Ankle stiffness or lack of mobility is common impairment in many patients with lower quarter symptoms including ankle, knee, and hip pain. Limitations at this important joint create compensations up the body, most commonly at the knee, and create dynamic alignment impairments within the lower body. These biomechanical changes may present during walking, stair climbing,...
Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries encountered by Physical Therapists working in sports medicine practices. Prior research has shown 85% of these injuries will involve the ligaments on the outside of the ankle. The severity of the sprain is graded on a 3 point scale which describes the degree of ligamentous injury....
Manipulation, along with strength training, remains one of the most effective treatments for patients with sacroiliac (SI) pain. Spinal manipulation by a Physical Therapist provides a unique stimulus to the nervous system creating a complex therapeutic response in the patient. Researchers continue to investigate the mechanisms behind its’ effectiveness including central and peripheral nervous system...
Very few evidence based treatments for musculoskeletal pain require the utilization of electricity. One notable exception is the utilization of muscular stimulation on post operative musculature. This category of treatments under the larger umbrella of modalities have not fared well in the research due to having little or no effect, their inability to beat a...
Neck pain will affect up to 70% of the population at some point in their lifetimes. Thankfully the vast majority of these cases are not serious in nature and will improve with conservative treatments including Physical Therapy. Within Physical Therapy, a manual therapy (mobilization and manipulation) and strengthening exercise approach has been shown to be...
Knee pain remains one of the most common reasons patients seek care from a primary care physician and Physical Therapist. The knee is uniquely placed between two long levers in the thigh and leg bones. The levers significantly increase the effect of impairments in the ankle and hip joints on the knee. Commonly, patients present...
Headaches are a common source of pain and disability with total costs estimated over 30 billion dollars per year. Patients’ signs and symptoms help classify headaches into categories including migraine, tension type, cluster, and cervicogenic but some are found to be multifactorial in nature. Some of the most effective interventions for headache are provided by...
Physical Therapy interventions including manual therapy and exercise remain the primary intervention for patients with knee arthritis. These treatments have been shown to delay or prevent the need for costly, more invasive treatments including total knee replacement. Prescribed Physical Therapy exercises are designed to reduce pain, improve mobility, and increase a patient’s leg strength. Stronger...
Carpal tunnel syndrome or the entrapment of the medial nerve at the wrist is a condition leading to pain, numbness, and pins and needles sensations along the palm side of thumb, index, and middle fingers. If the entrapment continues weakness can be experienced in the wrist and hand. Contributing factors include loss of nerve and...
