Do we ever give any thought about “balance” as we age? Given that upwards of one-third of individuals over the age of sixty-five will have a fall in any given year, it may be a good idea to be proactive about doing some balance training. Let’s use tandem stance as a great example of an […]
Reacquaint Yourself With “Straight Leg Raises”
The straight leg raise is the most commonly prescribed exercise in physical therapy for patients with knee pain. Unfortunately, it is probably the exercise that is most frequently performed incorrectly!! How can something that looks so simple be done incorrectly? The answer lies in successful recruitment of that pesky portion of the quadriceps known as […]
Staying Injury Free in Social Dance
When people think of dance injuries, the mind often automatically goes to a setting of a ballet barre or stage show. Sometimes dance injuries happen in the social dance arena as well. For the purposes of this article, the term social dance will be defined as a dance style that requires at least 2 people […]
Why Do I Have a Forward Head?
Behold, the dreaded forward head. (See pic) A forward head is commonly defined by what we therapist nerds call a “plumb line” that is dropped from the hole in the ear (aka the external auditory meatus) directly downwards. Under ideal circumstances, the plumb line that drops from the ear should pass through the anterior portion […]
Road Trip Tips from a Physical Therapist
The weather is getting nice and people are going to start wanting to drive out a few hours to get to the beach or to the mountains to go camping. It’s road trip time! Any physical therapist would request that an office worker not sit for more than a 1-2 hour duration, and the same […]
Dealing with Dancer’s Hip: Snapping Hip Syndrome
Snapping hip syndrome in a disorder that is characterized by a popping or snapping sound when you bend, straighten, or rotate your hip. This is not a specific functional diagnosis, but is more of a descriptor. This dysfunction is more medically known as coxa saltans (Latin for dancer’s hip). It is less formally but more […]
Floor Barre Practice for Dancers
Efforts to prevent injury for dancers are far and wide. There are many techniques utilized. The major thing done, as with most athletes, is cross training. Dancers don’t necessarily go into the gym to run miles, stack up heavy weights or bust out the agility ladder, although some do – dependent on their style of […]
Self-Massage & the Importance of Mobility Practices with Exercise
During formal rehabilitative sessions, patients spend portions of their treatments doing exercise, getting various modalities (hot/cold packs, ultrasound, electric stimulation), and spend time on a table where the therapist may be doing joint mobilization or soft tissue mobilization. Physical therapists are always stressing the importance of strengthening, stretching, and achieving functional range of motion. Often […]
Continuous Passive Motion Machines, Are They Worth It?
A Continuous Passive Motion machine, or CPM, is sometimes prescribed by surgeons to work on early active range of motion on a given joint following a surgical procedure. Lately, we have seen a few patients here at PhysioDC who have come for post-op knee rehab who have been prescribed a CPM unit for home use. […]
Why Does My Knee Crack?
One of the most common questions asked by knee patients is, “Why does my knee click?” There are several distinctively annoying sounds that can come from the knee: some of them are not worth worrying about, and others are more problematic. Here is a list of some of the more common knee noises and what […]
