Health blog Category: physical therapy
What Makes Up a Proper Warm-Up?
Do you know what constitutes a complete warm-up? Too often, sports-related injuries occur and could have been easily prevented had the athlete thoroughly prepared their body for practices and games. So what is an appropriate warm-up? The warm-up, which typically lasts between 10-15 minutes, feeds the body. Whether it’s a run, a jog, a swim or a brisk walk, the change in activity does several things:
- It increased the blood supply to the muscles
- It increases the heart rate
- It begins to produce more lubrication for the smooth joint motion
Now that the body is warm, the next step is to thoroughly stretch.
Read full blogProgression of a Disc Issue in the Spine
There are many things that can go wrong with a disc in your spine. You may have heard the terms degenerated, bulging, herniated, ruptured, slipped and many more. These are basically all describing the same thing just a slightly different progression in each case.
A disc that is irritated or has some abnormal pressure on it may be termed a “slipped disc”. What this means is that the surrounding muscles have not done a good job supporting the spine and maintaining proper alignment of your spine and as a result, the increased pressure on the disc or discs from the surrounding muscles has allowed the disc to start to lose its shape and/or potentially move slightly to one side.
Have a lack of flexibility or poor body mechanics?
Hip problems are a common complaint we treat Loudoun Sports Therapy Center and it can affect all ages and activity levels. Many hip problems are often the result of an overuse injury and can interfere with your daily activities making walking, standing or even sitting painful or challenging.
Three common hip problems are: osteoarthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis.
- Osteoarthritis happens when the cartilage in your hip joint becomes damaged from wear and tear over the years.
What is the Job of the Rotator Cuff?
What Does a Rotator Cuff Problem Feel Like?
If you have ever had:
- pain
- soreness
- stiffness
- pinching
- cracking
- popping
in your shoulder or in your upper arm, you most likely have had a rotator cuff problem.
If you have ever felt:
- stiffness
- difficulty moving one arm as far as the other
- weakness in your shoulder or arm
you have had a rotator cuff problem.
Read full blogThe Importance of Addressing Mobility and Stability
As physical therapists, we see this scenario play out all too often: you feel pain and the stretching and strengthening you do is focused solely on that painful area. However, this only solves part of the problem and does not address a key fact: the joints in our body have a relationship. They pick up the slack for each other when our mobility or stability is impacted in a particular area.
Here’s an example of how this plays out.
Tennis, Golf and Other Activities Requiring Repetitive Motions
Many people have heard and will use terms like “tennis elbow” and “golfer’s elbow” but what exactly is the difference?
Not much really….Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow are both overuse injuries that are caused by any activity that requires repetitive motion of the arm and wrist. The difference between the two conditions lies in where the elbow is inflamed.
Both of these conditions are forms or epicondylitis, which is a medical term for inflammation of a tendon that attaches to bone (Epicondyle) of the elbow joint.
Lasting relief for this weight-bearing joint
Hip pain affects people from all walks of life. Unfortunately, because the hip is a weight bearing joint, most people find difficulty in creating lasting relief for their symptoms.
The most common symptoms of hip issues include pain in either the front, side or back of the hip. The pain may also localize in the lower back, groin or buttocks. When this happens, it common for people to ignore the actual hip joint and therefore, not address the inherent weakness or tightness or poor mechanics of this joint that is causing these issues.
Shoes, arch supports and heel cups
We get inquiries from patients all the time regarding footwear, flip flops and arch supports. Which type of shoes is right for you? Well, there is no one-shoe-fits all. The answer is more involved and depends upon your foot structure, your activity/sport, your gait pattern and your goals.
Not all flip flops are created equally. There are some flip flops that are extremely flat and flimsy. These types of flip flops provide no support for your feet or ankles, which puts you at a higher risk for developing plantar fasciitis, tendonitis or sustaining an ankle sprain.
Swimming for the First Time Since Last Summer?
This time of year we see more and more patients complaining of shoulder pain and with good reason. Maybe you’ve been swimming for the first time since last summer or you’ve had time to toss the softball with your kids unlike other times of the year. Whatever the reason, shoulder injuries are common reasons people seek physical therapy.
Most shoulder pain occurs following repetitive movements. These cause wear and tear that breaks down the rotator cuff tendons.
How disc problems cause upper body discomfort
Neck pain is a common complaint in the orthopedic rehab world, and we’ve certainly treated our share of patients who suffer from various conditions related to neck pain at LSTC. With the high prevalence of desk jobs, the influx of cell phone use, computer use and video gaming, as well as time spent relaxing in front of the TV, our posture certainly suffers more often than we realize. Although poor posture and sedentary lifestyles are big contributions to neck pain, there are several other conditions that can cause that big pain in the neck.
Read full blog
