Category Archives: Blog

prevent overuse injuries

9 Steps to Prevent Overuse injuries

- Blog, Sports and Fitness

prevent overuse injuries

One big problem with sports specialization at an early age is overuse injuries. These injuries are often subtle and occur over time. Micro-trauma from too much repetitive motion often shows up in elbows, knees, and shoulders.

  • Base conditioning and flexibility is key to prevention of overuse injuries
  • Listen to your body- Learn to take care of your body
  • Proper training and common sense
  • “No pain, no gain” is not the best slogan to go by
  • Start slowly and build up by 10% a week
  • Variety in training and exercise programs is one of the reasons that cross-training. Cross-fit and triathlons are some of the best and fastest-growing programs today.
  • A 52 week a year exercise program is unrealistic. Build rest cycles in your training. Many professional pitchers do not throw a baseball for one month a year
  • Use proper technique to avoid overuse injuries. Even a slight change in form may create an injury.
  • Anatomic and biomechanical factors cause some athletes to be more prone to overuse injuries. Why? Imbalances between strength and flexibility around certain joints are usually the cause.

We all want to be free to chase our dreams both in sport and in life. This pursuit is a multi-year race, not a quick sprint. If you are 10 years old or 60 years old, too much of a good thing too quickly is just too much. To learn more or to schedule an evaluation, Find a PT today!

More information on overuse injuries is in The Therapy Connection Newsletter for April 2015. You can sign up to receive our newsletter via email here.

Provided by: Chris Snoddy, MA, LAT, ATC, STAR Physical Therapy

 

 

Primal 7: Pursuing Movement

- Blog

 

Primal 7 is the ultimate movement tool it allows you to train in the primary patterns of movement that every human body was designed to perform – push, pull, squat, bend, lunge, gate, and twist. Because these universal movements are the foundation of all life and sport, perfecting them can lead to faster recovery, injury prevention, and enhanced performance.

Physical therapists and trainers alike are introducing the Primal 7 System into their facilities and utilizing it to aid in

  • Recovery: From traumatic brain injury patients to athletes transitioning back to sport, Primal 7 empowers each patient with the confidence to pursue movement. Without the use of weights or cumbersome harnesses or stirrups.
  • Performance: For more athletic athletes. Combining compound, functional movements with instability training means faster results – minus the wear and tear
    on joints and muscles.
  • Wellness: Simple, sustainable fitness. Primal 7 simplifies fitness down to the seven foundational patterns of human movement for a more practical, efficient approach to long-term health and wellness.

A versatile system that has shown proven results that increase mobility and decrease pain. Improves balance and proprioception. Builds strength and instills confidence. It makes functional rehabilitation safe and simple. Ask your physical therapist about it today or look for a facility that uses Primal 7 today to get you on the road to recovery and improved movement.

physical therapy near me

Aging Gracefully with Physical Therapy

- Blog

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The human body goes through a number of changes as one grows older. A decline in muscle mass and bone density can lead to muscle fatigue and joint pain. There is good news. Seniors can remain physically active and lead happy, healthy and productive lives with the help of physical therapy. Exercise in a safe, controlled environment under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist, goes a long way to improving the quality of life. A physical therapist can design exercise programs that help seniors cope with some of the issues associated with aging which include:

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low back pain in pregnancy

Low Back Pain in Pregnancy?

- Blog, Women's Health

low back pain in pregnancy

Pregnancy and new motherhood should be times of joy and promise – not pain. Fortunately, times have changed, you don’t have to live with pain or other problems related to pregnancy or delivery.  That’s because physical therapy has changed too. It is no longer solely for joint problems; it’s also a safe, proven and widely prescribed treatment for pregnant women and new mothers.

Physical Therapy can help you manage your low back pain in pregnancy safely!
Many women experience low back pain during pregnancy. This is due to several factors such as:

  • Hormonal Changes – this causes increased looseness of the pelvic ligaments to prepare your body for birthing your baby.
  • Increased Weight Gain – This places increased stress on all the joints of the body. Increased breast weight can overload the neck and upper back.
  • Postural Changes – Body weight shifts forward as the baby grows and this increases the arch in the lower back. Stomach muscles and the lower pelvic muscles become weaker which decreases support for the lower back.
  • Altered Movement Patterns – Due to your changing body, women often begin to move in different patterns that can increase stress to the low back or pelvic joints.

A physical therapy evaluation will include an assessment of:

  • Pelvic/Sacro-iliac joints
  • Abdominal Musculature
  • Spinal Alignment
  • Strength/Flexibility
  • Posture
  • Body Mechanics

Treatment objectives are to:

  • Reduce Pain
  • Promote improved posture
  • Education re: safe movement patterns
  • Teach proper exercises for strengthening and flexibility and guidance toward cardiovascular fitness

The physical therapist may also plan a specialized exercise program for a pregnant or postpartum patient.
The goals and benefits of exercise for pregnant women include:

  • Promotes good posture
  • Increases or maintains aerobic fitness
  • Improves muscle tone
  • Improves sleep
  • Prevents low back pain
  • Reduces the risk of gestational diabetes
  • Improved physiological and psychological health
  • Prepares mom for labor and delivery

The goals of an exercise program for new moms (postpartum patients) are.

  • Faster recovery from labor and delivery
  • Increased endurance for taking care of self and baby

If you are experiencing low back pain in pregnancy please check out our Find A PT Page to find a women’s health specialist in your area.

kinesiotaping helpful for lymphedema patients

Kinesiotaping Helpful for Lymphedema Patients

- Blog, Cancer Related Care, Women's Health

kinesiotaping helpful for lymphedema

In most stages Lymphedema cannot be cured, but it can be managed. The goal of physical therapy for Lymphedema patients is to control pain and minimize swelling. As a result, we have that kinesiotaping can be helpful for lymphedema patients.

Kinesiotaping  has been found to be very effective in combating and controlling swelling and Lymphedema. Kinesio tape works to decrease swelling and Lymphedema by increasing interstitial lymphatic fluid flow and enhance fluid exchange between tissue layers, thus decreasing swelling. The tape will “channel” the exudates to less congested areas through the superficial pathways. The tape gently lifts the skin, causing convolutions and creating channels of low pressure in the congested areas of the extremity. The tape is applied with very low tension to the point that the patient hardly notices the tape is there.

[ Some of the advantages of Kinesio tape are]

  • The patient will have freedom of movement more than with the conventional ace wrap.
  • Able to reduce Lymphedema in the trunk, head and neck – places where compression therapy is difficult
  • It can help soften fibrosis
  • Can be used in combination with and worn underneath compression bandage.
  • The tape does not fall down the patients leg or arm like the ace tends to do as the day progresses.
  • Kinesio tape can stay on for up to 3-5 days at a time instead of having to be reapplied daily.
  • Patients are allowed to shower with the tape on and it won’t come off.
  • The tape is hypo allergenic and very easy on the skin
  • Tape can be applied in a relatively short period of time, thus not consuming a large portion of the patient’s day, to allow them more time to do other necessary daily tasks. The procedure is quick and especially effective when combined with physical therapy treatments.

It is important that Kinesio tape initially be applied by an appropriate medical professional to best utilize its abilities. Physical and occupational therapists can be trained and certified in these taping techniques.  A therapist will typically conduct an evaluation and determine the best course of treatment.  Professionals can use Kinesio taping in conjunction with other modalities and treatment techniques in the clinic or at home.

Patients with Lymphedema  are at a higher risk of developing skin irritation. Kinesio tape is latex free, but if you do have a history of skin irritation you may want to consider opting out of taping as part of a therapy plan.

To learn more about Orthopedic Kinesiotaping visit our treatment technique section here

More PTandMe articles about Kinesio Taping can be found here:

kinesio taping pain relief  remove kinesio tape

ACL Injury Prevention and the Female Athlete

- Blog

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Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, girls’ participation in high school sports has increased more than 900%.1  The speed, power, and intensity displayed by female athletes have dramatically increased over the past decade. The aggressive style of play has led to an increase in musculoskeletal injuries. One of the more common is a sprain or rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).  This knee injury is the most common cause of permanent disability in female high school basketball players, accounting for up to 91% of season-ending injuries and 94% of injuries requiring surgery.2  In the United States, 20,000 to 80,000 high school female athletes experience ACL injuries each year.  There is an incidence rate of 1 out of 100 female high school athletes and 1 in 10 college athletes per season who are injuring their ACLs each year.

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Anatomy of a “Bad Knee”

- Blog

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The knee is a relatively simple joint required to do a complicated job…to provide flexible mobility while bearing considerable weight. While walking down the street, our knees bear three to five times our body weight. When climbing upstairs, that force can multiply to seven times our body weight. That force is borne by compact structures of bone and cartilage, supported by muscles and ligaments. When the knee is overstressed in sports or in everyday activities, these structures can break down — and knee injury occurs.

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Stay Healthy for Those You Love

- Blog

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With our busy schedules, it’s easy to put our health on the sidelines; we don’t schedule regular checkups and we tell ourselves that we can deal with the pain. Today, these choices may only affect you, but as time passes and your ailments remain untreated, it has a greater chance of affecting your loved ones. We have created a small checklist to help get you started on on your path to wellness.

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