Slipped capital femoral epiphysis, or SCFE for short, is a growing concern. This is a condition that affects adolescents and can range from mild to severe. The hip is a ball and socket joint, with the ball being the top of the femur. Just below the ball is a growth plate, and with increased shear forces on this growth plate, the ball can slip backward and down. This is what is known as SCFE.

Pain in the front of the hip when squatting is a common complaint, and is often diagnosed as a hip flexor problem, or hip impingement. A lesser known pathology is called subspine impingement (SSI), or anterior inferior iliac spine (AIIS) impingement. The AIIS is the bottom bony bump you can feel in the front of your pelvis and serves as a muscle attachment point. In some cases, the neck of the femur abuts against this point causing pain.

Hip impingement has been gaining a lot of attention lately. It can be a difficult diagnosis to manage as a physical therapist, depending on severity, and can be incredibly frustrating for the patient. As more evidence comes in, we are getting a clearer picture of what exactly is the cause, and it certainly looks multifactorial. One suggested mechanism is laxity of the anterior part of the hip capsule.

The nutrition world can be confusing and there seems to be opposite recommendations for just about any food out there. And it may be for good reason; there is not one diet approach that is perfect for everyone. With that being said, it is important to understand the pros and cons of diet styles. Most diets will be deficient in some areas which can range from minor symptoms, to more dangerous consequences.

Want to improve your velocity? Let’s be honest, probably every muscle in the body is active when shooting a puck, but by focusing on the prime movers, you can easily gain explosive speed.

A common finding in patients with hip impingement, or FAI, is a labral tear. Where there is a labral tear, there is frequently a paralabral cyst. In fact, cysts are seen on MRIs between 50-70% of patients with labral tears, but only 5% in the normal population

If you have knee arthritis, I’m sure you’ve been told that you should lose weight. For decades, we’ve assumed that arthritis is caused from “wear and tear” and is just caused by repetitive mechanical loading. So if you’re overweight, the joints take on more compression, eroding cartilage faster. But are we sure that is all that is going on?

Do you crave ice? Do you have restless leg syndrome? Or maybe you have chronic fatigue and look pale. Do you get short of breath? Do you bruise easily? These are all signs of iron deficiency. Did you know a deficiency in iron can inhibit your ability to lose weight? Let’s dig into it.

A frequent complaint from runners is pain on the top of the foot. Although things like stress fractures can occur, it’s not common unless there is a traumatic event. More often than not, it’s a problem with the extensor mechanism of the toes. Either the tendons get inflamed, or the sheath they slide in and out of gets inflamed. The muscle in question in the extensor digitorum longus.

If you have pain in the knee with squatting or running, check out your quadriceps. There are several reasons for knee pain but an easy one to address is quad tightness. If the quad is restricted, it can cause the patella (knee cap) to compress into the femur. This is problematic because the underside of the patella is lined with cartilage and over time you can erode the cartilage, leading to arthritis.

Most problems of the foot and ankle can be drawn back to lack of ankle dorsiflexion, and tibialis posterior tendonitis is no exception. It can be excruciating, and mistaken for other pathologies, even knee pain or meniscus tears.

Most people are aware of the repercussions of sleep apnea such as increased risk of hypertension and stroke, but this is a strong association that needs to be talked about. If you chronically snore or choke in your sleep, you must get it evaluated as the emerging evidence just becomes stronger that sleep apnea is a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.

The lymphatic system is a vital system of the body that is often overlooked. For some reason, in every textbook it is depicted as green. In actuality, it is clear or murky white from proteins and lipids. It looks a lot like the vascular system and that is no mistake. Its main function is filtration of blood plasma in the capillary beds. So where the vascular system goes, so does the lymphatic system.

An electrolyte is a mineral that carries a charge when dissolved is a fluid such as water or blood. When you ingest food or beverage, it is broken down into smaller parts. Some are broken into neutral atoms or molecules, and some are broken into charged atoms or molecules. If they have a charge, they are called ions, or electrolytes.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has a bad rep. Classically we are taught that when you breathe, blood cells become oxygenated in the lungs, and then the oxygen is delivered to the organs and tissues, and carbon dioxide is then exhaled as a waste product. Although that is not wrong, it’s missing some key steps. So more oxygen (O2) is what we need right? Take a big deep breath, right? Well the issue is not the amount of oxygen in the blood, but delivering the oxygen to the tissues so it can be used. Turns out, carbon dioxide is a big factor, and our tolerance to carbon dioxide is crucial to athletic performance.

I recently had bronchitis and had several days of intense coughing. Shortly afterwards, I developed upper and lower back pain. I even started getting mild numbness in the pinky finger on that same side. It happened to be my left side. The pain extended up into my neck as well and felt like a deep ache. Tell a healthcare provider this set of symptoms, and they are instantly going to be worried about a heart attack. Lucky for me, it was just an irritated muscle.

One of the simplest exercises someone can do when in pain is breathe. It sounds a bit silly, but you’d be surprised at how effective it is. Stay with me. First, let’s have a brief discussion about pain. Pain is a warning signal from the brain to change something. It can be acute or chronic, it doesn’t matter; the nervous system is sensing something is a threat. In other words, your flight or fight mechanism is turned on (the sympathetic nervous system).