by sportsspt | April 30,2021 | Healthy Lifestyle, Injury Prevention, Bicycle Safety Following bike safety guidelines is an important role in injury prevention. If you have any questions or injuries from riding your bicycle, call Optimal Sports Physical Therapy today. A bicycle safety guide Did you know that more than two people are killed while riding their bicycles per day across the US? Most people do not think about riding bicycles as a dangerous activity, but severe injuries and fatalities do happen frequently. Many bike accidents and bike-related injuries can be prevented.(1) If I asked ..read more

Simple stretching exercises to do while sitting at your desk Pause for a moment and notice how you are sitting. Yes, you! Humor us for a moment. How are you sitting right now? Have you slid way down in your chair? Or, have you slumped forward toward your computer screen? What about your feet? Do you have one foot tucked under you or your legs crossed? If you said yes to any of these positions, you aren’t alone! Poor posture after sitting at your desk for even a short time is common for many people.  With a growing rate of sedentary jobs, many Americans are finding themselves spending eig ..read more

Think back to a recent injury you may have sustained. Maybe you tweaked an ankle while starting your new running program, or, maybe your knee just wouldn’t stop aching after you started your summer tennis league.  You likely had a pretty good idea of what was causing your pain. But you needed to find a healthcare provider that could help. So, where did you begin? Probably with a visit to your primary care provider, and then onto an orthopedic specialist, who finally referred you to a Physical Therapist. These multiple doctor’s visits cost you both money (co-pays) and time. Delaying your ..read more

Plus the Benefits of Completing a Running Gait Analysis With more than 70 miles of trails around Helena and the beautiful neighborhood streets, you won’t have a shortage of great routes. Whether you are new to running or new to running in  Helena, the options here are seemingly endless.  The Optimal Sports Physical Therapy team is passionate about running and keeping runners healthy. We all like to hit the trails, parks, or local streets for exercise and have a few of our favorite spots to share with you.   Lace up your running shoes and grab your water –  let’s che ..read more

An introduction to urinary incontinence and pelvic floor physical therapy.     Heading out on your morning jog used to seem effortless. Your legs were strong. You never had to worry about leaking while you ran. But times have changed. Now you leak just a little when you run. It’s embarrassing. You know where all of the bathrooms are and are never far away from one. Or, you may even have to wear a pad, just in case. It’s not just running either. You experience leaking when lifting weights, playing with your kids, or during everyday activities. It’s hard to admit that our bodies don ..read more

Limitations of the body and poor technique can lead to many golf-related injuries. It’s early. Before the heat of the day has set in. As you approach the course, the morning mist is beginning to clear and the smell of fresh-cut grass floats through the air. You can almost hear the crunch of spikes on the path and the whir of your golf cart. Your hands already tingle from smacking the ball straight down the fairway. You haul your clubs out of your trunk and head to the driving range to warm up.  Unfortunately, you can also feel your lower back tightening. And, the tingling in your hands ..read more

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