Strength training is an essential component of every person’s weekly exercise program. Participants should aim for 2-3 days/week of strength training to complement their completion of aerobic training minutes (300 moderate minutes) each week. These numbers have been shown to significantly improve an individual’s health and reduce their disease risk. The number one barrier for...
Exercise remains the best tool for improving both life span, number of years in a life, and health span, disease free years or the amount of life in those years. Medications, supplements, nutrition, and other lifestyle changes pale in comparison to the effects of exercise. Authors often reference the ability of exercise to bend the...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS One of the most important movement patterns in pickleball is the lunge. Whether you are reaching for a wide dink, recovering after a volley, or decelerating into a low ball, your body must absorb force efficiently while maintaining balance and joint control. From a physical therapy perspective, poor lunge...
Modalities in Physical Therapy come and go. Many clinics have closets full of old, outdated, and unproven modalities that were once the next best thing for pain. In my experience, the worst thing about these modalities outside of their ineffectiveness is they displace proven and effective interventions such as manual therapy and exercise. Currently, this...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve ever wondered “Is this soreness okay, or am I making things worse?” You’re not alone. This is one of the most common questions we hear in the clinic. The truth is, soreness isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it’s often part of the process when you’re rebuilding strength,...
By: Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS Brazilian Jiu Jitsu demonstrates an extremely high injury prevalence, with 91% of practitioners sustaining at least one injury during training and 60% of competitive athletes injured in competition.1 For many practitioners, injuries are simply part of the journey, a minor blip requiring mild alteration to the training schedule. However,...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT Lower back pain (LBP) is the most common injury in golf, affecting up to 35% of amateur players. According to clinical research and experts at Mend Physical Therapy in Boulder, this pain is typically a “compensation injury” caused by mobility deficits in the hips and upper back. What...
By: Maggie Gebhardt, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT Hypermobility is often seen as a “superpower” in the performing arts. Whether you are a ballet dancer reaching for a perfect line or a circus artist performing gravity-defying feats, extreme flexibility is part of the job. However, without the right support, that same flexibility can lead to chronic...
By: Hope Whitman, PT, DPT, OCS Indoor golf is one of the best tools we have for building swing mechanics, strength, and consistency. But when golfers transition back outdoors, performance often dips—and it’s not just mental. The physical demands and environmental variability change the game in meaningful ways. From a physical therapy perspective, this transition...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Pickleball continues to grow rapidly, but so do lower extremity injuries, particularly involving the Achilles tendon. The combination of quick acceleration, deceleration, and repetitive loading places significant strain on this structure. Research in sports medicine and tendon physiology consistently shows that Achilles injuries are rarely sudden events. Instead, they...
