Athletico Health Resources

Take a look at any group of people and you will, without fail, see a few of them with their cell phones out, heads lowered, and shoulders rolled forward – temporarily hunchbacked because of an incoming text. Any physical therapist, athletic trainer, or physician can tell you that that type of posture (text neck) can lead to a wide range of injuries in the neck, back, shoulders, and arms. Now I’m not advocating abandoning texting and moving to a Bluetooth headset-only society/dystopia. I’m also not saying we should eschew cell phones like a grizzled hermit, angrily shaking our fists at anything that plugs in. I just want you to be aware of what you’re predisposing yourself to and what you can do to help counteract the effects of text-neck. So here are a couple of key things to think about the next time you pull out your cell phone. (more…)

When most people picture running, they think “Chariots of Fire.” They see long, forward strides (and maybe a pretty cool soundtrack). In reality, a long distance runner’s main thrust happens behind his or her body. (more…)

Running season has arrived and a lot of you wanted to hit the ground running, but instead, you hit the ground hurting…hurting on the outside of your knee. If that’s the case, you could have iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) or IT band syndrome for short. IT band syndrome is an overuse injury that is common in endurance athletes like runners and bikers. It affects a tissue that runs from the side of your hip all of the way down past your knee. Most of the time, the inflammation manifests itself as pain on the outside of the knee. It can be incredibly painful and is typically a frustratingly stubborn injury to deal with.
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Plantar fasciitis can be a real pain in the foot. Plantar fasciitis is the medical term for inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot. If you’ve ever had pain in the bottom of your foot with the first few steps out of bed in the morning, you’ve probably had some experience with this painful condition. (more…)

Now that spring is here and it is beautiful outside, a lot of runners really begin to build their mileage. When this happens, I usually start to see a lot of hip flexor pain and tightness. This problem is really common in distance runners. Tight hip flexors are a major cause of many posture problems. In runners, it is mainly caused by repetitive use and weak glutes. In people who sit a lot, well, it is caused by sitting a lot. This posting covers what to do if you are running a lot. (more…)

Stretching!  Has any topic in exercise been debated at such length?  Should you or shouldn’t you?  Before or after?  Bouncing or not?  I know suggestions have changed drastically since I began my athletic career in high school, and I’m only 40.
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