Health blog Category: physical therapy
Why the Spine Needs Discs
What are they and why do we need them?
To start, let’s talk about what these discs are. You may have heard the analogy that the discs in your back are like a jelly doughnut. The disc should be filled with fluid kind of like the strawberry jelly in one of these treats. The outer lining of the disc is made of up rings and then in the center, there is a jelly-like fluid.
Read full blog4 Tips for Working at a Desk
A lot of us spend most of our day occupied by work. Some are working in an office, and some are working from home. Many are stuck in front of a computer at a desk for most of the day so it is important to make sure that we set ourselves up for success when we are stuck in one spot for a long period of time.
- Make sure your workspace is set up in an ergonomic way.
Why Does My Knee Hurt When I Sit Too Long?
Has your knee ever started to hurt after sitting for a period time? This may mean you have arthritis. Luckily, physical therapy can help eliminate the symptoms you experience with arthritis.
Arthritis:
Osteoarthritis: caused by the mechanical wearing away of the cartilage (cushion) between joints. Pain can be caused by frayed pieces of cartilage getting caught or from two boney surfaces being in greater contact with each other.
Read full blogWhat is the most underrated form of physical activity? Walking!
Definitions:
- Physical Activity: any movement that’s carried out by muscles, thus requiring energy
- E.g. walking from the front door of your house to the mailbox at the end of your driveway
- Exercise: planned, structured, and repetitive movement intended to improve or maintain health/fitness.
- E.g. Taking a ¼ mile walk around a track because you want to get your heart rate up
Benefits of Walking:
- Gentle mobility for the lumbar spine (low back): the rotational movement at your trunk keeps the joints in your back lubricated
- Bone Loading: when taking a step, we put force into the ground and the ground puts force back into us (if it didn’t exert force back into us, our feet would be sinking).
4 Tips to Prevent Injuries While Spring Cleaning
We made it through the cold, dark days of winter and spring is finally here! This is the time of year when we like to get a good spring cleaning in the house and start getting back to yard work. That means it’s the time of year where we see a lot of new injuries and aches start to pop up. Here are a few tips to help prevent any injuries as you get your house and yard warm weather ready!
Read full blogDesk Ergonomics – The Best Way to Sit at Your Desk
Whether you are working from home full time or just a few days a week, it can be a big change, and many are noticing the effects as new aches and pains start to appear in the back and neck. Many are not equipped with a home office that has the space and equipment like what was available in the office so it may be difficult to figure out what set up is the best and most comfortable.
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 blogWhich Muscles Stabilize Our Shoulders?
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles that help stabilize our shoulder within it’s socket as we do overhead movements. There are four muscles that make up the rotator cuff, each muscle has a different action and all must be equally strong and flexible in order to avoid a number of different shoulder injuries.
Those muscles are:
- Supraspinatus
- Infraspinatus
- Teres minor
- Subscapularis
Shoulder Injuries
Rotator cuff strains are common in professions that require a lot of repetitive overhead movements and are common in sport athletes who participate in overhead motions for example:
- baseball
- tennis
- basketball.
Myth 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.
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