Is it August already!? My goodness I can’t believe it! How has you’re summer been so far? Have you been keeping up with stretching your body while you do all these fun activities outdoors!? I hope so 🙂 Lets add some more stretches to what you’ve already been doing.

This month we are stretching out the wrists and forearms! So many of us overuse our hands and arms doing repetitive motions everyday, which can lead to tennis elbow or golfers elbow. Maybe you’ve heard of tendinitis? Maybe you actually have had one of these diagnosis’s yourself. It’s not a pleasant thing to experience and it can last several months or even years if you don’t address it. The stretches provided throughout this month are simple and effective and should be easy to make time for. It will help treat these ailments mentioned above, and also keep those muscles from developing the dreaded it is if you don’t have it!

This first weeks stretch is an extension movement. You will not need any props for this one.

(more…)

I can’t believe it’s the final week of July already! This weeks stretch is a yoga posture called Revolved Triangle. It is a great upper body twist as well as a stretch for the Lateral side of the leg.

You will need some wall space as well as a yoga block (or something similar) for this stretch. Contraindications for this stretch are if you’re experiencing any of the following; Low blood pressure, Migraine, Diarrhea, Headache, and Insomnia please don’t do the stretch.

(more…)

Stretch of the Week: Half Splits IT Band Stretch

Week 3 of July is something I call Half Splits IT band stretch. Don’t let the name scare you off! We won’t be doing the splits….exactly; just a variation that will target the outside leg muscles. So give it a try!  (more…)

For the month of July, we will focus on “IT Band” Stretches. I use quotations because the IT band is not really a muscle, it’s a connective tissue. The muscle that really gets the benefit of these stretches is mostly the vastus lateralis. In most cases if you have an outer knee issue or “tight IT Band” it’s coming from this lateral(outer) quadricep muscle. Sometimes it’s the biceps femoris, that’s the lateral(outer) hamstring on the back of the thigh, as well. So if your having generalized IT band issues those are the muscles to focus on. And these stretches should help! (more…)

Today’s blog post is written by guest blogger Joe Estes, PT, DPT, CGFI.  Joe is a physical therapist and Certified Golf Fitness Instructor at Athletico’s Golf Performance Center.

The summer is underway, and so are most people’s golf games. Like the weather so far this spring and summer, the condition of your swing may not be the best you have seen. From a golf fitness and biomechanical perspective, I talk to my patients and clients a lot about maintaining posture throughout the golf swing. This mostly refers to maintaining the spine angle from your set-up position through just after impact.  Maintaining posture helps with both consistency of ball striking, as well as power production. (more…)

Regardless of the time of year each season brings certain risk factors for injuring your back.  In the Spring and Summer many people get outside and become more active drastically increasing work or exercise intensity and frequency.  In a past post I discussed how physical therapists can help your back pain but today I thought we could focus more on prevention.  Below you will learn some common sense strategies, postures, and or body mechanics to help you minimize risk of back injury in the first place.

(more…)

Stretch of the week: Forward Fold IT Band Stretch. This stretch is simple but very effective. You won’t need anything for this stretch.

The only contradiction for this stretch would be if you have low back pain. Be conscious of how your body feels and please don’t overly push yourself in the stretch.

(more…)

The final week of June brings us to a yoga posture called Rabbit pose. Please proceed with caution if you have neck issues. (more…)