Health blog Category: Physical Therapy
Suffering From Knee Discomfort?
Knee discomfort and pain affects many people and it can limit you in the things you do every day. Knee discomfort and pain can make walking, standing and going up and down stairs difficult. People of all ages experience knee pain and discomfort that restrict them from their leisure activities. If left untreated, common knee injuries can become more complicated and lead to increased pain, joint damage or even disability.
The knee joint is one of the most important joints in the body. It allows us to bend and straighten our legs. The knee is made up of three major bones, the femur (thigh bone), the tibia (shin bone), and the fibula (located on the outside of the femur and the shin bones). These bones are covered by cartilage and supported by the meniscus – a weight bearing C-shaped structure (located in the knee joint between the femur and tibia) that serves as a shock absorber, and stabilizing ligaments (fibrous tissue) that connect the bones (femur and tibia) and
together.
Joint Stiffness Getting In Your Way?
Are you having trouble bending forward to tie your shoes, putting on your t-shirt, reaching overhead for a cup on a shelf, or sitting? Joint stiffness can prevent you from doing these and many other things. Joint stiffness can effect the elbows, wrists, shoulders, hips, knees, neck, lower back, and ankles. Joint stiffness is the first stop on the path to PAIN. This can further restrict you from being able to do many other things such as driving, working, or going to a movie.
Read full blogShoulder Discomfort Effecting Your Sleep?
The shoulder is a common region in which people complain of pain and discomfort. Shoulder discomfort and pain can commonly affect your ability to get a good nights’ sleep, carry groceries, shower, wash clothes, reach into overhead cabinets, and to tuck in your shirt. Don’t let your shoulder discomfort and pain limit you from these activities or anything else you enjoy doing.
Minor inflammation or minor tears can become worsened if aggravating factors are not addressed and prevent you from playing tennis, reaching that plate from the upper cabinet or scratching that itch in the middle of your back. The sooner treatment is initiated, the better.
Sidelined From Knee Discomfort?
Knee discomfort and injures can keep you sidelined from participating in your daily activities. Knee discomfort and pain can make it difficult to perform such daily activities as:
- walking
- climbing stairs
- bending down to tie your shoes
- pick something up off the floor
It can also prevent you from enjoying such simple things as sitting to watch a movie, running, and from enjoying your favorite sports such as soccer, basketball and tennis. Knee injuries and pain can come from both degenerative changes that occur as we age and can be sports related.
Read full blogShoulder Joint Discomfort and Common Causes
Shoulder joint discomfort and pain can restrict you from doing simple ordinary everyday tasks such as washing your hair, reaching into cabinets, doing laundry or washing the dishes. Perhaps you are no longer able to throw a ball with your kids or participate in any sports because of shoulder joint discomfort or pain. Common movements such as:
- Wear and tear from poor lifting mechanics and poor posture,
- Overuse without proper conditioning, like bench-pressing or golfing,
- Overhead activities, like throwing a ball or painting walls,
- Tackling sports, like football or wrestling,
- Repetitive movements like lift/holding a child; and
- Your dog pulling you with his leash
- Falling and breaking the fall with arms
Put you at risk for shoulder joint discomfort and pain and may lead to shoulder joint damage. If you keep pushing through these symptoms you may make the injury worse or even larger and it may begin to limit your ability to *reach behind your back to tuck in your shirt, *drive a car, or even *lift something simple like a grocery bag; or *throw a ball at practice.
Read full blogHamstring Problems are Not Just for Athletes
Hamstring problems are not just something we see in athletes. While hamstring injuries can happen to an athlete during a practice or a game, it’s actually much more common for all of us to experience hamstring problems related to everyday activities. A hamstring injury will start to make you feel stiffness and soreness throughout your leg which will make things like walking, changing positions (getting in and out of the car or a chair, etc) and using stairs more difficult.
Read full blogPoor Posture Causing Headaches, Discomfort, and Stiffness
How is your posture? Poor posture may be causing your headaches, discomfort and stiffness. Many of us have sedentary jobs at a desk and/or use mobile technology for day-to-day communications. Think about how you sit when you do these things. It’s easy for us to slip into a poor posture when we’re mindlessly reading emails or sending texts. Poor posture contributes to neck pain, stiffness, nagging headaches, trouble standing up and other painful issues.
Read full blogCommon Foot & Ankle Injuries
When is the last time you could walk the dog, go shopping, take your kids to the amusement park, go for a run, or even just stand for prolonged periods of time without experiencing nagging foot & ankle pain? Have you ever gotten up in the morning and felt pain in your heel when you put your foot down on the floor? You’re probably wondering why your foot & ankle would hurt after you’ve been off your feet and sleeping all night. One of the most common causes of heel pain is plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis arises from the inflammation of the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot.
Read full blogChronic Back Pain, Could Poor Posture be to Blame…
Poor posture could be to blame for our chronic back pain. Irritation to the nerves that emerge off the lumbar spine can cause burning and shooting pain down the legs and into the feet. Chronic back pain can also cause poor posture, making it difficult to walk, sit, drive, and perform routine activities such as driving, laundry, and dishes; to name a few. Chronic back pain is a debilitating condition that will affect the majority of Americans at some point during their life. In fact, chronic back pain is one of the leading reasons people go to the doctor and employees miss work..
Read full blogSay No to Sciatica! 3 Indicators That You Need to See a Physical Therapist
Each of your sciatic nerves runs from either side of your lower back down to each of your legs. That’s why a classic sign of sciatica is having a shooting pain on one side only. While compression of one of your sciatic nerves can literally be a “pain in the butt,” it doesn’t always require medical attention. Yet sometimes physical therapy is your best bet to banish sciatica symptoms. So how can you tell when to go it alone, and when to call a physical therapist?
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