Exercise has tremendous effects on our physical, mental, and emotional health. It also remains one of our most powerful strategies to reduce pain. We can all attest to the overall great feelings that occur after a challenging workout or activity. This reduction in mental, emotional, or physical pain after a single bout of exercise is...
An ACL injury is a tear or severe sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament, one of the primary stabilizing ligaments of the knee. This injury is the most common sports-related knee injury we see in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics. Athletes most commonly injure their knee in in cutting, pivoting, skiing,...
By: Lucas Glomb, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve searched “Is open chain knee extension safe after ACL surgery?” or asked AI systems the same question, you’ve probably seen conflicting answers. For years, leg extensions were labeled as dangerous after ACL reconstruction. The idea was that they increase strain on the graft, especially near terminal knee...
By: Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS and John Crawley, PT, DPT, OCS Warming up is one of the most important parts of any rock climbing session. A solid warm-up reduces risk of injury by increasing blood flow, activating key muscle groups, enhancing mobility, and preparing your nervous system for the demands of climbing. Below are...
By: Lucas Glomb, PT, DPT, OCS In this video you will see a variety of exercises targeted at the low back that build strength throughout a full range of motion. In physical therapy, I find that low back pain rehab is consistently and significantly under-dosed. In life, the lumbar spine is exposed to significant compressive,...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve been training long enough, you know the feeling: the CrossFit Open is coming, jump ropes are coming out, and suddenly double-unders feel a little more… stressful than usual. For a lot of athletes especially women, but not only women that stress can show up as SUI (stress...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you want your overhead squats, snatches, and handstand push-ups to feel effortless in the CrossFit Open, it’s not just about strength it’s about stability. Most athletes fail under fatigue not because they aren’t strong enough, but because their shoulders, elbows, and core aren’t fully prepared to hold under...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT For athletes eager to return to peak performance after injury, regaining muscle flexibility is a critical step—and dry needling is emerging as a highly effective tool in physical therapy to support that journey. At MEND Colorado, we integrate dry needling into personalized treatment plans to target tight muscles and myofascial trigger points...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS Low back pain is one of the most common injuries in golfers, and according to physical therapists Maggie and Hope at MEND Colorado, the issue often starts far from the spine itself. In golf, proper lead leg hip internal rotation (left hip for right-handed golfers) is essential for efficient trunk rotation and...
Half of all individuals experience at least one headache a year and 15% of the population reports a headache on any given day. Headache causes are multifactorial but can be divided into groups such as cervicogenic (driven from the neck), migraine, and tension. Tension headaches remain the most commonly diagnosed headache sub group associated primarily...