Athletico Health Resources

The wait is finally over - the professional football season kicks off tonight! This also marks the start of Fantasy Football, a fun social experience that brings people together over some friendly competition. (more…)

Taut bands can exist within your body that disrupt blood flow to your muscles. The affected area can become an acidic environment and begin to radiate pain elsewhere in the body. Trigger points are when those taut bands start to refer pain elsewhere. A technique called dry needling can help with this referred or local pain. Dry needling is a skilled intervention that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and release underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular and connective tissues. It can help manage neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments. Dry needling is used for a variety of diagnoses, from headaches and migraines to low back pain. This helpful technique is also a treatment option for plantar fasciitis. This condition often affects endurance athletes. (more…)

A common question we get as physical therapists is, “What can I do to stretch this tight muscle?” While stretching may seem like the best method to treat a tight muscle, stretching may also not always be the answer. Muscle tightness can be caused by weakness or tightness of the muscle, and weakness in surrounding muscles. Most commonly, all of these things are involved on some level, which causes a muscle to tighten. (more…)

It’s back to school time! How much do you know about your kids’ backpacks - how much they weigh, how it should fit, and how to prevent aches and pains from backpack wear. Take our quiz and test your knowledge! (more…)

Three Athletico clinicians recently had the experience of a lifetime traveling to the Tokyo Olympics earlier this summer. Read about each of their experiences below, the teams they supported, and the work they did to keep their Olympic athletes healthy for competition! (more…)

On August 24th, 2021 we proudly celebrate a significant milestone – our 30th anniversary! We can’t help but look back and reflect on our humble beginnings. It all started in 1991 when Mark Kaufman founded Athletico as a one-clinic organization that offered athletic training services to a local Chicago high school and rugby club. (more…)

Water is one of the essential nutrients we can consume and vital to every cell in our body. The human body is made up of 60% water, with muscles up to 79% water. As you can see, hydration is essential for the human body, muscles included. As such, it is necessary to maintain proper hydration for increased muscle function and response. (more…)

The Tokyo Paralympic Games will feature around 4,400 athletes who will compete in 539 medal events. Paralympic athletes have a range of disabilities that include but are not limited to impaired muscle power, impaired range of movement, limb deficiency, vision impairment, and intellectual impairment. Due to the wide variety of disabilities that Para athletes have, there are several categories in which the athletes compete. These categories are broken down into classifications which can vary from sport to sport. As with any athlete, Paralympians are at the top of their field. Here are just some Paralympians to watch for in Tokyo this year: (more…)