One of things I enjoy about the profession of Physical Therapy is its’ constantly changing nature of the medical evidence behind what we do. Often I come across a new article or research report, which challenges my previous line of thought about an injury or treatment and requires me to change. Achilles Tendinopathy is commonly and...
“In life there are no guarantees” and this is certainly the case with return to sport after surgical procedures. Unfortunately, the commonly held belief is surgical repairs of muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. guarantees a return to sport at prior levels of play and competition. The odds of returning to competitive levels of sport can be...
Customized foot orthotics based off a clinical examination, plaster or foam cast have been utilized for decades in order to treat overuse injuries of the foot, ankle, knee, hip and even spine. These orthotics are usually not covered by insurance and usually run into the hundreds of dollars compared to an off the shelf model....
Our prior posts on tendon injuries have described the structural changes that take place with chronic symptomatic tendinopathies. The disorganization of tendon fibers and the body’s attempts to heal the injured tendon are best viewed on ultrasound or MRI imaging. MRI is a very sensitive tool, but lacks specificity meaning a positive finding may or...
In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice, the examination of a runner’s gait is a critical part of the evaluation giving us insight into the factors which either precipitated or perpetuated a running related injury. The forces transmitted across the body in running can be 2-4 times body weight and must be absorbed efficiently to reduce...
Marathon running is a challenging event requiring substantial amounts of endurance and strength training for optimal performance and injury prevention. The race distance of 26.2 miles requires high mileage training, often >75-100 miles per week at the elite level, placing the athlete at risk of a running related injury (Saragiotto et al. 2014). In addition...
The human foot is a remarkable structure of 26 bones and 30+ joints integral to both walking and running. The foot must be able to both flatten (pronate) and absorb the forces of the body, as well as, become rigid (supinate) in preparation for propelling us forward. This balance of mobility and stability is accomplished...
Over the last 5-10 years ultra marathon running has grown in popularity with pavement and trail races popping up throughout the West. Ultra trail running events are described as distances greater than a marathon, in mountainous terrain, and involving elevation changes. Authors report a 5200% increase in these events between 1978 and 2008 (Hoffman et...
The treadmill remains a necessary evil when completing run training allowing athletes to escape inclement weather to complete their workouts. Thankfully, in Boulder we have few inclement days as we move through the Spring and Summer months allowing athletes to train outside. Prior research has noted significant bio-mechanical differences in treadmill vs. ground running including...
Ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries and one of the most common we encounter at Mend Physical Therapy. These injuries lead to pain, lost practice and games, as well as chronic balance impairments up to 1 year after the injury. As our manual therapy and exercise treatments have evolved we are seeing...
