Need a Little Help Getting Active This Spring? Try Physical Therapy
The weather’s warming up, which means spring is almost here! Spring brings with it a host of fun outdoor activities, like gardening, baseball, and even just enjoying the first round of flowers at your local park. Unfortunately, if you’re struggling with persistent pain or mobility restrictions, you might find it harder to participate in your favorite springtime activities.
That’s where physical therapy at PhysioWorks comes in. We’re movement experts who understand all the impairments in your musculoskeletal system that can keep you from living the active, healthy lifestyle you crave once winter’s over. From pain management to maximizing your athletic performance, we’ll help you meet your spring exercise goals.
Here are just a few of the ways we can help you get healthier. Ready to get started? Call our clinic today!
We Can Reduce Pain and Restore Mobility
Many orthopedic conditions and injuries can make regular exercise feel difficult (if not impossible). Osteoarthritis, herniated discs, pitcher’s shoulder–all can make you feel like it’s easier just to sit this one out. In reality, though, all these conditions (and others) benefit from regular exercise.
Dealing with persistent pain or limited mobility? Our physical therapists offer several options for pain relief, including several manual therapy techniques, such as soft tissue manipulation, joint mobilization, or myofascial release. We use these techniques as the first step in preparing your body for regular movement, especially if winter has helped keep you inactive.
We’ll also show you targeted, tailored exercises to reduce pain in the affected area. Joint pain often stems from muscular imbalances or postural impairments that stress the impacted joint, leading to discomfort and setting you up for more serious injuries. Strength training will help reduce your pain and get you moving again.
We Can Let You Know If You’re At Risk for an Injury
Did you know you don’t have to wait until you’re in pain to visit the team at PhysioWorks? We’re in the business of preventing injuries, not just treating them–and we can help you enter into a new workout plan without fear!
Our comprehensive physical evaluations test the following:
- Muscle strength and endurance
- Overall mobility
- Biomechanics, which looks at how your body’s systems work together to get you moving
- Balance and fall risk
- Posture
- Walking patterns
- Functional movements that you might perform for work, hobbies, or recreation
During the screens, we’ll look for potential impairments that might cause injuries down the line and suggest corrections to address them–before they become a problem.
For example, let’s say you’re a soccer player ready to dive into the spring season. During your assessment, we noticed that you tend to bend forward at the waist when you’re running. This habit means that every time your foot hits the ground, you cause more impact in your feet than necessary, which could, eventually, lead to an injury on the soccer field. By catching the form mistake now–and working with our physical therapists to correct it–you lower your chances of suffering a knee injury (which could prevent you from playing soccer altogether).
We Can Help You Exercise with Confidence
Starting a new exercise program for the first time–or restarting one after some time away–can be deeply intimidating. You don’t know which exercises you should do. You have no idea if you’re performing movements correctly. You’re not even sure what types of exercise you would enjoy.
Our physical therapists can help with all these concerns and more. We can suggest an exercise program that suits your abilities, interests, and goals and work with you one-on-one to guide you through any unfamiliar movements or equipment. We can also suggest movement or activity modifications if something’s too difficult and offer reassurance that even small changes can have a big impact.
Our team doesn’t just help beginners, either. As you progress, you may find yourself plateauing or struggling with certain aspects of your performance. Our therapists can get to the bottom of things and develop a performance improvement plan so you can see the results you’re looking for.
Start the Journey to An Active Lifestyle Today!
No matter your needs, the physical therapists at PhysioWorks will help you get active this spring. Call us to schedule your initial consultation!
Exercise of the Month
Seated Sciatic Nerve Tensioner
3 Sets, 10 Reps, 0 Hold
Sit in a chair with one foot flat on the ground and the foot on the side you want to work flexed with your toes pointing towards your face. Lift one lower leg by lightly contracting the upper thigh while simultaneously lowering your head, slowly tucking your chin towards your chest and exhaling. Slowly return to start.
Enjoy This Heart Healthy Recipe
Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained (see Tip)
- 6 c. unsalted chicken broth
- 1 c. chopped yellow onion
- 1 c. sliced carrots
- 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 bone-in chicken breasts (1 pound each)
- 1 (4 oz) Parmesan cheese rind plus 2/3 cup grated Parmesan, divided
- 4 c. chopped kale
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. ground pepper
- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ c. flat-leaf parsley leaves
Directions:
Combine beans, broth, onion, carrots, rosemary and Parmesan rind in a 6-quart slow cooker. Top with chicken. Cover and cook on low until the beans and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours. Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Shred the chicken, discarding bones. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and stir in kale. Cover and cook on high until the kale is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper; discard the Parmesan rind. Serve the stew drizzled with oil and sprinkled with Parmesan and parsley.
Tip: To save time, you can substitute 4 (15 ounce) cans no-salt-added cannellini beans (rinsed) for the soaked dried beans.
Spring Is Running Season! Are You In Your Best Shape?
Are you looking forward to starting running again after a long winter? At PhysioWorks, our therapists understand running injuries, and we will make sure you run pain-free this spring!
Runners are often misled into believing unproven solutions to avoiding pain and injury. Not many people know that the number-one risk factor for runners to sustain an injury is having had an injury in the last 12 months.
The other most common risk factors are:
- Running experience of 0–2 years
- Restarting running after extended rest
- Overtraining (i.e., more than 40 miles per week)
To ensure you can get back to running or increasing your mileage without pain or injury, start with an injury evaluation and a biomechanical assessment to identify any factors that could contribute to pain or injury.
Our therapists will take a thorough history to understand your training schedule, previous injuries, and overall health status. We use this information to create an individualized program to alleviate pain and get you back to running without limits.
Request an appointment at PhysioWorks today!
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Staff Spotlight
Danny Beeman
CEO, MPT, CFCE, PGAP
Karl Lange
PT, CFCE, Clinic Director
Luda Moskvich
Lead PTA, COEE
Alicia Ables
PTA, CES
Iryna Hrytsyuk
COTA, Industrial Rehabilitation Supervisor, CI
Natalia Zhuk
COTA/L
Leah Salius
Administrative Supervisor
Michaela Caragiorgio
Billing Supervisor
Sherlyn Dagohoy
Patient Care Coordinator
Jeric Tumaob
Patient Care Coordinator