Low back pain is the number one reason people visit a physical therapist. There are so many reasons why low back pain occurs, and pain can be extremely complicated. This article will just explore one way back pain can happen, and I think it’s grossly overlooked.
Read MoreAnemia is a condition that reduces the ability of blood to carry oxygen, leading to fatigue and a whole host of other symptoms. This may be due to a reduction in hemoglobin, or a reduction of the production of red blood cells. Some common deficiencies that cause reduced red blood cells are B12 (cobalamin), folate, and iron.
Read MoreHave you been to physical therapy for plantar fasciitis and been disappointed in the results? Maybe it took way too long. Or mabye it didn’t help. That’s because our understanding of what it actually is was not accurate. This can completely effect how we go about treating it, as you’ll see.
Read MoreI was treating a patient recently who was getting back pain while stretching his hip flexors. He said that always happens to him. I told him to squeeze his core and glutes. The pain immediately went away. Of course he wanted to understand why that was. I explained it, and then said we need to stabilize, strengthen, then dynamically strengthen. This is a general principle in physical therapy, and can be seen as a progression. What does this mean? What is the difference between these terms?
Read MoreDry needling is a therapeutic technique used by some healthcare professionals including physical therapists to treat musculoskeletal and neuromuscular pain and dysfunction. It involves the insertion of thin monofilament needles into specific points into and around muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues.
Read MoreWe routinely send our clients out for bloodwork, and one of the most common deficiencies we see is B12. There are a number of reasons for this, and in this blog we’ll cover the most common ones.
Read MoreAs we age, the importance of warming up prior to activity becomes increasingly important. This is because our overall flexibility and mobility decrease with age partially due to decreased elasticity and collagen levels in our muscles. As a result of these changes, our bodies become more vulnerable to injury. A proper warm up will help to improve blood supply to the muscles that will be required during physical activity and therefore help to improve both performance and safety during the activity.
Read MoreGroin strains, or adductor strains, are common in a lot of sports, but particularly in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This probably is due to being in a closed guard position. This asks a lot of the adductors, and if they are quite strong enough, strains can occur.
Read MoreIt seems like an epidemic in the NFL this year. In the last few weeks teams have lost crucial players such as Aaron Rodgers after being on the field just 4 plays and Tre’Davious White who came back late last season from an ACL tear just to go out after only 4 games this year. Post-surgical repair, these athletes will be sidelined on average for another 9-12 months before being able to return to sport. This injury is not exclusive to Professional athletes however. This article will help to explain how these tears can happen and how you can reduce your risk.
You may have heard there is a correlation between stress and diabetes (Type 2). Stress affects the autonomic nervous system in profound ways including secretion of hormones. In this blog we’ll explore the mechanism, and what to do about it.
Read MoreA common complaint physical therapists will hear from patients is pain with prolonged standing. While this can be caused by a variety of factors, one of the first things we will look at is standing posture.
Read MoreMost ailments get worse at night, whether you are sick, or you are dealing with pain. There’s a simple reason for it; well two. It’s from the lack of two things: cortisol and movement.
Read MoreOur modern world has become easy. We live in climate controlled houses, get in our climate controlled cars, and climate controlled offices and gyms. Over time, this makes us fragile. Ever notice that kids seem to be immune to swimming in cold water yet you get sick every time you travel? We have “endpoints” that our bodies get used to and if we don’t expose our bodies to difficult things, those endpoints narrow and then when we have to do something difficult, the body will let you know that it’s too much. Maybe you get sick, or maybe you develop pain. Whatever system in your body is most vulnerable, it shows up like a canary in a coal mine.
Read MoreIf you have difficulty doing push ups because you’re missing wrist range of motion, this blog is for you. Wrists can be limited, like any other joint, by muscle and capsule. A reminder; capsules are the ligamentous ‘sack’ around all joints. They can stiffen from lack of movement or injury. Muscles get stiff from underuse, or overuse. Or, as I like to say, ‘a weak muscle gets overused faster’.
Read MoreAnkles get stiff, particularly in dorsiflexion. This can have all kinds of consequences, but one that isn’t talked about is the relationship between ankle and hip.
Read MoreBreathing seems like such a simple thing, and it is in a sense. However, when you think about how many breaths we take a day, altering your breathing can have a huge impact. When I have a patient with low back pain, I’ll always look at their breathing pattern. 9 times out of 10, I find that they are chest breathing. This is not necessarily a ‘wrong pattern’, but it gives me some insight into how their full system is operating. To explore this, I’ll explain 5 ways breathing can have a role in reducing low back pain.
Read MoreIf you have numbness or tingling, or radiating pain in the arm, chances are there is a nerve that is either being compressed or is irritated. This can happen in numerous places such as the cervical spine, a muscle in the forearm, or it can be thoracic outlet syndrome.
Read MoreThe Tibialis Posterior is a muscle that lines the inside (medial) part of the lower leg along the shin. Its insertion is on 2 bones; the navicular and the medial cuneiform. It’s an important stabilizer of the arch and it plantarflexes and inverts the ankle. It commonly gets weak and can cause irritation. I also find that ‘plantar fasciitis’ is often diagnosed, but it’s the tibialis posterior that is really the problem.
Read MoreI’ve seen this countless times; a client walks into my office, terrified of their recent MRI. They’ve got several disc bulges and couldn’t move for a few days after lifting something heavy. Surgery has been suggested. However, the whole time, it’s just muscle.
Read MoreI was going to call this article “Stress and Chronic Pain” but I don’t think the word stress fully encapsulates what this is about. Stressors can absolutely trigger chronic pain, but not just perceived stress. Some of the lifestyle decisions we make can lead to something called HPA axis dysfunction, which dysregulates cortisol. From there, many systems of the body are impacted and we stay in a chronic state of pain. Have you ever noticed that pain increases following a poor night's sleep? This article will explain the mechanism.
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