Health blog Category: physical therapy
What’s Causing Your Hip Discomfort?
Hip problems make daily activities such as sleeping or lying in certain positions, walking, climbing stairs, standing up from a seated position, bending your leg in towards your chest (as when dressing, cutting your toe nails, or washing/drying your feet), running, squatting and standing difficult and painful. Most hip problems are the result of repetitive movements we do on a daily basis. Because this joint is necessary for weight bearing activities, it can be a source of pain among all ages. There are many hip discomfort causes.
Read full blogOne of the Most Stable Joints in the Body…
You guessed it, the hip joint! However, that does not keep this joint and region of the body from becoming unstable, developing issues, and producing discomfort.
Unstable hip joints can lead to discomfort and weakness in the hip region and creates difficulties:
- sleeping or lying in certain positions
- standing, walking, running, and climbing stairs
- standing up from a seated position
- balancing
- bending your leg in towards your chest (such as when dressing, cutting your toe nails, or washing/drying your feet)
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.
What Type of Stretching Should I do ‘Before’ Playing Sports?
You should know what type of stretching you should do both before and after playing sports or any other physical activity. Stretching is an important part of an athletes daily exercise routine, however, it should not be the only exercise they are doing. Most people think that when we stretch we are elongating our muscles. This is a misconception. Unless we are stretching for many hours every day consistently for at least 6 weeks, than we are not actually lengthening the muscles. It is more likely that you are changing the neural tone. You can think of neural tone as the input to the muscle from the brain to contract. When you stretch you are temporarily changing the neural input and the muscle relaxes. This means that rather than lengthening the muscle you are decreasing the input from the brain to contract the muscle which, in turn, leads to the muscle being more relaxed or loose.
Read full blogWatch Our “Back” – We don’t Want to Slip a Disc
Chances are you or someone you know will experience some degree of back pain in your lifetime. There are many factors that can cause individuals to experience back pain. When we experience back problems it can bring our weekend plans to a complete stop. Depending upon the severity of the injury, it could possibly prevent us from even walking or standing. It can also make it very difficult to sit for prolonged periods of time at our desk at work. It is always best to watch your back so you don’t slip a disc.
Read full blogPut Our Foot Down
Can you put your foot down without experiencing any pain or discomfort? We don’t typically give our feet much thought. However, when we think about it, our feet and ankles do quite a bit for us on a daily basis. They help propel us as we walk, they help us stay level when we are hiking through the rugged mountain trails or through the shifting sands on the beach; they help us press on the gas pedal as we drive; they help us rise up taller so that we can look over the crowd of taller people blocking our view at a concert.
Read full blogDon’t Slouch!
All of us have heard these instructions at least once in our lifetime. However, many of us disregard this common command in our everyday lives. Think about how many times a day you spend; bent over a computer, looking down at your phone, or slouching on the couch. All of these things are common displays poor posture that can lead you to feeling discomfort and pain. It’s often easy to see and point out signs of poor posture in other people, but it can be harder to notice and break poor postural habits of your own.
Read full blogEver Walked With a Limp due to Knee Discomfort…
Knee discomfort can begin for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, knee discomfort can be attributed to a specific incident like a fall or an injury while playing sports. Knee problems can begin when you take a wrong step as you are run or walk. A knee problem could start after you walk up more stairs one day than you normally do or just by stepping down awkwardly from just one or two steps. Sometimes knee discomfort just occurs for no apparent reason.
Read full blogWhen Washing Our Hair is Uncomfortable…
Shoulder discomfort such as, general tightness, achiness, sharp pain with specific movements, or inability to lift the weight of our arm comfortably or at all may limit our ability to do everyday things. We may have trouble doing things such as reach an overhead shelf, wash our hair, reach behind our back to tuck in our shirt, or even lift something simple like a grocery bag or throw a ball at practice. However, physical therapy could help to reduce that pain and discomfort you may be experiencing.
Read full blogFour Common Neck Problems
As a society, our posture has continued to decline as the use of phones and computers has increased. Think about how many hours a day we sit at a desk at work or walk around looking down at our phone. This could be the very cause of our neck problems, as poor posture can lead to many neck injuries. The good news is physical therapy can address many of these ‘pain in the neck’ problems.
Read full blogThe Leg Bone’s Connected to the Knee Bone
The joints in our body have a relationship. A “joint” refers to any location in the body in which two bones meet together. They pick up the slack for each other when our mobility or stability is impacted in a particular area. Remember that song ‘the leg bone’s connected to the knee bone, the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone…’ and so on and so forth? It’s a catchy children’s tune that also paints a pretty comprehensive picture of the relationship between the various joints in our bodies.
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