Health blog
Tips to Stick to those New Year’s Resolutions
By: Abbey Fecher, DPT
Three… two… one… HAPPY NEW YEAR! The first week of the New Year is a great time to press the reset button and set some goals for your overall health and well being. Have you set any resolutions? Whether they’re related to your fitness, nutrition or even your mental health, there are some things you should remember to help you stick to your goals.
One of the most important steps to remember is to set realistic goals!
What are Those Nagging Aches?
By Mike Bills, MS PT
What are those nagging aches and pains we feel? To start, what is pain? Pain is defined as a distressing sensation in a particular part of the body. So let’s do a little self-assessment. How many times during the day or your week do you have some sort of pain or ache or stiffness in any particular part of your body? As we age, it’s common for us to think it’s okay or normal for us to feel aches or pains especially in our joints and muscles.
What is Pre-Op Physical Therapy and Does It Really Matter…
By Angie Austin, LPTA
What is pre-op physical therapy? Most people understand the necessity of undergoing comprehensive physical therapy after surgery. However, few understand the benefits of preoperative physical therapy or ‘pre-hab.’ This is a program designed for you by your physical therapist that can help you achieve greater outcomes after surgery.
Goals for PreOp include:
- Mentally prepare for surgery
- Reduce pain and inflammation
- Restore range of motion
- Improve muscular control of the injured joint
- Normalize movement patterns prior to your surgery
- Improve overall well-being and fitness
- Gain a good understanding of the exercises you’ll be performing immediately after surgery
No one wants to have surgery but living with pain or a loss of function drives so many to undergo surgery every year.
Read full blogFour Common Neck Problems
By Abbey Fecher, DPT
Pain in the neck is a common neck problem complaint we hear in physical therapy. As a society, our posture has continued to decline as the use of phones and computers has increased. Poor posture can lead to many neck injuries. The good news is physical therapy can address many of these ‘pain in the neck’ problems.
Cervical radiculopathy is a term that means radiating pain down into your arms/hands or your upper back.
Loosen Up and Handle Joint Stiffness
By Devin Wurman, DPT
Joint stiffness is a pretty broad issue but it affects a lot of people in a variety of ways. Here are some questions to consider:
- What causes joint stiffness?
- How does joint stiffness impact daily activities?
- How can physical therapy can help relieve joint stiffness?
So what constitutes joint stiffness and why does it occur? Joint stiffness is a broad lack of flexibility in a joint.
Read full blogLife From the Other Side of the Treatment Table
By: Kate Zanoni, LPTA
If you’ve been in the clinic over the past few weeks, you’ve probably seen me around, except not in my usual capacity. I temporarily traded in my clinician hat for that of a patient’s following hip surgery. In September 2017, I was diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), greater trochanteric bursitis and a labral tear in my left hip. Fortunately, I don’t have any crazy story explaining any mechanism of injury because there wasn’t one.
What is Arthritis and How to Manage It
By Kate Zanoni, LPTA
What exactly is arthritis? Arthritis is a degenerative joint condition that occurs overtime. As we use our joints throughout our lifetime, we get a lot of wear and tear on them. Overtime, this causes the cartilage or the cushioning between the joints, to rub and wear down. Arthritis is that wearing down of the cartilage and once that cushioning layer is gone, our bones will rub on other bones.
Rotator Cuff Tears, Impingement, and Frozen Shoulder, Oh My!
By Alyssa Burke, PTA
Rotator Cuffs, impingement, and frozen shoulder, Oh My! It’s not as catchy as the original tune but these are just a few shoulder conditions we treat at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center. We often don’t realize how much we move our shoulders throughout our day until we feel pain or are unable to move them. There are many conditions that may cause us to experience pain, loss of range of motion or stiffness in our shoulders.
Shoulder Issues Can Throw Us Off
Shoulder issues like pain and weaknesses are some of the most common reasons people seek help from a physical therapist. The design of the shoulder is a ball and socket joint. The rounded head of the humerus articulates with the cup like depression of the scapula, giving it a wide degree of movement. That’s why the shoulder is often easily injured. This joint is held together by an extensive group of muscles and ligaments that can be weakened by certain repetitive movements.
Read full blogAddressing Back Problems Starts With Assessing the Core
Why are we focusing on your core if you’re here for a back problem? This is a question we often hear in physical therapy and with good reason. Wouldn’t you wonder why you were being instructed to strengthen a part of your body that isn’t necessarily where you’re feeling pain or discomfort? When it comes to patients who are here for back pain, part of their treatment plan involves strengthening their core. But why? Let’s talk spinal anatomy, muscular imbalances and posture.
Read full blog