Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder in the United States and commonly affects spinal and extremity joints during the aging process. Researchers estimate 1 in 10 older adults over 60 y.o. currently experience symptomatic knee arthritis. This condition leads to joint pain and a loss of daily, occupational, and recreational function. Patient’s often describe...
Physical Therapy strengthening exercises remain the first line treatment for patients with shoulder diagnoses including impingement and rotator cuff pain. While immediate gains in range of motion and pain can be found using spinal and extremity manual therapy interventions, long term outcomes are achieved through a focused strength training program. Exercises are prescribed to target...
Our understanding of tendon pain and injuries has changed significantly over the last two decades and has driven changes in Physical Therapy treatment selection. As a profession we have moved away from a rest and immobilization approach and replaced it with an active approach designed to first strengthen the tendon’s muscle and secondly heal or...
Lumbar spinal stenosis is a relatively common condition in older adults with an estimated incidence of 1 in every 1000 adults over 65 years old. Age related changes in the spine lead to increased weight bearing across the posterior elements of the spine, arthritic changes in spinal joints, and decreased cross sectional area in the...
Many Boulder team and endurance athletes had their respective seasons shortened or cancelled secondary to COVID-19 sending them into an unexpected training season or offseason. Although frustrating, this downtime can be well utilized to prepare for the next training cycle. During a normal year, few athletes reach the end of their seasons without a missed...
Biomechanics in sports are essential to both performance and injury risk becoming more important as athletes begin to increase their training volume and reach higher levels of performance. Among runners poor biomechanics in the lower quarter have been associated with reduced running economy and in turn performance, as well as, overuse injuries such as patellofemoral...
I have always felt every Physical Therapist should look the part and provide an example of how to remain fit despite the many barriers which try to keep us from our exercise programs. In addition, remaining physically active improves our ability to perform our relatively physical jobs at an optimal level each day. For example,...
The old saying that you can’t unring a bell is true in imaging for musculoskeletal conditions. Most patients cannot unsee their MRI results despite improvements in their symptoms and activity level with Physical Therapy treatments. Once terms such as bulging or degeneration have been utilized to describe their spines they never regain full confidence in...
It seems there is not much eccentric exercises cannot do between healing injured tissue, improving mobility and strength, and now possibly contributing to muscle size. We have long known muscles gain the majority of their strength gains after training because of the eccentric or lowering portion of any lift. Participants who skip or speed through...