Knee osteoarthritis is a common and increasing diagnosis that is contributing to an rapid rise in total knee arthroplasty surgery in the United States. Knee Osteoarthritis leads to disability in greater than 10% of those over 55 years, however manual therapy and exercise has shown to be twice as successful compared to a home exercise...
Knee tendinopathy, either in the quadriceps or patellar tendon, is a common source of knee pain among jumping athletes, but can occur in non jumping athletes or the general population as well. This overuse injury is caused by repetitive sub maximal loading of the knee through a bending range of motion. If the loading is...
Understanding Patellar Tendinopathy (Jumper’s Knee) Patellar tendinopathy, commonly known as jumper’s knee, is one of the most prevalent chronic knee injuries, especially among athletes who engage in jumping activities. Up to half of all jumping athletes experience this condition. In the past, patellar tendinopathy was often referred to as tendinitis, but more recent research suggests...
Knee pain is a common issue for tennis players because the sport involves repetitive stopping, starting, and lateral movements that place heavy loads on the tendons and joints of the knee. One frequently seen condition in tennis athletes is patellar tendinopathy (often called “jumper’s knee”), which stems from chronic tendon overload during high-impact actions like...
A couple of things are known when reading the research on low back pain. First, it is common with 9 out of 10 adults experiencing symptoms over their lifetime. Second, patients with low back pain are very different and require a specific, individualized treatment vs. a one size fits all approach. Medical research has identified...
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition in middle to older age and is a leading cause of pain and disability among this population. Our prior posts detailed improvements in cartilage thickness occurring in individuals with mild knee OA after a lower body exercise program. In advanced stages of knee OA or with a progressive...
Previously we wrote about the positive impacts of exercise on the body’s tissues. The benefits of exercise is based on the ability of your rehabilitation program to properly load and unload an injured tissue allowing it to remodel and heal. The optimal amount of load is key with both ends of spectrum, over doing it...
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”...
Skiing remains one of the most popular outdoor winter sports in Colorado. It is estimated over 6.8 million skiers participated in the sport over the recent winter season. There are inherent risks of death and injury in both skiing and snowboarding, but thankfully due to technological updates and innovations overall injuries have fallen by half...
Patellofemoral pain, pain around the kneecap, is extremely common and impacts activities such as running, hiking and stairclimbing. In our previous posts on this condition we have discussed the efficacy of exercise in treating this condition. A recent study (Nunes et al, Phys Ther Sport 2019) assessed performance measures correlated with hip muscle strength in...
