Lacking Results in Rehab? You may not be targeting the contractile components of your muscles… Mike has had Achilles pain for 6 months and has lost significant power since his injury. He continues to do his prescribed eccentric heel raises (the standard tendon rehab protocol that has been in vogue for years). They may have helped for a time, but his strength has plateaued, his power has not returned, and it still hurts when he plays.   Note the heel wrinkles as he does a double leg heel raise (green arrows) vs the lack of heel wrinkles as his foot lifts (red arrow) Rudy has been working ..read more

“I was told that if I strengthen my rotator cuff, I should be fine.” I have been doing the rotator cuff exercises faithfully, but I still keep tweaking my shoulder. It started two months ago, and it’s still painful just reaching back to put on my seat belt. I want to get back to tennis and wood working without pain.” Joe had been doing these band exercises for months: Follow us on Instagram to get the surprise ending: Surprise Video Ending Here is what Joe didn’t know: The rotator cuff should actually be called the compressor cuff. True, that term doesn’t exist i ..read more

Making music is a joyful experience But pain can drain all that joy right out of you. When we listen to music, it often sounds effortless and depending on the type of music, can evoke an excited or relaxed feeling. Though good musicians make playing look easy, it’s demanding work. The precision and skill needed to do it well is physically and mentally arduous. Take Alaina: She had to play a complicated piano piece for Opera Steamboat, but her elbow started to hurt, which progressed to finger tingling. She was leaving in a week to go on assignment for the summer, and wasn’t sure how she was go ..read more

At first it was just a small ache in the right lower back, but the pain kept coming back with all the lifting Greg was doing at work. And it was getting worse. Greg didn’t want to miss work, so he just kept going, and the pain kept coming. You might imagine an athlete or performer would do the same thing to avoid being benched. They don’t want to let their teammates down. Lots of people ignore what their body is saying, even screaming, at them.  Why? STIGMA Although there have been big improvements in the culture around sports, performing arts, and worke ..read more

“I was told that if I strengthen my rotator cuff, I should be fine. And I have been doing the rotator cuff exercises faithfully, but I still keep tweaking my shoulder. I hurt it two months ago, and it’s still painful just reaching back to put on my seat belt. I want to get back to tennis and wood working without pain.” Joe had been doing these band exercises for weeks: Follow us on Instagram to get the surprise ending: Surprise Video Ending Here is what Joe didn’t know: The rotator cuff should actually be called the compressor cuff. True, that term doesn’t e ..read more

Steph’s back keeps hurting. She lifts something into the overhead cupboard, and wham, her neck is sore. She twists around to grab something in the back seat of the car and shazam, her lower back is in spasm. Then, she reaches her arm back to put on a coat, and she tweaks her shoulder. Really?? Stephanie keeps going to the chiropractor, but one wrong move and she’s in pain again. Here’s the problem: it’s neither her neck or her lower back or even her shoulder that’s really the issue. Yes, she could and should get stronger- do Pilates, or even go to the gym. Sure, that would help ..read more

It’s hard to walk by the North Boulder Rec center without seeing people playing pickleball. In the middle of winter, the lights from NBRC allow for pickleball play to continue well beyond when I would reasonably be snuggled up inside. Clearly, this game is addictive. In fact, Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the US, with an estimated 5 million players, many of whom just started playing since the pandemic began. Although Pickleball has a cadre of professional players, it’s considered a recreational sport. When people pick it up casually, they often don’t do any con ..read more

by Nina Carson, PT, DPT, OCS Feet. I’ve always been told that I have weird feet. My arches are so high you could park Tonka trucks under them. Well, maybe a few Lego pieces and I’d still have some clearance. You’d think that’d be great right? High arches = strong arch support? Unfortunately that wasn’t the case; when I was younger I was fitted with orthotics; both podiatrists and running shoe clerks told me I needed motion control shoes to prevent “excess pronation.” During all this talk about what was wrong with my feet, no one stopped to evaluate my foot strength. No one noticed my toes ..read more

Three times a week, rain or shine, I met a friend to run 6 miles around the Wonderland trails. No matter the weather, hobbling or in pain, I never missed. Boulder is rife with injured athletes, racking up toughness points for running or hiking through pain. I fell into that trap. From stress fractures to knee pain, I still would pat myself on the back for finishing this or that work out. Then I learned a few principles that changed everything. Head nod (literally) to Danny Dreyer for Chi Running and Chi Walking**. Running or walking can be fraught. Crazy. Humans are bipedal and we usually figu ..read more

Ross Bodine, PT, DPT, FAAOMPT is a fellowship trained physical therapist that works at ALTA Physical Therapy & Pilates in Boulder, Colorado. He specializes in identifying and correcting aberrant movement patterns in climbers before and after injury.    Mechanics Focused Climbing and Training Working as a physical therapist, I generally see two kinds of climbers with overuse injuries. There are those who eventually come in to see me after climbing through pain for months on end (or they see me after an acute incident and then report the injuries that have plagued them for yea ..read more