Soft Tissue Work

In addition to the dynamic warm-up, it is crucial to not ignore the quality and condition of our muscles that we are training. Our muscles are surrounded by a dense, fibrous tissue known as fascia. This fascial tissue does not have elastic property like a muscle and therefore does not respond to stretching. These “knots” or restrictions that form in and around our muscles are best treated with some form of manual therapy or soft tissue work. Failure to treat the fascia will decrease the function of the muscle and dramatically increase injury risk.

As mentioned above, fascia is an extremely dense, fibrous connective tissue that is the common link between our skeleton and our muscular system. It is known as a “passive” structure in the body. In other words, it does not have the ability to contract and relax like a muscle and therefore cannot be strengthened or stretched. Fascia responds directly to the stress that we put on our body. For example, a common location for “knots” is the upper trapezius muscle (connecting our neck to our shoulder). This area is often restricted due to the forward head, rounded shoulder posture that we hold while sitting at a computer, driving, reading, etc.

In the athletic population, we often find soft tissue/fascial restrictions throughout the body based on overuse and decreased efficiency of movement (as discussed in our previous post and will be further examined in future posts.) If left untreated, these soft tissue restrictions will lead to further muscle imbalance, increased compensation, and increased risk of injury.

In the past, this presentation would result in a physician or trainer telling the patient that he/she is “tight” and “needs to stretch more”. What we have now learned is that this particular person needs more soft tissue work/manual therapy to correct the imbalances and restrictions and strive to establish proper movement without restriction. The combination of manual therapy and postural correction is essential to establish painfree movement and improved athletic activity.

There are many options to improve soft tissue mobility. The most common forms of SMR (or self-myofascial release) are the foam roller, the Tiger Tail, the “Stick”, and the use of a massage ball. There are many professional options available to the patient that can sometimes be confusing. (i.e. physical therapist, massage therapist, chiropractor, and some athletic and personal trainers). It is important to note here that massage alone is often effective in managing the patient’s symptoms, but often will not have the desired long lasting effect unless it is coupled with corrective exercise.

Lastly, the Graston Technique is a highly effective soft tissue treatment offered at Momentum Physical Therapy. It is a specialized form of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization that has been proven to be extremely effective in treating a wide range of pain and injury. Graston is prominently featured on our website at www.momentumpt.com.

Expanding Role For Physical Therapists

Great article in the Wall Street Journal posted below.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704654004575518010995537450.html?KEYWORDS=physical+therapy

It highlights the evolving role of the physical therapist - “more older people are starting to hire physical therapists before they get hurt to fill the role of personal trainer.”

Consider the experience and education level of the individual you hire to handle your fitness goals.

"A proactive visit to a physical therapist can reveal the muscle imbalances and inefficient movement patterns that cause injury. The therapist can provide a regime that corrects those problems while enhancing endurance, balance, strength and weight control."
See More

Dynamic Warm-Up

We have all heard the phrase “practice like you play”. This has been found to be a requirement when speaking about a proper warm-up to prepare for sport/activity.

Most adults that we see in the clinic (if they stretch/warm-up at all) will prepare for a workout/activity the same way they their phys. ed. teacher taught them 20 years before. Thankfully, the physical therapy and fitness industries have evolved.

We are now armed with research and experience to develop specific warm-up programs to properly prepare the body for the movements it needs to encounter during their sport of choice.

Gone are the days of sitting and reaching for your toes to “stretch” your hamstrings or tucking a leg behind you in a seated position and reaching for your toes to “stretch” your quads. These outdated forms of static stretching are now being proven to decrease muscular productivity rather than enhance it! In these cases, it may actually be better to do nothing!

The good news is that a lot of youth coaches are slowly starting to catch on to the idea of a dynamic warm-up. However, most simply implement a series of high leg kicks, skips, lunges, hops, and jumps with very little instruction on the goals of the program and minimal correction of common mistakes that athletes will make.

This is often the part of practice that is run by the players and unfortunately for the majority turns into a time to talk and relax, rather than prepare the body for athletic activity.

The key to a proper dynamic warm-up is improving neuromuscular efficiency, or in other words, to effectively change the way an athlete moves, thus making the movement proper and automatic. A movement is efficient when the brain is trained to recruit the proper muscles with the proper timing to perform the desired movement. The nature of athletics is to overuse certain muscle groups based on the demand of the sport. For example, a hockey player tends to overuse their hip flexors and adductor (groin) muscles while skating, thus predisposing them to us muscle strain/tendonitis.

Our initiative at Momentum Physical Therapy is to educate the athlete, parents, and coaches on safe and effective techniques to help prevent injury. The dynamic warm-up is a key step in accomplishing this goal.

Top 5 Secrets to Prevent Injury

We will look at each of these topics individually in greater detail in future blog posts to help guide our readers in safe and effective exercise training principles.

Please note that we are not ignoring the value of proper nutrition, sleep, and recovery periods, but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on activities that involve the movement system.

1. Dynamic Warm-Up: A proper warm-up is essential. Preparing the body to exercise with dynamic movement-based activites (i.e. leg swings, walking toe touches) is far superior to the traditional static stretching routine that we learned in gym class. (i.e. sit and reach, seated butterfly stretch). In fact, there is research to support that conventional stretching with long hold times (30 seconds) actually makes us less prepared for the exercise/sport that we are preparing for.

2. Soft Tissue Work: In addition to the dynamic warm-up, it is crucial to not ignore the quality and condition of our muscles that we are training. Our muscles are surrounded by a dense, fibrous tissue known as fascia. This fascial tissue does not have elastic property like a muscle and therefore does not respond to stretching. These “knots” or restrictions that form in our muscles are best treated with use a foam roller. (or other options such as the Tiger Tail, Massage stick, or massage ball). Check out our website (www.momentumpt.com) to learn more about the cutting edge soft tissue technique that we are using to get incredible results with our patients! Failure to treat the fascia will decrease the function of the muscle and dramatically increase injury risk.

3. Strengthen the Weak Muscles: Most injuries that we see in the clinic are the result of muscle imbalance or asymmetry. This means the patient will present with areas of strength (which are often relied upon and overused in daily function) and areas of weakness (which are underused and become weaker). This imbalance results in overuse and eventual breakdown (i.e. tendonitis) of the stronger muscles. Unfortunately, most of the patients we see that are exercising, are strengthening their strong muscles (i.e. biceps, triceps, deltoids, chest, quadriceps) rather than addressing their weaker muscles (i.e. deep abdominals, gluteals, upper back, and rotater cuff).

4. Stand Up: Have you ever asked yourself why we sit all day (driving, computer, eating) and then we go to the gym to “exercise” and we continue to sit on machines or benches. The role and responsibility of our muscles drastically changes when we stand up. Our injuries commonly occur when we stand up and move, yet we train ourselves to prepare for these activities by sitting? It doesn’t make sense! We need to engage our muscles to support our posture against gravity and stabilize our joints through functional movements such as squatting and lunging.

5. It Starts in the Middle: Whether you are building a house or stacking children’s blocks, the key to its stability is a strong foundation. The human body is no different. The trendy term in fitness is “core strengthening”. This is often mentioned, but rarely understood. We view the “core” as everything besides your extremities (arms and legs). The role of the “core” is to be stable to allow your arms and legs to function efficiently. It is the base from which all of our postures and movements originate. As a result, it is crucial to understand because improper “core strengthening” (i.e. traditional situps and ab. machines) can actually increase your pain and injury risk.

Check back and learn more about each of these topics and see how adding them into your program can help reduce your risk of injury.

Top 5 Secrets to Prevent Injury

The key to preventing injury is selecting the right professional to help you. We believe physical therapists, based on their expertise in human movement, are perfectly suited to help decrease pain and minimize risk of injury.

We often hire professionals to fix our car, cut our hair, and handle our taxes…. However, we decide to maintain our bodies based on information we read on the internet, a magazine article, or “something someone told me once”. I cannot count the number of patients that we have treated over the years that come in due to a preventable injury sustained at the gym. We recommend being proactive in preventing injury so that pain doesn’t become a “normal” part of your life.

Please check back in tomorrow when we reveal the top 5 "secrets" to prevent injury.

Innovative Treatment for Muscular Injuries

Have you ever had a muscle injury that just would not heal? Frustrating isn't it? It's one of the facts of aging - injuries are more likely to occur.

One of the reasons why some muscle and tendon injuries don't heal properly, however, is due to excessive scar tissue build-up in the muscle. Scar tissue formation is the body's natural response to healing an injury. Unfortunately, some muscle injuries result in excessive scar tissue formation which will inhibit full healing and lead to chronic pain and decreased strength. Graston Technique® is a method used at Momentum Physical Therapy to address this excessive scar tissue formation, reduce pain, and foster faster recovery.

How Does It Work?

Graston Technique® is an innovative, patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization that enables clinicians to effectively break down scar tissue and fascial restrictions. The Technique utilizes specially designed stainless steel instruments to specifically detect and effectively treat areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation.

Common injuries treated with Graston Technique® are Tendonitis (i.e. tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, patellar tendonitis, Achilles tendonitis), plantarfasciitis, carpal tunnel, muscle strains/tightness, low back pain, headaches, TMJ and shoulder pain.

It is important to realize that Graston Technique® is most successful when used in combination with flexibility and strengthening activities tailored to your specific needs.

If you think you could benefit from Graston Technique®, feel free to contact Momentum Physical Therapy in Milford for additional information. Also, check out our website www.momentumpt.com for a slide show to learn more about Graston Technique.

Is that pain coming from my hip joint?

The hip joint is receiving quite a bit of press due to the prevalence of injuries in elite athletes. We all admire the skill and commitment of these athletes and are amazed at what their bodies can achieve. It is no surprise that many of them experience pain and injuries to the cartilage (or labrum) of the hip joint. But, are only professional athletes susceptible to hip injuries such as labral tears?

Unfortunately for the rest of us, the answer is NO!

Whether you are a couch potato or a weekend warrior, you too can sustain an injury to the cartilage in your hip. Luckily identifying certain factors that may place you a risk for this injury may be your salvation.

If you perform activities with a high level of rotational stresses to the hip, you are at risk for a labral tear. Repetitive movements of lifting and twisting with your foot planted on the ground will place increased stress on the hip joint. Amateur athletes, including those in high school, may also be at risk if the sport they participate in requires repetitive cutting, twisting and pivoting. The risk is heightened when the athlete has specific weakness throughout muscles in the core, gluteals and lower body, leading to reduced stability of the hip joint.

It is also important to realize that no two hip joints are the same. The human body is unique and develops differently for each person. Not everyone has the flexibility of a gymnast or the strength of an Olympic weight lifter. Depending how the hip joint develops from when you were a child dictates how easily the hip moves in various directions. Problems can occur when a person repeatedly performs an activity, whether it is exercise or their occupation, in such a way that places increased stress on the hip joint in a manner that it can not sustain. Over time, this increased stress will lead to a gradual fraying of the cartilage and result in pain and reduced mobility. If these stresses to the joint are not reduced, further degenerative changes to the bony surfaces will also occur.

This does not mean that everyone will have an injury to their hip joint. One must be aware of the limitations of the joint and know the signs when something may be injured.

Most individuals who have a labral tear complain of a deep, sharp, pinching pain throughout the front of the hip and groin region. Pain usually worsens with certain positions of their hip, including rotation of the leg, lifting the knee towards the ceiling or bringing the leg across the body. Athletes will have pain with pushing off with cutting and pivoting motions. Usually movement is more painful than at rest. The labrum serves to improve the fit of the ball inside the socket. When a tear to the labrum occurs, the overall stability of this fit may be compromised. Individuals may experience a feeling of “giving-way,” or describe the hip being “out of position.”

The protective effect of the labrum is to absorb stress to the bony surfaces of the hip joint.
When the labrum can no longer perform this duty, increased loads on the bones will be sustained, resulting in degeneration. This is why is it essential to identify and correct a labral injury in the early stages.

How are labral tears diagnosed?

Typically, the diagnosis of a labral tear occurs from a combination of clinical tests done by the orthopedist/physical therapist and a MRI arthrogram. MRIs have become a more prescribed diagnostic test, but many individuals may not be familiar with an arthrogram procedure. Essentially, this test is the same as an MRI only the patient is injected with a contrast dye into the hip joint. Due to its deep location, the labrum is better highlighted with the use of a contrast dye. Also, when the dye is used, the radiologist/orthopedist is looking for any leakage of this material out of the joint itself. If leakage is observed, a tear to the labrum/joint capsule has occurred.

Without the use of a contrast dye, a labral tear is often missed, resulting in a misdiagnosis. The most common being a strain to the hip flexor muscle. Because the hip flexor muscle is located in the front aspect of the hip joint, and pain is usually located to this area with a labral tear, it is not difficult to see why a misdiagnosis occurs without proper imaging. Unfortunately, misdiagnoses often lead to a level of frustration from the individual as pain and reduced function persist.

What if a labral tear is observed and diagnosed?

The diagnosis of the labral tear does not always mean that surgery is a must. It directly depends on the size and stability of the tear, the patient’s activity level, age, and the health of the bony structure of the hip. If the individual is young, athletic and the bones do no show significant degenerative changes, surgery is usually recommended especially if the tear is large and impeding function. If the tear is minor, the individual may be able to avoid surgery if he/she is instructed in ways to reduce the stress to the hip joint by addressing underlying muscle weaknesses. In this case, physical therapy may be extremely helpful.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

If you are experiencing pain, stiffness and reduced ability to perform your daily activities, including exercise, sports, walking, sitting, bending over, crossing your legs, and sleep, it is best to be evaluated by a trained professional as soon as possible. Early detection of problems to the hip will likely allow you to get back to your daily activities and sport painfree and more importantly, reduce your risk for further injury to your body.

The foam roller: “a steam roller for your muscles”

The foam roller is a great tool to assist in improving your muscle flexibility. Many of us have seen these at our fitness centers, but don’t know what they are used for. The come in different colors and sizes and look like big “pool noodles.” Some even look medieval with ridges. If you have always been curious about what the foam roller is used for, then this article was written especially for you!

Why use the foam roller?
The foam roller as stated above is a way to improve your muscle flexibility. It essentially is a way for you to give yourself a deep massage. It is primarily used for the larger muscles in the lower body, but there are some basic techniques to address the upper back muscles as well. Many of us know it is a good idea to stretch. Some of us even stretch on a religious basis, but don’t find that our flexibility never significantly improves. This is because our muscles are covered in fascia. Fascia is a web-like structure that is interconnected throughout the body. To visualize, think of the last time you cleaned a chicken breast. The film covering the chicken is fascia. This is what covers are muscles as well.

Over time, this covering over our muscles can becomes tight and “wound-up,” pulling in various directions. This excessive pulling causes increased tension and compression on the underlying muscle and often can contribute to pain.

Why does the fascia become tight?
There are many reasons why the fascia over certain muscles becomes tight. It may happen as a result of increased exercise when certain muscle groups are worked harder than others. Fascia may also become tight after surgeries, immobilization or sustaining one position for an extended period of time.

How will it help my flexibility?
Think about what would happen if you had a piece of duct tape wrapped tightly around your thigh muscle as you tried to stretch it. Not much would happen, right? This is essentially what happens if the fascia becomes tight and adheres to the underlying muscle too firmly. Unless we “loosen up” this duct tape, the muscle will not be able to stretch appropriately.

How can the foam roller help?
The foam roller acts as a steam roller to the fascia. It will gradually loosen-up the “duct-tape,” and allow the muscle to be stretched. The foam roller also aids in reducing tender points and “knots” in the muscles. It can be very helpful in reducing muscle soreness after increased exercise or sports.

How do I use the foam roller?
It is best to have a physical therapist properly educate you how to use the foam roller. In general, the roller is used on the larger muscles in the lower body. Usually, each muscle is rolled very slowly for 1-2 minutes. Of course, if this is the first time using the roller, less time may be appropriate as a tight muscle usually feels a little sore to start. If a “knot” is felt, 30 seconds of sustained pressure from the roller directly on that spot will slowly release the tension. Again, please consult with a physical therapist or other trained professional for the proper use for YOUR body.

How often should I roll my muscles?
In general, you should use the roller 1x per day. Many athletes are instructed to use the roller as a warm-up prior to their work-out/sport and then again at the end. Using the roller at the completion of the athletic event or training session, will significantly reduce the muscle soreness over the next 12-24 hours.

It hurts! Should I still use the foam roller?
As mentioned earlier, when you are using the foam roller for the first time, you will likely experience soreness within the muscle that is tight. If you stick with it, you will see a substantial reduction in the soreness within a few weeks. Experiencing muscle soreness while you use the roller is normal. As soon as you get off the roller, the soreness will stop. In fact, many people feel much better after they use the foam roller on a regular basis. Of course if the soreness does not feel like normal muscle tightness, please stop and consult with a trained professional.

What is the difference between the rollers?
Variety is the spice of life, so they say… As with everything else, there are many choices with the foam roller. Manufactures have their own color-coded system to depict the density and material the roller is made of. The more firm/dense the roller is, the deeper the massage effect to the muscles. In general, if you are using the foam roller for the first time, you should not jump into the high density choice. This is usually too aggressive for first-timers.

Remember, the foam roller is used as an adjunct to stretching. It does not take the place of stretching. If you feel as though your flexibility needs a boost, try the foam roller prior to stretching.

To Stretch or Not To Stretch… That is the Question…

From our elementary school gym teachers to the famous Jack Lalanne, stretching has been engrained in us as a way to stay fit and prevent injury. But is stretching always good?

Everyday more and more people are investing in their health by joining fitness centers, staying active, and changing their lifestyle. Many of us have joined a gym for the first time in our lives. We learn by watching and mimicking others.

Our busy schedules with work and family don’t always allow for proper preparation for these fitness activities. Who has time! We want more bang for our buck. We want to see changes in our fitness level, smaller waistlines and approval from the doctor that our blood pressure is decreasing. Unfortunately, stretching doesn’t give your these direct results.

So why place so much emphasis on stretching?

Tight muscles will excessively pull on bones and place the body in abnormal positions. Staying in these positions for long periods of time will cause further stress to joints, cartilage and ligaments, leading to potential injury and PAIN!!

Is stretching always good?

Absolutely not! Many tight muscles occur from imbalances at other areas of the body. Weakness in one muscle will cause overactivity in another, as a form of compensation. The muscle that is now doing all of the work will gradually become “over-worked” and tight! Unfortunately, just stretching the tight muscle will not do you any good. You must identify and strengthen the weak muscle as well.

An example of this phenomenon is often observed in individuals with tight hamstrings. Proper balance between the gluteal or “buttock” musculature with the hamstrings is essential in maintaining optimal hip and pelvic alignment. Many individuals are weak in their buttock muscles, thereby causing the hamstrings to work in overdrive. This will lead to increased tension in the hamstrings and potential muscular injury or strain. If this imbalance persists over a long period of time, injury and pain to the hip may also be experienced.
What Can You Do?

Have your flexibility and strength be evaluated by a trained professional. Not everyone needs to stretch their hamstrings! Too many people think that certain muscles in their body should always be stretched, because that is what they have always been taught. This is not true. The human body is unique. Depending on your body type, fitness level and what activities you perform on a daily basis will dictate how certain muscles function.
With time being so scarce and valuable, no one wants to waist time stretching a muscle that they don’t need to stretch in the first place.

Take Home Message:
The body is a complex system that will function optimally if everything is working in balance. If you feel that your work-out is not fully addressing your potential imbalances, don’t wait to have things be evaluated. Your body will thank you for it in the end!

Momentum Athlete in the News

http://www.milforddailynews.com/sports/local_sports/x1601208393/High-School-Notebook-Franklins-Scoba-finds-his-footing

Great story about perserverence and the value of PT in proper recovery from injury!
Injuries are not "healed" just through rest and the resolution of pain. It takes the a lot of work to regain strength and achieve proper muscle balance to improve upon prior level of function and help prevent re-injury.

So... just because "it doesn't hurt anymore"...doesn't mean it won't hurt again really soon! Make sure you are rehabbing your injuries, and not just waiting for them to stop hurting!

Bad Posture = Injury/Pain

Maybe the nuns were right…

Almost all of us at one time or another has been told to sit up straight. As kids we didn’t think much of this. What was the big deal? So what if we looked liked Shrek?

That was then, and we are not getting any younger…

Maybe our parents, teachers, even the nuns were right! Is it possible that the pain we are experiencing now is related to our posture?

In many cases the answer is YES! Many of us perform sedentary jobs, requiring increased driving, sitting and computer use. The positioning of the body during these tasks will directly depend upon how much stress and strain is placed on structures such as bones, joints and muscles. Over time, if abnormal stresses are placed for too long on one particular structure, injury and pain will occur.

The human body performs best when its components are working in balance with one another. This concept is easily understood using the comparison to a car’s alignment. If the alignment altered on your car, it will cause abnormal wear and tear on your tires and eventually affect its drivability. The more extensive the alignment issue, the faster these abnormal wear patterns will occur. Unfortunately, the human body cannot just change its tires. Instead, the result is often chronic pain and/or surgery.

At first, you may notice only an occasional mild discomfort or tension in one area. You don’t think anything of it because it does not impact your ability to perform your daily activities. If left uncorrected, eventually more constant discomfort/pain will be more apparent leading to a disruption in everyday activities and potentially long term changes to the underlying structures.

Our busy schedules and commitment to work, family, and/or school results in a mild discomfort not being in the forefront of our minds as a potential problem. Often, simple postural corrections and minor adjustments in how we perform our daily activities will prevent these minor aches and pains from progressing to more deleterious effects, and not slowing us down from our daily life!

Physical Therapy Is Not All The Same

Would you pick a restaurant just because it is close to your house? Or would you pick it because it has good food?

At Momentum Physical Therapy, we feel patients would be well served to know more about their physical therapist rather than just pick a name off a list.

We take pride in our patient-centered philosophy. We focus on the individual and treat the body as a whole, identifying and fixing the source of the problem and preventing symptom reoccurrence.

Our goal is to work with each patient and his/her medical team to correctly diagnose and treat the injury or condition and educate each patient to prevent it from returning.

Our desired result is to be a trusted resource and forge a lifelong relationship with each patient we encounter.

Please visit our website at www.momentumpt.com and become a fan of "Momentum Physical Therapy" on Facebook to learn more about what sets us apart!

Also, feel free to stop by our clinic at 141 Main Street in Milford, MA to see our facility and ask if you would be a good candidate for Physical Therapy.

Open For Business

Momentum Physical Therapy and its owners Kristin Mohr, Amy Schoenberg, and Eric Schoenberg are proud to announce that their new office located at 141 Main Street Milford, MA 01757 is currently accepting new patients.

Welcome to Momentum Physical Therapy

First off, if you are taking the time to read this, we owe you a big THANK YOU! Our lives and schedules are full. Between obligations to work, family, and school, we barely get time to have a minute to ourselves. Just the fact that you are taking a brief moment out of your busy day to read our post, is truly an honor for us.

Working as physical therapists for the past 9+ years have made us passionate about educating individuals about how the body functions. We have seen how many injuries can be easily prevented with only a few adjustments to one’s daily positioning or warm-up routine. The ironic part of our occupation as physical therapists is that it is directly dependent upon an individual injuring themselves, being in pain and losing function. So why educate the public in how to prevent this? Won’t it affect our business?

Maybe…but we have a different outlook on physical therapy. We believe that physical therapy is a necessary part of the medical system. Most of us have a group of medical specialists in our rolodex that we use depending on what aspect of our health is in question. For example, we see a dentist for our teeth, a cardiologist for our heart and a dermatologist for our skin. But, who do we see when something is wrong with our movement? When we lose movement in our shoulder, who do we call? When we notice stiffness in a muscle, who do we call? When we have pain in our neck when we are at the computer for 8 hours at work, who do we call?

Maybe your first thought is to see an orthopedist, maybe even a rheumatologist or a physiatrist. While these physicians play an integral role in the diagnosis and treatment of the musculoskeletal system, not everyone needs surgery, an injection or medication. What happens if you see one of these specialists and nothing is seen on an x-ray or MRI? You still have pain. Is it in your head? Why did nothing show up on these tests? Surely, something must be wrong!

No, it’s not in your head, and luckily it is not always something damaging requiring surgery! The answer is likely a problem within the movement system.

The movement system refers to the combination of how bones, muscles and joints work harmoniously together like a symphony during everyday activities. When one aspect of the movement system is altered, it directly places stress on other components of the system leading to eventual injury and impaired function.

Physical therapists are the experts in the movement system. Our specialty is to evaluate all components of the movement system, and to identify specific faults that may contribute to your pain, stiffness and loss of mobility. Furthermore, we believe that when these faults are identified early, damaging injury to muscles, bones and joints can be significantly reduced and often completely avoided.

We also believe that the movement system is always changing based on our daily activities and how they are performed each day. For example, if we suddenly change jobs from being relatively active, with little sitting to a job requiring increased computer use and driving for multiple hours per day, our body must adapt to this change. If it does not adapt appropriately, and increased stress is placed on one or all aspects of the movement system, pain, stiffness and potential injury will occur.

Because our body and lives are constantly changing, we believe that you should have a physical therapist in your rolodex with whom you trust and have a strong, confident relationship. You and your body deserve someone with whom you can grow. Whether it is a simple question or a formal course of physical therapy, we want to be an accessible healthcare professional that you call when there is a change to your body.

Again, thanks to all of you who took the time to read our post. We look forward to hearing your thoughts. We are excited to be a part of your healthcare team and will be here to help you “regain your momentum…”