In her blog post, “10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed By Science”, Belle Beth Cooper describes how simple things (backed by science) can make all the difference in your personal happiness, well-being, and goes a long way to your overall recovery. For more info, see the… Read More »
Currently, there are an estimated 115,000 physical therapists practicing the United States. Physical Therapy was established during World War I with the inauguration of the Division of Special Hospitals and Physical Reconstruction In the Surgeon General’s Office. Some 2,000 reconstruction aides restored function to people with disabilities in army hospitals and to those with Poliomyelitis. Today,… Read More »
If It’s Aint Broke, Don’t Fix It If you were told you had a meniscus tear either by physical evaluation or by testing such as MRI should you have a surgical repair? If it’s not very painful, not locking and not changing functional tolerance, I say “No”. Exam Findings – We evaluate using physical findings.… Read More »
By definition, strengthening of muscles takes 6 weeks or longer. Strength is defined by the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance. Quick changes in strength can often be attributed to changes in neurological activation. Few physical therapist and patients have 6 weeks or more to reach strength goals. We have… Read More »
Physical therapy is a process of using knowledge of anatomy and physiology with exercises, soft tissue healing, posture and body mechanics and applying these principles of healing specific tissues following injury. Physical therapy conditions focuses on the spine and its joint structure including spinal segments, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Major goals of physical therapy with… Read More »
When treating cartilage injuries, stress-loading techniques are valuable as Physical Therapists encourage tissue healing. Lack of stress leads to poorly organized tissue growth. Progressing too fast, or too heavy can slow healing. Only when articular tissues begin the proliferative phase of healing should stress-loading techniques begin. Cartilage distributes body weight in the joint. In joint… Read More »
When a therapist approaches a patient’s rehab program, we must consider the severity of injury. We design our programs to appropriately stress the injured tissue. In treating tendons and ligaments, we consider the mechanics of injury, adaptation to activity, and healing response during rehabilitation. A single high load strain, repetitive loading or misuse injuries can cause sprains, partial tears… Read More »
By Guy Slowik MD FRCS – The spine, which connects the skull to the pelvis, is also called the vertebral column. It consists of 24 segments of block-shaped bone called vertebrae and an additional 9 fused vertebrae that make up the lowest part of the spine, the sacrum and tailbone. Each vertebrae of the vertebral… Read More »
A pro golfer typically might warm up 90 minutes to 2 hours before walking out to the tee. His routine would consist of stretching, putting hitting, practicing short game and then back to any special shots and out to the green. A typical routine for a recreational golfer would be different. Get out of the… Read More »
As many of us have begun our resolutions to exercise, negative thinking creeps into our thoughts. How am I going to squeeze anything else into my already packed schedule? I’m too tired to exercise. It’s boring. Sound familiar? For me this is where the power of positive thinking comes in. The benefits of exercise are… Read More »