Health blog Category: physical therapy
That “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
What are some of the symptoms that you may have if you have Golfer’s Elbow?
Read full blogLow Back Pain can be Draining
So you have been experiencing pain in the low back that could be due to facet dysfunction.
What is a facet?
Facet joints are located in the spine at the posterolateral aspect of the vertebra. These are joints that allow motion of the spine and also restrict hyper mobility.
How does the problem present?
- Pain, stiffness, or soreness over facet joint, across low back, into the hip groin, or buttock
- Pain with extension (bending backward)
- Pain with prolonged positions such as sitting or standing
- Worst in the morning and gets better throughout the day with movement
Causes:
- Trauma – car accidents, sports, etc
- Abnormal postures that put strain on the joint
- Constant repetitive motions resulting in wear and tear of the joints
- Degenerative changes that increase the load on the joints (May have increased pain due to disc injuries, decreased height at the disc may put more stress on the facets causing increased inflammation and pain)
How Physical Therapy Can Help!
Read full blogAchilles Tears and Their Severity
What is the Achilles Tendon?
The Achilles tendon is the strongest and largest tendon in our bodies. It connects the calf muscle to your heel (at the back of your ankle and foot). It needs to be extremely strong and springy in order to help propel your body up and forward as well as absorb the shock from landing while running, jumping and even walking.
Achilles Tear vs. a Rupture
An Achilles tear means that the tendon is only damaged and still attached.
Read full blogWrist and Forearm Pain
Wrist/Forearm pain is generally caused be some kind of damage to:
- The bones
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Other soft tissues of the forearm and wrist.
This is caused by repetitive movements/overuse, falls landing on an outstretched arm or sports related injuries.
Wrist pain can also be accompanied by stiffness, swelling or redness around the wrist, difficulty making a fist or gripping/grasping objects, numbness or tingling in the hands and clicking sound with wrist movements.
Osteoarthritis in the Knee
Osteoarthritis of the knee results from the breakdown of the cartilage (a protective tissue) that covers the end of the bones in the knee joint (femur and tibia). This breakdown of cartilage results in bone on bone (femur and tibia) contact which is the primary reason for pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Age, mechanical wear and genetics all contribute to this breakdown of cartilage over time. The treatment for osteoarthritis is especially important because without proper education, you can make it worse and rely too much on pain medication or walk yourself into surgery. 
Symptoms of Osteoarthritis
- Pain in the knee joint (especially when you stand or bend the knee)
- Swelling (especially after standing for prolonged periods of time or after exercise)
- Stiffness/restricted range of motion (inability to bend or extend the knee without pain)
- Creaking or crackling sensation in the knee joint
- Weakness in the knee joint or surrounding muscles
Causes
- Overuse- age, excessive load on the knee with weight bearing exercises or repetitive movements
- Muscle imbalances or weaknesses- creating uneven stress on the bones in the knee joint
- Injury- trauma to the knee joint from contact or weight bearing rotation of the knee specifically the meniscus (a cushioning and protective structure that sits on the tibial surfaces both medially and laterally)
- Weight- excess weight or obesity
- Genetics- inherited abnormalities in the shape of the bones in the knee or biochemical factors such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Why is treatment so Important?
Read full blogUtilizing Dumbbells can Cause a Bicep Strain
With everyone doing at home workouts it’s important to be careful especially if you are just starting to do this for the first time. The bicep is that muscle that people are always striving to make big in the upper arm.
A common issue that occurs when utilizing dumbbells is a bicep strain. 
The bicep’s job is to bend the elbow when we are speaking in this sense.
