Archive for 2015

5 Tips To Stay Active This Winter

5 Tips To Stay Active This Winter

Well, it’s that time of the year again. The Christmas tree has been taken down and New Year’s party preparations are in full swing. Along with the New Year’s celebrations typically come New Year’s resolutions – this is a time for us all to pause and reflect on our lives and things we want to do better in the upcoming year. Inevitably the most-made resolution is to “lose weight” or “be more healthy” – but rarely do people come up with a concrete plan on how to make that happen. One of the best ways to improve your fitness is to increase your daily activity and make this change permanent. I know sometimes it’s difficult to get in some activity in the winter months, but it certainly doesn’t have be! Today on the Fit Stop Blog one of our exercise specialists, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT, is sharing 5 of the absolute best ways to increase your daily activity even when the weather outside is frightful! Keep reading for more!

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5 Most Common Types Of Hip Pain

5 Most Common Types Of Hip Pain

In our Fit Stop clinics one regular complaint that we hear from our patients and gym members is related to hip pain.  Whether it occurs in the front, the side, or the back – it’s amazing how debilitating pain in this area can be! One would think that issues in this area should be fairly straight-forward to rehabilitate.  However, given the multiple muscles, tendons, joints, and bones that are located in this area this pain can actually be quite tricky to diagnose. Today we have one of our orthopedic specialists, Toby Bluth, PT, DPT, here to discuss the 5 most common kinds of hip pain as well as the most likely cause of that pain. Keep reading for more!

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6 Essential Tips For Cold Weather Running

6 Essential Tips For Cold Weather Running

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All too often we hear from patients “well – winter is here. It looks like it’s time for me to hang up the running shoes for another year.” In fact, nothing could be further from the truth! If done correctly, the winter months can still be an excellent opportunity to get out and get in some great time on the jog trail. Today one of our running specialists, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT, shares 6 essential tips to ensure healthy and successful cold-weather running! Here we go…

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How to treat frozen shoulder

How to treat frozen shoulder

Today on the Fit Stop Blog I would like to discuss one of the most painful conditions that I see regularly – the dreaded, miserable, absolutely debilitating – frozen shoulder (FS), (AKA adhesive capsulitis).  Now, FS is truly a painful son of a gun.  Growing up as the son of a physical therapist, I used to observe my father from time to time in the clinic.  I remember watching him work with these poor patients who had FS, and they would be in tears from the stretching.  I used to think to myself, well, that doesn’t look like a whole lot of fun, for either patient or therapist!  I wondered if the field of PT was really for me after observing some of those treatments.  Well, fast forward a few years later, and here I am blogging about this all-too-common condition.  FS is a very interesting condition, and actually not very well understood.  Today, I will discuss what it is, and why we think certain people actually get it.

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10 Tips To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

10 Tips To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Did you know that the average American gains 5 pounds between November and December? With the parties, the appetizers, the drinks, and all the delicious holiday desserts, it’s no wonder that “Holiday Weight Gain” is a very real thing. Well today we’re combating holiday poundage and taking back our health on the Fit Stop Blog! We have one of our fitness experts, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT here to discuss 10 simple tips you can try out this year to stay fit and active through the holidays! Try them out! Keep reading for more…

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What is Home Care Physical Therapy?

What is Home Care Physical Therapy?

There are many different facets of the physical therapy profession. Most of the time when we think “physical therapy” we primarily think of sprains, strains, post-surgery, and sports rehab. But did you know that’s only a very small part of what physical therapists do? Many work in hospitals (inpatient settings) to help people recovering from an illness, accident, or surgery. Others work in neurological settings and help those who have experienced a brain or spinal cord injury. Still more, other physical therapists work in a “Home Care” or “Home Health” setting – they come to the homes of those patients who are “homebound” or unable to come to physical therapy without assistance. But did you know that Fit Stop actually employs a home health PT? Here to tell us more about it today on the Fit Stop Blog is our home care specialist, Tyler Bluth, PT, MPT. Keep reading to learn more!

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Heat Or Ice For Pain?

Heat Or Ice For Pain?

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Should I put heat or ice on my injury?

We’ve all heard that you’re supposed to put ice on an injury. We’ve all heard that heat can help, too. But which one is it? And how do you know? As physical therapists, this is a question that we answer all day long from our patients, so today we wanted to share this knowledge with you! One of our sports injury experts, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT is here to answer your questions about the implications for heat vs ice when it comes to injury management. Keep reading for more!

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Best physical therapy treatment

Best physical therapy treatment

Four keys to maximize your physical therapy visits to recover faster and more completely!

For over six years now, I have been practicing physical therapy (PT) at the Fit Stop in our Heber City location.  I love my job.  I think that we as physical therapists have one of the most important and gratifying jobs out there.  We are able to play a pivotal role in decreasing pain and improving our patient’s function and quality of life in a very safe and non-invasive way.  One of the best aspects of my job is being able to see my patients get better. The majority of musculoskeletal injuries out there respond very well to PT treatment. However, sometimes it doesn’t quite work out that way.  Sometimes, a patient does not improve as much as he/she hoped.  This can be very frustrating for both therapist and patient, especially since nowadays the cost for care is generally  quite expensive for the patient.  Most patients have significant deductibles that need to be paid off before their insurance will even pay a dime for the PT.  Then, even after the deductible is met, ever increasing co-pays can deter a patient from even seeking care in the first place.  Considering these factors alone, it is understandable that a patient could get discouraged if progress with PT is not perceived to be meeting expectations.

So what can be done to give you the best chance possible of reaping maximum benefit from your PT?  From my experience over the last few years, successful PT patients generally share a few of the following common characteristics…

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How Often Should I Exercise?

How Often Should I Exercise?

One of the questions that we often get asked as physical therapists is “how often should I workout”? Most of the time this question comes from patients/people who are either just starting to workout or else have desires to start to workout more regularly. Well today one of our fitness specialists, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT is sharing his thoughts about exercise frequency – what’s the recommended amount of activity you should be getting and how often should you be working out. Keep reading for more…

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How to treat Achilles Tendonitis

How to treat Achilles Tendonitis

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Achilles Tendonitis (AT) is a relatively common pain in the Achilles tendon, the major tendon that connects the heel bone to the calf muscles.  As with any term that contains the suffix “itis”, AT indicates inflammation of the Achilles tendon.  This condition can affect anybody, but is most common in active populations (runners) who have experienced some sort of increase in training intensity or duration.  It has been reported that 50% of runners will experience AT at some point in their life. Repetitively pushing off from the ball of the foot over miles of training can definitely cause some pain and inflammation.  If you’ve been running or playing extra hard lately, have a pain in the heel or lower calf area that has been lingering for more that a few days, and is quite tender when pushed on, you probably have the dreaded AT.  So, what now?  Well, you are in luck, because today on the Fit Stop blog Toby Bluth, PT, DPT is breaking down Achilles tendonitis: what it is, why you get it, and steps you can take to help it to feel better! Keep reading for more!

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