Health Blog
How to Put the Spring Back in Your Step
We all know that getting outside more and staying active is good for our mind and body. However, if you suffer from knee pain, arthritis, low back pain or other aches and pains, you may find it difficult to stay active. Here are some easy changes to help you get back to the activities you love.
Change How You Sit
A lot of aches and pains relate to how we use our bodies in the day.
Read full blogHow to stop suffering from Arthritis Pain
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. In fact over 65 million people in the US have osteoarthritis to some degree. Arthritis is characterized by progressive wearing away of the cartilage in a joint. This wear and tear over time leads to bone spurs, poor tissue strength, inflammation, pain, weakness of surrounding muscles and poor joint movement.
Symptoms of arthritis:
- Pain with activities
- Limited range of motion and stiffness
- Swelling and tenderness
- Poor balance and walking abilities
- Reports of on and off pain
- Loss of function with normal tasks of cleaning, dressing, lifting groceries, working, etc.
Achy in the Morning
Our bodies are made to move and rely on a finely-tuned balance of proper posture, strength, coordination, chemical levels, blood pressure and more. When you don’t move on a consistent basis or experience changes to your health, you may start to feel stiff and achy, especially in the mornings. Poor health, injury, a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition are also often to blame for the constant nagging aches or pains you may be experiencing.
Why do I ache in the morning?
Read full blogThe Amazing Benefits of Stretching
As you age, your muscle tissue actually dries out a little, tightening. This causes a loss of range of motion in your joints and tissues. In addition to the loss of range of motion, it can really limit your active lifestyles and hinder day-to-day, normal motions. Tasks that used to be simple, such as dressing or squatting down to tie your shoes, now become extremely difficult. A regular stretching program helps lengthen your muscles and makes daily living activities much easier.
Read full blogHow to Achieve Real Relief from Stress Related Headaches
Life’s demands create stress and although some stress may be good, too much can cause health problems. Most people equate stress with high blood pressure, a heart attack or a stroke. But did you know headaches, dizziness, neck and shoulder pain can be stress-related too?
Chronic headaches, usually accompanied by extreme fatigue are almost always a sign of stress. People literally live on Tylenol and Ibuprofen for years because they constantly have a nagging headache, induced by muscle spasms from the high amount of stress in their life.
Read full blogPreventing and Treating Sports Injuries
Exercise is an important part of life in order to become or stay healthy. For many people, sports are a fun way of burning extra calories, socializing and getting fit. Unfortunately, this also means the occasional sports injury, or a flare-up of an old injury or condition.
You don’t have to be a professional or even amateur athlete to suffer a sports injury. In fact, many times those most susceptible to sports injury are people who have just started exercising or do it on a recreational level; your typical weekend warrior.
Read full blogHow to Treat Arthritis Pain ?
When it comes to relieving your arthritis aches and pains, you may have more options than you realize. There is a lot you can do to reduce your aches and pains from arthritis while gaining more mobility and function. Arthritis pain and inflammation is what we help our patients day in and day out with. If you want to know how to relieve and reduce the pain of arthritis, try physical therapy first. Patients often experience pain from arthritis because of stiff joints, muscles and other tissues.
Read full blogOur Article Featured in the Springfield Press
May 13th 2016
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Why Low Back Pain May Not Go Away
Low back pain is one of the most common aches and pains that causes people to see their physical therapist. Low back pain comes in different levels, from a simple achy, stiff back in the morning, to a severe and debilitating condition. By receiving treatment sooner, you can lessen the long-term damage that may result in your spine.
What causes low back pain? Typically, there are 4 main factors at work here:
- Poor spinal and abdominal muscle support
- Poor posture and alignment of the spine
- Limited movement of the spinal joints
- Lack of proper coordination of the spinal muscles
In order for your spine to be healthy and to work properly, you need to have strength, flexibility and coordination.
Read full blogWhat You Eat Can Make You Hurt More…
If you are suffering with aches and pains, whether it be low back pain or even headaches, what you eat can make the pain worse. When it comes to aches and pains, we generally don’t think of our food causing us more pain, but it can. When you have pain in your body, it is typically from localized inflammation due to an injury or overuse. This inflammation can be made worse by what you eat.
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