Allied health providers including Physical Therapists in our Boulder and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics continue to research interventions to improve activity levels of patients. Continued research has documented the negative health impact of sedentary behaviors including prolonged sitting at work. Patients who sit for longer hours each day and/or longer bouts of sitting without movement...
Americans have become increasingly sedentary with marked reductions in daily, recreational, and occupational activities. The majority of occupations in today’s society have become reliant on the computer requiring employees to sit for the majority of the work day. In recent years, researchers have highlighted the adverse health risks including diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and...
Strength training is an essential part of treatments at our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practices. All patients regardless of injury, diagnosis, or ability level will perform a form of strength training to improve their performance or ability to perform the activities they enjoy. This valuable form of exercise continues to be studied...
Vigorous exercise has significant health benefits above and beyond the benefits seen with moderate level exercise. The U.S. surgeon general recommends adults complete between 150-300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75-150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. While many of our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy patients reach these levels, the vast majority...
Nutrition is a key component of health and recovery from injury and disease. Due to strong evidence on this link health care practitioners, including Physical Therapists, are being to prescribe adequate portions of fruits and vegetables in patients diets. In a previous blog post we described the beneficial effects of a lower processed diet compared...
The percentage of Americans who obtain enough physical activity through their occupational activities continues to fall due to technological advances. Currently, a large percentage of Americans can work their entire day from the seated position leading to decreased short and long term health outcomes. Interestingly, research has shown an individual’s time spent in sedentary activities...
Dumbbells have long been viewed as a tool for traditional body building style exercise for muscle growth and strength training. Most often they are used for isolated single joint upper body movements such as bicep curls and lateral raises. You will also see people using dumbbells to perform variations of an overhead press and a...
Resistance training remains a foundational intervention for all of our patients at our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. Previous research has highlighted the importance of strength training for all individuals from children to older adults. Authors have noted a significant decrease in cardiovascular risk factors among individuals with higher amounts of muscle mass. These correlational studies...
Up until the COVID pandemic, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death for both men and women in our country. Exercise, both aerobic and strength training, is an essential component of care for both the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Its’ beneficial effects on our body weight, cholesterol levels, heart rate, blood pressure...
Americans who are overweight are at a higher risk of many diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers. Thankfully many of these risk factors improve as an individual returns to a healthy weight through changes in their nutrition and exercise habits. Patients often ask if weight loss is the key factor in this...