One of the reasons our species reached the top of the food chain involves our ability to thrive under a variety of environments and circumstances. Our ability to conserve energy and resources during times of scarcity has ensured our survival, but in times of abundance these physiological mechanisms likely hold us back from our fitness...
With any pelvic floor dysfunction, there is so much more to look into aside from simply the pelvic floor. The term “Kegel” was first used in 1948 by a professor of gynecology Dr. Arnold Kegel to describe a pelvic floor contraction. While it has now become a household term, there is so much more to...
Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common diagnosis given to those experiencing low back pain. The gold standard of diagnosing stenosis is using an MRI to determine closure of natural occurring spaces of the lumbar spine. At times the closures can contribute to impingement of nerves or spinal canal which can lead low back pain...
Pain in the elbow is very common among weightlifters and CrossFit. It often causes individuals to lower the lifting load or ultimately modify the WOD. The most likely areas of pain are in the lateral elbow or medial elbow. Keep reading to learn more about the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for elbow pain. Medial...
One of our best measures of an individual’s fitness and overall physical health is the VO2 max. This measurement allows us to determine the body’s ability to bring in and utilize oxygen during activity. In our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics we often use heart rate or ratings of perceived exertion to...
In a prior blog posts we discussed the effects of stretching on fitness, performance and flexibility. We are often prescribing mobility exercises to restore movement to a joint or body region (thoracic spine and rib cage) in order to improve movement patterns for performance, pain relief, or as part of a weekly fitness program. While...
There are few treatments more effective for the prevention and treatment of injuries and musculoskeletal conditions than resistance training. Unfortunately, many Americans are not performing enough strengthening to prevent the loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) which begins to occur in the 3rd decade of life. After age 30 we begin to demonstrate a progressive loss...
At Mend we provide many treatments to our Boulder Physical Therapy patients, but strength training is the common treatment between all patients and conditions. Often we prescribe an effective resistance training exercise leading to quick gains in strength. This rapid increase in strength over the first 6-8 weeks of an exercise program is due to...
Strength training remains one of the most important components of your exercise program. Research supports its’ utilization for improving pain, function, flexibility, strength, injury rates, and overall health. While a single session of strength training can lead to significant gains in strength and muscle hypertrophy research supports training large muscle groups 2-3 days per week....
It seems there is not much eccentric exercises cannot do between healing injured tissue, improving mobility and strength, and now possibly contributing to muscle size. We have long known muscles gain the majority of their strength gains after training because of the eccentric or lowering portion of any lift. Participants who skip or speed through...
