A recent question we received in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practices was in regards to nutrition. Are there foods, diets, and supplements that could accelerate their recoveries if used concurrently with Physical Therapy interventions. An area of emerging research is on the relationship of high blood sugar levels, inflammation, cell damage,...
Boulder is the healthiest place I have practiced as a Physical Therapist with a low prevalence of common chronic diagnoses, such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, or medication use. In contrast, supplement use is highly prevalent among our fellow Boulder County citizens. A common question we receive in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette...
Chronic or persistent pain is defined by pain that extends beyond 12 weeks or the normal healing time for a given injury/diagnosis despite treatment. Our medical system does a great job treating new or acute pain, but has struggled to be as effective with patients dealing with chronic pain. It is estimated 1 in 4...
Nutrition is a key component of health and recovery from injury and disease. Due to strong evidence on this link health care practitioners, including Physical Therapists, are being to prescribe adequate portions of fruits and vegetables in patients diets. In a previous blog post we described the beneficial effects of a lower processed diet compared...
Nutrition, stress management, and sleep are the overlooked components of a patient’s recovery in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practices. These low hanging fruits are often easier to control and improve than the injured tissue’s path to recovery. Inherently we know nutrition is important and food that is fresher is more nutritious...
It is not uncommon to have athletes present to our Boulder Physical Therapy practice who exceed the national guidelines on weekly amounts of moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise (150 and 75 minutes, respectively). Especially among younger athletes, diet and sleep are often overlooked and not given the same focus as their exercise totals. Common expressions...
Consumption of protein rich foods and drinks is common place in our athletes and recreational gym participants due to its’ association with lean muscle tissue, recovery from strenuous workouts, and strength gains. In addition to muscle and bone benefits, plant or animal sources of protein are essential to other body systems for optimal health. At...
The basics of sleep, hydration, and nutrition are the low hanging fruits of performance. Easy to access, albeit hard to change at times, but extremely impactful on our overall health and wellbeing. The cognitive and physical benefits of breakfast are well established and the timing and contents of the meal has been shown to influence...
We are often asked when is the best time to eat following a workout. Meal timing is an important strategy to take advantage of the “anabolic window” for enhancing muscular adaptations. A common strategy involves consuming protein less than an hour after exercise to increase hypertrophic muscular gains. Past literature has suggested Muscular Protein Synthesis...
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...