Physical Therapy 101 requires the utilization of an assistive device (crutches, cane) for any patient who cannot walk without a noticeable limp or deviation in their gait. These interventions are designed to improve a patient’s pain, safety, energy expenditure, and most importantly participation in the activities they enjoy. In our Boulder orthopedic and sports medicine...
Testosterone is an important sex hormone in the body primarily secreted by the gonadal organs. It is an essential hormone for fat free or muscle mass, bone density, energy levels, libido, and even red blood cell production. Similar to many body systems, testosterone production begins to decline around age 30 with the rate of decline...
The United States witnessed a significant increase in life expectancy over the 20th century with much of the improvement attributed to improved sanitation, vaccinations, medications, and access to healthcare. In addition, significant improvements in lifestyle factors were also noted including nutrition, smoking cessation, and exercise. Exercise plays a unique role in aging due to its’...
Exercise is a common consideration each day for most adults, but immediate and long term life, work, and family barriers routinely block our best intentions. Despite its’ well established benefits, only 1 in 5 Americans meet our national guidelines on exercise each week. Those who do meet these guidelines each week have made exercise a...
Knee arthritis is a common condition affecting many middle to older aged adults. Its’ prevalence makes it one of the leading causes of disability in our country preventing these individuals from participating in their life, work, and recreational activities. Physical therapy including patient education, manual therapy, and exercise remains a first line treatment for this...
Blood pressure is an established vital sign given its’ ability to inform clinicians on the status of multiple organ systems in the body. Most commonly, blood pressure is utilized to assess the workload on the cardiovascular system as it maintains circulation to the body under different levels of stress and disease states. Importantly, blood pressure...
In the mid 1960s a Japanese electronics manufacturer being to produce one of the first commercial pedometers measuring an individual’s steps over a given period. This business also provided us with a marketing slogan designed to increase our steps per day to 10,000 or roughly 5 miles per day. Certainly we will not argue with...
Injuries mainly fall into the “when” not “if” category for a majority of Americans. These injuries could be the result of traumas (fracture, sprains, or strains), over use injury, and at times without a known cause. Thankfully our bodies are remarkable in their ability to heal from these injuries as we move through the 3...
The physical benefits of aerobic and resistance exercise are well known and established, but we are learning more about the emotional and mental health benefits of daily exercise. The National Institutes of Health reports 19% of American adults will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and more than 30% may develop an anxiety disorder in...
The world wide events surrounding COVID 19 or the coronavirus have brought illness, hygiene, and immunity to the forefront of our minds. Immunosenescence is a term researchers use to describe the decline in our immune function as we age. These changes reduce our ability to both fight current infection and adapt or adjust to future...