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Mend Physical Therapy Blog and Injury Information

A concussion is a specific type of mild traumatic brain injury caused by a force to the head or body resulting in symptoms originating from brain and does not have to involve a loss of consciousness. Concussions occur via one of two mechanisms, the first is a direct contact to the head, such as a...

Headaches are often multifactorial in nature, but three types (migraine, tension type, and cervicogenic) are commonly treated in our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. Cervicogenic headaches include headache symptoms driven by the joints in the upper neck and respond best to upper cervical joint mobilization and manipulation, as well as, neck and shoulder strengthening exercises. Tension...

Does Physical Therapy Work for Treating Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a condition where one perceives a ringing sound in one or both ears in the absence of external auditory stimulation. It is most common described as “ringing in my ears”. Tinnitus can be caused by a variety of conditions such as ear infections, Meniere’s disease, vascular diseases, neurological disorders, structural dysfunction within the...

Tension-type headaches are headaches related to muscle trigger points or muscle tenderness in the head and neck and are the most common type of headache in adults. In our Boulder physical therapy practice, we utilize hands-on techniques addressing muscles and joints of the upper cervical region for headaches. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis (Jiang...

According to the Global Health Burden studies, Migraine is the 3rd most prevalent disorder (14.7% of global population: 1 in 7 people)  and 3rd most cause of disability in those under 50 years old. It is more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined. Migraines occur with 17% of women and 6% of men.  Symptoms...

Neck Pain Background Information Neck pain affects 10-15% of the population at any one time, with a lifetime incidence of 22-70% (1). Only 6% of patients with neck pain report resolution of symptoms at one year (2). A recent systematic review demonstrated the prognosis from idiopathic neck pain is poor (3) and 50-75% of patients with neck...

Headache Background Headaches cause nearly $31 billion in indirect costs annually in the US (10). Within patients with headaches, a cervicogenic source can be found in 4% of the general population, 17.5% of those with severe headaches, and up to 53% of those with headache post whiplash injury(11). The upper cervical (C2/C3) facet joints have...