Take a mental image of your posture right now. If you’re like most of us, you’re slouching down in your chair, back and shoulders rounded with your head forward and tilted down. While this may feel comfortably lazy, your positioning could be a major contributor to neck and back problems. But don’t despair – today is your lucky day! Read on to find out how 5 simple changes in ergonomics could help solve your neck or back pain!
As a doctor of physical therapy, one of the simplest and yet most valuable pieces of equipment that we have in the clinic is the foam roller. This one simple tool offers numerous exercises with a myriad of benefits: increase joint flexibility, improve posture, injury prevention, and injury recovery (to name just a few!). Today on The Fit Stop Blog, I wanted to share with you my 10 favorite foam roller exercises to ascertain you enjoy a full summer of sun-filled, healthy, injury-free moving!
That’s it! You’ve had it! You’ve had this nagging pain for long enough and have decided it’s high time you do something about it! You go in and see your doctor who informs you that the best treatment is to “go see a physical therapist”. A physical therapist?! What is he/she going to do?! How can physical therapy possibly help my pain?! Well – you’ve come to the right place as that’s the exact topic of our post today! Toby Bluth, PT, DPT, shares some of his insight as to how physical therapy can help to treat your pain, help you feel better, and get back to participating in those things that you love doing. Keep reading for more!
You’ve dealt with it for years. You’ve tried injections, braces, and altering your activity but nothing seems to help anymore. It’s finally time to do it – you’ve decided a knee joint replacement is in order. Before going under the knife, however, there are a few things you should know! Today one of our physical therapists, Tyler Bluth, MPT, is sharing some key information that everyone should know prior to going in for his/her knee surgery.
Ah the beginning of summer… a time to finally get outside, only to realize the havoc winter hibernation has wrought on your previously shapely body!
If you’re like many, this is a time when you’ve finally decided to drag yourself off the couch and get back into shape with some running. Or maybe you’ve been running for a while and have decided to kick up your training intensity for the big race (you overachiever, you). You’ve run hard, but your shins start burning somethin’ fierce, stopping you in your tracks.
Why do your legs decide to rebel just as you’re starting something so good for them? What are those blasted shin splints and more importantly, HOW can you get rid of them and get back to running (not to mention the rest of life) ASAP???
We’ve all been there before – maybe it was after a long weekend of lots of yard work. Maybe it was after sitting for a long time on a car ride or a long day at the office. Perhaps you even experienced it bending over to pick up the toothbrush that you dropped (I kid you not – I’ve seen it before!). Back pain can hit us anytime and anywhere. It can range from “I’ll take a couple of Ibuprofen pills” and be fine to “not getting out of bed for three days” and hobbling your way into the doctor’s office or emergency room. Not all back pain is created equally. Determining the exact cause of your back pain is crucial to receiving the best care and promoting the quickest recovery. Today one of our doctors of physical therapy, Cameron Garber, is discussing 5 of the most common types of low back pain and sharing some advice that can potentially help you to feel better.
As a physical therapist I have a lot of opportunities to talk to patients each day. We obviously talk a lot about things such as their accident or injury and what they can do to maximize their outcome following a back injury or knee surgery; but it’s also a unique opportunity to discuss family, careers, life, and wellness. At the Fit Stop we are concerned about your overall wellness as well as your current injury. Over the years I have asked hundreds of individuals what they do to stay in shape and how they manage to stay healthy. Today on the Fit Stop Blog I wanted to share with you a few of my findings – specifically what you can do to eat healthier and enjoy many years of healthy, active living. Read more below…
“I hurt my ______ the other day. What should I do about it?”
As a physical therapist this is a question that I get A LOT. Even more since becoming a physical therapist/blogger! What you do in the first 48-72 hours after an injury can actually have a dramatic impact on the course of your healing! As swelling and inflammation settle in it’s important that you manage these responses appropriately to decrease pain, maximize healing, and ultimately get you back to your activity faster. Today I’m talking about 4 crucial steps you need to take immediately after an injury to feel better faster and get back to health sooner…
There are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there in the healthcare world. This is especially true of the physical therapy profession. You’ve probably heard anything from “physical therapists just treat knee injuries and sprained ankles” to “physical therapy hurts so bad!” With so many different stories from so many different sources it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not. Luckily for us, Cameron Garber (PT, DPT) is here today to help us debunk some of these fallacies. Below are five o the most-common myths about physical therapy and the answer to what you can really expect instead!
What do you do when your back is killing you but you don’t want to kill your budget? With the rising cost of copays, tests, and medical imaging, people often ask us “what is to be done? What’s the best treatment I can get for my back pain without breaking the bank, also?” Recent research done at the University of Utah shows that physical therapy may be the answer for finding cost effective treatment.