Scudder Physical Therapy

I really enjoyed seeing my 1st patient at Mosaic Theory MD yesterday. A great space for Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy sessions! Stay tuned…more to come!

My Lyme Disease Story Part 2: Exercise
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As a physical therapist, I knew I needed to get myself moving again. After reading an early paper by Dr Joseph Burrascano, Board Member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), I knew why. The Lyme bacteria, called spirochetes, cannot survive in an oxygenated environment. More exercise, more oxygen in the blood. So off I went to the gym try to walk on the treadmill. I’m not going to lie, it was rough at the start. But I stuck with it. Eventually, along with my naturopathic treatments and a no-sugar, no-dairy nutrition regimen, I gradually worked up to a bit of a run. About 2 years after starting this LD journey, I ran a 5k in the Loudoun Lyme fundraiser run. I got back to my preferred body weight. I actually started feeling better than BEFORE Lyme Disease. This was when I knew I had reached the end of this particular life journey 😊🎉
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Here is the link to Dr Burrascano’s paper “Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease, 16th Edition: https://lymediseaseassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/BurrGuide200810.pdf

This is what Lyme Disease looked like for me back in 2000.
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In the Spring of 1999, just a few weeks after my youngest daughter was born, I saw an odd, circular non-tender rash on the underside of my right breast. I figured it was a spider bite. I told myself the fatigue & headaches I was experiencing were due to having an infant and a lack of normal sleep.
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But as months went on, I was tired almost all of the time and started noticing unusual joint & muscle pains. I had frequent periods of being in a mental fog. Taking care of my 3 daughters was getting harder & harder. The day I couldn’t carry my 9-month old up the stairs, I started to get really worried. The day I forgot to turn my car engine off after parking my car at work, I got scared.
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In talking to a nurse friend, and telling her about the weird rash I had seen months earlier, she encouraged me to get tested for Lyme Disease.
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Three negative ELISA tests and almost 9 months later, still feeling poorly all the time, a friend who had been diagnosed with MS told me she was seeing a naturopath and feeling really great. The naturopath was treating her for possible LD infection, which she called “the great mimicker”.
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By then I was taking doxycycline & zithromax but not getting any better. In fact, if anything I was worse from side effects of the meds, one of which was a 30 lb weight gain. I decided it was time to see this naturopath. I needed some hope.
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Well, fast forward 7 months, I was finally seeing some improvement in my health. I wouldn’t start to feel like I was finally ahead of Lyme Disease for good for another 4 years, but I was finally on my way, thanks to (at that time) groundbreaking alternative medical care from the functional medicine naturopath who treated me in 2000-2001.
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Please check out this podcast from Dr Morgan Nolte, PT DPT, who interviewed one such naturopath: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reshape-your-health-with-dr-morgan-nolte/id1494789211
If you have been diagnosed or think you may have LD, listening to this podcast may get you started on your own health recovery journey.

It’s Pi Day 3.14.22!
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And just for today, I’m sharing a blog post I wrote in 2013 highlighting my own mother’s “famous” apple pie recipe. Homemade. From scratch. Including the crust!
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Enjoy!

https://escudderdpt.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/heritage-in-a-pie-shell

Today, on International Women’s Day, I’m smiling because of a new window of opportunity that is coming in to view, thanks to 2 amazing women docs at Theory MD who are changing healthcare as Direct Primary Care physicians. Check out my story for more info & stay tuned for further developments!

What’s your favorite way to kick a bad mood?
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During the winter months, especially in the evenings, far too often I turned to high sugar, high fat foods to elevate my feel-good hormone levels. And now, well, I’m not feeling too good about that.
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Now that spring is around the corner and the sun is shining more, I will be exercising more with longer walks and farther bike rides…not just for physical fitness, but also for that mental health boost as well!
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Rio is happy about this plan of action!
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Happy almost-Spring, everyone
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Not physical therapy, but soul therapy.
Thank you Jenn Kish. 💛

Today, I found myself complaining about the rising cost of fuel and then I remembered I’d never had to run from missiles.

I worried if I needed to stock up on a few staples and then realized I’d never had to send my children to school with their blood type taped on their backs.

I shook my head at the thought of our young men and women headed overseas and then remembered that for the Ukrainians war showed up on their doorsteps.

Then I decided- I won’t sit in my house in suburbia and brood over the downward turn of the stock market while people are literally facing death.

Instead I’m going to pray. I know that God will hear from heaven, he will lean down to listen when I pray. The Bible tells me that. I’m going to pray that whatever evil intends that God would turn it around for His glory. I’m going to pray that good would overcome evil and that it would happen sooner rather than later. I’m going to pray that God would hear the cry of every lost soul facing a war they didn’t want and come to their rescue. I’m praying for the overwhelming, supernatural presence of God almighty in every corner of the world tonight.

And sister, I came here to ask if you’d pray with me. Let’s fill the throne room with our voices as we call out for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. May God hear our prayers and turn this whole thing around.

If he can shut the mouths of hungry lions, split an entire sea in half and raise the dead- he can surely save Ukraine.

Hey all you Grandparents out there…how comfortable are you sitting on the floor with your grandkids. Does back, hip or knee pain prevent you from sitting this way for very long…or at all?
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Reach out to Scudder Physical Therapy for a movement evaluation to learn how a simple movement-based solution may make floor sitting easy-peasy once again!
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Happy 4th Birthday, Scudder Physical Therapy, LLC!
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I’ve definitely gotten better at videotaping myself! And doing this crazy social media stuff…!
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I continue to be so grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given to help people in Virginia & Maryland manage musculoskeletal pain with movement-based evaluation & treatment using the Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy method, over the internet!
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Thank you to everyone who has entrusted me with their care over the past 4 years!
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Click on my website link in bio and check out the reviews from my very 1st patients!

It’s so good to see the science of COVID coming out in top medical journals. This research letter by Dr Marty Makary & his Johns Hopkins team was published last week in JAMA. Just needed to share 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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See my story for Dr Makary’s summary of the letter from LinkedIn
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Ask Dr. Scudder, PT: How Can I Work In My Favorite Chair Without Pain?

New YouTube video is up! Check it out, and let me know what you think!

And while you're there please subscribe to my Scudder Physical Therapy channel. I would so appreciate it!

Happy comfy chair working! 😉
https://youtu.be/KyVfFv6RtVU

Ask Dr. Scudder, PT: How Can I Work In My Favorite Chair Without Pain? Ergonomic tips for working on a laptop in a non-ergonomic comfy seat or couch, from musculoskeletal pain & ergonomic expert Dr. Betsy Scudder , PT, Cert MDT....

Check out my new video on YouTube and Facebook!
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Invaluable info, whether you are dealing with back pain or just want to get up off the floor gracefully after a fall, or even just playing with the grandkids!