From Our Blog

Health and Wellness – Sports and Fitness

Relieve Stress With Exercise

We all know the importance of exercise in our lives. Exercise keeps our body, soul, and brain, healthy. And now you can relieve stress with exercise without ever leaving your home. In fact, adults who exercise regularly have lower rates of getting any kind of mental illness. Different types of exercise, like breathing techniques and […]

Add Physical Therapy To Your 2024 Health Plan

Add Physical Therapy To Your 2024 Health Plan The new year is upon us and it’s time to kick off our health and fitness resolutions with a plan that includes Physical Therapy. Why include PT? As physical therapists, we are uniquely qualified to evaluate physical changes in your body that could potentially lead to pain […]

Winter Exercise Guide

Winter Exercise Guide The urge to “hibernate” in winter is strong, even for the busiest of us. However, you are better off staying in shape than struggling to catch up come spring. Winter exercise benefits more than just physical fitness, it is also a powerful antidote for the winter blues. Your options for winter workouts […]

Exercise Your Way to Better Sleep

Exercise Your Way to Better Sleep Do you have trouble falling asleep at night? Do you wake up in the middle of the night and find yourself unable to get back to sleep? You are not alone. More than one-third of adults in the United States report either trouble falling asleep or daytime drowsiness. Not […]

Stretching Before Exercise: Should You Bother?

To stretch or not to stretch? Since the 1970s, everyone from Little League coaches to professional trainers has promoted the benefits of stretching as a warm-up before exercise. But, how important is stretching before exercise? Recent research has produced evidence that static stretching before exercise does nothing to prevent injury.  In fact, it may be […]

Take Exercising to Heart

Let’s face it: coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, heart surgery, and heart attack are all scary words. But, here’s why you should take exercising to heart. Research shows that a balanced, individualized, supervised exercise program can prevent and speed up recovery from heart disease. The important words here are balanced, individualized and supervised, because […]

Getting Children in Shape for Every Sport

Whether your children play soccer or football, being in shape prior to the season can help to prevent injuries while maximizing their game. Although it may seem that some sports are safer than others, the most important thing is to get your children prepared. For instance, youth football is often weight and age-matched, which can […]

Running After a Total Hip Replacement

While many surgeons say no to resuming a running program after a total hip replacement, others say you can do so depending on the bone quality and the prosthetic materials used to replace the worn hip joint. In surgery, the damaged cartilage and bone are removed and replaced with metal, plastic or ceramic joint surfaces. […]

Knee Injuries and Running

Knee injuries are possibly the most common injury that runners experience. In fact, it is one of the most likely reasons to keep you from running. Knee pain can be a warning signal that you need to change something in your running regimen. For instance, your posture or the rate at which you are increasing […]

Our Favorite Hiking Trails

Warmer weather means the season for outdoor activities is finally here! While the nation’s Capital can be one of the busiest areas in the US, it is also home to some of the best hiking trails on the East Coast. Between lockdown restrictions and busy schedules, few things benefit our body more than movement and […]

From Recovery To Performance

Often times, as our patients reach the end of their treatment with us, one of the most common questions we get is: “What’s next? How do we go from recovery to performance?” In fact, the answer is simple: you need a plan based on your unique needs. That’s why we’re partnering with the DC Area’s […]

The Cost Of Being Sedentary

While it might be easy to list off all of the benefits of exercising, we don’t typically talk about the cost of being sedentary. In fact, a recent study published in JAMA followed over 100,000 adults for more than 8 years and measured their fitness using a treadmill. The participants were arranged by age and […]

Foundations of Strength Training

Foundations of Strength Training Are you kicking off 2022 with big fitness goals in mind? Before jumping head-first into a program, we have to ensure that you have the proper foundation to be successful. The Basics Research shows that performing 1-3 sets is best, but this can vary. Those with little or no experience should […]

Simple Steps To Starting A Weight Training Program

Simple Steps To Starting A Weight Training Program One of the challenges of weight training is determining how much effort to put in for the most benefits. A little may not be enough for an impact, while too much may be detrimental to your health. Truth is, weight training is important because it can help […]

Add Variety To Your Fitness

Add Variety To Your Fitness For exercise to be effective, it must become a regular habit. But precisely because it is a habit, you may easily fall into the trap of doing only one type of exercise. Follow The Science Recent research suggests that our overall health, as well as physical fitness, can be improved […]

Can Visualization Improve Performance?

Everyone daydreams, perhaps about a set of new clothes or winning the lottery. But can using your imagination bring about healthful changes to both your body and your mind? Can visualization improve our athletic and day-to-day performance? Athletes often report that visualization techniques help them do their best in reality. Recent research has demonstrated that […]

Cycling Your Way to Better Health

It’s no secret: most of us are aware that regular exercise is essential for better health. Engaging in regular, moderate physical activity makes you 20% to 30% less likely to die prematurely. It also makes you 50% less likely to develop serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. The last of these―also […]

Is Cycling Enough Exercise To Stay Healthy?

Between riding our bikes outdoors, our Pelotons, or attending our beloved Spinning classes, cycling is a popular physical activity for many of us. But is cycling enough exercise to keep us healthy? Let’s be honest, cycling gives you a terrific cardiovascular workout. Whether it’s pedaling up steep hills, or attending a fast-paced spinning class, you’re […]

Get the Skinny on Diets and Exercise

Diets and exercise go hand in hand for people who want to lose weight and maintain good health. High-protein diet and exercise programs, are popular because they generally provide fast results. This means, people generally experience faster weight loss than with diets featuring more carbohydrates. But is the high fat content of a mostly protein […]

Cold Weather Exercise Tips

Cold temperatures and decreasing daylight hours do not mean that your outdoor running routine has to go into hibernation for the winter. In fact, cold weather exercise has been show to have a number of positive impacts on overall health! For instance, running through the cold weather can ease the winter doldrums, improve your energy […]

How to Prevent Shin Splints

Shin splints” is the common term for medial tibial stress syndrome, the inflammation of the thin tissue (periosteum) that covers the shinbone (tibia). You feel the pain of shin splints in the lower leg muscles and connective tissues that attach to the tibia through the periosteum. On occasion there may be mild swelling or redness […]

Summer Conditioning for High School Athletes

Any school break can be a training challenge for high school athletes, but summer has unique issues. Not only is the time off from school and practice longer than at other breaks, but summer heat also adds a formidable risk factor. Unquestionably, consistent conditioning is vital for athletes to maintain competitive fitness. The risk of […]

Working Out in the Great Outdoors

Say your gym is expensive, and there are long waits to use certain exercise equipment. Maybe it is time to return to the basics and exercise outdoors. There is considerable evidence that an outdoor workout can be more beneficial than indoor exercise in several ways, especially to improve your mood and relieve stress. One reason […]

Preparing for Ski Season Before Hitting the Slopes

After looking forward to ski season all year, the last thing you want is to be sidelined with an injury or sore muscles due to improper fitness. Because skiing is a physically intense activity, you need to be in peak physical condition when you hit the slopes. At least a month before you intend to [...]

“Jersey Finger”—You Got a Problem with That?

What is “jersey finger”? Well, it has nothing to do with the state of New Jersey. Jersey finger refers to an injury that occurs most frequently in a football or rugby game. One athlete grasps another’s shirt, or jersey, to make a tackle, and the finger gets caught in the shirt. The flexor tendon, which […]

Stretching and Strength-training for Safer Soccer

While any athletic activity has an inherent risk of injury, soccer has traditionally been considered less dangerous than, say, American football, hockey and lacrosse. Significant tragic events in soccer usually involve the goalposts; either the player hits the post or a faulty goalpost lands on a player. Fortunately, these events are extremely rare. Still, some […]

Using Physical Therapy for a Safer Run

Running may seem like a simple activity, one that results in many health benefits, but it can bring with it the risk of related injuries. This is especially true during the warm summer months, when outdoor running is more pleasurable. Fortunately, proper training can help to reduce this risk. Most running injuries occur from overtraining, […]

Born to Run Farther

As the days get longer, you may consider adding distance to your runs. What kind of plan should you follow to run farther and increase your endurance but to do so safely and prevent injury? The first rule to remember is that if you find it too difficult to complete a new distance level, do […]

Vary Your Routine and Improve Your Fitness

Cross-training involves engaging in different types of physical activity and brings multiple benefits. It is an excellent way to prevent sports-related injuries, improve your skill in a variety of sports and improve your overall health—all while keeping workout boredom at bay. A good cross-training program improves all three elements of fitness: aerobic endurance, flexibility and […]

Improve Your Golf Game This Winter

When the winter winds blow and snow covers the ground, it may be hard to think about your golf game. However, keeping yourself in condition during your sport’s off-months helps prevent “weekend warrior” syndrome—incurring injuries when you play overzealously at the beginning of the season. And the strategies we will create can make your game […]

Preparation Before Beginning Martial Arts

In the United States, approximately eight million people participate in martial arts, with tae kwon do and karate being most popular. The injury rate in these activities can be high, especially in women beginning such classes. For this reason, check with your physician before beginning such a potentially vigorous activity. Investigate the various martial arts […]

How Safe Is Soccer for Children?

A great sport for building endurance, dexterity, speed, agility, coordination and teamwork, soccer is a game played by both boys and girls. As far as safety is concerned, the injury rate in soccer is estimated to be between one-fifth and one-half that of football, America’s other favorite fall sport. Still, with more than three million […]

Selecting the Proper Running Shoe

You might think that buying a pair of running shoes is more an issue of fashion than a serious decision that takes any technical consideration. Nothing could be further from the truth; in fact, selecting the proper running shoe is pivotal to protecting your joints from injury. Shoe technology now incorporates different types of construction […]

Get Your Golf Game in the Swing

It is a glorious Saturday morning; you have put the stress of work behind you. All week long, you have been looking forward to playing golf. But when one of your foursome suggests walking the course, you suddenly become a little nervous. Yet riding in a golf cart robs you of much of the health […]

I want to Hit the Golf Ball Farther: Golf Tips

Now that the golf off-season has arrived, it is the best possible time to improve your game. That may sound counterintuitive, but consider this—core and muscle strength, flexibility and endurance are the keys to a more effective and consistent golf swing, and what better time to improve these aspects of your personal fitness than when […]

Skiing and Thumb Injury

Skiing falls can often cause injury to the inner ligament of your thumb, caused by the force of the pole against this area of the hand during a fall. This area, a band of fibrous tissue connecting the bones at the bottom of the thumb, is known as the ulnar collateral ligament. This injury is […]

Don’t Let Your Asthma Freeze You Out of Winter Workouts

Avoiding asthma attacks while exercising in winter is best accomplished by preventing cold, dry air from getting into your bronchial airways. One way to do this is to exercise indoors when it is cold. Swimming in an indoor heated pool, where the air is comfortably warm but not overly humid, is an option that works […]

Pain at the Mall

As the outside temperatures drop, people contemplating undertaking an exercise program often consider walking at the mall. Benefits include a controlled climate, an absence of traffic, security and easily available restrooms and water. However, starting a new walking program can sometimes bring on shin splints, pain at the front of the lower leg. As the outside […]

How to Get the Most from Strength-training Exercises

Beginning a strength-training program can be confusing. Once you have figured out how many pounds of weight to use in your exercise, you must decide how many different exercises to do, how many repetitions of each exercise set is best and how many sets to perform each time. Of course, the number of pounds of […]

Keeping Cool During Exercise

Many of us relish the intense, energizing feeling that comes with exercise, but we fail to think about the dangers of overheating, particularly during high-intensity exercises. While it is normal and natural for body temperature to rise when we work out, exercise requires basic attention to safety and good practice. Overheating—also known as hyperthermia, heat […]

Spring Into Fitness

As the days get warmer and longer, it is natural to want to spend more time outdoors. And outdoor summer sports provide the perfect opportunity to spice up your fitness routine. It is easy to transfer your indoor gym routine to the great outdoors. Tired of the treadmill? Go hiking. Head spinning from spinning class? […]

The Orthopedic Word on Running Shoes

Athletic stores are filled with shelf after shelf of shoes designed for running—enough to make your head spin. But how do you know which shoe will be best for you? Do you take the salesman’s recommendation, or do you consult a professional? How do you know whether one brand of running shoes is really better [...]

The Tale of the Brightly Colored Tape

As you watched the games from Rio this summer, you may have noticed a significant number of athletes wearing brightly colored tape on their knees, shoulders or torsos. Fans of this tape, invented in 1979 by a Japanese chiropractor, claim it can enhance athletic performance by prolonging the effects of physiologic work. Traditional athletic taping [...]

Keep Cool and Stay Hydrated

As temperatures climb, it’s important to satisfy your thirst when you are active—especially during workouts—even if you don’t feel thirsty yourself. But what fluids are best to drink when you exercise? Sports drinks or water can be a matter of personal preference, but unless you are pushing yourself very hard in hot, humid conditions, water [...]

Don’t Let Ragweed Stop Your Fitness Routine

Whether you are a walker, runner, cyclist or golfer, you probably look forward to early fall, when the dog days of summer are behind us and temperatures become milder. Yet for the 23 million Americans allergic to ragweed, this time of year can be prime allergy season. Although we usually associate seasonal allergies with the [...]

Tennis and Golf: Keep Swinging as You Age

It’s a hard fact to swallow: Age eventually catches up with all of us, no matter how active we may be. Unless we work to maintain strength and flexibility, we slowly lose both as we age. Even the most avid golfers often notice that they lose distance in their drives and tennis players lose velocity […]

Slapping Down a SLAP Tear

If you participate in sports that involve a repetitive overhead motion, such as baseball or weightlifting, you may be prone to developing a SLAP tear or SLAP lesion. SLAP, which stands for “superior labrum anterior to posterior,” refers to the ring of cartilage that surrounds the shoulder joint. While repetitive shoulder motions often lead to […]

Slow and Steady Still Wins the Race

As the days get longer and warmer, we’re more apt to engage in outdoor activities like walking and running. Spring also begins the season for charity 5k races and half marathons―great inspirations for starting a new exercise program. Unfortunately, spring can also be the season for injuries caused by overuse or improper training when you […]

Staying Active with Diabetes

Virtually everyone—including people with diabetes—can benefit from being active rather than sedentary. In fact, exercise can have the same positive impact for people with type 2 diabetes as some drug treatments. If you haven’t exercised regularly for a long time, there are a couple of easy strategies to employ to get you started. Begin a […]

The Right Time to Exercise

Patients often ask if there is a right time of day to exercise. They wonder whether it makes a difference if they work out in the morning, afternoon or evening, and if it’s possible to synchronize their body’s natural rhythms with their daily activities. Growing research suggests that paying attention to your body clock and […]

Body, Mind and Spirit: The Benefits of Exercise

Though it may help you lose weight and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, exercise also benefits the mind and spirit. Did you know that regular exercise can lift your mood, fight depression, lessen anxiety and slow the cognitive decline that comes with age? The benefits of regular exercise […]

Exercise Helps Control Asthma

Asthma affects the daily lives of nearly 19 million adults in the United States. Typical asthma symptoms include shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, coughing and wheezing. Physiologically speaking, these symptoms are due to a lack of airflow through the lungs due to triggers—such as allergens, diet, pollution, smoking and weather—that cause inflammation, mucus […]

Fit Over 50: Weight Training for Older Adults

Do the words “weight training” bring to mind sweaty 20-somethings in tank tops pumping iron? It may surprise you to hear that the group that benefits most from weight training is actually senior citizens, especially those who are sedentary or in poor health. As we age, our muscles slowly begin to atrophy, a process called […]

The Benefits of Exercise for People with Diabetes

If you are currently at risk for developing diabetes or have already been diagnosed with it, regular exercise can offer surprising benefits due to its ability to lower both stress and blood sugar levels. The National Institutes of Health suggests you get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week, and the American Diabetes […]

Walking the Plank for Core Strength

You don’t need to be a pirate to engage in plank exercise. In a plank exercise, you move your entire body into a certain position and hold it for a given length of time—a duration that increases the more experienced you become. An excellent way to strengthen your core (trunk-stabilizing) muscles, plank exercises help prevent […]

Statins and Exercise: Maintain a Balance

A high cholesterol level puts you at an increased risk for a heart attack or stroke. Perhaps your physician has recommended that you take a statin, a drug that helps block your body’s ability to make cholesterol. Statins lower cholesterol levels but can also reduce the amount of plaque in your arteries. They are known […]

Sparing Your ACL with Knee Replacement

If you have a total knee replacement in your future, you may have heard about a procedure that retains the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), also known as an ACL-sparing knee replacement. The popularity of this surgery continues to increase, especially among younger patients. But is an ACL-sparing knee replacement worth it? First, you need to […]

At Your Service: Tennis Tips for Older Players

Fun and engaging, tennis can be played at any skill level and at any age—well into one’s retirement years. Because it can help those over 50 maintain their physical fitness, tennis may prevent some of the injuries that so often plague seniors and proactively counter natural age-related changes. As a tennis player who has reached […]

Baseball Finger: The Injury You Don’t Catch

You hear the crack of the bat and see the ball coming your way, but when you reach for the catch, the ball jams your outstretched middle finger. You’ve just caught baseball finger, also known as mallet finger. Mallet finger can result from any situation in which the tip of the finger is jammed by […]

Fitness: A Lifelong Commitment

First, the bad news: It doesn’t matter if you ran a marathon in your twenties or were the star quarterback of your college football team. Being physically fit at one point in your life—even on an elite level—does not mean that you will stay that way without committing time and energy to doing so. In […]

Keep Your Head: Recovering from a Concussion

With all the talk about athletes and concussions, one might ask whether everyone recovers similarly from this trauma. Many factors determine how quickly recovery occurs. Concussion is a brain injury caused by a hit to the head or an indirect body blow that leads to the brain moving within the skull, inflicting temporary neurological damage. […]

Are High-Intensity Exercise Programs Safe?

High-intensity home exercise programs, such as Insanity or P90x, have been touted as safe and effective. This may be true, but only under certain conditions—and even if you meet the criteria to practice these programs independently, it still might be a good idea to use caution when engaging in one. A high-intensity workout can be […]

Exercise: Solo, Duo or Group?

Some people view their workouts as a chance to grab some personal, meditative time, while others think of exercise as a social event. Some find that they adhere better to an exercise routine if they work out with a friend or family member. Does exercising alone or with others make a difference to your health? […]

Activity Trackers: The Ideal Motivator?

Activity trackers are very popular these days. These devices can track the amount of your activity throughout the day and night. Many people wear them on their wrists or clip them to their clothing. Even many smartphones are now equipped with an activity tracker function. So will an activity tracker make you more fit? Not […]

Do Muscle Creams Eliminate the Need for Exercise?

For aching muscles following surgery or from arthritis, you have probably considered using a variety of topical creams and gels for pain relief. Some of these pain relievers contain salicylates, the same ingredient that gives aspirin its pain-relieving quality. Some contain capsaicin, while others use ingredients that relieve pain by providing a counterirritant. When applied, […]

Exercising Despite Asthma

Your physician has said you have exercise-induced asthma (EIA). Can physical therapy benefit you? Absolutely! The key is to find ways of working out that minimize the opportunity for an asthma attack to occur. Interestingly, symptoms most often arise five to 20 minutes after a workout, rather than during one. Along with your physician, we […]

Moving Past Metabolic Syndrome

Being overweight can result from overeating or eating fattening foods, or it can be caused by a condition called metabolic syndrome, a combination of disorders that, when occurring together, increases the risk of coronary heart disease and other diseases related to plaque buildups in artery walls (e.g., stroke and peripheral vascular disease) and type 2 […]

Don’t Get Apoplectic Over Apophysitis

Your preteen soccer player comes home from practice complaining of knee pain, and there is a tender swelling at the top of his shin. Your 8-year-old starts limping and talking about a gradually increasing ache in his heel. In both cases, the culprit may be apophysitis, a relatively common condition where an apophysis—a type of […]

Exercising While Taking Blood Thinners

If you have been prescribed blood thinners, you may wonder if it is safe to exercise while taking them. The answer is a little tricky, because it depends on what type of exercise you are referring to. Plus, the reasons why you need to use caution may not be what you expect. The first thing […]

Make Your Winter Workouts Work

Exercise is essential—there are no two ways about it. But for many people, the ability to exercise is severely affected by their environment, especially people who live in areas with cold winters. Fortunately, a drop in temperature does not have to mean a drop in your exercise routine. Your exercises can be modified depending on […]

Get the Best Running Shoes for the Money

Given the wide range of running shoes on the market, you may wonder whether you need to buy the most current or expensive pair of shoes. A shoe is only as good as the protection it offers the runner. Because the plantar fascia, a thick connective tissue running along the sole of the foot, carries […]

Tee Up Your Golf Game Without Hitting the Links

Your favorite green golf course is covered in white snow and ice. While your friends in warmer climates continue to improve their games, your clubs remain in the closet. But cold weather does not mean you cannot work on becoming a better golfer. Mental and physical strength can be honed throughout the year. As winter […]

Use Your Head with Concussions

In recent years, concern has risen about the long-term impact of concussions, traumatic brain injury usually brought about by direct impact to the head or by severe, violent shaking of the upper body. In most cases, a concussion has little to no lasting effect, but repeated or severe blows can have long-term or even permanent […]

Take Heart: Exercising with Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF) forces patients to make significant life changes. And because the heart is a muscle and exercise is a vital part of heart health, it seems natural that physical therapy would be a great asset for these patients. But whether and how much physical therapy can help CHF patients depends on a […]

Does Running Cause Arthritis?

For years, runners have been warned that their favorite fitness activity puts them at risk for future arthritis. Today, however, many experts say that is not the case. While some studies have suggested that athletes who train rigorously may experience eventual deterioration of the leg joints, others have concluded that adults who run recreationally are […]

To Stretch or Not to Stretch?

In the past, everyone was taught to stretch before engaging in physical activity. Now, however, researchers say that certain popular stretching routines are not only ineffective as warm-ups but can sometimes leave you even more vulnerable to injury. There are two types of stretching techniques. Dynamic stretches are aerobic exercises of light-to-moderate intensity that stimulate […]

How Safe Are High-intensity Training Programs?

Is it safe to perform high-intensity training programs, such as “Insanity”? The answer is affirmative, but only under certain conditions, and even if you meet those criteria, it might not be a good idea. Before even considering whether to engage in a high-intensity training program, ask yourself why you are considering such a program. For […]

Hit the Ground Running After a Long Hiatus

In your youth, it may have been possible for you to sporadically run 5k races without any prior training regimen. Young bodies, blessed with the gift of superior metabolism, increased flexibility, and strong muscles and joints, can withstand a lot of abuse. But from our 30s on, our lung and muscle elasticity, bone density, muscle […]

The Naked Truth About Barefoot Running

Barefoot running, also known as minimalism or natural running, is simply running without shoes or in thin-soled shoes. Proponents say our bodies and feet evolved to run with forefoot or midfoot striking. Running in shoes results in our heels’ striking first. Barefoot running is therefore a more “natural” experience, with barefoot running advocates arguing that […]

Tee Off Against Golfer’s Elbow

You may have heard of tennis elbow, but golfer’s elbow is a less common problem that can affect not only golfers whose swings have imperfections but anyone who performs intensely repetitive tasks requiring wrist flexion, such as painting walls, hammering, typing on a keyboard or even cooking. It may also result from improper form during […]

Extreme Running—Too Much of a Good Thing

Common wisdom says that running is good exercise. It relieves stress, helps control weight and promotes cardiovascular health. But, now, a 2012 study published in the prestigious Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that too much running may be bad for your health and could, in fact, kill you. So, how much running is too much? The […]

To Lunge or Not to Lunge?

When performed correctly, the lunge exercise can strengthen a wide range of muscles. The lunge challenges stability, which is what makes it so effective. A body attempting to remain balanced engages many muscle groups, from the hamstrings to the calves to the core. That makes the lunge a highly effective exercise for people needing to […]

Jersey Finger: It’s Not What You Think

Jersey finger is a hand injury common among athletes who participate in tackle sports such as football and rugby. It occurs when a player grabs an opponent, entangling his or her finger in the jersey. As a result, the finger tip, or distal interphalangeal joint, is hyperextended, and the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) tendon attaching […]

Bring Your “A” Game: Best Preparation for Tennis

Competitive tennis matches feature short bursts of intense energy and demand top physical condition. Players can benefit from general exercise to improve aerobic capacity and strength training for the upper body, lower body and core. Because the sudden starts and stops of tennis can cause injuries, it is important to strengthen joints such as knees […]

Strength Training: Stronger, Not Bigger

The thought of strength (weight) training may bring to mind body builders with six-pack abs and bulging biceps. As a woman, you may not aspire to that physique. You may also wonder, since women produce significantly less testosterone—a hormone that helps build muscle mass—than men, is there any reason to bother with the weights? Men […]

Treating a Sports Hernia

Athletic pubalgia is the technical term for the severe groin pain often called a sports hernia—although unlike a true hernia, no abdominal-cavity organs protrude where they should not. Because the cause of the pain is often missed or misidentified, an accurate diagnosis of athletic pubalgia is the first step in treating the condition and often […]

Add Strength Training to Your Stretching

Let’s face it: Stretching feels good. It is relaxing, and getting all the kinks out of scrunched-up muscles can be liberating. Unfortunately, improving flexibility through a stretching class is simply not enough, either as a therapeutic approach, or to protect your body from future damage. Strength training is a necessary companion to your stretching class. […]

Perspectives for Patients – Return to Sport

A torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), followed by reconstruction surgery, can be devastating for an athlete. It leads to many questions: When can I return to competition? Will I lose my scholarship? How do I prevent reinjury? Advances in physical therapy now help athletes improve rapidly during the early period after surgery. Read full article  […]

Perspectives for Patients – Baseball Pitching

Whether you are the pitcher, coach, or concerned parent, the health of the athlete’s throwing arm is very important. Each year nearly 6 out of 10 young pitchers hurt their elbows. These injuries can affect pitchers later in their lives; 15% of college-level pitchers say that troubles in their current performance are based on injuries […]

Toning Shoes: Hype vs. Reality

Many people have purchased a new kind of footwear whose manufacturers claim will improve fitness and health. Toning shoes or rocker sole shoes allegedly help wearers burn more calories, tone their buttocks, improve posture and curb joint pain. But do these shoes really do what their boosters claim? According to the manufacturers, toning shoes are […]

Batter Up! Prep Your Child for Baseball Season

After a winter of inactivity often occasioned by bad weather, the one- to two-month period before baseball season begins is a great time to get your child in better physical shape. Start with stretching, aerobic exercise and strength-training at least two or three days a week, working up to five days by the time the […]

Team Sports: How Safe Are They?

The physical benefits of participating in sports are obvious in our increasingly obese society, but team sports also teach cooperation, responsibility to the team, mental preparedness and social development. What about the risk of injury? With the consequences of repeated concussions of football players as a hot topic in the news, it is reasonable to […]

Should You Lose the Shoes?

A 2010 Harvard University study suggested that running barefoot can reduce the risk of running-related injuries. These findings have many people wondering if they should get rid of their classic running shoes. The barefoot runners actually wear a sock-like shoe called “Five Fingers.” Runners who wear shoes tend to hit the ground on their heels […]

Getting Into the Swing for Tennis Season

Anyone for tennis? If winter has you longing for court time, you can pump up your enthusiasm—and reduce your chances of injury—by starting a fitness program before you touch a racquet. And it is not just about your swing. Effective preseason preparation includes a foundation of aerobic conditioning, strength training and skill drills. By increasing […]

Weight Machines or Free Weights

The debate over whether weight machines or free weights better help a person achieve fitness is not new. Recently, the trend has been away from weight machines and toward free weights, so it is worth revisiting the benefits and drawbacks of both. Weight machines have several advantages. For one thing, they are easy for the […]

Preparing for Ski Season

After looking forward to ski season all year, the last thing you want is to be sidelined with an injury or sore muscles due to improper fitness. Because skiing is a physically intense activity, you need to be in peak physical condition when you hit the slopes. At least a month before you intend to […]

A Safer Basketball Game for Every Age

If you have ever wondered whether basketball is too stressful on your body as you age, you are not alone. While many people worry that older adults should not enjoy the benefits of fast-moving sports like basketball—for fear of injury or health—with a little help from us, you can continue to participate in this sport. […]

Dive Back in After Swimmer’s Shoulder

Are you an avid swimmer now sidelined by swimmer’s shoulder? You have plenty of company. Swimmer’s shoulder can develop from overuse, a change in your stroke or an increase in the intensity or duration of your swimming activity. Swimmers tend to have above-average flexibility and range of motion in the shoulder—that’s great for swimming. But […]

The Hot and Cold of Physical Therapy

Heat applied before exercise or treatment and ice applied afterward are standard physical therapy interventions. Why? Because heat maximizes the benefits while cold minimizes any microdamage from physical therapy. Heat expands the blood vessels in the area to which it is applied. As the blood vessels expand, more blood flows into the area, bringing with […]