Athletico Health Resources

When someone comes to physical therapy, what exactly are they looking for? The likely answer is to feel better in the quickest amount of time possible. As a new physical therapist, I often opted for manual therapy techniques to help relieve muscle tightness for my patients. Then, I started to add an instrument-assisted technique called Graston to the mix. I later learned about dry needling from my manager, and I saw many of my patients benefit from adding dry needling to their plan of care. What exactly is dry needling, though? And is it right for you?

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A stroke can be a life-altering event, impacting not only the physical health but also the independence and quality of life of those affected. However, the journey to recovery is not without hope, and physical therapy plays a crucial role in helping stroke survivors regain their independence. In this blog, we will explore four key ways physical therapy can make a difference in the lives of stroke patients.

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Dance and gymnastics are two sports that require an extreme amount of mobility and flexibility, as well as strength, power, and endurance to be successful. Mobility is different from flexibility and flexibility is not an indicator of good mobility. Flexibility is defined as the muscles’ ability to stretch temporarily. An example of flexibility would be a rubber band; it can temporarily lengthen but returns to a normal resting rate. Mobility is a joint’s ability to actively move through a specific range of motion. To simplify this explanation of flexibility versus mobility, flexibility is related to muscle length and mobility is related to a joint’s ability to move.

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Arthritis is very common in the United States. In fact, research studies report that about 18-25% Americans have a diagnosis of osteoarthritis. That is almost 1 in every 4 people. It can be a scary diagnosis that signals painful joints and degeneration. Knowledge is often power and helps people to create a plan to deal with arthritis and related aches and pain.

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Physical therapy (PT) is a great treatment option for people with all sorts of ailments. In this blog, we will dive into four signs you could benefit from physical therapy treatment.

Physical therapy treatment is made up of four primary components: therapeutic exercise, functional activities, neuromuscular re-education, and manual therapy. Therapeutic exercise refers to exercises designed to help address a physical problem or ailment. Functional activities are interventions that cater more to your daily activities. Getting up from a chair, walking a long distance at work or getting in and out of your car, to name a few. Neuromuscular re-education references the connection between the brain and nerves to tell the body what to do and how to do it. Finally, manual therapy is a “hands-on” treatment like deep tissue mobilization, passive range of motion, or mobilization of a joint.

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*Editor’s note: Today’s post was written by Melissa Boger, ATC, CSCS, NASM-PES/CES.

When I am working with golfers, the number one complaint that I hear is low back pain (LBP) while golfing. Many golfers think that LBP is something that they just have to live with or play through. The good news is that LBP during golf can be prevented or significantly reduced by taking some simple steps to help your body move in a healthier more efficient way. LBP can be caused by a number of different reasons ranging from muscle weakness to muscle inflexibility to poor golf posture, but no matter what the reason is, most LBP during golf can be treated by improving on 3 major components:  Mobility, Stability and Strength. (more…)