It's pretty amazing. I see tons of people with knee pain and I consistently notice decrease calf size (atrophy) of the involved leg. Can you guess which knee is bothering the gentleman above? Patients don't believe me, so I have collected all these pictures of people's calves. These are a few since March 2019. Check them out: The exercise to help??? Simple!! Calf raises but with a few important rules to follow:
If you have any questions, please give me a holler! Enjoy your weekend! Dominick
3 Comments
Just as you should spend a 5-10 minutes raising your internal body temperature before activity, you should spend a few of those minutes turning on your core. This is not to be confused with an abdominal workout. Again, before that run, basketball game, Cross fit workout, whatever; don't you think you should wake up the area of you body that connects your shoulders and arms to your hip and legs? I used this as part of my warm up this week and really enjoyed it. Check these 4 easy exercises out. 10 times each side. Rotation and Lift Quadruped Glut & Pull Dead Bug Press Side Plank with Twist
While running across the lifespan can help to slow the rate of decline of cardiovascular capacity and strength, as a runner enters the masters years they will experience an inevitable and unavoidable progressive decline physiologically, biomechanically and also in performance.
Here are 5 tips to help the runner who is looking to stave active: .
TAKE HOME: By adding even just one of the above tips you may assist your running (P.S. Still very helpful also for runners sub 40yrs) 👍🏻 Brad Beer, a physical therapist and owner of POGO Physio in Australia, wrote the following post. He has tons of great information on his blog and Instagram. Follow him @brad_beer It's well established that aerobic exercise improves health, but a new study suggests that better cardio fitness leads to a longer life, and that the benefit may help older adults the most. The results were published online Oct. 19, 2018, by JAMA Network Open.
The Journal of the American Medical Association conducted a study and Harvard Medical School posted this article. In the study, more than 120,000 people (59% of them men) underwent exercise treadmill testing periodically over 14 years. The researchers found that increased cardio fitness levels were directly associated with longer lives, and that people with the highest aerobic fitness levels lived the longest, especially among those over age 70. The participants first underwent stress tests and were then classified into five groups based on their current fitness level: elite, high, above average, below average, and low. Elite performers, defined as the top 2.5% in their age group, had aerobic fitness levels comparable to endurance athletes. When all the subgroups were analyzed by age, the association between higher aerobic fitness and longevity was observed in all age groups, but the benefit was greatest in people older than age 70. The researchers speculated this was most likely because the people were already fit and continued to commit to their fitness as they aged. They added that although it may be tougher to work on cardio fitness in older age, the payoff appears to be well worth it. This article is from the Harvard Medical School in the Harvard Men's Health Watch in Feb 2019. Try this easy stretch for plantar fasciitis. All you need is a step! Put your big toe on the step with the ball of your foot and heel on the ground. Drive the front knee forward, holding for 3-5 sec. Perform 10x and this can be done 3-6 times a day.
This can also help out some folks with Achilles and heel pain. Give it a try and let us know how it helps. If you have any questions, you can always contact me at dominick@sanramonvalleypt.com Here is a quick fix for a nagging neck issues. It can sometimes even help shoulder achiness.
Simply turn your head to to the side of pain and use your fist to push your chin further into rotation. Only hold for a second or two then return to center. Knock 5-10 of these motions once an hour and then see how your neck feels at the end of the day. If your neck continues to bother you, reach to us and see how we can help. Life's too short to have nagging aches and pains...and age isn't a good enough reason! You can always reach out to me at dominick@sanramonvalleypt.com. Does this strecth look familiar? It is a common one to go to for tight calves and ankles, but are you doing it correctly?? PLEASE make sure your foot is not turned out like the picture above. We see it ALL THE TIME in clinic and we must help fix this epidemic! Luckily, there is an easy fix to this problem.
My hands are against the wall in front of me. They could also be on a counter or table, acting as additional support. We hope this helps in getting the most out of your calf stretch. If you have any questions, please let us know! dominick@sanramonvallypt.com Sitting for long periods can get you stiff. Trying these 2 exercises can help take away that discomfort.. They each take 10 seconds to do and should be done 3-6 times a day if you are sitting for long periods of time. Repeated Knee Extension This is a stretch for the back of the leg (more than just hamstring). 5-10 reps with a 1-2 second hold. The leg you are intending to stretch is slightly forward. Next, sit your butt back, keeping the knee locked and low back FLAT, while bringing up your toes. Return to standing and then repeat Repeated Extension in Standing This motion is geared to move the low back in the opposite direction of your sitting posture. Bending backwards is NOT bad for your back (it's proven in MANY studies). Stand with your hands upporting your low back at your waitlist line. Bend backwards, holding for 1-2 sec and return to standing. Make sure you are not holding your breath. Repeat 10x. We hope these exercises help with low back and leg issues. Let us know if you have any questions.
FRIDAY, Dec. 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For patients with musculoskeletal pain, early physical therapy is associated with reduced subsequent opioid use, according to a study published online Dec. 14 in JAMA Network Open.
Eric Sun, M.D., Ph.D., from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and colleagues examined the correlation between early physical therapy and subsequent opioid use in 88,985 opioid-naive patients aged 18 to 64 years with a new diagnosis of musculoskeletal shoulder, neck, knee, or low back pain. Of the patients, 29.3 percent received early physical therapy. The researchers found that early physical therapy correlated with a statistically significant reduction in any opioid use between 91 and 365 days after the index date for patients with shoulder, neck, knee, and low back pain (odds ratios, 0.85, 0.92, 0.84, and 0.93, respectively) after adjustment for potential confounders. Early physical therapy was also associated with a statistically significant reduction in the amount of opioid use among patients who used opioids for shoulder, knee, and low back pain (−9.7, −10.3, and −5.1 percent, respectively) but not for neck pain. “This isn’t a world where there are magic bullets,” Sun said in a statement. “But many guidelines suggest that physical therapy is an important component of pain management, and there is little downside to trying it.” Two authors disclosed financial ties to the medical technology and rehabilitation industries. This is an article that can be found at Physicians Weekly. Looks like a a routine exercise regime can do more than just keeping you look PHYSICALLY in shape...it can keep you mentally sharp, as well!
At the beginning of this year, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) provided a practice guideline update on Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). It has a couple interesting findings:
The Cleveland Clinic expands more on MCI:: When should you suspect that you have mild cognitive impairment? Just as the name implies, the signs and symptoms of MCI are mild and may include:
MCI is most common in people over age 55. By age 65, approximately 15 to 20 percent of the population shows signs of MCI, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. |
AuthorThe therapists at SRVPT have a variety of backgrounds and are interested in sharing our knowledge with you! Check out their bios for more specific information. Archives
December 2023
Categories
All
|