How A Mattress Can Effect Your Back By SportsMed Physical Therapy Most people spend six to ten hours each night lying on their mattress. And it may not be a coincidence that back pain has been on the rise over the past few years. What if the reason for your back pain starts from your mattress choice? Today, we will be taking a look at how a mattress can… Read More...
Working Out with Acute or Chronic Back Pain By SportsMed Physical Therapy Back pain can be a real problem, especially when its caused by having a sedentary lifestyle. Most people experience acute back pain lasting from days to weeks at ends while others are unfortunate enough to have to deal with chronic back pain due to injuries. Working out with acute or chronic back pain can be a tedious… Read More...
3 Common Injuries With Police and Firefighters By SportsMed Physical Therapy If you were thinking ‘what are common injuries for someone in the emergency services, you might immediately start assuming the worst. Law enforcement? Bullets. Firefighters? Burns. Search and rescue? Falls. This isn’t the full story. If any of these things occur, something has gone badly wrong and decades of planning, prevention, simulation and training have failed… Read More...
Are You Able To Touch Your Toes? By SportsMed Physical Therapy If you cannot touch your toes, you are not alone. Modern society has left many of us stiff and tight, with limited range of motion. The reason this is an issue of concern is because it can lead to pulled muscles and joint pain in the future. Range of motion can usually be restored with a… Read More...
Keep Your Back Safe By Lifting Correctly By SportsMed Physical Therapy Treating injuries is necessary, but ideally you want your body to be in a position to avoid getting injured in the first place. Lifting correctly while helping a friend with moving, or even doing household chores is essential to avoid injury, especially as we age. Summer time is usually filled with outdoor tasks, such as taking care… Read More...
Quick Fixes For Your Back Pain By SportsMed Physical Therapy Do you have back pain? If it lasts for over a week, get it checked by a medical professional. If you merely tweaked it, you may be able to recover with some quick fixes. Many times, back pain comes from being too sedentary. Sitting for most of the day will cause the body to adapt… Read More...
Is Back Surgery Right for Me? By SportsMed Physical Therapy Back pain is pretty common. For some, surgery may seem the only option when you can’t seem to get any relief. Is that really the best course of action? Let’s first take a look at the common back surgeries and the conditions they treat. Laminectomy Commonly used to treat spinal stenosis. The procedure involves removing part… Read More...
How to Exercise Safely with Back Pain By SportsMed Physical Therapy The thought of working out with back pain can seem strange or scary, especially when the source of the pain may not be understood. However, you can exercise safely, as long as you are properly informed. Caution translates into resting until it goes away, which happens to be flawed logic. Exercise not only preserves what… Read More...
Fix Your Desk Job Posture By SportsMed Physical Therapy There are many detrimental health effects from sitting for 8+ hours per day, such as neck pain, shoulder pain, and low back pain. Solutions to this posture problem include utilizing standing desks or stability ball chairs, but to address the root cause of the problem, you will need to strengthen weakened muscles while releasing the tight ones…. Read More...
The Spinal Series: Scoliosis By SportsMed Physical Therapy What is Scoliosis? Scoliosis is a condition where there is an abnormal bend in the spine. There are two types of bends that occur naturally – kyphosis and lordosis. Kyphosis is the forward bend that occurs in the upper back or thoracic spine and lordosis is the backwards bend that occurs in the lower back… Read More...
The Spinal Series: Bulging Disc By SportsMed Physical Therapy What is a Bulging Disc? The human spine is made up of vertebrae and in-between each is a jelly disc (called intervertebral discs) that provide cushioning and acts as a ligament connecting the lower vertebra to the upper one. The outside of each disc is fibrous and holds a inner jelly like substance. A Bulging… Read More...
The Spinal Series: Herniated Disc By SportsMed Physical Therapy What is a Herniated Disc? The human spine is made up of vertebrae. In between each vertebrae are jelly discs (called intervertebral discs) that provide cushioning and act as a ligament. The outside of each disc is fibrous and holds the inner jelly like substance. If for some reason the outer layer tears, the jelly substance can… Read More...
The Spinal Series: Sciatica By SportsMed Physical Therapy What is Sciatica? The term sciatica is used to describe pain that shoots down your leg. Sciatica can affect the back, hip, and outer part of the one or both legs. Pain can be constant, come in jolts or can be spurred on by certain movements such as getting up off a chair. Causes of… Read More...
The Spinal Series: Spinal Stenosis By SportsMed Physical Therapy What is Spinal Stenosis? The center of the spine houses the spinal cord. Spinal stenosis results when the spinal canal narrows. If the space is narrowed (stenosis) pressure can be placed on the spinal cord or the nerves coming out of it, which can cause pain. As with many spinal injuries, it most often occurs in the… Read More...
Is Spinal Decompression Therapy for Me? By SportsMed Physical Therapy If you have back pain, as 80-90% of the US population does at some point in their lives, you are no stranger to the inconveniences it carries. Your first step in dealing with the pain is the decision to get treatment. An untreated back injury is far more likely to get worse, than get better…. Read More...
Road to Recovery: Back Pain Treatment (Pt 2) By SportsMed Physical Therapy This is the second part of the Road to Recovery – Back Pain series, focusing on back pain treatment. If you missed the first part click here before continuing: THE ROAD TO RECOVERY SERIES: BACK PAIN REHABILITATION (PART 1) It is important to understand Hip Flexion and Extension in order to help treat and prevent… Read More...
The Road to Recovery Series: Back Pain Rehabilitation (Part 1) By SportsMed Physical Therapy This week we’re back with another post as part of our Road to Recovery series! We’re going to bring our focus onto back pain rehabilitation. We can’t stress this enough…those who sit too much are in trouble. Most likely, if your job has you sitting for most of the day, you risk getting injured, even… Read More...
Sitting Too Much? Another Reason to Change That. By SportsMed Physical Therapy Are you sitting too much? Most Americans will sit for 8+ hours per day. That’s a lot! Think about it…most people sit on the way to work, sit at work, sit on the way home, sit to eat, sit to watch TV, and sit to read. By now it’s safe to assume that we all… Read More...
Avoid These Winter Health Woes! By SportsMed Physical Therapy It’s December! The snow, the holidays, gingerbread cookies, and the injuries. It’s not unusual for our offices to pick up more patients during the winter months, the majority of which come in due to avoidable injuries! Before the snow piles on, take our advice and keep your winter health meter high! Oh look, there’s snow! Here come… Read More...
What is Sciatica? By SportsMed Physical Therapy What is Sciatica? You have probably heard of someone suffering of sciatica. But what is sciatica? Sciatica is a condition in which the sciatic nerve that runs down your leg becomes irritated due to pressure. The pain can affect the back, hip, and outer part of the leg. Pain may come in jolts or be pretty constant,… Read More...
