How Does Stress Affect Your Healing?   Something that we can universally agree on is that we all have stress in our lives. Some stressors are good and motivate us to be better and do better. Other stressors are more insidious and end up affecting our lives more negatively.    Did you know that stress (good or bad) can impact your rehab and recovery from injuries and illnesses? Stress can significantly impede your progress in your rehab journey even if you are doing everything else right. That’s right, if you do all of your prescribed exercises, get plenty of rest, eat well, and ..read more

What is a Virus? When am I Contagious? When Can I Train Again? Local college athlete, Izzy, wanted to know what happens when someone gets sick and more importantly when someone is contagious when they are sick. I think that’s an excellent question and a topic worth discussing a bit. Seeing as how we are coming to the tail end of our Winter and many of us got sick the past few months let’s dig into this a bit.    Viruses are responsible for many of the common illnesses that make their rounds during the winter months. A virus is a “non-living” microbe that infects a host to live, repli ..read more

What Happens When A Physical Therapist Gets Injured? As many of you know, the road to recovery from an injury is often more of a marathon than a sprint. Although I wish I could wave a magic wand to make you feel better immediately, unfortunately, that’s not the case.    Over the past few months, I’ve been hoping for a magical cure to some foot pain I’ve been dealing with because believe it or not, we physical therapists get injured too! I’ve found myself having to follow all of the advice I frequently share with patients during long rehabilitation journeys, which I’ll admit has been ..read more

Is Inflammation Good Or Bad? Inflammation gets a bad rap. It’s essentially the boogeyman for any active individual or anyone who wants to continue to move throughout their day. Inflammation = bad and that’s the end. Fortunately, there’s more to the story. Let’s discuss what inflammation is, whether it’s good or bad, where it can happen, how we know if we have it, and how long it will last.    What is inflammation?   For this blog we’ll discuss inflammation as it relates to the musculoskeletal system. Simply put, inflammation is actually a normal response to a physical irritation ..read more

In the ever-evolving field of physical therapy, staying aware of the latest research is crucial for delivering evidence-based and effective patient care. In PT school, we were taught how to decipher the complex language and methodologies presented in scientific research articles. In recent years it has become evident that many people don’t have the same access and understanding of scientific research articles.     In this blog post, we will work to demystify the process of interpreting and reading scientific research articles, providing an easy guideline that everyone can use to ..read more

Kids and Sports Injuries…It’s not the Turf   There are few things in life as sure as death and taxes. Unfortunately, youth athletes sustaining sports-related injuries are quickly becoming a sure bet; from the dreaded ACL tear down to “Turf toe” or a sprained ankle. And despite the glaring hurdles these athletes are expected to face we still find ourselves discussing things that are really quite low on the priority list when it comes to addressing athlete health and minimizing their risk of injuries.    Multiple times a year I find myself sucked into conversations about artificia ..read more

Structuring Your Own Training: A Guide for Runners and Triathletes   Do you find yourself ramping up your exercise intensity only on weekends or running at the same pace day in and day out? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. These are common pitfalls for runners and triathletes who may not have the guidance of a professional coach. While it’s convenient to cram high-intensity, high-volume sessions into weekends and maintain a steady pace throughout the week, these habits can set you up for stagnation or worse, injury. In this blog post, we will explore how to structure your training e ..read more

  Every now and then I like to dive into the new tech and gadgets that pop up in the health/fitness industry. Since Justin and I got into the nitty gritty of proper hydration for endurance athletes last summer, it was pure luck (and search algorithms) that put an ad for a biosensor in front of me last Fall.  I got myself on a pre-order list for the Nix Hydration Sensor. It is a biosensor that analyses sweat during workouts to give the user an informative breakdown of their sweat volume and concentration. The volume is measured in oz/hr and concentration provides electrolyte loss in m ..read more

Hydration – How Much Do You Need? As we approach the warm and humid Summer months, it’s appropriate to discuss proper hydration during exercise. This is actually more of a refresher from last year’s content on the same subject. Not that much has changed, but rather the message bears repeating often. Regardless of your sport of choice, or type of exercise, if you’re going to be moving around outdoors then it’s an important message to recap.   Your body needs fluids to maintain proper blood volume. It sounds simple but it’s not as simple as drinking the day before and the morning of th ..read more

How to Prevent Common Running Injuries: Tips from a Sports Performance Physical Therapist Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise worldwide. It’s accessible, requires minimal equipment, and can be done anywhere. However, running-related injuries are quite common, especially among beginners or those ramping up their training. As a sports performance physical therapist, I often work with runners to help them recover from injuries and prevent future ones. Here are some of the most effective ways to prevent common running injuries. 1. Proper Warm-up and Cool-down Routines Starting you ..read more