Strengthening the muscles of the hip, gluts, is a key component of rehabilitation for patients with low back pain, hip pain, and knee pain. These muscles help to optimize movement in the lower quarter improving joint mechanics and force distribution during life and recreational activities. In our Facebook posts, we have shown videos on optimizing...
1. You have experienced an illustrious and diverse career in research, education and clinical work. What is the secret to your success in all of these disciplines? I have been very blessed to have such a great career in physical therapy – I firmly believe that the reason for any of the success that I...
Platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections have increased dramatically in recent years for the treatment of orthopedic conditions. PRP injections aim to improve the cellular and biochemical environment of the injected tissue. Current injection utilization has far out paced the research supporting their clinical use in patients. Current randomized, controlled data on the benefits of PRP...
Whether you want to increase your back squat, shave some time off your Fran score, or take fewer breaks on your uphill skin, you will need to focus on glute strength. The gluteus maximus is the largest and most powerful muscle in the human body, and is responsible for hip extension, lateral rotation, and abduction...
Foam Rolling is gaining in popularity due to its ability to accelerate recovery, treat sore and painful muscles, and improve flexibility. Within the leg, ankle stiffness or reduced flexibility is commonly found in the ankle. This loss of motion prevents the leg bones from properly moving over the foot during walking and running. These changes in...
The glut muscle group, including the gluteus maximus and medius, are commonly weak among patients with lower quarter diagnoses including low back pain, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and ankle sprains. These muscles can be targeted with many different exercises, but some exercises cause excessive compensations of adjacent muscle groups in patients with pain. For example, the...
In previous blogs we have written on the recent research documenting the lack of differences between sham surgery and surgery for spinal and knee conditions. For example, in the case of arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee meniscal tears the evidence does not support its’ use due to its’ inability to perform better than sham knee...
A couple of things are known when reading the research on low back pain. First, it is common with 9 out of 10 adults experiencing symptoms over their lifetime. Second, patients with low back pain are very different and require a specific, individualized treatment vs. a one size fits all approach. Medical research has identified...
By: Rani Helvey-Byers, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve been doing all the right glute focused exercises but still feel like your glutes just aren’t firing, you’re not alone. Many people struggle to feel their glutes working during common exercises such as squats, lunges, and deadlifts. But there’s good news: a recent study found that static...
In our previous blog posts we have written on the inability of arthroscopic surgery to outperform Physical Therapy or placebo surgery for the treatment of degenerative meniscal tears. A recent review and statement paper was released in the British Journal of Sports Medicine highlighting evidence regarding the management of meniscal tears (Thorlund et al. 2018). ...
