Concussions are a common injury with an estimated incidence of 600 cases each year for each 100,000 people. Previous researchers have found movement impairments in athletes following concussion which may contribute to the increased injury risk seen in concussed athletes vs. their healthy peers. Researchers have found athletes who sustain a concussion are at a...
Our understanding of knee arthritis has changed significantly over the last 10 years with greater research on knee cartilage as well as the process of arthritis. Knee arthritis remains one of the most common diagnoses we see in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics. We have moved away from the old “wear...
Ankle mobility is essential for both daily walking tasks as well as higher level athletics and sports participation. In our Physical Therapy practice in Boulder we see a loss of dorsiflexion, bending, among athletes with lower extremity injuries and conditions. A lack of ankle bend, dorsiflexion, has been associated with many conditions including heel pain, plantar...
In prior posts we have discussed the rising rates of ACL injuries among adolescent injuries. In particular, among females who are up to 8 times more likely to tear their ACL compared to their male peers in the same sport. Efforts to reduce our Boulder County athletes’ ACL injury risk are underway and promising results have...
The role of ankle mobility on injury risk and performance has been previously described in our prior blog posts. These posts have described the correlation between a lack of mobility at the ankle and knee injuries including patellofemoral knee pain and ACL injury, as well as, ankle sprains and achilles tendonitis. A lack of ankle...
The vast majority of musculoskeletal conditions and diagnoses are not life threatening or time sensitive and allow for conservative treatments, including Physical Therapy, to be utilized prior to surgery. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we commonly see outcomes consistent with the current research on the utilization of Physical Therapy instead of surgery for common...
Cutting movements utilized in soccer, football, basketball, and lacrosse are one of the most common mechanisms of non contact knee injuries. Athletes who cut with poor mechanics demonstrate larger hip and knee angles placing the ligaments of the knee, such as the ACL, at greater risk of injury. These movements at the knee are driven...
The stability of a joint is determined by 3 main categories including passive structures (anatomical bone congruency, ligamentous support), active structures (muscles and tendons), and our proprioception or balance system. Together they create a powerful system of stability to support a joint in both healthy and injured or sprained conditions. Importantly, an injury to one...
Has anyone ever told you only squat to parallel and no lower because it is dangerous or bad for your knees? Did anyone making this claim provide any evidence to support it? This is highly unlikely considering the research has proven that deep squats below parallel are not only safe but provide protective benefit against...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Ever feel your chest collapsing forward in the bottom of a front squat? I put together a quick self-exam so you can test your ankles, hips, thoracic spine, wrists, elbows, and shoulders to find what’s holding you back. Even better, I’ve added simple treatment ideas for each area so...
