By: Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS The shoulder is the second most commonly injured site in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.1 If you train regularly, there’s a good chance you’ve dealt with shoulder pain at some point. The higher rate of injury in the shoulder stems from its being an incredibly mobile joint – a fact that makes...
By: Megan Davis, PT, DPT, OCS Neck pain is one of the most common conditions we treat in our Lafayette and Boulder offices. Neck and shoulder blade pain are a common pattern we see in our patients who may have only neck or scapular pain but could also have neck and shoulder pain together. We...
When you see a CrossFit, weight training, or gym workout posted with overhead press, push press or jerks, and your first thought is that you are concerned about how your back will fair, then this post is for you. When pressing a barbell (or any object) directly overhead it is necessary to have a strong,...
The overhead squat is challenging, to put it lightly. It requires both strength and mobility in abundance. It is essential to the sport of weightlifting as the receiving position for the snatch and is commonly seen as a workout element in CrossFit boxes. It is an excellent tool for developing a multitude of physical skills...
Typical instruction for squat stance is a generic recommendation to stand shoulder width apart with your toes turned out slightly. This is a great starting point, but that does not mean it is the optimal stance for everyone. Whether you are a CrossFit athlete, performance weight lifter, or doing squats for general fitness, please read...
Dumbbells have long been viewed as a tool for traditional body building style exercise for muscle growth and strength training. Most often they are used for isolated single joint upper body movements such as bicep curls and lateral raises. You will also see people using dumbbells to perform variations of an overhead press and a...
By Dr. Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Grip strength seems like a small thing: how hard can you squeeze a dynamometer? It’s actually one of the most predictive measures of overall health we have as physical therapists. It’s tied to bone density, cardiovascular health, fall risk, and mortality risk, and most people have no idea...
The Musician-Athlete: Why Musicians Should Think Like Athletes By: Mary Pezzella, PT, DPT Whether you play violin, drums, piano, guitar, trumpet, or sing, you are asking your body to perform a highly skilled physical task, often for hours at a time, under pressure, and with little room for error. The repetitive movements, sustained positions, and...
Most patients presenting to our Boulder and Lafayette Physical Therapy practices are facing a pain or symptoms which are limiting their ability to participate in the activities they enjoy. Their current abilities, or lack thereof, prevent them from being available for work, life, and recreational activities. Availability is often the greatest predictor of long-term health...
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training has become increasingly popular in both rehabilitation and performance settings because of its ability to stimulate muscle growth and strength adaptations with lighter loads. But what happens when BFR is added to traditional heavy strength training? A recent systematic review and meta-analysis (Mckee et al. J Strength Conditioning Res. 2026)...
