-on-1 care, better clinical decision-making, all while work is resuming on backstages, rehearsal studios, filming locations, and sports events.  When needed,  follow up concierge care is provided to employees wherever they are, be it home or a hotel residence.

Performing Arts, Sports & Recreation Industries Physical Therapy Tips:  Preventing Repetitive Strain Injuries & Musculoskeletal Disorders  

Whether treating and rehabilitating an injury or educating on injury prevention, it can be difficult to simulate certain “on-location” tasks and functions online from a distance.   This is where onsite services provide a distinguishing benefit, working with all employees on-site to teach ergonomic and postural strategies customized to their individual tasks and environment.  

However we do offer ‘telehealth services’ and can serve as an online advisory in a similar capacity as we do when we’re on-site.   For a general physical therapy protocol framework,  we offer the following guidelines for musculoskeletal injury prevention for anyone working in the Performing Arts, Sports & Recreation Industries.  This is a general outline not meant to be tailored to any specific application or situation, but simply practical and sensible fundamentals to be mindful of – as you go about your work, through the lens of physical therapy.  

Injury Prevention

• Stretch & warm up prior to starting activities that are repetitive, static (standing still, sitting on the ground, sitting on the chair, and laying on the ground) or prolonged (continuing for an extended period of time).
• Taking breaks every 20-30 minutes and stretching stiff muscles from any sustained posture.
• Listen to your body and change positions the moment you recognize pain or stop whatever you’re doing entirely.
• Recognize the onset of inflammation (redness, swelling, joint pain, stiffness)  and treat it early. Limit eating processed foods & sugar, exercise, drink water and eat an anti-inflammatory diet such as  berries, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, grapes, fatty fish like salmon, consider anti-inflammatory supplements like Omega-3 fatty acids,  Zinc, Vitamin A,  C, & D, and a good night’s sleep.

Posture

• Maintain erect position of neck and back with shoulders relaxed. Minimize bending and twisting motions. Position your body so that it is close and directly in front of equipment (cameras & lights & sound for example) and job tasks.
• As much as possible keep wrists as neutral avoiding extreme motions. If you’ve ever thrown a dart, well that arc that involves bending the wrist forward and back is the most common wrist movement.  Activities such as drinking from a glass, hammering, and pouring use this same movement so it is prone to injury. There are wrist exercises such as squeezing sponges and foam to strengthen the soft tissues (blood vessels, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and joints) that support and keep your wrist in good health.  
• Avoid bending your neck forward for extended periods of time. If you’re at a keyboard and typing from a document such as a manuscript (common for screenwriters), place the document on a holder next to your computer screen.
• Avoid static positions for extended periods (standing still, sitting on the ground, sitting on the chair, and laying on the ground).   Moving with some regularity increases blood circulation and combats muscle fatigue, which happens faster when muscles are held in a single position.  

Task Modification

• Whenever feasible, alternate daily activities frequently.  Set up a rotation of heavy and/or repetitive tasks with less repetitive and lighter tasks.
• If feeling pain and symptoms worsen, or a specific task consistently causes pain, examine the task setup and an alternative procedure.
• Use power devices when available.
• Use tape/grips to build up pens/pencils with small diameter for less fatigue when writing.  Whenever possible use large diameter pens with soft gripping pads.
• Use the longest tool available (wrenches, screwdrivers) for optimized leverage.
• Use a step ladder or stool  to reach above shoulder level, or for lifting objects overhead.
• Avoid heavy loads by breaking up needed hauls into making several trips and use carts / dollies or hand trucks to carry heavy loads. 

Body Mechanics

• Rely on your largest muscles & joints for tasks.
• Always use 2 hands when lifting rather than one at all times, even light tasks. Avoid lifting with forearms in full supination (palms up) or full pronation (palms down).
• Push or slide and pull objects, when possible, instead of lifting.
• Minimize reaching requirements. The closer objects are positioned to the body within easy reach, or carrying, the better. 

Repetitive strain injuries are common and cover a spectrum that ranges from tendonitis to carpal tunnel syndrome. The common denominator these injuries share is that they are caused by overuse.  

Typical treatment plans include the following:

• Range of motion and mobility exercises
• Strengthening exercises
• Exercises supporting posture with emphasis on “core” strengthening
• Nerve gliding activities (nerve stretching exercises)
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Massage
• Splinting PRN (as the situation demands)   
• Pain management (movement-based therapies are highly effective over time with side effects of improving mood, blood pressure, bone density, weight control, strength, endurance, and sleep)