Cindy worked as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist for the State of Colorado with an expertise in aquatics prior to becoming a PTA. She has 10 years of Physical Therapy experience working for Wheat Ridge Regional Center and Therapy Consultants. Cindy volunteers with Developmental Disabilities Resource Center.

Welcome Cindy Keefover, PTA to our staff! is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

Proud members of the Arvada Chamber of Commerce is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

Insurance companies admit that most of the cost of Physical Therapy is going to come out of your pocket.  If we finish your care in the average length of treatment, you will never reach your deductible.  Some co-pays are now bigger than our contract rates.  With deductibles and co-pays, insurance covers only 20% of the PT bill.

You will see one therapist throughout your course of treatment.  Our fees are consistent, our style is warm, and our skills are convincing.

For 22 years and counting, determination makes the difference at Accelerate PT.  Get better faster affordably at Accelerate PT.

Pay Less, Better Care is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

Accelerate Remodels Gym

Arvada Office Remodeled is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

Tigers Rugby  Football Club plays their first home match at North Arvada Middle School on September 24th at 1 pm against the Colorado Rush RFC.  Admission is free.

Tigers Rugby Alumni practice on Thursday nights at North Arvada Middle School (72nd & Pierce St.in Arvada). Contact Head Coach Mike O’Brian at (303) 506-8109 to join the squad.

Sign up for Tigers Rugby today!

Go to: http://TigersRugby.com for more information.

Go to the links below to download the paperwork, fill it out, and bring it to practice or a match.

Adult USA Rugby Form

Tigers Rugby Consent Form

HS Side USA Rugby Form

Accelerate PT Sponsors new Men’s Rugby Team is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

One should consume 1/2 oz. of pure water per pound of your body weight daily (200 lbs= 100 oz. each day) and at a slow but steady sipping pace of about 3-5 oz per half hour for optimal liver and kidney clearance. Proper hydration is essential to your healing and your health each and every day.

People taking medications or even vitamins may have a unique need to add water to their diet. Exercise and forced-air heat like furnaces and car heaters dry you out as well. Many bottled drinks are in fact, less effective than plain old water. If your urine is yellow, or your feet are dry, add 2 glasses of water to your normal routine. Drink extra water on days you exercise, have massage, or require the heater in your house or car. Stop the pain. Don’t get dehydrated!

Eight a day

The body loses, on average, about two to three quarts of fluid daily through perspiration, exhaled moisture, and excretion. You must replace this fluid, hence the rule of thumb about consuming the equivalent of at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. Some of the water you need comes from solid foods, especially fruits and vegetables. You get the balance from liquids you consume (juices, milk, soups), which are just as good as water.

Any change in diet, particularly an increase in protein or salt consumption. or an increase in exercise or outdoor temperature may raise your fluid needs. Certain drugs, notably diuretics, will increase water loss, as will alcohol or caffeine. Dehydration is a particular problem among the elderly, in part because the thirst mechanism becomes less efficient as we age.

Normally thirst is the best sign that you need more fluids. But if you’re exercising or working strenuously in the heat, you can lose a quart of water an hour. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty: drink before, during and after your workout.  If you fail to do this and need to replenish the water you’ve lost, weigh yourself after your workout, and drink a pint of fluid for each pound you’ve lost.

One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University study.

Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

Are you drinking enough water? is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

The Degenerative Effects of Inactivity is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

Eccentric Exercise
Widely publicized in the early and mid 1970′s for its value in body building and fitness training, eccentric exercise has proven to be an effective component of the rehabilitation in tendinitis and epicondylitis conditions like tennis elbow.

Unloading Techniques
When exercise is applied while the effects of gravity are minimized, several conditions see benefits that otherwise might have been aggravated by exercise. The spine, shoulder and knee joints are commonly approached at Accelerate PT with exercise setups, which eliminate the use of secondary muscles that substitute for the weakened primary movers of the effected joints. A gradual progression in the loading of the joints facilitates progress in functional tasks including weight-bearing activities.

Aquatic Exercises
Another transitional form of exercise is submersion in water for both loading the muscles with resistance and/or to unload gravity from the body. Stimulation of proprioceptors and assisting the body to withstand longer duration exercise training are possible using public and private swimming pools and hot tubs.

Stretching Exercises
In addition to restoring range of motion for joint and muscle conditions, nerve tissue benefits from stretching techniques for the extremities and the trunk. Specific techniques carried out daily are important in the management of postoperative joint conditions and postural maladies including thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndromes.

EXERCISE HEALS is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

Remember, physical therapy is a process. Seven days a week, you will need to exercise and treat yourself outside of this clinic to relieve the pain and stiffness commonly associated with injuries. We will follow your case until you are well or able to manage without us.

We will provide you with mechanisms and ideas for self treatment. Included among these may be instruction at public fitness centers. We can also help you find the equipment you need for self management and progressive training as Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists.

About the Author:
Ross Hutchinson, PT, CSCS, has been actively involved in Colorado physical therapy since 1991.
You can contact Ross at his Arvada, Colorado office.

Take Charge of Your Recovery! is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy

The vertebrae have two major functions:
· To bear the weight of the body
· To house the spinal cord or spinal nerve roots (cauda equina) within the spinal column

The spine is arranged in three natural curves:
· The neck region or cervical spine, made up of 7 vertebrae – where the vertebrae curve forward.
· The trunk region or thoracic spine, made up of 12 vertebrae – where the vertebral column curves backward, and to which the ribs attach
· The low back region or lumbar spine, made up of 5 vertebrae – which curves forward in the same direction as the cervical spine.

When these curves are in their normal alignment, the body is in a balanced position. This distributes weight evenly throughout the vertebrae so one is in a less vulnerable position for strain and injury.

There are two major parts to each vertebra:
· Vertebral body – The vertebral body is the front portion of the vertebrae. It is shaped like a cylinder and is greater in height than the back portion.
· Vertebral arch – The vertebral arch is the back portion of the vertebrae. It is an irregularly shaped structure.

At the center of each vertebra is a hole, protected by the surrounding strong bone. Placed together, the central opening of each vertebra makes up the spinal canal through which the spinal cord, cauda equina, or spinal nerve roots pass. The spinal cord is the mass of nerve that connect the brain to the rest of the body.

Each vertebra has important bony projections called processes that provide sites for the attachment of ligaments and muscles that are important for the stability and movement of the spine.
· The projections on either side of each vertebra are called transverse processes, and the ones at the back are called the spinous processes. The transverse processes are long and slender; the spinous processes are broad and thick.
· The back portion of the vertebrae, behind the transverse processes, consists of an area of bone called the laminae.
· On the back part of the vertebrae are two upper and two lower processes that form the joints connecting the back part of each vertebra. These are the facet joints. They are important for movement between each vertebra and for movements of the entire vertebral column as a unit.

The Discs Of The Back
Between each vertebra are spongy pads, like soft cushions, called discs – or more correctly, intervertebral discs. Each disc has a soft jelly-like center called the nucleus pulposus, which is surrounded by a fibrous outer envelope called the annulus fibrosis. Eighty percent of the disc is water, which is why it is so elastic. Together, a disc with the attached part of the vertebra above and below is considered an intervertebral joint. These joints allow the movement of the back.

Healthy discs are elastic and springy. They make up 20% to 25% of the total length of the vertebral column. Initially, the disc contains about 85% to 90% water, but this amount decreases to 65% with age, resulting in disc degeneration.

The Spinal Cord And The Lower Back
The nerves that come off the spinal cord are called nerve roots. These nerve roots pass through small openings on either side of the connecting vertebrae. Various nerve roots combine to form spinal nerves.  There are five pairs of lumbar (lower back) spinal nerves. The nerve roots that arise from the end of the spinal cord and continue down the spinal canal through the lower part of the spine looks like a “horse’s tail” and are collectively named the cauda equina.

The Ligaments Of The Back

There are a series of ligaments that are important to the stability of the vertebral column. Important to the lumbar spine (lower back) are seven types of ligaments:
· Anterior longitudinal ligaments and posterior longitudinal ligaments are associated with each joint between the vertebrae. The anterior longitudinal ligament runs along the front and outer surfaces of the vertebral bodies. The posterior longitudinal ligaments run within the vertebral canal along the back surface of the vertebral bodies.
· The ligamentum flavum is located on the back surface of the canal where the spinal cord or caude equina runs.
· The interspinous ligament runs from the base of one spinous process (the projections at the back of each vertebra) to another.
· Intertransverse ligaments and supraspinous ligaments run along the tips of the spinous processes.
· Joint-related structures called capsular ligaments also play an important role in stabilization and movement.

The Muscles Of The Lower Back
The muscles and tendons of the spine have been described as being a supporting system for the spine, much like a tent supported by guide ropes.
· A group of back muscles called the erector spinae are an example of these muscles, which form on each side of the spine and consist of three columns. These muscles move the lower back, help straighten the back, provide resistance when a person is bending forward at the waist, and help a person return to the erect position.
· The multifidus is another important muscle of the lumbar region. This muscle is thick and prominent in the lumbar spine and becomes smaller at its attachments high up the spine. It is an effective lever arm that allows the lumbar spine to bend backward.
· The interspinales muscles, located on either side of the interspinous ligament, also are active in the backward bending of the lumbar spine.
· The intertransversarii muscles attach to the transverse processes. These muscles are not only active in backward bending, but also in bending from side to side.
· The intersegmental muscles are a series of muscles near the bottom of the spine that connect one intervertebral segment to another.
The abdominal muscles, located at the front and side of the abdomen, are very important in supporting and protecting the abdominal internal organs. They also play an important role in protecting movement of the vertebral column in backward bending, forward bending, and side bending.

- YourMedicalSource.com

Understanding How The Back Works is a post from: Physical Therapy Services in Arvada, Colorado ~ Accelerate Physical Therapy