By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS If you’ve ever tried stretching or foam rolling only to still feel stiff, limited, or “stuck,” there’s a reason. While those tools can be helpful, they often miss a key piece of the puzzle: the joint capsule. That’s where banded joint mobilizations come in. Using a thick resistance band...
By: Mary Pezzella, PT, DPT One of our favorite tools at Mend Colorado for improving hip mobility is a heavy duty Rogue resistance band. If you often feel like one hip is “tight,” your squat feels blocked, or you can’t access a position you need for running, climbing, lifting, or everyday life, a Rogue-style loop...
The squat is one of the most commonly prescribed exercises in our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy practice. With so many variations of this strength training exercise you may be wondering which exercise prescription is best for you. The squat in particular has two primary variations, the front squat and the back squat....
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Pickleball has exploded in popularity over the past decade, attracting players of all ages with its fast pace, social nature, and relatively low barrier to entry. But as courts fill up, so do reports of aches and injuries, especially low back pain. If you have ever walked off the...
It may not seem obvious, but weakness in our hips can lead directly to shoulder pain while climbing. Because climbing requires the use of all extremities simultaneously, impairments in one region of the body almost always have a direct impact on the other extremities. One of the most common, but seldom recognized, patterns is the...
Hip strength is a key component for sports performance and rehabilitation following injury. These muscles are key targets of exercise programs in our Boulder Physical Therapy office for conditions including low back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and ankle pain. Previous research has shown the hip thrust is superior to the bridge for gluteus maximus...
The gluteus maximus muscle, found directly under the back pocket of your jeans, is key muscle group for both vertical (ex. getting out of chair) and horizontal (walking or running) force production. Despite its’ importance this muscle is commonly weak on examination in our Physical Therapy patients. Multiple lower quarter diagnoses including low back pain,...
Strengthening the muscles of the hip, gluts, is a key component of rehabilitation for patients with low back pain, hip pain, and knee pain. These muscles help to optimize movement in the lower quarter improving joint mechanics and force distribution during life and recreational activities. In our Facebook posts, we have shown videos on optimizing...
Whether you want to increase your back squat, shave some time off your Fran score, or take fewer breaks on your uphill skin, you will need to focus on glute strength. The gluteus maximus is the largest and most powerful muscle in the human body, and is responsible for hip extension, lateral rotation, and abduction...
The glut muscle group, including the gluteus maximus and medius, are commonly weak among patients with lower quarter diagnoses including low back pain, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and ankle sprains. These muscles can be targeted with many different exercises, but some exercises cause excessive compensations of adjacent muscle groups in patients with pain. For example, the...
