Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder in the United States and commonly affects spinal and extremity joints during the aging process. Researchers estimate 1 in 10 older adults over 60 y.o. currently experience symptomatic knee arthritis. This condition leads to joint pain and a loss of daily, occupational, and recreational function. Patient’s often describe...
Knee arthritis is a common condition affecting many middle to older aged adults. Its’ prevalence makes it one of the leading causes of disability in our country preventing these individuals from participating in their life, work, and recreational activities. Physical therapy including patient education, manual therapy, and exercise remains a first line treatment for this...
photo credit: radiopaedia.org Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) have become increasingly sensitive to detecting abnormalities and pathologies in our bodies. As the technology has advanced radiologists are far less likely to miss an abnormality in the musculoskeletal system, but are more likely to find abnormalities that may or may not be causing a patient’s current symptoms....
In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we still hear old wives tales on the harmful effects of exercise in patient’s with knee arthritis. For example, patients should avoid running to prevent worsening of their knee arthritis despite significant medical evidence to the contrary. Many of these theories are based in an outdated “wear and tear”...
Pain on the front of the knee (patellofemoral pain syndrome) is the most common diagnosis behind knee pain and one of the most common conditions found in sports medicine and Physical Therapy clinics. Although multifactorial in nature, symptoms arise due to abnormal contact between the knee cap and the thigh bone at the knee joint....
Imaging technologies, including MRI, continue to improve providing valuable insight into the human body. These advancements have made MRI scans extremely sensitive to identifying tissue pathology and the presence of disease within the body. In the musculoskeletal system, the MRI’s sensitivity reduces its’ ability to specifically detect symptomatic vs. asymptomatic pathology. For example, after age...
Knee pain remains one of the most common reasons patients seek care from a primary care physician and Physical Therapist. The knee is uniquely placed between two long levers in the thigh and leg bones. The levers significantly increase the effect of impairments in the ankle and hip joints on the knee. Commonly, patients present...
With access to miles of paths and acres of open space running remains one of the most popular outdoor activities in Boulder. Despite its’ accessibility, low cost of participation, and health benefits running related injuries keep many from training or competing at their preferred levels. One recent area of research has focused on gait retraining...
Patellar tendinopathy is one of the more common sports medicine conditions seen in our Boulder Physical Therapy clinic. This condition causes increased pain along the front of the knee just beneath the knee cap and leads to pain with jumping, running, and squatting activities. Current medical evidence has described an absence of inflammatory cells and...
Patellofemoral pain, or pain around the kneecap, is one of the most common types of knee pain we treat at MEND. It impacts up to 23% of the general population and 40% of those people have persistent symptoms that can last for years! Exercise programs targeting the hip and the knee have been proven effective...