Health blog
Healing Our Shoulder With Physical Therapy
What Causes Shoulder Injuries?
Most shoulder pain occurs following repetitive movements. These movements cause wear and tear that breaks down your rotator cuff tendons. Activities such as raking leaves and shoveling are common culprits that send people to seek medical attention for shoulder pain. In addition, injuries that involve lifting can also cause increased pain in the shoulders.
What Is The Rotator Cuff?
The rotator cuff is made up of four small muscles that control movement and provide stability of the shoulder joint.
How to Relieve Arthritis Pain Naturally
Do you find your knees or hips hurting after sitting for too long? Has bending or squatting become difficult or even painful? This is a common complaint of people with knee or hip arthritis or osteoarthritis. Did you know that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that 1 out of every 2 people will have symptoms of knee osteoarthritis sometime before age 85?
The incidence of osteoarthritis generally starts to increase after age 35 and decreases one’s ability to perform walking, bending and every day tasks.
It’s Time to Start Eating Healthy Again
There are many parts to eating healthy, but one important part of healthy eating involves portion control. “How much am I eating?” you ask. “What is the best way to measure portion sizes?”
When food scales or measuring cups aren’t handy, you can still estimate your portions using these easy tips below to know exactly how much food you’re eating.
3 Ounces of Meat = Deck of Playing Cards 
Medium Apple = Tennis Ball 
1 oz of Cheese = 4 Stacked Dice 
½ Cup of Ice Cream = Tennis Ball 
1 Cup of Mashed Potatoes or Broccoli = Your Fist 
1 Teaspoon of Peanut Butter = Tip of Your Thumb 
1 Ounce of Nuts or Small Candies = One Handful 
*If you’re cutting calories, remember to eat healthy and nutritious food to keep you full.*
*For a list of the food groups and recommended daily servings, please visit http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/.*
If you have any questions about nutrition or portion control, call Loudoun Sports Therapy Center at 703-450-4300 to speak with our expert staff members.
Read full blogMuscles Spasms and Low Back Pain
Most people have probably experienced lower back pain at some point in their lives. In fact, lower back pain is very prevalent in our society and can greatly limit our ability to bend over to empty the dishwasher, tie our shoes, sit at our desk at work or stand in line at the grocery store.
Indicators of low back pain:
The number one complaint is pain and stiffness localized to the low back which is worsened with standing, walking, or prolonged positioning.
Running Too Much, Too Soon Can Cause Shin Splints
Doing too much, too soon can be a recipe for shin splints!
What are shin splints?
Shin splints, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, MTSS, are an overuse injury caused by repetitive stress to the lower legs. It’s common for runners to get them especially when they don’t gradually increase their mileage. Remember feeling pain in your shins right your first few practices at the start of a sports season?
Read full blogExercises to Strengthen Your Gluteal Muscles
Injuries of your lower back, hips and knees can prevent you from doing the activities you enjoy. Many lower back and lower body injuries can be prevented by maintaining good strength in some key muscle groups. One of the most important groups of muscles to focus on are your gluteal muscles.
These muscles help provide a stable base for your legs and trunk and also are one of the major muscle groups responsible for allowing you to walk, run and jump.
Water VS. Sports Drink Debate
You’ve been exercising for an hour and a half, your muscles are weak, your shirt is drenched, you’ve recently noticed a minor headache and you’re beyond thirsty. Do you reach for your water bottle filled with water or do you grab a bottle of one of those flavorful sports drinks?
The water versus sports drinks debate has been a topic of discussion for many years. There are a multitude of opinions because there are different circumstances in which one choice trumps the other.
Simple Techniques to Cure Aching Shoulders
Aug 2nd 2019Do you find your shoulders aching at the end of the day or when having to lift your arms?
Why Our Shoulders Hurt
Our shoulders are the most complicated joints in our body and thus, one of the most easily injured. They have to move through an incredible 180 degrees of motion, while still maintaining stability and strength. Some of the most important muscles in the shoulder are actually the smallest. The rotator cuff is a series of 4 muscles that form a cuff around the glenohumeral joint.
Our Feet Could be Causing Our Back Pain
You know that old song, ‘the knee bone is connected to the hip bone?’ That catchy tune has a lot of truth to it and explains what is called the biomechanical chain. For many people, simply standing or walking for more than 20 minutes means their back starts aching. This can be due to a whole host of factors, but believe it or not, your feet and ankles can be a culprit.
When we walk, our hips, knees, ankles and feet rotate in opposite directions to act as shock absorbers.
No Movement, No Energy
Do you sometimes feel sluggish, tired, achy, sore or have low energy? Most of these problems can be caused by lack of movement. If you sit still for long hours in your car, at your job, or at home watching TV, you are hurting your body over time.
Without frequent movement, your muscles waste away, joints become stiff, and normal chemical processes in your body change. Your circulation and lymphatic systems slow down causing a backup of toxic wastes, such as cholesterol, that are normally produced and excreted by your body.
