Post operative immobilization is often utilized after ACL surgery in an attempt to support the knee joint. The reasoning behind the bracing includes reducing abnormal forces across the knee, patient comfort, and reducing the risk of injury to the recently repaired tissues. Research has currently not found a strong benefit of early post operative bracing for...
Knee replacements are a common and effective solution for end state knee osteoarthritis. Post operative Physical Therapy helps accelerate the recovery from this surgery by reducing pain, improving range of motion and leg strength after this surgical procedure. Research questions remain regarding the optimal frequency and intensity of post operative Physical Therapy visits. A recent...
The internet is excellent at providing information on a multitude of subjects, but the application of this information is limited because of the existence of individual situations and people. An example of this would be the failure of a one size fits all approach to Physical Therapy. In this example, every patient with a certain...
The step down test is an important Physical Therapy test to determine the ability of our athletes to stabilize their lower extremity in single leg stance. Proper performance of this test requires adequate strength, balance, control, and mobility in the lower extremity. Often athletes with lower extremity or spinal pain have a significant asymmetry in...
MRI technology continues to improve benefiting clinicians searching for serious pathology, but at a cost of identifying non serious pathology which may not be related to a patient’s clinic presentation. Initial imaging studies in the 1990s were conducted in the lumbar spine which identified a high percentage of structural changes including disc herniations and spinal...
The wait and see approach is often utilized by primary care physicians in the management of musculoskeletal conditions. The underlying idea behind this approach is the improvement of symptoms over time, natural history, of these conditions. The error in this treatment method is the patient has already tried the wait and see approach, and a...
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...
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”...
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 arthritis will affect many older adults limiting their ability to participate in their daily, occupational, and recreational activities. Lost independence and function is one of the most common concerns among patients with knee arthritis who are treated in our Boulder Physical Therapy practice. In addition to manual therapy to the involved joints, exercise remains...
