In any profession, utilized interventions and methods change with incoming ideas and evidence. New concepts and treatments often advance ahead of clinical research trials aiming to support or refute their utilization. Within Physical Therapy, pain neuroscience education has become a popular topic of late. Education topics regarding the development and chronicity of persistent pain are...
As we have detailed in previous blog posts, surgical rates for both hip labral tears and hip impingment (femoroacetabular impingement or FAI) have shown a dramatic increase over the last 10 years. These increases are largely attributed to higher utilization of MRI testing and subsequent referrals to greater numbers of surgeons trained in hip arthroscopic...
Knee Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability today. This painful condition limits an individual’s ability to walk, climb stairs, stand, and participate in recreational activities. Patient’s often demonstrate significant impairments in mobility and strength in both the knee, but also the ankle and hip. When evaluating patients with knee arthritis, Physical Therapists...
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain or Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD) is a painful condition limiting a patient’s ability to utilize the joint moving the lower jaw on the skull. When painful this joint limits an individual’s ability to eat, speak, and yawn. Pain is often felt in front of the ear over the joint surfaces. In addition...
Our current understanding of posture has changed dramatically over the past 20 years due to the influx of scientific literature on posture and muscle and joint pain. Previously, posture was thought to be strongly associated with muscles imbalances including tightness or weakness. For example, forward shoulders were thought to be associated with shortened pectoral muscles....
Strength training is one of the most effective ways to slow the loss of muscle mass with aging (sarcopenia). Sarcopenia will occur in all aging adults, but key differences are found between active and inactive adults. As expected, inactive adults show faster declines in muscle mass, strength, and function compared to their active peers. Previous...
Death and taxes are said to be the two certainties in life for adults, but Ben Franklin may have added low back pain given its’ current prevalence. Up to 90% of adults will report an episode of low back pain during their lifetimes. Fortunately, the vast majority of these episodes are not secondary to any...
Subacromial impingement syndrome is the most common cause of shoulder pain. These symptoms are easily treated with Physical Therapy interventions including manual therapy and exercise. Specifically, strengthening exercises for the shoulder blade and shoulder muscles improve both the quantity and quality of shoulder movements treating both the source of impingement pain and the underlying cause....
Muscles can be a significant source of pain in our bodies. Chronic muscular pain may be found locally over the muscle or can be felt in an area distant from the muscle known as referred pain. Multiple Physical Therapy interventions including dry needling, foam rolling, and soft tissue mobilizations can be utilized in the short...
Aerobic exercise has long been known to reduce an active individuals risk of chronic mental, emotional, and physical diseases. The majority of the publicity regarding the benefits of aerobic exercise has been related to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and premature death due to these diagnoses. Government and professional medical organizations recommend 120-150 minutes of...