Benefits of Exercising while Pregnant
While exercise may feel like the last thing you want to do while pregnant, there are many benefits that may make it worth your while. Exercise can benefit the mother to be in the following ways: (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…)
5 Ways Mobile Apps Can Improve Your Health
The phone that you’re carrying around in your pocket has more computing power than was available to NASA when the first men were sent to the moon. It can help you keep up with work, take amazing photos at a moment’s notice, and even allow you to talk to someone face-to-face on the opposite side of the planet. While a lot of us are familiar with how phones and new apps can help increase productivity (or hinder it *cough* Angry Birds *cough*), a lot of people don’t realize that there are ways to use your phone to improve your health in 5 key areas. (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…)
Ice Baths: A Cool Way to Speed Recovery
Elite athletes jumping into tubs filled with ice water after a tough workout is a fairly cliché scene in sports movies, but for good reason. Ice baths have become a post-workout habit that countless professional athletes take very seriously. Kobe Bryant is so dedicated to taking ice baths that his personal tub of cold water has gotten its own police escort! Hearing things like that makes people wonder how something as simple as ice water can be beneficial to the world’s most successful athletes. When asked, those athletes will often cite reduced muscle soreness, faster recovery, and injury prevention as their main reasons for taking the plunge. (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…)
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…)
Hydrating for Performance and Health
At first, hydration might seem like a dry topic, but there is more to it than just drinking water. Many people may not realize that hydration levels can affect everything from essential bodily functions to your mental and physical performance levels, making it an ideal topic to cover with hordes of athletes returning to their sports this week. (more…)