Athletico Health Resources

Hockey is a graceful game that requires players to participate in manner that requires body contact regardless of whether checking is permitted. Any avid hockey player can acknowledge the difference between a “body check” and “body contact” but occasionally the line can be blurred when a player’s skill level is questionable and when an official’s subjective interpretation is applied to the game. (more…)

The air is getting colder, the holidays are approaching, and the leaves (or snowflakes) are falling! In the days and weeks leading up to the holiday season, most people inevitably find themselves outside in their yards either raking or shoveling snow. Raking or shoveling can be the most strenuous of household tasks and you should take proper precautions in order to avoid back strains and other injuries. (more…)

Pain, though far from enjoyable, is something every one of us will experience at some point in our life.   In many cases pain is acute and caused by some type of trauma, incident, surgery, disease, or illness and there’s an end in sight once the healing process occurs. Chronic pain however is a different animal as this type of pain persists sometimes days, weeks, months, or even years. In fact, you may be surprised to find out chronic pain affects more people than coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined. Below is a chart from the American Academy of Pain Medicine which depicts this comparison.

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Do you sleep in different positions on a nightly basis? Chances are the answer is yes—and that’s common. There isn’t any one sleeping position that works for everyone. Some people prefer to sleep on their side, others on their back. Your usual sleep position — along with other factors, including your weight— can strain your back and contribute to development of back pain. Sleeping positions also affect existing back pain, either by letting you sleep comfortably or by making you wake up sore and achy. Similarly, back pain is more likely to keep you awake when your sleeping position provides no relief.

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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…)

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.

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Due to the repetitive nature of cycling, cyclists are at a higher risk for repetitive stress injuries. Some of these injuries may be caused by an improperly adjusted bicycle. When a bicycle is not ideally adjusted to fit you, you will experience higher levels of stress in certain areas of the body. This will eventually lead to tissue injury and pain. Think of it this way: if you were to use your finger to push on one small area of your skin 10 times, your body is able to adapt to that stress and there is no injury. If you were to push on that same area of your skin 1,000 times, you end up with a bruise, which indicates tissue injury. (more…)

Are you experiencing pain towards the back of your hip or on one side of your lower back? Perhaps you fell onto one buttock or maybe you stepped off a curb or missed a last step and landed, hard, on one leg. You might just have pain in this area but don’t know the cause. What you should know is Physical Therapy can help! For pain that occurs with walking, prolonged sitting or standing, bending forward, standing up from a sitting position or climbing stairs, our physical therapists are here to help. (more…)