Rotator cuff injuries span the spectrum from acute strains to chronic tendon pain (tendinopathy) and rotator cuff tears. Physical Therapy remains the gold standard, first line treatment for all rotator cuff injuries due to its’ cost and clinical effectiveness treating these disorders. A Physical Therapy first strategy has been reinforced by recent research demonstrating equivalent...
Rotator cuff tears are a common finding among middle aged adults with shoulder pain, but are also found among their peers without shoulder pain. Many of us will develop these tears as we age and as we have discussed in previous blog posts there is no difference in outcomes at 1 or 2 years if...
Lateral elbow pain, previously known as tennis elbow, is the most common reason for elbow pain and 2nd most common overuse injury in the arm after the shoulder. Lateral elbow pain was previously described as an inflammatory condition involving the wrist and finger extensor muscles insertion into the elbow. We now know this condition affects...
As long as I have been in the profession, clinicians have continued to search for the next best thing to reduce pain and inflammation, as well as, improve any number of clinical factors. Unfortunately, the medical literature is filled with trials showing non significant effects as many of these devices have failed to outperform proven...
Symptomatic rotator cuff tears commonly occur in adults > 50 years old and can be either atraumatic or traumatic in nature. These tears become more common with age, but are often are found in shoulders without pain and often have similar MRI scan findings between symptomatic and asymptomatic sides of the body. Thus, the a...
Dry needling is a commonly utilized Physical Therapy intervention which targets taught, tender bands of muscle tissue. This effective treatment has been previously shown to reduce muscle pain and improve muscle performance and function. In our Boulder Physical Therapy clinic we commonly see an immediate improvement in muscle length and mobility following the dry needling...
By: Erica Tran, PT, DPT, OCS Pregnancy is a powerful journey, one that transforms your body, your strength, and your mind. As a physical therapist and strength coach, I firmly believe that staying active and lifting during pregnancy (when medically cleared) isn’t just okay it’s empowering and necessary. In this post, I’ll walk you through...
By: John Crawley, PT, DPT, OCS Rock climbing, like all other sports, has risk factors that contribute to injury rates. Knowing what factors contribute to added injury risk can help participants build better training programs and potentially reduce future risk of injury. Luckily, researchers have begun to ask these questions and have made progress in...
By Kristin Carpenter, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT The hormonal decline resulting from the menopausal transition (ie: perimenopause) is characterized by detrimental impacts on health including: increased cardiometabolic risk factors (insulin resistance, Type II diabetes, increased central adiposity, weight gain), reduced mental and physical health (depression, loss of lean muscle mass, reduced bone density and increased...
When you see a CrossFit, weight training, or gym workout posted with overhead press, push press or jerks, and your first thought is that you are concerned about how your back will fair, then this post is for you. When pressing a barbell (or any object) directly overhead it is necessary to have a strong,...
