Exercise remains one of the most powerful interventions available to improve mental, emotional, and physical health, as well as, increase our quality of life as we age. Participants who participate in a regular exercise program consisting of moderate aerobic exercise and strength training have significant health benefits over their less active peers. At our Boulder...
The ability to tolerate weight-bearing wrist extension is essential to many upper body exercises and activities. In our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practices we often see patients and athletes limited by pain in their hands and wrists. Wrist pain with weight-bearing can impact your ability to do push ups, arm balances, handstands,...
I can remember meeting with a physician in the past about the tremendous health effects of exercise for his patients. He responded that the effects of exercise don’t last if the patient stops their program. Despite the irony found in his treatment approach using medications with short term effects to manage chronic diseases, I responded...
Low back pain is one of the most common reasons why people visit a Physical Therapist. At our Boulder and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics, we effectively treat this condition with education, spinal manipulation, and exercise. This latter intervention has the greatest long-term effect on both existing symptoms and reducing the risk of recurrence. In the...
One of the most common questions we hear at our physical therapy practice regards single-sided injuries. After breaking an arm or leg, for example, a patient will ask if they should be exercising the muscles on the “unaffected” side of their body. It’s certainly reasonable to worry about muscle loss on one side of the...
Women can experience a lot of undesirable symptoms during perimenopause, including reduced energy levels, dramatic mood changes, and incredibly uncomfortable hot flashes. Many also notice changes in their body composition, including the loss of lean muscle mass and increased abdominal fat. Put another way, perimenopause is stressful for everyone; however, it can be especially frustrating...
Dementia is one of the most common mental health disorders affecting many older adults around the world. Authors estimate 50 million around the world suffer with this diagnosis at a staggering cost of 1 trillion dollars a year. Although the causes of dementia are multifactorial previous researchers have shown many modifiable risk factors, including smoking,...
The squat is one of the most commonly prescribed exercises in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practice. With so many variations of this strength training exercise you may be wondering which exercise prescription is best for you. The squat in particular has two primary variations, the front squat and the back squat....
Most patients and clients in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics are looking to regain mobility. Lost range of motion can be due to a variety of factors including injury, surgery, muscle imbalances, and functional movement patterns. In addition to manual therapy, mobility exercises, and stretching Physical Therapists have looked to increase...
Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions affecting Americans. Multiple treatment interventions can be utilized in the treatment of this diagnosis including medications and counseling/talk therapy. Exercise remains an underutilized intervention despite significant research supporting its use as part of a multi modal treatment approach for depression. Previous researchers have shown benefits...