Athletico Health Resources

Many people are unaware of the variety of conditions physical therapy can treat.

In addition to common ailments like lower back pain, physical therapy can be an effective treatment option for conditions like vertigo and headaches. Discover what other conditions can benefit from physical therapy by checking out the big list featured below:

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Athletes in every sport take measures to reduce their risk of getting an injury. Soccer players wear shin guards to protect their shins, weight lifters activate targeted muscles with light weights before moving onto heavier loads, and sprinters warm up their muscles by progressively increasing their speed. You didn’t need to read this blog to know any of that, but it sets up an important idea. Proper preparation can reduce the chance of an unwanted injury.

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Knee injuries are back in the news. With recent injuries to high profile players, water cooler chat is shifting from ACL injuries to meniscal injuries. If you want to be the resident sports medicine expert in the office, keep reading for a brief overview of meniscal tears and what they mean for athletes. (more…)

Have you ever injured or torn your ACL ligament? We’ve got the exercises and stretches for you! Athletico’s Dave Heidloff ATC, NASM-PES, FMS, provides stretches for athletes or anyone suffering from an ACL injury. Stretches are provided for anyone dealing with an ACL injury, specifically for those preparing for surgery or returning from surgery. Watch Dave’s exercises for an ACL injury below: (more…)

You have seen one at the gym, you have heard your friends talk about “foam rolling” but what benefits might foam rolling have for YOU.

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In my last post on ACL injuries, I posted that overtraining can predispose someone to an ACL injury. Overtraining (spending too much time training without proper recovery) can have some serious health consequences. Overtraining is becoming an increasingly common problem as athletes are starting to specialize in one sport at younger ages. Discussing solutions to overtraining and specialization is always tough since it usually involves telling someone to play less of the sport they want to excel at. Having said that, research and anecdotal evidence both make a strong case for how varying up the sports you play through the year can lead to a healthier and more successful athletic career. (more…)

I was recently asked by ESPN’s Sports Medicine Weekly radio show to do an interview related to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune covering the recent increase in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. The article states that over the last decade, some orthopedic groups have seen a 400% increase in torn ACLs and that a huge segment of that growing population is female. In fact,some studies have shown that females can be up to 8 times more likely to tear their ACL than males playing the same sport, so I’d like to focus on that segment of the population. During my time with Dr. Cole and Steve Kashul, we covered some of the reasons why the increase in these injuries is happening, but I’d like to take this opportunity to briefly expand on some of the ideas brought up in the interview. (more…)