Should I see a PT after spraining my ankle? Ankle sprains are a common injury and can occur for a variety of reasons such as sports, unideal footwear, or walking over unstable surfaces. A sprain is an injury to a ligament which attaches a bone to another bone. Oftentimes, a lateral ankle sprain will occur from rolling […]
Electrical Stimulation to Improve Blood Flow After surgery, it is common to have a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) device or intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) device to improve blood flow in the legs. The NMES includes electrodes that are stuck over specific motor points to cause muscle contraction. The IPC device typically goes around the lower […]
Physical Therapy After an ACL Reconstruction Surgery According to data from 2012, approximately 200,000 ACL injuries occur annually in the U.S., and in turn, 100,000 ACL reconstruction surgeries occur per year (1). As you may suspect, this surgery is one of the most common orthopedic procedures. While the surgery addresses the anatomical injury in the […]
Physical Therapy for Parkinson’s Most people have heard of Parkinson’s and probably even know about famous cases like Michael J. Fox. But what is Parkinson’s, and what can be done to help people with this disease who have very serious functional limitations? I’d like to go over some of the evidence-based treatment recommendations for patients […]
Understanding the Biomechanics of Running Biomechanics is studying the mechanical breakdown of how someone moves. This can be performed for a variety of movements including bed transfers, lifting, walking, and running. Today, we will focus on the optimal biomechanics of running. As a disclaimer, while there are optimal running mechanics, one size does not fit all in this […]
Rehab Post Tommy John (UCL Reconstruction) Surgery What is the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL)? It’s the “deltoid” ligament of the elbow. It’s comprised of a bundle of ligaments, posterior, anterior and transverse that maintain congruency of the elbow, specifically the humerus and ulnar. It resists valgus stresses through the elbow when throwing, carrying (baby […]
What is Mechanical Traction? Mechanical traction is a tool that physical therapists have for the treatment of low back pain. The idea behind traction is distracting the joints in the spine to relieve pain and decrease any radiating symptoms down the leg. The patient lays on their back or stomach during mechanical traction. The machine is set to specific settings in relationship […]
Should I have physical therapy for my headaches? If you’ve experienced a painful headache or migraine at some point in your life, then you are aware of how debilitating this can be. Even mild and moderate headaches can significantly limit function. When these headaches become frequent and persistent, it can really impact your life. So […]
What is an assistive device? Assistive devices are items made to help a person perform a specific task. Some commonly used devices are crutches, canes, and walkers. There are various reasons why your provider may recommend using a device including pain, weakness, or poor balance. Sometimes people use an assistive device consistently throughout the day, especially if they’ve just had a surgery and […]
What is Golfer’s Elbow? Golfer’s elbow is also known as medial epicondylitis, and it typically involves pain in the inside corner of your elbow. This is the insertion point for the muscles that flex and pronate your wrist. Although it is called Golfer’s elbow it is also a common injury in throwers. The stress placed at the elbow […]
