By fitstoppt 04 Mar, 2016 Advice, Exercise, FAQ, Fitness, Health, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Tips, Wellness avoid, decrease, exercise, how to, hurt, injury, pain, workout Most of us have been through the cycle before. You’ve come to realize you need to start working out regularly in order to get healthier. Your new workout plan is going great for a couple of weeks when suddenly – WHAMMO – something starts hurting that didn’t hurt before you started. You take some time off rehabbing this injury and after a couple of weeks it starts to feel better, but you fail to pick up your fitness routine where you left off. Suddenly you’re back to your same old ways – thinking maybe one day again you’ll try working out.
As a doctor of physical therapy I see a lot of patients for a lot of different reasons. Some of these injuries are traumatic; some develop slowly over time. But I can say with a certain degree of confidence that many (if not most) of these injuries could actually be avoided if people would stick to the following six tips:
More By fitstoppt 02 Mar, 2016 Advice, At Home, Back Pain, FAQ, Health Tips, Injury, Low Back Pain, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Tips at home, back, cheap, how to, inexpensive, low back, lumbar, pain, spine, symptoms, treat 
Back pain is one of the most common problems we experience. In fact, it’s estimated that 8 out of every 10 of us will experience back pain at some point in their lives. It’s the number one reason for missing days at work and the number two reason for people to consult with their doctors (number one is upper respiratory infection). While the causes of low back pain are numerous, the treatments to get rid of it are just as plentiful. These treatments can range from incredibly expensive all the way down to simple lifestyle changes! Often when people come in to our PT clinics I find most patients’ back pain can be reduced by these very simple solutions; many of which cost little to no money. Today on the Fit Stop Blog, one of our back pain specialists, Cameron Garber, PT, DPT, is sharing a few of his favorite inexpensive tips for getting rid of back pain. How many of them will help your pain…?
More By fitstoppt 17 Feb, 2016 Advice, Exercise, FAQ, Fitness, Health, Health Tips, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy cramp, fitness, how to, muscle, prevent, run, running, strength We’ve all experienced it before. Whether it woke you up from a dead sleep, pushed long and hard on the basketball court, or have been putting in extra miles in preparation for that upcoming race, muscle cramping can be debilitating and very painful. Cramps can literally, stop us right in our tracks, and put us out of the game. Luckily, the pain is typically brief, lasting for a few seconds until we are able to simply “stretch it out”. But what is the deal with muscle cramps anyway? And most importantly, is there anything that can be done to prevent them in the first place? Today on the Fit Stop blog one of our experts, Toby Bluth, PT, DPT, will answer all your questions about muscle cramping – what they are, why you get them, and how you can prevent them!
More By fitstoppt 10 Feb, 2016 Advice, Fitness, Health Tips, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy conservative, exercise, health, how to, ligament, physical therapy, sprain, treatment Most of us have been there before; many of us probably didn’t even realize it. Maybe it happened while you were playing soccer. Football? It might have been while skiing, playing basketball, running, slipping, tripping, or even simply reaching up and over your head (trust me – we’ve seen it all). Today we’ve got one of our sports injury specialists, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT, talking all about ligament sprains – what they are, how you get them, and some advice about some of your options once you have one! A word of advice – don’t call your surgeon until you’ve read this through!!
More By fitstoppt 03 Feb, 2016 Advice, At Home, Back Pain, FAQ, Health, Healthcare, Injury, Low Back Pain, Pain Management, Physical Therapy back, decompression, health, healthy, injury, neck, pain, spine, traction You may have heard about non-surgical spinal decompression on TV or radio ads. You may have heard the claims that it can be a wonderful miracle which eliminates your back and neck pain. The truth is…it can be. If spinal decompression is the right treatment for you it can be a critical component in relieving your pain. It can also backfire and increase your symptoms. The question lies in whether or not it is the right treatment for you. As the experts in musculoskeletal treatment, your physical therapist is the best choice for learning if spinal decompression will help treat your symptoms. Today one of our spine care specialists, Cameron Garber, PT, DPT is sharing some insight into this treatment method so you can make an educated decision on whether or not it’s right for you.
More By fitstoppt 29 Jan, 2016 Advice, At Home, Back Pain, Core Strength, Exercise, Fitness, Injury, Low Back Pain, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Wellness at home, back, how to, low back, lumbar, pain, spine, symptoms, treat One of the best parts of my job as a physical therapist is the opportunity I have to get to know my patients on a personal level. Physical therapists are unique in the healthcare field because we are able to spend a significant amount of one-on-one time with each of our patients (typical visits last about an hour). In comparison to the busy world of medicine, this is a welcome change of pace for patients. During this time together, I enjoy hearing their stories. I find the history behind my patient’s physical challenges and rehabilitation truly inspirational. A fairly unique aspect about working in such close proximity to a health club at the Fit Stop is to be able to see my patients through the transition from rehabilitation to wellness in the gym. I get excited when I see that transition happen!
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By fitstoppt 22 Jan, 2016 Advice, At Home, Exercise, FAQ, Health, Healthcare, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Wellness exercise, headache, how to, neck pain, pain, physical therapy, stretch, tension I have a question for all of you fellow laptop cradlers and cell phone junkies: Are you often plagued by neck or shoulder pain or tightness which slowly works its way up the back of your head and becomes a nagging headache? Often you eventually feel the headache settle behind your eyes and you can even get blurry vision. More often than not you blame it on your desk, on staring at the computer screen or on your work. Although these are contributing factors, the biggest problem is with your posture! Today one of our spine specialists, Cameron Garber, PT, DPT is talking all about shoulder and neck tension/pain – what it is, why you get it, and what you can do to eliminate it!
More By fitstoppt 15 Jan, 2016 Advice, At Home, Back Pain, Exercise, FAQ, Health Tips, Healthcare, Low Back Pain, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Tips, Wellness back pain, low back, lumbar, stiff, stretch, stretches, tight Who amongst us hasn’t experienced some degree of low back pain before? Collectively it’s the most-common complaint we see in our physical therapy clinics. Luckily there’s a lot that PT can do for it, and all it starts with stretching structures that are tight and strengthening areas that are weak. Today one of our low back pain experts, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT is sharing 5 of his favorite stretches to help relax that tight back and alleviate some of the pain you may be experiencing. Read more below!
More By fitstoppt 11 Jan, 2016 Advice, Fitness, Healthcare, Physical Therapy, Wellness BPPV, dizziness, exercise, physical therapy, treatment, vertigo Follow Fit Stop Physical Therapy on Facebook!
Question – what do the following 3 sentences have in common…
“It feels like the room is spinning…”
“Whenever I stand up, sit down, or lay down it starts…”
“I’m not too sure why my doctor sent me to you…”
Answer – they’re the most-often said sentences in a physical therapy clinic from our balance patients! Did you know that PT’s not only treat vertigo, but it is actually one of the few conditions out there that is treated extremely effectively and quickly if diagnosed and treated correctly. Today one of our balance specialists, Toby Bluth, PT, DPT, explains what this condition is and how physical therapists can help eliminate the annoying (and sometimes outright dangerous) symptoms that come along with it.
More By fitstoppt 08 Jan, 2016 Advice, Exercise, Fitness, Health, Tips, Wellness active, exercise, fitness, health, healthy, new year, resolution, wellness Ah, New Year’s. A time where we’re encouraged look back on the year that was and make some changes for the year that is coming. Did you know that the most commonly-made New Year’s resolutions have to deal with you health and fitness? Regardless of where you are on the fitness spectrum, all of us could benefit from some renewed goals and amplified commitment. Today one of our health and wellness experts, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT is sharing 5 fitness resolutions that you should make for 2016 to make it the healthiest yet!
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