Direct access physical therapy in Colorado allows patients to see a licensed physical therapist without first getting a doctor’s referral. This means many people can begin physical therapy right away, rather than waiting for a physician visit before scheduling care. If you’ve ever delayed physical therapy because you thought a referral was required, you’re not...
By: Ian Nay, PT, DPT, OCS At Mend Physical Therapy, we spend a lot of time working with people who are already doing many of the right things. They train regularly, they prioritize recovery, and a lot of them are getting consistent massage work. That combination matters. Good soft tissue work can absolutely help reduce...
here are not many more controversial topics in the exercise science literature than stretching. While most believe stretching is an important component of a fitness or rehabilitation program the debate occurs on the timing, frequency, duration, type, direction, and intensity of the stretching program. Recently, a large push in corrective exercise programs involves mobilizing joints...
Is a picture really worth 1000 words? As our technology continues to improve MRI and CT scanners have become more proficient at finding changes in our spines. This higher imaging quality comes with a cost in that many of these positive findings like “bulging discs”, arthritis, “pinched nerves” and the frightening-sounding “degenerative disc disease” can...
The use of lumbar corticosteroid injections is often utilized for patients with back and leg pain (radicular pain) and/or leg numbness, pins and needles, or nerve root weakness (radiculopathy). In an older adult these symptoms may be due to a narrowing of the canals in which the lumbar nerve roots exit (lumbar stenosis). These injections...
In our practice, we commonly see adolescent baseball athletes suffering from shoulder and elbow injuries. On average 1 in 2 youth throwers will develop arm injuries and on average major league throwers lose 22 days per season due to arm injury (Conte et al. 2001). These injuries are mainly overuse in nature secondary to muscle...
William Osler, M.D., considered by many to be the father of modern medicine once said “listen to the patient he is telling you the diagnosis”. Others in the medical field have similar quotes including “listen to the patient long enough and they will tell you the diagnosis, listen longer and they will tell you the...
A common question we receive from young throwers and their parents is how to improve throwing velocity safely without undue stress on their arms. Our prior posts on throwing have focused on reducing arm stress through injury prevention and lower quarter strengthening. This post will focus on the research surrounding exercise programs designed to improve...
Concussion recognition and management has improved dramatically over the last decade. Coaches and Physical Therapists are able to both recognize the signs and symptoms of concussion and direct the athlete to the appropriate health care treatment. Without proper management concussions can have serious and deadly consequences for the nervous system and musculoskeletal system. Lynall et...
I would imagine the foam roller is slowly taking the place of the exercise ball as the most common piece of exercise equipment in people’s homes. Its’ low price and versatility for both exercise and self treatment make it very popular among clients and patients alike. The foam roller is an effective piece of equipment...
