Health blog Category: Loudoun Sports Therapy Center
Ways to Keep Moving if You Work From Home
Working from home can be hard to have a work life balance or even have the power to step away from the computer since that is your life now. If this sounds like you, don’t panic! There are solutions to help you get moving and have a better relationship with your new reality of working from home.
Walk it out
Now that you are at home all the time, chances are your step count is significantly lower than it was when you were in the office.
Read full blog3 Lower Back Injuries
Lower back injuries and issues can occur from something as simple as twisting to grab something off of your shelf or as intense as falling off of a ladder. Let’s focus on a few common causes of back pain and back issues.
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Soft tissue injuries, sprains and strains, are the most common cause of low back pain. Sprains occur when damage is done to the ligaments, while strains occur from damage to the muscles or tendons in the back.
Better Performance with Stretching
No matter our active level; athlete, sedentary, a weekend warrior, young or old, the benefits of routine stretching reach far beyond rehabilitation.
What is stretching?
In general, stretching is the elongation of a muscle and is used to help prevent injury and discomfort. However, there are different types of stretching that are important to distinguish. One is best implemented as a warm-up to prepare your body for exercise and the other is best used as a cool-down to reduce post-activity muscle soreness.
Read full blogMyth Busters – Physical Therapy Edition
Myth:
I need to see a doctor and get a script to go to physical therapy
Fact:
In the state of Virginia, you can be treated and seen for physical therapy for up to 30 days without a script from a doctor. After the 30 days is up, you will be required to have a signed script from your doctor to continue with your care if your PT provider has not already received one.
Read full blogCommon Hamstring Injuries
Before we even begin talking about common hamstring injuries, let’s talk about some anatomy and get an understanding of what the hamstring even is and what it helps us do!
Your hamstring is the group of muscles in the back of the leg. The hamstring is made up of 3 muscles including the:
- semitendinosus
- semimembranosus
- biceps femoris
These muscles help flex the knee and extend the hip.
Read full blogWhat is a Return-to-Sport Program? And Why is it Important?
A return to sport program is an integral part of a physical therapy program that helps you return to your higher-level, sports-specific goals. Here at LSTC, once you have progressed past basic strengthening, are pain free, and no longer need hands-on treatment, you will transition into the return to sport program. You will work with certified athletic trainers to assess your sports goals and get you back to play!
What does the program consist of?
Read full blogAll You Need to Know About ACL Injuries!
Many young athletes unfortunately will injure their ACL during their sports seasons. The ACL is one of the four important ligaments that hold your knee together. The four ligaments of your knee are the:
- ACL (anterior cruciate ligament)
- PCL (posterior cruciate ligament)
- MCL (medial collateral ligament)
- LCL (lateral collateral ligament)
Unfortunately, the ACL is the most injured ligament in the knee.
What is the ACL and why does it matter if I injure it?
The ACL is one of the primary ligaments that holds together the bones in your knee.
Read full blogAnkle Sprains
Ankle sprains are a common injury for people. Ankle sprains are when your ankle “rolls” either in or out and causes the ligaments in your joint to stretch. The most common ankle sprain is when your foot rolls inward and you have pain on the outside of your ankle. This can happen from playing sports, or just stepping off a curb wrong. If not treated properly you can have chronic problems with your ankle such as:
- Decreased rain of motion
- Recurring ankle sprains
- Pain
When ankle sprains first happen you might experience any of the following signs or symptoms:
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Tenderness in or around the ankle
- Limited range of motion
- Inability to bear weight
- Pain with ankle or toe movement
To help with the initial pain of the ankle sprains:
- Elevate your ankle
- Ice your ankle as soon as you can for no more than 20 minutes
- Wrap your ankle with an ACE or compression wrap to help reduce some of the swelling
You should consult a medical profession to make sure your ankle injury not anything more serious and to help get you back to your favorite activities.
Read full blogTendonitis vs Bursitis
Tendinopathy is a common issue with physically active individuals. Tendinopathy is a generic term for conditions that deal with overuse injuries with a tendon (tendonitis/tendinosis). A tendon is end of a muscle usually were stress is usually concentrated.
Tendinopathy signs and symptoms usually include:
- Pain during or after exercise
- Reduced exercise tolerance
- Usually the pain worsens as time goes on without physical therapy.
The most common places to have this issue are in the shoulder, elbow, knee, Achilles tendon and gluteal tendons.
Bursitis is the irritation of fluid filled sacs in our body called bursaes.
Read full blogSciatica – A True Pain in the Butt
WHAT IS SCIATICA?
Sciatica is the inflammation of a nerve that travels from the back down to the foot. This means, sciatica can cause pain in your back, buttocks, hamstring, calf, shin, or foot depending on where the nerve is irritated.
It can also be a referred pain from spinal levels L4-S2 sending pain signals to the body parts that they innervate in the regions as listed above.
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