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....
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...
Lower extremity stiffness (“leg stiffness”) describes the resistance the joints and muscles in your lower body will have to movement when your foot contacts the ground during running. Think of your leg as a spring; the more tightly coiled spring will be stiffer, the more loosely coiled will be more deformable. A stiffer leg is...
Photo Credit: wikipedia.org Ankle fractures are a relatively common traumatic orthopedic injury involving the two lower leg bones and ankle joint. Among these fractures, the most common type involves a break of the outer lower leg bone (weber B). These fibular fractures are commonly allowed to weight bear early than tibia fractures because they are...
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...
Ankle sprains remain one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries treated by Physical Therapists. Our previous blog posts have highlighted the importance of early diagnoses and treatment including manual therapy, as well as, strengthening and balance exercises. This treatment approach has been proven superior to both R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) and usual medical...
We have previous discussed the limitations of orthotics to control lower extremity alignment. Another common reason for orthotic use is to control the degree of pronation or flattening of the foot during foot strike in walking and running. The theory believes orthotics are able to impact force absorption by controlling this motion at the foot...
Injuries to our spinal and extremity joints can impact a variety of structures including muscle, ligament, and nervous system receptors. The sensors or proprioceptors are critical in providing real time feedback to our spinal cord and brain on the positions of our limbs. This feedback system is disrupted by injury leading to slower information processing...
Ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries we encounter in our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. In our previous blogs we have written on the importance of early interventions such as manual therapy and proprioceptive exercise to help accelerate the recovery after these sprains. Prior research has shown a higher recurrence rate in athletes...
Watch two videos below as Dr. Kristin Carpenter discusses functional screening movements we use in our Boulder Physical Therapy clinic for the ankle joint. Part 1 https://t.co/ECic7vLaPN Part 2 https://t.co/fRW182OAXb