Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) is a foundational yoga posture found frequently during many yoga classes. However, many practitioners experience shoulder pain when performing this pose. If you find yourself wincing every time you lower down, you’re not alone. Here’s why Chaturanga might be causing discomfort, how to modify it to reduce pain, and exercises...
By: Dr. Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) is a powerful backbend that strengthens the spine and opens the chest. However, for many practitioners, this pose can cause discomfort or even pain in the lower back. If you’ve ever felt strain in your lumbar spine while practicing this asana, you’re...
Chronic low back pain can be a debilitating condition and has the potential to affect anyone. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice, Yoga can be a cost-effective way to help reduce low back pain. This is not just something that makes intuitive sense but has been demonstrated in rigorous scientific studies that provide hard numbers...
Yoga is a popular form of individual and group exercise designed to improve flexibility, movement quality, and strength. Participants benefit from sustained position holds designed to target different body regions. As expected, the work of the stabilizing muscles increase with greater balance and weight bearing demands. A recent study examined which exercises were best for...
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,...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Pregnancy is a powerful journey, one that transforms your body, your strength, and your mind. As a physical therapist and strength coach, I firmly believe that staying active and lifting during pregnancy (when medically cleared) isn’t just okay it’s empowering and necessary. In this post, I’ll walk you through...
A common question we receive in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practices is in regards to the safety of exercise when diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Some patients will ask, “Am I causing more damage by practicing yoga?” The answer is no! In fact, not only has yoga been shown to be...
By: Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS The Truth About Midlife Strength: It’s About Health, Not Vanity As we enter our 40s and 50s, our bodies begin to change — sometimes dramatically. Muscle mass decreases, metabolism slows, bone density decreases, and aches and pains become more noticeable. Hormonal shifts during perimenopause and menopause only accelerate these...
Fewer than 15% of pregnant women get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. There is a lot of fear out there regarding if and what exercise is safe during pregnancy. You can run! You can lift (even heavy)! You can do abdominal exercises! You can do hanging exercises! You can and...
Many questions arise during pregnancy regarding the safety of different forms of exercise for both mother and developing child. The information included here originates from the recently revised Canadian guideline for physical activity during pregnancy (Mottola et al 2019) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Opinion on Physical Activity During Pregnancy and the...
