Avoid Pain from a Too-Heavy Bag
If you have happened to pick up a celebrity gossip magazine in the past year, you may have noticed a new fashion trend. I am not talking about skinny jeans or platform shoes. I am talking about a bag big enough to fit your living room couch in. In recent years, women have gone from carrying these cute miniature bags to now carrying extremely large purses and handbags. While these over-sized bags can be very fashionable, they can be a killer for our necks, shoulders, and backs and may even lead to headaches and arthritis. (more…)
Tips to Save your Back while Raking Leaves
Few people enjoy raking; however, it is an inevitable household chore come fall. Raking seems like a pretty easy task, but going about it improperly may lead to some lower and upper back strain. Raking is a very repetitive activity that uses many muscles in our lower back, upper back, neck, and shoulders. Here are some tips to help minimize sore muscles due to raking: (more…)
Marathon Race Recovery
Congratulations on completing your Marathon! Whether this is your first or 50th marathon, you should be proud of your accomplishment and the hard work that brought you across the finish line. I hope you finished your race smiling. Just remember, recovering from the race is just as crucial as your training. Most experts agree that recovery begins the moment you cross the finish line. This blog post will cover what you can do in the minutes, hours, days and weeks following a big race that will help you prevent injury and replenish your body. (more…)
Top 6 Questions to Expect from your Physical Therapist
As a medical professional, it is very important to gather precise and accurate information from a patient regarding their symptoms in order to determine the probable diagnosis and best plan of care. Oftentimes, patients may have a hard time detailing exactly what they are feeling or when. This information is very important to help figure out the best way to eliminate the symptoms. (more…)
5 Tips to Staying Healthy in Gymnastics
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is written by Amy Bell, PT, DPT. Amy is Athletico’s Gymnastics and Cheerleading Program Manager.
Young gymnasts everywhere aspire to go to the Olympics one day and compete for the gold. While the road ahead will not be easy, staying healthy while participating in gymnastics will be the key to helping gymnasts’ dreams come true. (more…)
Vestibular Physical Therapy: Treating the Cause of Prolonged Concussion Symptoms
It seems you cannot turn on the TV lately without hearing something about another professional athlete who is suffering from the effects of a concussion. A concussion is a serious brain injury and is very difficult to assess and treat as MRIs and CT scans are almost always normal. If not treated properly, these concussions can cause both short- and long-term problems. One treatment that is getting more and more attention is the use of vestibular physical therapy for individuals who have been concussed. (more…)
Minimizing Back Pain by Finding Your Neutral Spine
If you have ever had lower back pain or been in physical therapy for treatment, you most likely heard the term ‘Neutral Spine.’ Neutral spine refers to the position of your spine where all three curves are in proper alignment and there is the least amount of stress placed upon the structures. Not only is there the least amount of stress on the spine, the neutral spine position is also the strongest position. When doing daily activities, it is very important to observe good body mechanics in order to minimize the force through our spine. Good body mechanics begin with a good neutral spine posture. (more…)
The Common Sense Solution to Eating Healthy
Every day when you turn on the news there is someone discussing the latest and greatest diet trend to “try today!” Americans have gone low carb, no carb, raw, vegan, Paleo, low fat, south beach and cabbage soup! We have tried everything, so why are we still getting bigger? What is the answer? I am sorry to say that there is no one answer. If there was one answer, we would all be skinny! So, here is a common sense, gimmick-free look at what we should be eating: (more…)