Health blog Category: injury prevention
Morning commute have you sitting in traffic…
Neck pain and tightness is something that we all may experience from time to time for different reasons. However, chronic pain or tightness often has a deeper issue than just sleeping wrong one night. Poor posture and muscular weakness is often the culprit for neck issues. We spend so much time with our heads down and shoulders rounded while using our phones, shoulders hunched while driving or doing daily activities, and the like, that we don’t even notice we’re training our body to give us issues.
Read full blogLoosen Up Those Stiff Joints
At some point or another in life we experience joint stiffness. What actually is “joint stiffness?” It is a
situation in the body where we feel tightness in the parts of our body that bend, like the elbows, wrists,
shoulders, hips, knees, neck, lower back, and ankles.
Below are some of the most common causes of joint stiffness:
- muscular tightness
- capsular/ligamentous tightness
- muscle weakness causing poor joint alignment and tracking
- loss of joint space with osteoarthritis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- structural damage from wear and tear or injury and the resulting inflammation
Joint stiffness presents with the sensation of not being able to fully rotate, bend, or extend a joint in the
body.
What causes that muscle cramp or “charlie horse”?
By: Jeremy Schain, DPT
Without a doubt, many of you throughout the course of your lives have suffered a“Charlie horse” or “pulled a hamstring” while running, playing a sport, performing activity or simply while going about your daily life. Have you ever wondered what causes this to occur? Furthermore, how can they be treated and how can they be prevented in the future?
The hamstring is actually a group of three muscles:
- The biceps femoris
- The semitendinosis
- The semimembranosis)
These muscles work together to bend the knee as well as extend the hip.
Read full blogDiscomfort interrupting workouts, sleep and work?
Q&A
- How does back pain usually start?
Many times back pain starts from a specific incident where you overexerted yourself, lifted something improperly, performed more of an activity than you were used to, sitting/standing more prolonged amount of time, or a traumatic incident. Often times it is a combination of several of these things. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt right away, but may begin to bother you several days later.
Read full blogHow many times a day do we have to reach overhead?
By Rachel Herrmann, DPT
The shoulder is a complex region of the body made up of three joints, four muscles of the rotator cuff and over 10 other muscles that attach around the bones/joints that make up the shoulder. This means there has to be a lot of body parts in good working condition in order to have a healthy and happy shoulder.
One common shoulder issue is called impingement. This is when the muscles of the rotator cuff become subjected to repeated pinching in between the rounded head of the humerus bone and the acromion process, a bony prominence from the shoulder blade that forms a roof over top of the ball and socket joint.
Three reasons We’re Having trouble standing, walking or running
Hip problems are a common complaint that affects all ages and activity levels. Many hip problems are often the result of an overuse injury and can interfere with our daily activities that can make dressing, shaving our legs and standing while cooking challenging.
Three common hip problems are:
- Osteoarthritis. This happens when the cartilage in your hip joint becomes damaged from wear and tear over the years.
Is hip pain throwing off your balance?
By: Rachel Herrmann, DPT, PT
The hip joint is one of the most stable joints in the body, but unfortunately that does not keep this joint and region of the body from developing issues and producing pain. There are multiple structures in and around the hip joint that can produce pain in this area of the body:
- Labrum– the ring of cartilage around the rim of the socket of the hip joint.
Trouble Sleeping Through the Night because of Back Pain?
Read on for answers to common questions about back pain, how it starts and how to get rid of it for good!
- How does back pain usually start?
- Many times back pain starts from a specific incident where you overexerted yourself, lifted something improperly, performed more of an activity than you were used to, sitting/standing more prolonged amount of time, or a traumatic incident. Often times it is a combination of several of these things.
Limited Range of Motion, Making Daily Tasks Tough
Shoulder pain and shoulder injuries are one of the most common injuries we see at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center whether the cause is from an injury or overuse. Some of the most common ailments related to the shoulder that we see include tight/overworked muscles, tendonitis, impingement and , joint stiffness. All of these can cause pain, weakness, and decrease ability to perform everyday activities.
Common Causes of Shoulder Injury
- Traumatic injury/dislocation
- Weak musculature
- Repetitive movement
- Poor shoulder mechanics
- Post Surgery
Shoulder pain can present itself in many different ways.
Read full blogHip Pain Impacting Weekend Plans?
Hip problems make daily activities like simply walking difficult and painful. When you talk to your physical therapist or doctor about your hip pain, it’s important to be able to describe exactly where your pain is located. This helps confirm that your hip is actually the problem. It’s not uncommon for us to hear a patient say ‘my hip hurts’ and then once we’ve done a full evaluation of their area of pain, we find they actually are having a back-related problem.
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