Patellar tendonitis (tendinopathy) is common among jumping athletes requiring repetitive jumping, landing, and squatting movements. This overuse injury was thought to have a inflammatory component (ex. tendonitis) but more current research supports the term tendinopathy. This term indicates a disruption in tendon fiber characteristics and alignment leading to a loss of its’ tensile strength. Resting...
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (pain on the front the knee and around knee cap) is the most common source of knee pain among active individuals. Patients often complain of pain with running, stair climbing, squatting, and during prolonged sitting. The natural history of this diagnosis is not as short as once thought with 90% of patients...
Shoulder pain remains one of the most frequent reasons patients seek care from a Physical Therapist. Although many diagnoses create symptoms in the shoulder region, rotator cuff tendon pain is one of the most common. Descriptions of tendon pain such as tendinitis are being disproven by the research due to a lack of inflammatory process...
Low back pain continues to be a common source of pain, loss of function, and in some cases disability. A portion of this weight on our society and medical system is the over emphasis on imaging findings including disc injury or degenerative disc disease as the source of a patient’s symptoms. Unfortunately, there is an...
Low back pain is the second most common reason patients seek care from their primary care physician. In addition, it is one of the most common reasons people seek care at our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. Due to its’ high incidence in the population, low back pain has become a significant financial burden on our...
In our prior posts on heel pain and plantar fasciitis we described the growing evidence supporting the utilization of treatments by Physical Therapists including manual therapy and exercise. This treatment approach is supported by established clinical practice guidelines and is more effective than modalities including ultrasound and other passive interventions. Interestingly, despite the evidence only...
The lunge is a very common exercise to strength the lower quarter. I commonly use the exercise to address lower quarter weakness, motor control or coordination impairments, and conditioning needs. Often patients will experience knee pain, either in the forward or backward leg while performing the movement. Changing the alignment of the trunk, hip, or...
In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we often see athletes who are dealing with a swimming related injury. Some of these injuries can occur from training errors and poor stroke mechanics, but many are secondary to correctable changes in mobility and strength. Many injured swimmers complain of shoulder pain including rotator cuff muscle or tendon...
The hamstrings are a group of 3 muscles running from the pelvis to the back of the knee. These muscles are an essential component of the posterior chain improving lower back, hip, and knee stability. In our previous posts we have discussed the importance of developing these muscles for injury prevention and sports performance. Specifically,...
Colorado remains one of the fittest states in the Colorado with low rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other diseases associated with low activity levels. Specifically, our home town of Boulder remains of the fittest cities in the country due to its’ high percentage of citizens who meet or exceed the U.S. Surgeon General’s...