Health blog Category: LSTC
7 Common Questions About Physical Therapy
Out of All the Questions We Receive, This One is the Most Common… “What is physical therapy?”
The use of exercise, manual therapy and different techniques to improve movement patterns, increase function and decrease pain to overall improve quality of life.
“Do I need imaging before coming to PT? MRI? Xray?”
No you do not need imaging before coming to PT. At the initial evaluation will do specific testing to determine a diagnosis.
Read full blogTips to Avoid Injuries While Shoveling Snow
As the temperature starts to drop again, and the chance of snow could arise we want to be sure you are prepared to clear your sidewalk and driveways without sustaining and injury. Believe it or not, shoveling is a common task that our community members do that leads to an injury. Here are 7 things to do to help avoid and injury…
- Warm up with dynamic or static stretching (CLICK HERE to learn more)
- Do not twist through your back-instead turn your whole body (WATCH this video!)
- Do not throw snow over shoulder
- Push snow instead of lifting and don’t overload- if lifting is required bend and lift through
legs not back.
Exercises for Better Posture
Whether you are sitting, standing, sleeping, or moving around posture is important and can impact how well you are able to perform said activities. Rounding your shoulders forward or letting your head shift forward as well as rounding your back are all signs of bad posture. Below are some exercises that can help prevent poor posture no matter what position you are in.
Pec Stretches
Pec stretches are really good to do to help open up your chest.
Read full blogTop 5 Things to do to Start Your Year Off Right
The New Year is here which means we are planning our resolutions and setting goals. Here are 5 things you should do to start your year off right!
Get Moving
Even if you just go on a short walk, try to get moving everyday. Exercise is not only good for your physical health, but it plays a huge role in mental health as well. When you exercise, your brain releases happy chemicals that improve mood.
Read full blogNeck Pain While Working
A lot of people are working from home or returning to the office and have noticed neck pain during and after they are done with work. It’s easy to get lost in our work, which causes us to lose focus of the position that we are sitting in and for how long we are sitting in the same position. When we sit with poor posture for an extended period of time, we are more likely to cause harm especially to our necks.
Read full blogWhat is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is a buzzword right now and is likely one you have heard thrown around by your doctor or friends currently receiving physical therapy treatment. A lot of people think of acupuncture when they first hear about dry needling. They use similar needles, but the similarities start and finish there.
Thin microfilament needles are used to penetrate skin and subcutaneous tissue to address the underlying tissue directly. In most cases, the needle will be inserted into a trigger point in a muscle.
Read full blogSeasonal Injuries for Fall or Winter
With the gorgeous seasons comes seasonal injuries, due to outdoor responsibilities like:
- Raking leaves
- Bagging leaves
- Shoveling snow
- Cleaning snow off our vehicles
How often have you or someone you care about moved the wrong way or lifted something and all of the sudden had significant back pain that was never there before?
Many people have a tendency to push things like this aside until they negatively affect our activities of daily living.
Read full blogGrip Strength and Rock Climbing
What is Grip Strength?
The ability of your hand to hold an item. It is the force created by the muscles of the arm including the fingers, hand, forearm and upper arm.
Why is it important?
Grip is relevant to activities that are performed everyday, including but not limited to holding utensils/pen, turning a key, opening a jar, holding your cell phone, rock climbing, etc
How is grip related to the forearm?
Read full blogWhat is Ergonomics?
To start, Ergonomics is the study of individuals in their workplace in which workplaces are designed to fit individuals who use them. This aims to improve the environment to minimize the risk of injury.
Since the pandemic, many more individuals around the world began working from home and at desks/computers not realizing they have been sitting in a poor position for several hours a day and multiple days a week. Walking around and standing up in a typical office setting has decreased due to being in the comfort of our homes.
Read full blogTravel Tips
Whether you’re going to the beach, out West, to another country, or even only a few miles away to visit friends and family, these traveling tips can help you avoid lower back and neck pain!
Try to not remain in the same position for long periods of time.
Stiffness and soreness tend to occur the most after not moving out of one position for extended periods of time.
Driving to your destination?
- Stop at rest stops when you start feeling stiff to take a few minutes to stretch out.