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From Broken to Blooming

I came to Edmonds, WA as a refugee during the Serbian Civil War 20 years ago. Countless 10,000 dinar bills littered the street–they couldn’t even buy your family a bar of soap when I fled with my family.

In these twenty years since, I’ve learned English, worked my way through school up to earning my DPT (Doctorates of Physical Therapy) and have built up a clinic that boasts a stunningly high success rate for our patients alongside my mother, husband and our two daughters.

Our business, Lilly Physical Therapy, is about coming from broken places and healing. About overcoming obstacles and building you up to more than you ever thought was possible.

While not defined by the past, it certainly impacts our business. We are part of the same community and market as other physical therapists in the area, but because of our background, we have a distinct view on how we approach things–of course, this leads to a distinct way we do our business and treat our patients.

You Are Family

This is a family business, and that family includes everyone we do business with from employees to patients. Where more and more we see our area broken up into single bedroom apartments and single occupant studios, where individualism and working for yourself to “get your own on your own for own” seem to take priority, we like to sit back at a somewhat calmer pace–making memories with real, human connections with one another.

But don’t think that doesn’t mean we don’t hustle when needed.

It’s all about finding the right balance.

It’s about blending a hard work ethic, new techniques, new technologies and sincere care for everyone who comes through our doors.

That last part isn’t hyperbole, either–this month, Friday the 19th we had a patient so excited to be here that he outright said he looks forward to his appointments coming in and that this is one of his favorite places to be. One of our physical therapist assistants overheard and mentioned how another patient recently said that the only thing that would make her time here more fun for her would be adding wine to the waiting room.

Just read the top review for us on Yelp if you want a second opinion.

All of the well-wishing and good thoughts in the world won’t amount to much, however, not without expertise and execution. That’s why we work to stay current with the most advanced technologies and techniques out there proven to provide long last results.

Technology and Technique

To make sure that YOU get the care you need to not only get back on your feet as soon as possible but to stay there and perform at your peak, we are constantly on the move studying and adopting the newest proven healing technologies and techniques.

Three of the more unique practices we incorporate that help set us apart include:

  • Cold Laser Therapy
  • BioQ Feedback
  • Cupping Therapy
  • Multifunctional Movement

This is how each of these treatments work–a warning, we’re going in depth:

Cold Laser Therapy

Cold laser therapy provides three main benefits. This includes reduced pain, an improved tissue healing rate and reduced inflammation.

Cold laser, also referred to as Low-level Laser Therapy (LLL Therapy), is suggested by data to work reducing pain in several ways. First, studies suggest an increased endorphin production rate during and after treatment. Additionally, it is observed activating the opioid-receptors of a type of white blood cell known as leukocytes. Leukocytes are important because they create HoCL which both helps destroy leukocytes but also serves as a signal flare to the rest of the body’s immune system, calling in more help to the designated part of the body to help fight off infections and heal injuries.

LLLT is also believed to mimic the effects of anti-inflammatory drugs, increase blood flow and work as an effective general analgesic.

It reduces inflammation almost immediately in the most severe situations–with that said, you must use caution to avoid re-injury after this or both the pain and inflammation will return. LLLT reduces inflammation by improving blood flow to the injured area. The improved blood flow makes it easier to remove damaged tissue and different toxins that are causing the swelling. Once those are gone, the inflammation reduces.

Cold laser contributes to faster healing thanks to the improved blood flow it provides, as well as it’s promoting cell reproduction via stimulating mitochondria, which promotes cell regeneration.

BioQpulse Treatment

BioQpulse Treatment sends low-level electromagnetic pulses to stimulate reflex and pressure points in the body and penetrates deep into the muscles, nerves and joints. This increases blood flow, boosts energy production (ATP), and normalizes painful nerves.

Unlike temporary treatments such as heat and ice the results from BioQpulse treatment remain long after application. This is because BioQpulse normalizes the action potential in painful nerves, promoting ATP production and normalizing tight muscles and spasms by promoting increased nitric oxide production in the body.

All of this works together to bring your body back to a healthy and pain-free neutral setting. Overactive nerves are just that, overactive. They feel more than they should because they are firing more frequently than they should. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if they aren’t firing enough they aren’t doing their job telling you what you are feeling. Actively engaging them with BioQpulse treatment actively pulls the treated area back to a healthy and normalized medium that is just right, neither too hot nor too cold.

Cupping Therapy

Cupping therapy works by applying suction cups to your skin, allowing direct manipulation of the muscles below through those suction cups. While the practice is centuries old, it was only proven effective in the 1950’s during studies performed both in China and the Soviet Union.

At the most basic level, all styles of cupping therapy work as a sort of inverse massage. Instead of applying pressure down onto the body to manipulate the underlying tissue, suction pulls on the muscle, separating knots and creating space between layers to allow fluid to move more easily.

Multifunctional Movement

Multifunctional movement (MfM) is the keystone to our fast result times. It safely challenges the damaged muscles and those surrounding the injury/weakness. It doesn’t just strengthen weak points but strengthens all of the muscles involved in the troublesome movements.

MfM combines movements from boxing, yoga, plyometrics and martial arts to challenge you both muscular and neurologically to effectively remove body fat, improve strength and coordination, normalize your nervous system, increase athleticism and provide lasting pain relief.

MfM training shares all of the benefits of conventional compound movement weight trainingfor the average person, because MfM training, just like compound weight training, involves multiple joints in each movement. The main difference being for lots of people is that MfM is more fun!

Here are a few of the unique benefits that MfM training provides you that isolating individual joints one at a time will never match.

More Calories Burnt

Your body expends five calories of energy to consume a single liter of oxygen. The more muscles you engage the more calories are spent. If one of your goals is fat loss, this means you’ll get there much quicker.

Improved Intermuscular Coordination

Intermuscular coordination “has to do with how muscles fire in coordination with other muscles.” This is a skill that takes time to build up. Either your muscles work together supporting one another to improve efficiency, or they work against each other in a tug-of-war, hindering one another–which can lead to injuries if not corrected.

Cardiovascular training benefits

Cardiovascular exercise works to improve the ability of your heart to function as a pump. While most people associate this type of training with aerobic exercises such as biking or swimming, compound movements like those found in MfM training accomplish the same effects. Unlike sitting down doing leg extensions, only activating one muscle at a time, multifunctional movement training stresses many muscles at once causing your body to burn significantly more calories and oxygen. This all challenges your heart to keep your muscles fueled.

Improved Flexibility

Most people hear “flexibility” and think of sitting down stretching one muscle at a time. MfM training, however, provides another way to improve your flexibility, and through it, your health.

Your body is an upright system of hinges and pulleys. The muscles provide the balancing force on either side of each pulley to keep each section of hinges supported upright above the section below it. If just one muscle is lagging, the pulley it is responsible for is uneven, allowing that section to sway out of its natural position. This can create unnatural movement patterns which cause your joints to bend against their natural range of motion. This causes injuries.

Because of this interrelation between every muscle on each joint, if you flex one muscle, another is stretched. Think about your upper arm, for example; if you flex your bicep muscles your triceps have to stretch to allow the movement. In the same way, if you straighten your arm out flexing your triceps, your biceps need to stretch to allow it to happen.

What This Means For You

These techniques, and more, as well as more traditional physical therapy practices are all available from us to you.

That means less time spent hurting and faster healing that gets you back to the things you love. If you want to get back to hiking, we won’t stop at healing your aching leg, we’ll help coach you every step of the way to the peak of Mt. Pilchuck. If you want to train to compete in the next CrossFit games, we’ve got a staff composed not only of MDs but Crossfit and Olympic lifting coaches and national level competitors that can fix your back AND help you crush your old competition numbers.

Whatever your goals are, we’ll create a plan to get you there.

There’s no reason to settle for living in pain, or only wondering if you are able to achieve your fitness and athletic goals. We can help. We will get you there.

You can do more.

Call us at (425) 224-2476

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