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Have you avoided doing things you love because of pain? Have you been to multiple doctors over the years with no results? Do you feel like you rely on pain medication to get through your day? If so, you might be interested to know that you are not alone. The CDC predicts about 20% of adults in the U.S. suffer from some form of chronic pain.
Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints we see here at Peterson Physical Therapy. It is often related to repetitive overhead arm movement (think baseball players, tennis players and swimmers). Shoulder pain can often be debilitating to the point where everyday activities like putting on a coat, reaching for a cup of coffee or even brushing your hair are impossible.
Continue reading “Shoulder Pain? Common Complaints and What You Can Do About It!”You might be wondering right now, Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFRT)? What is that?! Well, let me tell you! BFRT is a safe and effective method we use to build and strengthen muscles as well as improve endurance. It allows us to positively stress the muscle with low-intensity exercises when more intense exercise or activity is not recommended or tolerated. Even though it’s a low intensity workout, it yields results similar to high-intensity resistance training. This is extremely beneficial for those recovering from an injury or coming out of surgery. Basically, BFRT helps you rehab faster, recover sooner, and gets you back to doing the things you love!
Continue reading “Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFRT)”
Do your knees hurt with simple activities like standing up from a chair, or going up a step? Understanding some simple mechanics of the knee and remembering one simple instruction may help you prevent pain in a big way. Just remember this, Squash the Orange! Not sure what that means? We’ll tell you!
Continue reading “A Fruity Solution to Knee Pain “
Do you have pain in your knee? Are you sick of it preventing you from playing your favorite sport, doing work around the yard, or anything else that you’ve always been able to do but have been struggling with recently? Trust me when I say, I’ve been there and know that feeling!
Just a few years ago while I was going through physical therapy school I got back into playing fairly competitive soccer and soon began to have knee pain. For a few weeks I kind of pushed through the pain and figured that it would kind of just magically go away…maybe some of you can relate to that as well. But, this didn’t happen so I decided to actually do something about it. Thankfully for me, my PT education and being surrounded by other physical therapists and physical therapy students helped me get over my trouble within about 4-6 weeks once I began dealing with it in a consistent manner.
Continue reading “Knee Pain? No Problem! “
So many amazing puns are coming your way in today’s edition of the Peterson PT blog. With summer in full swing, we want to make sure your golf game is up to par. As excited as we may be to get back to outdoor activities, it’s good to remember that it has been a long winter. If we jump into these activities too quickly without preparing our bodies, we could easily injure ourselves. Keep reading as we review some stretches for one of my favorite outdoor activities – golf! These stretches can help prevent injury, improve your flexibility, your swing, and possibly add a few yards to your drive!
Continue reading “Getting Back Into the Swing of Things – Golfing Tips”Most of us spend about one third of our lives asleep, and rightfully so! Good sleeping habits help our bodies maintain homeostasis and immunity as well as regulate cognitive ability, judgment, and memory. So how does one get GOOD quality sleep? One way to do so is by getting the right kind of pillow. Most pillows out there come in only one shape or size, however us humans are not all alike. That’s why we recommend the Pillowise Pillow! Designed to give the best support, it’s available in 6 different sizes to better fit your fine, unique self.
Continue reading “Get Sleep Wise with Pillowise!“
Now that Spring has sprung and the weather is getting warmer, we here at Peterson Physical Therapy will start noticing an influx of people coming to see us with foot pain. I have my theories as to why this happens and I will explain them below. But first, let me tell you about the most common foot problem we see, Plantar Fasciitis.
Continue reading “Foot Pain and Plantar Fasciitis”
Have you ever gone to pick up a laundry basket, shovel the yard, or reach for something in the back seat of your car and next thing you know your back or shoulder starts hurting? Perhaps you’ve been working longer at a desk these past few months and begun experiencing neck or shoulder pain. Or maybe you have been spending more time barefoot since you’ve been working from home and now your feet or knees are frequently in pain. If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone! We work with many people with these issues and helped them develop a better understanding of body mechanics and ergonomics to decrease pain and risk of injury.
Continue reading “Ergonomics and Body Mechanics”Sciatica results from irritation, compression, or injury to the Sciatic nerve. The Sciatic nerve begins as multiple nerves exit the spine in the lower back and merge together to become the large nerve we’ve all heard of that travels into the buttocks and down the back of the leg.
Pain anywhere along the path of this large nerve is considered “Sciatica” and is often associated with the following conditions:
Continue reading “What is Sciatica?”
Are you currently suffering from low back pain? Have you ever had an episode of low back pain in the past? If so, you are not alone. Eighty percent of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime and statistics show that low back pain becomes more common as we age. [1]
This may surprise you, but I have been dealing with low back pain myself. That’s right – just because I’m a Physical Therapist doesn’t mean I‘m immune to injury or pain.
Continue reading “Do you suffer from Lower Back Pain?”
Growth will be the keyword in growing our presence in the community both physically and virtually. We are committing ourselves to at least 1 blog topic/theme per month. Our staff has some ideas but would love to know what’s on your mind? Do you have specific questions or topics we can cover? It can be anything from questions about a specific problem you’re having, recommendations for various products you’ll see in the new year, recovery from various surgeries or how to avoid them in the first place!
Continue reading “Mobility Month – January Recap”
I joined Peterson Physical Therapy a year ago, here’s my story on how I got to where I am today. After college, my first PT job was with what they call a “mill” clinic about an hour north of La Plata. Although I was only there for 5 months, in that short period of time, I began to worry that I had made a terrible mistake by getting into the physical therapy profession.
Continue reading “How I got to where I am today!”
As the soccer season gets heated we often see an influx in muscular injuries. Whether you’re a high school or younger athlete or an older recreational soccer player we are all susceptible to this. In fact just a few months ago I got back into playing soccer after about 18 months. In my second game back I felt my hip get strained within the first few minutes of the game. I knew right away that I probably should’ve warmed up more than I had. Anyway, I was lucky enough that the injury wasn’t too bad and I was able to rehab myself back to 100% within about 10 days.
Continue reading “Soccer Injury Prevention”
This is a phrase we hear all the time! While we understand that life gets crazy sometimes and it can be challenging to fit in a dedicated time to exercise, there are steps everyone can take to fit some movement into our daily routines. In fact, one thing we recommend to people that don’t have a chunk of time to perform 5-6 exercises all at once is to portion out their movements into even smaller chunks. Keep reading to learn about some simple exercises for desk workers!
Continue reading “Simple Exercises for Desk Workers”
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