Neck pain remains one of the constants in life along with death, taxes, and low back pain. Thankfully, similar to low back pain, the vast majority of neck pain (although painful) is not serious in nature. Prior research has shown a Physical Therapy treatment program consisting of manual therapy and exercise helps accelerate a patient’s...
Physical Therapy 101 requires the utilization of an assistive device (crutches, cane) for any patient who cannot walk without a noticeable limp or deviation in their gait. These interventions are designed to improve a patient’s pain, safety, energy expenditure, and most importantly participation in the activities they enjoy. In our Boulder orthopedic and sports medicine...
Testosterone is an important sex hormone in the body primarily secreted by the gonadal organs. It is an essential hormone for fat free or muscle mass, bone density, energy levels, libido, and even red blood cell production. Similar to many body systems, testosterone production begins to decline around age 30 with the rate of decline...
The 6-week postpartum doctor’s visit is when women are often “cleared” for activity and are often advised to start slowly and gradually build exercise volume. Running is a popular activity in the postpartum population given the flexibility of scheduling exercise, weight loss and fitness benefits and ability to participate in exercise with your baby (once...
Many questions arise during pregnancy regarding the safety of different forms of exercise for both mother and developing child. The information included here originates from the recently revised Canadian guideline for physical activity during pregnancy (Mottola et al 2019) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Opinion on Physical Activity During Pregnancy and the...
The pelvic floor consists of muscles, ligaments, fascia and nerves located within the bony pelvis of women and men. In physical therapy we often discuss the muscles of the pelvic floor and may simply refer to these as the “pelvic floor”. These muscles serve essential functions including: Support for pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, bowel) Control...
The most common injury among competitive youth climbers is an injury to a finger growth plate. However, this type of injury is not as well-known as other types of injuries and therefore is under-reported by youth climbers. A large percentage of finger injuries go un-reported in elite youth climbing, especially among climbers who perform at...
The United States witnessed a significant increase in life expectancy over the 20th century with much of the improvement attributed to improved sanitation, vaccinations, medications, and access to healthcare. In addition, significant improvements in lifestyle factors were also noted including nutrition, smoking cessation, and exercise. Exercise plays a unique role in aging due to its’...
Exercise is a common consideration each day for most adults, but immediate and long term life, work, and family barriers routinely block our best intentions. Despite its’ well established benefits, only 1 in 5 Americans meet our national guidelines on exercise each week. Those who do meet these guidelines each week have made exercise a...
Physical therapists are great at educating our patients about their bodies. We have anatomical models, slick videos, and analogies to teach you all about how your body works. While this helps patients understand the underlying mechanisms causing their pain, we are leaving one very important thing out: THE PAIN! Very few providers explain to you...