Women’s hormones and cycles are very sensitive and very complex to understand. Many high intensity or endurance athletes (but not all) will experience irregular or total loss of menstruation which can bring with it consequences to bone density, injury risk, and compromised fertility. Regarding athletic performance through a women’s cycle, a systematic review published in...
Plyometrics have been utilized in late stage Physical Therapy and strength and conditioning programs for decades. These jumping and bounding movements are initially attributed to the Russian track and field coach Verkhoshanski in the 1960s as shock or jump training. The term plyometrics is attributed to Purdue University track and field coach Fred Wilt in...
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...
Diabetes, commonly broken down into type I and type II based on the body’s ability to properly utilize insulin, affects over 400 million people worldwide. In our country, this chronic disease continues to become more prevalent with an estimated 10% of Americans being diagnosed with one of the two types of diabetes. Exercise remains one...
Exercise continues to be shown as one of most effective interventions at reducing pain from injury, surgery, and disease. This reduction in pain has been described by researchers as exercise induced hypoalgesia and its’ benefits have been studied consistently over the last ten years. Participants with pain from a variety of conditions experience a significant...
Low back pain remains one of the most common symptoms seen by both physicians and Physical Therapists. Physical Therapy remains the gold standard for the conservative treatment of low back pain due to its’ clinical effectiveness and cost savings vs. other forms of treatment including usual care. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we consistently...
A frequent question of pregnant patients is, “how do I actually push during labor”? If they ask friends, they will often get the answer, “well in the moment you just know what to do”. If they ask the internet, there are even more vague and varied answers. So let’s discuss the best biomechanics and research...
It is a misconception that postpartum recovery and postpartum exercise cannot begin until after your 6 week follow up with your OB. While postpartum recovery occurs in phases, there are some exercises you can begin right away to accelerate your recovery and prevent future dysfunction. The following exercises are applicable whether birth was a vaginal...
Tendon injuries are one of the most common sports injuries seen in our Lafayette and Boulder Physical Therapy clinics. Most often overuse in nature, tendon injuries can significantly limit an individual’s ability to perform their daily and recreational activities. Tendinopathy, formerly known as tendinitis, describes the chronic cellular chemical and structural changes that occur...
Hamstring injuries, strains, are one of the most common injuries in the lower extremity. These muscles cross both the hip and knee joint making them susceptible to strains during high speed movements such as sprinting, jumping, cutting, and kicking. Of the three hamstring muscles, the biceps femoris is the most commonly injured among athletes. Authors...
