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3 Easy Steps to Healthy Knees

December 13, 2016 admin Leave a comment

For many people, knee pain can be a way of life, limiting their ability to climb stairs, squat down to get something off the floor, enjoy long walks, shopping and a host of other daily activities. The knee joint is one of the most complicated joints in the body and has to bear up to 6 times your body weight with running or jumping.

This incredible joint has to move over a million times each year and over 80 million times over a lifetime. This is also the reason why things can go wrong, causing injury and pain.

How to take care of your knees

Just like taking care of your heart, your joints need attention to maintain a healthy state. Here are 3 easy ways for you to take care of your knees, avoiding arthritis and other joint problems:

Stretch your hamstrings, quadriceps and adductor muscles each day. By keeping these muscles flexible, the forces on your knee joints can be balanced, allowing your joint to bend, rotate and for your patella (kneecap) to track properly.
Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong. Especially the gluteals and quadriceps muscles. Studies show that those adults, especially over 55 who have stronger gluteals and quadriceps, tend to have less back pain and more ability to do daily activities.
Exercise regularly. While this is good for the whole body, the knees especially need exercise to keep their cartilage healthy. The cartilage does not have much blood supply and requires its nutrition from joint fluid. Most of the joint fluid absorbs into the cartilage only through movement and compression of the knee. Therefore, it is important to do weight bearing exercise such as walking, running and other sports. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised to do less impact activities such as biking, elliptical machines, aquatic exercises, etc.

Having a regular physical therapy checkup ensures that your joints are working at their peak performance. In addition, any problems will be discovered early, preventing the onset of arthritis and joint injury.

If you have arthritis or have had surgery, then a regular physical therapy check up is especially important. If your attention is on that sore knee, then it is time you called us for a free knee joint analysis. Talk to one of our expert physical therapists today and see how life can be with freely moving knees.

Knee and Hip Pain

5 Simple Ways to Beat Knee Pain While Running

November 23, 2016 admin Leave a comment

We all know that running is great exercise for our bodies, but often people stop due to knee or lower leg pain. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but usually ones that we are not aware of. Over 50 million Americans deal with some sort of knee trouble, as the knees are the second most common injured joint, the first being the joints in the spine. Therefore, it is essential to know what you can do to prevent knee troubles from even starting.

Common injuries with running or exercising:

Patellofemoral pain
Meniscus tears and pain
Ligament injuries (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL)
Osteoarthritis
Shin splints
Hamstring pulls
Achilles tendonitis

Most all knee and leg pain can be attributed to the following issues:

Poor muscular strength
Imbalance of muscular strength with certain muscles stronger and others weaker
Poor muscular coordination
Poor biomechanics of walking / running
Lack of flexibility

Don’t push through pain

While feeling a stretching sensation or muscle burn is a normal part of exercising, feeling pain is not. Sharp or dull pain should be paid attention to and not pushed through. Make sure you are doing adequate warming up prior to exercising as muscles and tissues require internal lubrication to work properly. Warming up brings natural fluids to the area to help with lubrication, improving elasticity and function. In addition, make sure to properly stretch after exercising to ensure that flexibility is maintained and gained.

5 Ways to Improve Knee Pain

Increase your leg strength. Do wall sits, knee extensions, toe raises, hip side-lifts and more. Speak with one of our professionals for how to perform these exercises correctly.
Improve your patella (kneecap) tracking. Your patella needs to slide up and down and actually form a C pattern when you bend your knee. Do leg lifts with your whole leg rotated to strengthen the inner thigh and knee muscles. Make sure to stretch your kneecap up and down, side to side, to ensure gliding. Most patellofemoral pain comes from poor patella tracking and a physical therapist is the expert to diagnose and treat this problem.
Maintain and improve flexibility. With running and exercising it is very common for the powerful muscles in the leg to become tighter. For example, the hamstring and outer tissues of the leg (iliotibial or “IT” band) can become very tight, altering the mechanics of the knee causing pain. Stretch after every time you run and do adequate warm ups prior. Try integrating yoga and stretching into your routines.
Improve your balance and coordination. Do balance exercises to build up your proprioception (sense of balance position). Exercises such as standing on one leg with and without eyes closed are important. Don’t forget to make sure you setup for safety when performing balance exercises by having a steady surface nearby to hold onto when needed.
Improve your agility. Many casual runners, simply run, but do not perform other types of important exercises such as strengthening, balance and agility training. Mix up your workouts to include these other types of exercises.

Seeing a specialist

If you have recurring knee pain or discomfort for more than 3 days, it is time to see a specialist. The ideal specialist to see is a physical therapist as they are medical experts in joint movement and function (kinesiology). A thorough evaluation needs to be done of your movement, walking patterns, strength, joint mobility, patella tracking and proprioception. Only then, can the true source of the pain be found, treated and help you understand what you can do to prevent it from returning. In addition, if you are an avid athlete, a physical therapist is key in helping you discover new ways to improve your movement and function, helping you improve your game. Get on the path to healthy knees and call us today for a free joint movement analysis. Discover how liberating it can be to run or exercise pain free.

Back Pain

Back or Neck Pain? What Different Types of Pain Mean

November 13, 2016 admin Leave a comment

When you have an ache or pain it can leave you scratching your head as to where the pain is truly coming from. Just because it hurts in that part of your leg or arm, doesn’t mean that is where the problem is coming from. Is it a bulging disc, muscle strain or did you just plain over do it?

Being a physical therapist is much like being a mechanic for the body. Where is that pain coming from, what type of pain is it, are you out of alignment, what are you not able to do that you want to get back to, how is your body moving incorrectly, etc.?

If you are suffering from back pain or neck pain, here are questions that help determine the origins of your pain:

How long have you had your pain?

For example, acute low back pain may be because of a muscle strain. Chronic low back pain is typical of restricted spinal joints, tight muscle tissue and weakened muscle strength.

How is the pain? Achy, sharp, tingling?

Achy pain is typically a problem with movement due to poor functioning of muscles and joints. Sharp pain can be a muscle spasm or even an impingement of a joint. Tingling sensations and pain can be irritation to a nerve either from compression or inflammation of that area.

Does the pain travel to a specific part of the leg or arm, or does it spread over a wide area to the buttock, back of the leg or arm?

Widespread pain is typical of muscle strain, inflammation and weakness. People will typically relate this pain to prolonged standing, walking and other physical activities. The muscles cannot support the spine or hips and thus become strained. Specific pain to a part of the leg or arm can possibly be nerve related. In either of these cases, it is important for you to seek out the right professional help.

Is the pain worse at a specific time of day?

Achy, stiff pain in the morning can be due to muscle and tissue tightness. Severe radiating pain to the lower back, buttock and leg with bending in the morning is an indicator of a potential herniated disc. Widespread pain is typically related to the lack of flexibility and guarding in the spine. Whereas, pain towards the end of the day after moving and activity is an indicator of spinal muscle weakness, as the muscles fatigue during the day.

Do you have difficulty with prolonged sitting, standing or walking?

Pain with prolonged standing and walking is usually a sign of muscle fatigue of the spine as well as the hip muscles. It is typical to complain of pain to the low back and buttocks as your muscles cannot tolerate the activity. An easy test to check your hip strength is to lie on your side and lift your leg up 15 times. If you struggle with this, you most likely have hip muscle weakness, which will cause a lot of strain to your spine. Most people with back pain have weakness in the gluteus and core muscles.

The good news is that with the right physical therapy treatment plan, you can quickly treat these problem areas and prevent the pain from returning. There is a lot that can be done to help pain and the fastest way to relieve it is to find out the true source and treat it. With our years of medical training, specializing in muscles, joints and nerves, we determine where your pain is coming from. Then with specialized hands-on therapy, structured easy medical exercises and modalities, we can relieve your pain, get you stronger and put you on the right path to return to activities. Call us today to learn more and say goodbye to your pain.

Back Pain

How to Avoid Back Surgery

September 22, 2016 admin Leave a comment

According to the Washington Post, spinal fusion surgeries increased from 56,000 in 1994 to 465,000 in 2011. That is an 8 times increase in the rate of back surgery in 7 years! In Europe and other countries, back surgery rates are more than 4 times lower than those rates in the U.S. Why the difference?

The Washington Post surveyed 125,000 patient charts in 2013 and found the vast majority of people were having surgery, before trying more appropriate conservative measures, especially physical therapy. Physical therapy is far less costly than spinal fusion surgeries, which can typically cost more than $80,000, while the average therapy treatments for 4 weeks runs $1100.

What you can do to help your back?

Most back pain is mechanical back pain, which is the term used to describe the abnormal movement, or lack of movement in certain parts of the spine. This happens due to poor posture, lifting injuries, accidents and wear of the joints in the spine. The vast majority of people suffering from mechanical low back pain, can have significant improvement, and in most cases, complete relief.

Simply do the following to eliminate your back pain:

Improve your spinal joint mobility
Improve your spinal, pelvic and leg strength (core muscle groups)
Improve your spinal muscle coordination
Improve your balance and proprioception (your body’s ability to know where it is in space)
Improve your health (no smoking, proper nutrition, manage your weight and hydration)

Why pain pills make back pain worse

Many people take over the counter medication, such as Advil or Tylenol to get through their day with back pain. Millions of people nationwide take stronger prescription pain medicine, which has strong side effects. However, what most people do not understand is that pain pills only mask the pain; they don’t fix the underlying mechanical problem. It’s like turning the radio up in your car to drown out the squeaking noise from a bad car part that needs fixing.

With pain medication many people actually have worsening pain over time, because their mechanical problem gets worse. In fact, it is very common to increase injury to the spine, because you do not feel the pain. Pain is your body’s natural way of telling you to stop stressing the area.

What to do to relieve back pain

See a specialist physical therapist, ideally one that does hands on therapy and has a spine program, like our practice.
Work with your doctor and physical therapist to restore your normal spinal motion, strength, coordination and balance.
Follow the recommendations after your pain is better to maintain a healthy spine.
Improve your workstations and home ergonomics to protect your spine, moving properly to do everyday tasks. Physical therapists teach you how to do this.
Finally, with the right physical therapy, you can eliminate or reduce your dependency on medication.

While in some cases, surgery is absolutely needed, the vast majority of people just need physical therapy to get rid of their low back pain and start an active, healthy lifestyle. If you are concerned about your back pain, give us a call to schedule a time to speak with one of our therapists. If you know someone who is suffering, forward this article to him or her. It’s time to ditch the pills and get back to an active, pain free, flexible and strong spine. Call us today!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/spinal-fusions-serve-as-case-study-for-debate-over-when-certain-surgeries-are-necessary/2013/10/27/5f015efa-25ff-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html

Health and Wellness

Are You Breathing Correctly?

September 13, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Do you have to deal with aches, pains, feeling stiff, headaches or just plain fatigue? Your breathing patterns may be to blame. We are all subjected to daily stresses that cause us subconsciously to change our breathing patterns. The normal responses to stress are a whole host of reactions, including shallower, but rapid breathing, increased blood pressure and more. This causes actual changes in blood chemistry and gets your body ready for a fight or flight response.

In today’s high-pressure world, we deal with our bodies being on a continuous fight or flight response. This chronic stress causes us to change our breathing patterns, which actually makes our blood more acidic. It also slows down your lymphatic system, which is responsible for carrying normal metabolic waste materials away. These blood chemistry and lymphatic changes can lead to symptoms of general fatigue, aches, pains, sleepiness and even headaches. In some cases, fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders can be traced to chronic stress and biochemical changes from altered breathing. That is why it is so important for these sufferers to focus on restoring proper posture and breathing techniques.

Posture and Your Breathing

Your posture is critical to how well your body can breathe. If you find yourself slouching all the time and find your head protruding forward, your posture will greatly affect your breathing. The spine is the anchor for your breathing muscles, requiring good flexibility and proper curvatures to function properly. Furthermore, having good posture, means your ribs have room to expand properly, filling your lungs and using your diaphragm muscle correctly.

How You Should Breathe

Take a moment to look in the mirror and place your hand on your upper abdomen. Do you find yourself breathing with your shoulders and upper trapezius muscles? This is wrong and you should not actually have much movement in these areas when breathing normally. Most of the movement should come from your upper abdomen expanding as your diaphragm muscle descends.

What You Can Do

It is important to take time every day to correct your breathing and train your body to breathe properly again. It is amazing, that with 5-10 minutes of proper training a day, you can feel more energized, reduce fatigue, alleviate a lot of common ailments and feel your best.

Proper Technique

Lie on your back with a pillow under your head for support.
Place your hands on your upper and lower abdomen.
Close your eyes and take normal, but slightly deeper breathes.
Try to maintain a rhythm of a continuous inhalation for 4 seconds, then exhalation for 6 seconds. Eventually, as you feel good with this speed, slightly increase the duration for 6 seconds inhalation, then 8 seconds exhalation.
Focus on making your abdomen rise and lower, while keeping your shoulders relaxed. Gently feel your chest rise towards your throat and your ribs expand outwards and upwards. However, continue to make sure that your neck and shoulders stay relaxed.

How Physical Therapy Helps

Our physical therapists are experts in posture and motion. Proper breathing technique is a big component of our whole body approach to making your body perform to its peak. Whether you are an athlete or a senior, everyone can benefit from better movement, posture and breathing. If you suffer from neck, back or joint pains, we can help you quickly relieve pain and live a healthy life. Call us today to learn more and talk to one of our specialized therapists. It will be like taking a breathe of fresh air!