ACL injuries are one of the most common sports medicine injuries encountered in a Physical Therapy practice. These injuries can be treated successfully with either conservative or surgical interventions depending on the athlete’s presentation and athletic goals. In addition to the post injury management of these athletes, researchers and clinicians have also focused on reducing...
Patellar tendinopathy (tendonitis) is a common sports medicine overuse injury most commonly found in jumping (volleyball, basketball) athletes. This injury has been found in up to 40% of these athletes secondary to the repetitive forces applied to their tendons during their respective sports. Repetitive loading, without adequate rest, is often found to be the cause...
Non contact ACL injuries remain one of the most common traumatic injuries encountered in sports medicine. The most common mechanism of injury involves a sudden twisting motion at the knee with the foot planted. Many factors are at play in this scenario including shoewear, field and court conditions, and the athletes ability to resist the...
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...
There is a current, albeit unproven, thought about the dangers of repetitive spinal flexion. Those who repeat this unfounded belief feel repetitive forward bending places the spine in a less than optimal position leading to back pain or injury. These thoughts have been disproven by the research and forward bending of the spine does not...
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...
Running remains one of our country’s most popular forms of exercise. This is no more evident than here in Boulder where our citizens have been consistently voted one of the fittest cities in America. Runners of all ages can be seen exercising on our city’s paths, trails, and sidewalks. In our previous blog post we...
Many athletes enjoy a cold beer or drink after a long workout or on the weekend after a long work/training week. The acute, short term effects of these alcoholic drinks are well established, but new research is looking into the impact of alcohol on hydration levels, future athletic performance, and recovery. Alcohol effects all of...
The functional movement screen was designed to screen athletes and individuals on both upper and lower body movement tasks in order to identify those at risk for future injury. As participants move through the 7 movement tasks, Physical Therapists are able to identify areas of weakness, tightness, or decreased coordination. Based on these results exercises...
In the examination of healthy or injured runners it is tempting to focus on an individual’s leg alignment and posture. The hope of these tests and measures is it will help a clinician identify the source of client’s symptoms or a risk factor for injury. The limitation of these examination items is their inability to...