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...
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...
Customized foot orthotics based off a clinical examination, plaster or foam cast have been utilized for decades in order to treat overuse injuries of the foot, ankle, knee, hip and even spine. These orthotics are usually not covered by insurance and usually run into the hundreds of dollars compared to an off the shelf model....
A common question we receive from young throwers and their parents is how to improve throwing velocity safely without undue stress on their arms. Our prior posts on throwing have focused on reducing arm stress through injury prevention and lower quarter strengthening. This post will focus on the research surrounding exercise programs designed to improve...
In a prior blog posts we discussed the effects of stretching on fitness, performance and flexibility. We are often prescribing mobility exercises to restore movement to a joint or body region (thoracic spine and rib cage) in order to improve movement patterns for performance, pain relief, or as part of a weekly fitness program. While...
Previously we wrote about the positive impacts of exercise on the body’s tissues. The benefits of exercise is based on the ability of your rehabilitation program to properly load and unload an injured tissue allowing it to remodel and heal. The optimal amount of load is key with both ends of spectrum, over doing it...
A common question we receive from parents is “when can my child start weight training”. This is a difficult question to give a standard answer on because so many variables are at play including the maturity of the athlete (skeletal, neuromuscular, emotional, and mental), the demands of their sport, and their training experience. Our main...
Mend Physical Therapy has previously written on the prevention and treatment of running injuries in multiple prior blog posts. Running is very common form of exercise in the United States and here Boulder County. The vast majority of runners will sustain an injury in the upcoming year which will prevent them from training or competing...
October is American Physical Therapy Association’s Physical Therapy Month. During the month of October Mend Physical Therapy will be offering complimentary sessions to Boulder County residents to discuss your injury or performance concerns. To schedule your complimentary consultation with one of our expert Physical Therapists click here
In a previous post we highlighted the importance of a dynamic warm up to gradually increase cardiovascular work, improve mobility, decrease injury risk, and improve performance. Conversely, traditional static stretching has been shown to reduce run, sprint, and jump performance in athletes. Clearly, these static holds should be held until an athlete’s cool down period after...