If your shoulder pinches when you press overhead, reach for a high hold, or roll onto it at night, there’s a good chance someone has called it impingement. It’s the most common diagnosis behind shoulder pain, and it is also one of the most treatable without surgery. The research points to a consistent plan: specific...
By Dr. Erica Tran, PT, DPT Pickleball looks gentle until your knees tell you otherwise. The quick split-steps, the lateral shuffles to cover the kitchen line, and the sudden stops and pivots on a hard court all add up to real demand on the knee joint. When a knee gets stiff, cranky, or just doesn’t...
Yes, for most people. If knee arthritis limits your stairs, your squats, or a day on the trail, physical therapy is where most guidelines tell you to start, and the trial evidence behind it is stronger than most people expect. Exercise does most of the work. Manual therapy has a real but smaller role, and...
By Jeff Ryg, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT If your knee feels stiff after sitting, catches when you try to bend it all the way, or hasn’t moved the same since an injury or surgery, joint mobilization is one of the most useful tools we have at Mend. It’s a hands-on technique, not a stretch you’d...
Pain around or behind the kneecap that flares on stairs, squats, running, or long stretches of sitting is usually patellofemoral pain (PFP). It is common, with a 2018 meta-analysis in PLOS ONE putting annual prevalence in the general population at 22.7%, and it has a reputation for lingering. Current guidelines are clear about where treatment...
If your knee will not fully straighten after ACL reconstruction, those last few degrees deserve attention early. Lost extension changes how you walk, keeps your quadriceps working in a bent position, and gets harder to recover the longer it sits. Knee mobilization is one of the hands-on tools physical therapists use to help, though the...
Physical Therapy spinal and extremity joint mobilizations are slow passive movements applied to a patient’s joint surfaces. These interventions have been shown to decrease pain, improve range of motion, and increase the immediate force production of a targeted joint’s musculature. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice, these joint mobilizations are performed with other manual therapy...
Patellofemoral Pain (pain under the knee cap) is the most common source of knee pain among active individuals and athletes. Symptoms are secondary to increased joint pressure between the knee cap and thigh during walking, hiking, squatting, kneeling, cycling or running. Most commonly this diagnosis is secondary to muscle imbalances including hip and knee weakness...
Knee arthritis is a common and costly condition affecting many middle aged adults and is a leading cause of pain and disability in this patient group. Thankfully conservative Physical Therapy interventions such as manual therapy and exercise have been shown to be effective at reducing pain, disability, and even delaying or preventing the need for...
Knee arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability and reduced activity in the United States. Physical Therapy interventions, including manual therapy and exercise, remain the foundation of conservative care for this diagnosis. When combined, manual therapy and exercise, have been shown to reduce pain, stiffness, weakness, and disability in patients with knee arthritis. ...
