The glut muscle group, including the gluteus maximus and medius, are commonly weak among patients with lower quarter diagnoses including low back pain, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and ankle sprains. These muscles can be targeted with many different exercises, but some exercises cause excessive compensations of adjacent muscle groups in patients with pain. For example, the...
Photo Credit: Jospt.org Hamstring injuries are a common sports medicine injury treated in our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. These injuries can be placed in two categories: acute trauma often related to sprinting and cutting movements or repetitive stress and overload to the hamstring often found in athletes with weak gluteus muscles. In our previous blog...
Non contact ACL injuries remain one of the most common traumatic injuries encountered in sports medicine. The most common mechanism of injury involves a sudden twisting motion at the knee with the foot planted. Many factors are at play in this scenario including shoewear, field and court conditions, and the athletes ability to resist the...
In our previous blog posts we have discussed the variety of interventions available to reduce the high injury rates seen among both novice and experienced runners. Many of these interventions are designed to reduce the loading forces across the lower body at foot strike and push off. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we commonly...
One of the greatest misconceptions in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries is using interventions to create symmetry in the body between right and left sides. Asymmetry is often the norm vs. the exception but we function very well in life and sport with these asymmetries. Small asymmetries should be accepted while larger asymmetries should be...
In a previous blog we wrote about why you should not spend your valuable exercise time rolling your iliiotibial (IT) band. In short, this strong fibrous band will not stretch or move in response to any painful exercise with a foam roller or soft tissue tool of your choice. This is a classic example of...
In today’s healthcare environment, providers are asked to do more with less resources and time. One area frequently cut by clinicians is the subjective examination or patient history, arguably the most important part of the patient encounter. Previous research has found over 80% of all diagnoses by physicians can be made utilizing the patient history...
ACL injuries continue to rise among our high school and collegiate athletes. In particular, among female athletes who are 6-8 times more likely to injure their ACL compared to a male in the same sport. The vast majority of these athletes will elect to undergo surgical repair of their injured ligaments, but current research suggests...
The CDC reports 40% of American adults can be classified as obese. These individuals are at a significantly higher risk of chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Experts estimate medical costs for obesity and these chronic conditions tops 147 billion dollars each year. Researchers estimate this added weight contributes to up to...
Acute muscle strains and sprains remain one of the most common injuries we encounter at our Boulder Physical Therapy clinic. In a previous blog post we summarized the findings of new research studies showing how early Physical Therapy accelerates a patient’s recovery after these injuries. In addition, to exercise and sleep, nutrition also plays an...