By: Lucas Glomb, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve had ACL reconstruction or are preparing for surgery, graft choice plays a major role in how your knee heals and how physical therapy progresses. At Mend Physical Therapy, we work with ACL patients across Colorado to tailor rehab based on the specific graft used and the demands...
By: Lucas Glomb, PT, DPT, OCS Returning to sport after ACL reconstruction is one of the most critical, and most misunderstood, phases of rehabilitation. Too often, athletes are cleared to return based on time since surgery alone, rather than objective readiness. At Mend Physical Therapy, we use criterion-based ACL rehab and return-to-sport testingto help athletes...
By: Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve been told you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, it’s natural to feel cautious about movement—especially anything involving weights. Many women are advised to “be careful,” “avoid heavy lifting,” or stick to walking and light exercise. In reality, this advice is not only outdated, but may be doing you...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Background For most of my life, osteoporosis felt like something I would deal with later. Something for my future self. Something that showed up in your 60s after a doctor ordered a DEXA scan and told you your bones were fragile. But bone loss does not suddenly appear at...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT Myofascial pain can mean a lot of things, but in essence it is the painful condition that results from alterations in the muscle and fascial system of the body. Any area of the body can be affected, and it can manifest as muscle pain, referred pain, stiffness, and...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT As a new mom myself (I have an 18-month-old son), this topic/diagnosis has been on my mind recently. New parents place so many biomechanical demands on their bodies while we are assuming many different and awkward positions. These are often unaccustomed and repetitive or sustained positions, i.e. a...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT One of the most remarkable and distinct characteristics of trigger points is referred pain. Elimination of trigger points being one of the intents of dry needling. When looking at the referred pain patterns of easily accessible muscles you will find that many of them can refer and mimic...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT Prior to having hip labrum or impingement surgery, make sure to ask your physician as many questions as possible before the procedure so that you can make the most informed decision. All surgeons have differing protocols, so it is important to ask your surgeon what their specific recommendations...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT The hip joint can be a source of pain for many people and the reason why can often be confusing. The most common thing we think of when it comes to hip pain is arthritis. However, there are many different causes of hip pain not related to arthritis...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT A less common source of knee pain and discomfort after knee surgery can be addressed with dry needling by a Physical Therapist. In this case, a patient who is post knee arthroscopy and progressing well can still having medial (inner) knee discomfort towards the end of their plan-of-care....