Health blog
Osteoarthritis VS Rheumatoid Arthritis
What is arthritis and who can get it?
Arthritis is actually not a single disease, but rather an informal way of referring to joint pain or inflammation. Two of the most prevalent types of arthritis are, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. While arthritis is often associated with increased age, people of all ages, sexes, and lifestyles can develop arthritis.
Common Causes of Arthritis
The most common cause of arthritis is just the normal wear and tear we put on our joints throughout our lives, known as osteoarthritis. Any injury or illness to a joint can further exacerbate this natural breakdown of cartilage.
Read full blogRepetitive Motions and Elbow Conditions
Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow are both overuse injuries that are caused by any activity that requires repetitive motion of the arm and wrist. Repetitive motions using forehand/backhand are common in cooks, painters, carpenters, plumbers or computer/mouse work. Either one of these conditions can also develop from everyday chores such as raking, gardening, chopping wood, or shoveling. Both of these conditions are forms or epicondylitis, which is a medical term for inflammation of a tendon that attaches to bone (Epicondyle) of the elbow joint.
Common symptoms of Tennis Elbow/Lateral Epicondylitis include:
- Pain that radiates from the outside of your elbow and down your forearm and wrist
- Tenderness on the outside of your elbow (May be constant or present with activity)
- Weakness in your forearm or a weak grip
- Pain when reaching, lifting or when you grip things, twist something or, if you play tennis, (especially with backhand strokes)
- Pain when you extend your wrist
Common symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow/Medial Epicondylitis include:
- Pain and tenderness on the inside of your elbow
- Pain that radiates down your arm from the inside of your elbow
- Weakness in your hand or wrist
- Numbness or tingling in your ring and little fingers
- Pain when you grip or twist things as is common in the golf swing
- Pain when you flex your wrist
The Solution?
Read full blogTendonitis in Our Shoulder
Shoulder tendonitis is a very common problem for every age group and one we treat often at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. Our patients will typically complain about:
- Pain along the front of the shoulder
- Pain with overhead activities
- Pain when lifting items
- Pain reaching behind their back
- Pain when washing their hair.
These symptoms often cause the patient to have difficulty performing day to day activities due to their limitation in range of motion, weakness and pain.
Read full blogNo Excuses, It’s Time to Treat Shoulder Issues
The most common perpetrators of shoulder pain are impingement of the rotator cuff muscles and biceps tendons. They hurt when you lift your arm above shoulder height. This can become a vicious cycle because repetitive motion can cause pain, which stops you from lifting your arm above your head and reaching for your favorite coffee cup out of the cupboard, or putting on your afternoon/evening T-shirt.
Common Causes of Shoulder Injury
Shoulder injuries are one of the most common injuries. Most shoulder discomfort or pain is caused from an injury itself or from overuse.
Some of the most common ailments related to the shoulder include:
- Tight/overworked muscles
- Tendonitis
- Impingement
- Joint stiffness
- Traumatic injury/dislocation
- Weak muscles
- Repetitive movement
- Poor shoulder mechanics
Indicators of Shoulder Injury
Shoulder pain can present itself in many different ways.
- You may first notice pain and/or tightness when moving your arm in certain directions.
- Then, it may progress to where you start to lose range of motion.
- Range of motion loss is often first seen when trying to tuck in a shirt, fasten a bra or reach into a cabinet.
- Sometimes, shoulder pain can manifest itself further down the arm as well.
Why Choose PT?
Read full blogSciatica: Discomfort in Our Backside
Sciatica is a very common condition that affects 10% of the population. While sciatica can literally be a pain in the backside, it doesn’t have to stay with you. Simple strategies and seeing the right physical therapist early can make a big difference in quickly healing and returning to the pain free activities you love.
Symptoms of Sciatica:
- Tenderness to the deep gluteus muscles
- Numbness, tingling or pain that travels broadly down the thigh
- Constant pain that may originate in the low back, but travels mainly down the back of the buttock and thigh
- Pain that feels better when lying down or walking, but worsens with sitting
What Exactly is Sciatica?
Read full blogThe Knee and Arthritis
Arthritis is a degenerative joint condition that occurs overtime. Our joints wear down over our lifetime, and the cartilage or cushioning layer on our bones disappears. When this layer is gone your bones begin to rub other bones. What you might not realize is that knee arthritis specifically, impacts every age group.
Knee Arthritis Symptoms:
- Pain and swelling inside the joint
- Stiffness not only in the joint but also in the surrounding muscles
- Loss of range of motion in your knees
- Bending and extending your knees becomes difficult
- Grinding and popping in your knee joint.
Does Getting Older Mean We Can’t Exercise…
Statistics show that roughly about one third of people 65-years-old are physically active. That’s in contrast to the roughly 80 percent of the general population. As you age you may begin to think that your body won’t be able to handle exercising, and you may just stop exercising all together. The reality is, folks over the age of 65 should be doing 150 minutes of exercise each week, per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read full blogForward Head Posture; the Reason for Neck Pain
Neck problems, neck spasms and general neck pain are common complaints in the orthopedic rehab world. One of the most common causes of these problems is forward head posture.
Forward Head Lifestyle
With the high prevalence of desk jobs, the influx of cell phone use, computer use and video gaming, as well as time spent relaxing in front of the TV, our posture certainly suffers more often than we realize. Over time, these repetitive tasks put us into a position called forward head posture, in which our heads and necks protrude forward into a flexed position.
The Role of Osteoporosis
Forward head posture is not only caused by cell phones and leaning over a computer all day.
Read full blogOveruse Injury in Our Elbow
Medial epicondylitis, is the fancy medical word for “Golfer’s Elbow” or “Pitcher’s Elbow.”
What is Golfer’s Elbow?
This overuse injury is characterized by pain on the inside of the elbow that can radiate into the forearm. It occurs when inflammation affects the tendons that connect the forearm to the elbow. Golfer’s elbow usually occurs from repetitive gripping, flexing, or rotating the wrist as seen in golfers or pitchers, but can affect anyone who repetitively uses their hands, wrists, forearms, or elbows.
How to Treat “Golfer’s Elbow”
This condition can usually go away with rest, ice, and possible bracing.
Read full blogTried and True Solution to Back Issues
Back issues often start when we feel that we have done too much, then later on or the next day we experience some aches or muscle soreness. While the discomfort usually goes away in a day or two, your body is telling you that there was straining and microscopic tearing of muscle tissue, causing inflammation. Microscopic tears and inflammation if allowed to occur repetitively can result in the potential for long term problems in the future.
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