Health blog Category: physical therapy
Here’s What to Do If Surgery Is Coming Up!
Pre-op physical therapy can help prepare you for what is going to happen. It will help you establish your goals before and after surgery as well as determine what your expectations are.
What to expect?
- Examination to set a plan of care and determine a baseline
- Set goals for before and after surgery
- Plan and education of post op and recovery
- Progression of range of motion and strength to improve overall function
- Use of any assistive device currently using or that may be needed after surgery
- How to perform transfers and get around if weight bearing status will be different after surgery
The importance of exercises prior to surgery:
- Being able to set and target muscles around the surgical site before surgery will improve ability to perform after surgery
- Strengthen above and below the surgical area
- Range of motion of the area to enhance mobility
Why should you come to physical therapy before surgery?
Read full blogIT Band Syndrome AKA “Runners Knee”
I’m sure most of you have heard the terms runner’s knee or IT Band at some point in time… Now understanding what it means may be another thing. But don’t worry I’m gonna tell you all you need to know. ITB syndrome is very common and you may be suffering without knowing.
ITB refers to iliotibial band which is a band of tissue that runs on the outside of your leg from your hip to your knee.
The Why and Where of Arthritis
Pain due to arthritis is often chronic, and can cause very dull, achy and stiff feeling joints. Often times, the stiffness and achiness is worse after staying in one position for a prolonged period of time. For example:
- Sitting
- Sleeping
- Standing
Why does arthritis happen and where?
Arthritis commonly happens due to normal joint changes that occur from moving and being under gravity, but can also happen in people who have been sedentary.
Read full blog“Un-Freezing” That Shoulder
What is Frozen Shoulder?
Adhesive Capsulitis, or “Frozen Shoulder” is a condition in which the shoulder and the surrounding tissues thickens, which ultimately leads to:
- Stiffness
- Decreased range of motion
- Inability to move one’s arm
Frozen shoulder often prevents you from doing everyday activities or the things you love to do.
How Does Frozen Shoulder Occur?
Generally it occurs as a result of another injury.
Read full blogFacets in Our Neck
Are you having neck pain but are not sure why? You notice you can’t turn your head as far as you used to and you are having pain and muscle spasms. If this is true, you could be experiencing cervical facet dysfunction.
What is a facet?
Facets are joints in your spine. They are located on the back and side of the bones in out spine, or vertebra. These joints play an important role in allowing our necks to move.
Read full blogThat “Locking” of Our Knee
Before we get into information about meniscus tears, we must first learn about what a meniscus is, as well as its purpose inside of the knee joint. The meniscus consists of two rubber-like pieces of cartilage that provides cushioning between the thigh bone (femur) and the shin bone (tibia).
What exactly causes Meniscus Tears?
Meniscus tears can be a result of many different causes, ranging from:
- Twisting awkwardly when getting out of a chair
- Athletic injury that involves being tackled by another player
When one normally injures their meniscus, they have experienced an excessive amount of pressure or twisting at the knee joint that resulted in one of the many classifications of a tear.
Read full blogPersistent Knee Discomfort and the Road to Relief
Don’t let persistent KNEE PAIN hold you back…
Knee pain is something that everyone will experience at some point in their lifetime. Having knee pain can be the result of many factors and affects all ages. We as physical therapy clinicians work with patients to educate them about their problem in addition to how it can be corrected. So don’t sweat it! We are here to help!
About the Knee
The knee is a large hinge joint that gives you the ability to bend and straighten your knee which is necessary for day to day functional tasks like getting up from a chair or going up and down stairs.
Read full blogThese Musculoskeletal Injuries
Ankle sprains are some of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, with approximately 25,000 people spraining their ankle every day (1). An ankle sprain occurs usually when the ankle is forced into an extremely inverted or everted position, meaning rolling in or out respectively; rolling your ankle inwards being the most common type of sprain.
How do I know if I sprained my ankle?
Some common symptoms of an ankle sprain are:
- Pain or soreness when moving your ankle into the position in which you sprained it,
- Pain with walking
- Ankle stiffness
- Mild localized swelling and bruising along the outside of your foot/ankle.
Everyday Tasks and Why They are Causing Discomfort
Golfer’s elbow is also known as medial epicondylitis which involves an injury on the inside of the elbow caused by excessive and repeated stress placed on the tendon. The muscles that bend your wrist travel up and attach to the inside of the elbow with a tendon. A tendon attaches muscles to bone and are easily aggravated by overuse of the muscles over several days.
Who experiences golfer’s elbow?
You don’t have to be a golfer to feel the effects of this issue. It is common with anyone who performs repetitive movements such as:
- Lifting
- Throwing
- Jobs (Examples: construction or plumbing)
- Racket sports and of course golf
What are some of the symptoms that you may have if you have Golfer’s Elbow?
Read full blogEveryday Tasks and Why They are Causing Discomfort
Golfer’s elbow is also known as medial epicondylitis which involves an injury on the inside of the elbow caused by excessive and repeated stress placed on the tendon. The muscles that bend your wrist travel up and attach to the inside of the elbow with a tendon. A tendon attaches muscles to bone and are easily aggravated by overuse of the muscles over several days.
Who experiences golfer’s elbow?
You don’t have to be a golfer to feel the effects of this issue. It is common with anyone who performs repetitive movements such as:
- Lifting
- Throwing
- Jobs (Examples: construction or plumbing)
- Racket sports and of course golf
