By fitstoppt 14 Dec, 2015 At Home, Exercise, Fitness, Health, Healthcare, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Shoulder Pain exercise, fitness, frozen, injury, pain, physical therapy, rehab, 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.
More By fitstoppt 04 Dec, 2015 Advice, At Home, FAQ, Health, Healthcare, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Wellness home care, home health, physical therapy, rehab, rehabilitation, treatment 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!
More By fitstoppt 30 Nov, 2015 Advice, Back Pain, FAQ, Health, Health Tips, Healthcare, Injury, Knee Pain, Low Back Pain, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Shoulder Pain cold, heat, injury, modalities, modality, pain, rehab, thermal Be sure to follow Fit Stop on Facebook to stay caught up on all our health advice and tips!
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!
More By fitstoppt 16 Nov, 2015 Advice, FAQ, Fitness, Health Tips, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy feel better, health, how to, physical therapy, PT, rehab, strength 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…
More By fitstoppt 04 Nov, 2015 Advice, FAQ, Health, Healthcare, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Running, Workout achilles, home, pain, physical therapy, rehab, tendinopathy, tendon, tendonitis, treatment Be sure to follow The Fit Stop on Facebook for all your health and rehab needs!
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!
More By fitstoppt 02 Nov, 2015 Advice, Exercise, FAQ, Health, Health Tips, Healthcare, Injury, Physical Therapy, Shoulder Pain best, injury, options, pain, physical therapy, rotator cuff, shoulder, treatment As a physical therapist, I enjoy hearing the different terminology for the rotator cuff (RC): “I think I tore my rotor cup” is one of my favorites. However, the thought of a torn rotator cuff is never amusing and with good reason conjures up fear and worry. In today’s post here on the Fit Stop Blog, our shoulder specialist – Toby Bluth, PT, DPT – is discussing the rotator cuff. What is it? Why is it so important? And finally, what should be done if you suspect or have been told that you have a torn rotator cuff?
More By fitstoppt 28 Oct, 2015 Advice, Back Pain, FAQ, Fitness, Health Tips, Injury, Knee Pain, Low Back Pain, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Shoulder Pain, Strength Training, Wellness advice, chronic, decrease, faq, injury, management, pain, physical therapy, PT, treatment We’ve all been there before. You have an injury that, for some reason, is hanging around a lot longer than it should. You’ve “tried everything” including ice, ibuprofen, rest/taking time off, and every rub/salve/pain patch you can find, and yet your pain persists. What gives? How come you just can’t heal like when you were younger (we get that question A LOT!)?? Well chances are you’re doing a lot to treat the SYMPTOMS of your pain, but nothing to address the CAUSE of your pain. Today one of our specialists, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT, is discussing why you might be hurting for longer than necessary and what you can do to start to feel better. Keep reading for more!
More By fitstoppt 19 Oct, 2015 Advice, At Home, Exercise, Fitness, Health Tips, Physical Therapy, Strength Training, Workout core, exercise, fitness, hip, knee, leg, ski, slope, snowboard, strength, strong Be sure to follow Fit Stop Physical Therapy on Facebook!
Are you ready?
The weather has definitely taken a turn here in Utah! Like the fall leaves the temperatures are dropping as winter is fast-approaching. In fact I woke up the other day and, while driving my 8 and 6-year-olds to school, noticed there was some snow up on the mountain tops. They perfectly summed up my feelings about the upcoming season when they literally replied in unison… “SNOW!!! Dad can we go skiing?!?!”
While there may not be enough white stuff to shred just yet, we know that it is coming! Are you ready?! Some of the most-common injuries we encounter through the winter are skiing/snowboarding related. Fortunately, many of these injuries can be avoided with the proper strengthening in key muscle groups of your legs, hips, and core. Today on The Fit Stop Blog, one of our outdoor recreation specialists, Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT, is sharing 10 of the best exercises you can do to get ready for the upcoming ski/snowboard season. Get started right now to ensure an entire season of fun, healthy shredding!
More By fitstoppt 14 Oct, 2015 Advice, At Home, FAQ, Fitness, Health Tips, Healthcare, Injury, Pain Management, Physical Therapy, Wellness injury, neck, pain, physical therapy, rehab, rehabilitation, treatment What a pain in the neck!
At some point in life, your neck will likely cause you pain. Neck pain is right up there with pain related to the low back as far as how common it is. According to some sources, the burden placed on the economy because of neck pain, is second only to low back pain. In fact as many as 54% of individuals have experienced some neck pain in the past 6 months. Once this neck pain comes, it is very likely to stay for a long time and to come back again after it has initially resolved. So you can see that neck pain truly is a pain in the neck for a lot of people (including myself). My job as a physical therapist is a physically active job, requiring physical exertion at times that puts a bit of stress on my upper back and neck. By the end of my work week, I go home with a pretty tired, and sometimes outright painful neck. So what is the deal? What is typically causing our neck pain and why is it so common after all?
More By fitstoppt 12 Oct, 2015 Advice, Exercise, FAQ, Fitness, Health Tips, Physical Therapy, Running, Weight Loss, Wellness cardio, enhance, exercise, fitness, how to, increase, strength, workout Ever felt frustrated with your lack of results from exercising?
Did you know that as physical therapists we do a lot more than injury rehab? While pain is the most common issue that we treat, oftentimes people will come to us looking for exercise advice as well. Frequently we hear a story similar to “I’ve been working out for a couple of months now and at first the progress was great. However recently the results have started to slow down. Any idea why?” If you’ve ever felt this way you’re not alone! Luckily, we have the solution! Today one of our exercise and activity specialists,
Jared Beckstrand, PT, DPT, is sharing 6 ways that you can enhance your workout efforts and start seeing great results again!
