Ankle stiffness or lack of mobility is common impairment in many patients with lower quarter symptoms including ankle, knee, and hip pain. Limitations at this important joint create compensations up the body, most commonly at the knee, and create dynamic alignment impairments within the lower body. These biomechanical changes may present during walking, stair climbing,...
Lower extremity stiffness (“leg stiffness”) describes the resistance the joints and muscles in your lower body will have to movement when your foot contacts the ground during running. Think of your leg as a spring; the more tightly coiled spring will be stiffer, the more loosely coiled will be more deformable. A stiffer leg is...
A stiff neck can turn ordinary movements into a problem: checking a blind spot, reaching for the overhead bin, even rolling over in bed. The right treatment depends on what’s driving it. A neck that seized up after an awkward night’s sleep often clears on its own in a day or two. Neck pain that...
Overhead athletes rely on their thoracic spine’s mobility and stability to generate power and prevent injury. In our Boulder Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics we examine the spine’s biomechanics and influence on patients with shoulder pain. Ruiz et al. (2020) reviewed the biomechanics of the thoracic spine in overhead sports and highlighted the...
Neck pain remains one of the constants in life along with death, taxes, and low back pain. Thankfully, similar to low back pain, the vast majority of neck pain (although painful) is not serious in nature. Prior research has shown a Physical Therapy treatment program consisting of manual therapy and exercise helps accelerate a patient’s...
A lot of clients I work with in our Boulder Physical Therapy practice report wrist pain in their handstands. While there can be multiple contributors to wrist pain, including a loss of upper body mobility or strength, one of the most common issues I see is lack of overhead shoulder mobility. When the arm is...
In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we often see athletes who are dealing with a swimming related injury. Some of these injuries can occur from training errors and poor stroke mechanics, but many are secondary to correctable changes in mobility and strength. Many injured swimmers complain of shoulder pain including rotator cuff muscle or tendon...
By: Chelsey Vasquez, PT, DPT, PRPC Many breast cancer survivors continue to experience shoulder pain, tightness, weakness, and limited mobility long after treatment ends. A new 2026 study published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship found that a multimodal physical therapy approach may significantly improve pain, function, and quality of life for women dealing with...
By: Chelsey Vasquez, PT, DPT, PRPC and Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS For many women, childbirth recovery includes more than just sleep deprivation and adjusting to life with a newborn. Perineal tearing during delivery is extremely common and can sometimes lead to lingering pelvic pain, scar sensitivity, or pain with intercourse months after giving birth....
