Running is one of the most common forms of exercise due to its’ wide appeal, minimal equipment needs, and aerobic benefits. Around Boulder it is not uncommon to see runners of all ability levels and ages enjoying many of the great outdoor running paths and trails. Prior research has shown older runners run at slower...
Basketball has one of the highest injury rates in sports with articles reporting up to 7-10 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures (Dick et al. J Athl Train. 2007). As expected, the majority of these injuries occur in the lower extremity, in particular within the knee and ankle. Authors report both overuse (tendinopathy) and traumatic (sprain,...
When we began playing sports, our pre game routines consisted of a cardiovascular warm up, some agility work, followed by static stretching (sustained holds >15 seconds of the muscles). This type of stretching has fallen out of favor in the last decade because of the negative impact of static stretching on muscle performance. Research has...
Over the last few years there has been a spike in athletic injuries in our community’s youth and adolescent athletes. Authors believe the spike can be blamed in part on the pressure placed on young athletes by their parents and coaches to specialize in sports early in their childhood. Specialization is described as intensive year...
One of things I enjoy about the profession of Physical Therapy is its’ constantly changing nature of the medical evidence behind what we do. Often I come across a new article or research report, which challenges my previous line of thought about an injury or treatment and requires me to change. Achilles Tendinopathy is commonly and...
Have a student athlete that is injured, or always seems to run into issues as the season ramps up? At Mend, we are dedicated to keeping our young athletes healthy. One of the tragic consequences of sustaining an injury or experiencing pain as a young athlete is becoming the adult that doesn’t run, ski, hike,...
Aerobic exercise has a tremendous impact on our morbidity and mortality due to its’ ability to positively impact our emotional, mental, and physical health. In particular, the cardiovascular system undergoes dramatic improvements in response to aerobic exercise. These benefits are noted in many of the variables we track clinically including blood pressure, VO2 Max (aerobic...
Physical Therapists’ education, training, and skill set allows our profession to uniquely evaluate and treat the needs of both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions. In this role we have consistently demonstrated great patient outcomes at a lower cost than others members of the healthcare team. Education is one of the most important interventions we can...
Our previous blog post detailed the differences in biomechanics between foot strike patterns in runners. There are clear bio mechanical differences between utilizing a forefoot and rear foot strike pattern and these are important for gait retraining and injury risk. Obviously, the foot is the first part of the body to strike the ground in...
Knee Pain Background Anterior knee pain is a term used to encompass many conditions affecting structures of the knee. The majority of these cases can be attributed to patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) or an abnormal tracking of the patella on the femoral groove secondary to changes in lower extremity alignment, muscle imbalance, or training errors...
