As ACL injuries continue to rise among professional and recreational athletes Physical Therapists will continue to rehabilitate these athletes in order to allow them to safely return to sports. In our practice in Boulder, we commonly see athletes over the course of 6-9 months post operatively as they develop the strength, balance, and sport specific...
The 3 inevitable events in our society include death, taxes, and low back pain. Many of us will experience a significant episode of low back pain in our lives but the vast majority of these symptoms are not associated with serious pathology such as fracture or cancer. In our previous posts on low back pain we...
Temporomandibular Disorders (TMJ/TMD) Problem TMJ/TMD are a major cause of non dental jaw and facial pain. Approximately 18 million word days are lost annually per 100 million full time working adults due to symptoms of TMD (2). Women have a 3:1 greater ratio of incidence compared to men between age 30 and 50 (1)....
The physical benefits of exercise including decreased risk of disease and death, as well as, improved strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination are well known. The benefits of exercise on our emotional and mental health are promising and continue to be explored. The exercise and neuroscience medical evidence continues to produce great research behind the utilization...
At Mend, we provide every patient with an individualized exercise program specific to their condition. These programs are focused to deliver optimal results in the least amount of time possible. Exercise is one of our most powerful interventions to eliminate pain and restore function without the use of more risky medications or surgery. The...
In previous posts on ACL injuries we have discussed the rising incidence of knee injuries across multiple sports and events. As we enter ski and snow board season Mend will help manage an increased number of these injuries. The lower extremity is the most commonly affected body region for ski injuries with 1 in 3 injuries...
Runners older than 50 years old have shown the greatest increase in participation rates among long distance runners. In a previous post we described the impact of aging on running speed. In each decade after age 40 a runner will lose approximately 10% of their VO2 max due to changes in their musculoskeletal and cardiovascular...
The majority of people with lower quarter pain or symptoms will demonstrate altered coordination and communication between the nervous system and muscles. This leads to altered movement patterns which may perpetuate symptoms and lead to more chronic pain and muscle imbalances. Primary movers for our movement patterns (example: gluts) may be substituted for weaker, less...
Our prior posts on dynamic warm ups have highlighted the benefits of these exercises on injury prevention and sports performance. Conversely, static stretching has been associated with decreased performance due to a reduction in the ability of the stretched muscle to contract and perform dynamically during sport movements. Clearly, the best option for both pro...
Eccentric exericise, where our muscles contract and lengthen, is an essential part of any exercise program. Its benefits of strength, flexibility, and injury prevention are well known in the literature and have been discussed on our prior blog posts. Eccentric exercise as pictured above has a unique stimulus on the structure of the muscle and...