Health blog
No Pain, No Gain Is Not Always the Best Policy: How to Protect Yourself from Acute and Overuse Injuries
The phrase, ‘no pain, no gain’ can certainly be motivating, but it isn’t always the best policy if you want to avoid acute and overuse injuries. As the weather begins to warm up, many people rush into doing some type of outdoor activity. It is important to know that if you’ve been sedentary during the cold winter and spring months, rushing into a sport can lead to serious injuries.
There are two types of injuries to be aware of when starting a new activity: acute and overuse. Acute injury is usually caused by a traumatic event. This could be spraining your ankle, dislocating your shoulder, or tearing a ligament in your knee. Overuse injuries are different. The most common cause of these is repetitive movement. Overtime, these can cause micro-tears or trauma to the tendons, bones, or ligaments. Have you ever heard of tennis elbow? That’s a common example of an overuse injury. Tennis elbow isn’t just caused by playing tennis. It can also occur when someone starts gardening after long winter months indoors or weekend athletes who work at a desk all week and are just getting back into softball and baseball on the weekends.
How to Improve Your Posture
In this world of looking beautiful, posture plays a big role in how we look at people. Think about the last time you saw your posture in the mirror and how you immediately corrected yourself to look taller, slimmer, or fitter. We fight the good fight against gravity 24 hours a day and it is up to our muscles and skeletal structure to keep our posture in proper alignment. It is important to note that bad posture is associated with many health problems.
Read full blogWhat is Foam Rolling and How Do Physical Therapists Use It?
By Devin Wurman, DPT
What is foam rolling and how do we use it in physical therapy? As physical therapists, we are always looking at new techniques and exercises to incorporate into our sessions with patients. We challenge and work their bodies so they become stronger, more flexible, and more mobile. Foam rolling is a technique many of my current and past patients have asked me about to see if it would benefit their particular condition.
Mobility and Stability: What’s the Difference and Which Comes First?
By Kristen Empson-Hayden, DPT
Mobility and stability: what’s the difference and which comes first? As physical therapists, we see this scenario play out all too often: You feel pain and stretching and strengthening you do is focused solely on that painful area. But this only solves part of the problem and does not address one missing aspect: the joints in our body have a relationship. They pick up the slack for each other when our mobility or stability is impacted in a particular area.
Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants: What Difference the ‘A’ Makes
By Courtney Hixson, LPTA
Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants: what difference does that ‘A’ make? I hear patients say this a lot in our clinic: ‘My physical therapist, Courtney…” Yes, there is some truth to this statement. As a Physical Therapist Assistant, I am a therapist but I am not a Physical Therapist. So what is the difference between a Physical Therapist and a Physical Therapist Assistant and what difference does the ‘A’ make?
How to Cross Train if You’re a Performing Artist
We treat a wide range of performing artists at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center; from dancers to cheerleaders, from gymnasts to figure skaters. The demands placed on a performing artist require a large amount of strength, control, and endurance. In addition to the physical demands, there is also the artistic/aesthetic component that must be a primary focus. In traditional dance training, there is a strong emphasis on the artistic component rather than the physical conditioning. Both elements must be trained equally so that the performing artist is well-rounded and able to progress their training without injury.
Read full blogHow to Keep Your Basketball Games Injury-Free
Apr 8th 2015It’s official. March Madness is over, the Duke Blue Devils are the champions, and we don’t have to endure that agonizing feeling anymore when yet another notch on our bracket busts! But basketball will remain on the brain for many; especially as the weather continues to warm up and the opportunities to play pick-up games are more frequent. If you followed the NCAA tournament, you probably noticed before the whistle, the players did a good stretch and warm-up.
Read full blogSuffering from Knee Pain? It Could be “Runner’s Knee”.
Are You Suffering From Runner’s Knee?
If you’ve experienced pain behind your kneecap or in the front of your knee, you may be suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome or ‘Runner’s Knee’. ‘Runner’s Knee’ is often characterized by pain behind the knee (retropatellar pain), pain around the kneecap (peripatellar pain) or pain in the front of the knee (anterior knee pain). It is associated with activities that put stress on the knee joint, such as running, sports and recreational activities.
Are Your Shoulders Giving You Headaches?
Did you know that 47% of the adult population will have a headache at least once within a year according to the World Health Organization? Forty-five million Americans complain of headaches each year, 8 million visit their doctor, and 3 million went to the emergency room, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Even minor headaches can be a nuisance that create stress, and can have significant social and emotional impacts – not only on the person suffering from headaches, but also on those around them.
We are closed Thursday March 5th due to inclement weather.
Due to the inclement weather and unsafe road conditions, Loudoun Sports Therapy Center will be closed today, Thursday March 5th, 2015. We plan to open as scheduled at 6:30am on Friday March 6th.
Please stay safe and contact the office Friday morning for assistance with scheduling.
As this snow will be heavy, practice safe snow shoveling techniques including lifting smaller loads and drinking plenty of fluids. You can also watch our safe snow shoveling video by clicking the link attached here.