Health blog Category: strengthening
Neck Problem Leading to Pain Elsewhere
With working from home, neck pain is a common problem we are seeing in our clinic. The change in desk set up, chairs or extended time sitting and working at a desk can be a major contributor to neck pain. Neck problems can vary in severity and can also lead to feeling pain in other parts of your body. One of several neck problems we see is called cervical radiculopathy. Cervical radiculopathy is a fancy way of saying your neck pain is caused by a nerve problem.
Read full blogKnees Hurting When You Get Up Off the Floor?
Getting onto and off the floor forces us to put our knees in a bent position and put significant force through the joint. It also requires good leg and hip strength to be able to push yourself up into a standing position again from the floor.
There are a few common knee problems that can contribute to pain, when getting off the floor.
They are as follows:
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- When your knee cap tracks improperly
- This can be caused by muscle imbalances, tight IT band, or poor quadricep control with walking or running.
Walk Away From Hip Pain
Walk Away From Hip Pain With Physical Therapy. Your hips, due to the amount of loading forces they take on throughout your lifespan, can be a common area of discomfort in the body. This condition known as arthritis is the “wear and tear” of your joint surfaces.
Hip pain can also be caused by some type of injury like a fall, sports injury or overuse/weakness of the soft tissues that support the hip.
Read full blogHamstring Injuries can be a Pull or a Tear
What is your hamstring?
The hamstrings are made up of three muscles: semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris. These three muscles are located in the back of the upper leg. The hamstrings allow for bending at the knee and extending the hip. One or more of the muscles may be injured with a hamstring injury and it may be a “pull”, a partial tear or a full tear.
Most commonly a hamstring injury will occur with running, jumping or sudden start/stopping motions.
Our Heel; The Part of Our Foot We Forget
The heel, also known as the calcaneus, is located on the bottom of the foot directly below the ankle joint. The heel bone has many muscles and ligaments attached to it. When injuries or irritation occur to the attached muscles or ligaments, it can create pain in the heel. This pain can lead to many other additional issues in your daily life such as difficulty:
- Walking
- Jogging
- Running
- Working out
- standing
The pain can be described as follows:
- Tight
- Spasm
- Burning
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Dull
- Achy
- Sharp
Why does heel pain occur?
This pain can be caused by:
- Overuse of the calf and foot muscles
- Tight calf and foot muscles, or plantar fascia
- Weakness in ankle-supporting muscles
- Fractures to bone
- Inflammation of bursa (fluid filled sacs that provide protection)
- Neurological issues
Common Heel Pain Injuries
- Achilles Tendinitis: inflammation of the Achilles tendon due to overused or tight calf muscles
- Bursitis: inflammation of the bursa due to tight surrounding tissues/tendons or friction at the heel
- Plantar Fasciitis: inflammation of the connective tissue on the bottom of the foot
- Heel Spur: bony outgrowth at the heel due to tight muscles or strains/sprains
- Stress Fractures: tiny cracks in bone due to overuse and repetitive forces
Should you seek physical therapy?
Read full blogGrading a Muscle Strain
A muscle strain is a very common injury to muscle tissue that is often caused by overuse/fatigue or excessive tension put on the muscle.
What is actually happening in a muscle strain?
When you strain a muscle, you are essentially overloading the muscle cells capability to provide the force necessary to perform a certain movement. When this happens, the tiny muscle cells tear apart. There is also connective tissue in between the muscle cells that often gets torn as well.
Read full blogHiking and Knee Pain
I found myself out hiking this past weekend to get out of the house and enjoy the weather which is something I love to do! I’m always amazed how taxing it is on my body, especially my knees as I woke up the next day and hobbled out of bed and down the stairs!
Hiking Downhill VS Hiking Uphill
Hiking is a recreational activity that offers many benefits for the human body! However, the constant pounding endured by the knees during lengthy hikes can wear out the joints and cause inflammation, especially when hiking downhill.
Read full blogRecovering from a Hamstring Strain
The hamstrings are often neglected by many. Hamstring injuries are commonly seen in the PT clinic. The most common injury that we see in the hamstrings is hamstring strains. The hamstrings are a large group of muscles that sits on the back of your thigh. They help extend your hip and bend your knee. They are made up of 3 muscles:
- The semitendinosus
- The semimembranosus
- Biceps femoris
A strain happens when there is a tear in the muscle.
Read full blogPain from Posture: Get Relief TODAY!
Posture is something that we hear about all the time and it’s usually followed by “oh, I have terrible posture”.
Postural weakness in the neck is a problem many of us struggle with. We spend a lot of time sitting whether it is at a desk or on a couch and 9 times out of 10 we are looking down at some kind of a screen. This is the number one reason we have postural weakness.
Discs: Reason for Back Issues
What is a disc?
Your back bone, or spine, is made up of bones called vertebrae that are separated by discs. A disc is made up of a tough outer portion called the annulus fibrosus and a softer inner portion called the nucleus pulposus that is a gel like substance. The two parts that make up a disc help to evenly distribute pressure and force to act as a cushion. There is no blood supply which means that the disc cannot repair itself.
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