Newsletter for Wood Associates Physical Therapy
THE NEWSLETTER ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND CARING FOR YOUR BODY NEWSLET TER
MANAGING AND TREATING TENDONITIS PAIN FROM SPORTS
WE ARE OPEN &WE’RE TAKING PRECAUTIONARY STEPS
www.woodassociatesphysicaltherapy.com
THE NEWSLETTER ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND CARING FOR YOUR BODY NEWSLET TER
MANAGING AND TREATING TENDONITIS PAIN FROM SPORTS
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INSIDE : • What Is Tendinitis?
• Exercise Of The Month • Exercise & Mental Health
• Patient Success Spotlight
Understanding Tendinitis While there are some sports injuries that happen after a bad day, there are others that develop over time. Tendinitis is an incredibly common issue that causes pain to develop in the joints. This can impact the hips, knees, elbows or shoulders. Pain caused by tendinitis can impact everyday activities, making it exceedingly difficult to remain comfortable day to day or to remain active. Tendinitis can make simple activities such as picking up a gallon of milk or attempting to put something away on a shelf over your head incredibly painful and challenging. Unfortunately, when tendinitis develops, it often sticks around. This means that pain that begins as frustrating and seemingly minor can quickly become chronic and incredibly painful. Working with a physical therapist is the best way to address tendinitis pain early on, to improve range of motion and reduce the severity of your pain without having to turn to pain medications.
Athletes are naturally at an increased risk for experiencing injuries. This is not as a result of any particular health issue that athletes typically have in common. Instead, it is a simple exposure equation. The more frequently you push yourself to try new things, to engage in physical activity, or to push yourself to reach a new goal, the more you are going to increase your risk for potential injury. On more days than not, the injury won’t happen, but as every athlete knows, it only takes one bad day — one day when fatigue throws off your form just enough to cause your gait to be off, for you to feel a little distracted and not realize an obstacle is coming up, or just a fluke of a moment in which something goes wrong and you go down. What makes matters worse is the fact that many athletes attempt to push past the pain of their initial injuries, which often leads to those injuries becoming more severe. Working with a physical therapist is especially important for athletes for this reason. A physical therapist can help identify potential issues with posture or form that may increase your risk for injury, help identify potential injuries as they develop, and assess the severity of and best treatment options for those injuries as soon as possible, so you always know exactly what your body needs to feel at its best.
Read More About How PT Can Help Inside!
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WRIST FLEXION Sit or stand with good posture. Make a fist, flex your fist up. Repeat 6 times with each wrist. Stretches Wrist www.simpleset.net Try this simple exercise to help you feel better! EXERCISE OF THE MONTH
What Is Tendinitis?
Tendinitis is a common issue among athletes because it develops as a result of overuse. While the average person may engage in standard physical tasks such as walking or typing, an athlete takes that repetitive behavior to a new level. Consider a tennis player, for example. In addition to running and jumping, a skilled tennis player will spend hours every week swinging the racket, and this could result in added wear and tear on the elbows and wrists, not to mention the shoulders. Every bone in the body is connected with muscular fibers called tendons. The tendons are flexible, allowing the body to move more freely by letting bones stretch apart or move in one direction or another. Tendinitis occurs when the tendons become inflamed. Swelling in the tendons can make movement painful and difficult. Typically, when pain is caused as a result of tendinitis, the pain is isolated at the noted areas of the body. This means that a tennis player may experience tendinitis in the elbow or shoulder, whereas a runner may be more likely to experience it in the Achilles tendon. In fact, this is why tendinitis in the elbow is frequently referred to as tennis elbow, while Achilles tendinitis is sometimes referred to as runner’s ankles or runner’s heels. Treating tendinitis The best treatment for tendinitis is time. Unfortunately, this is something that many people are unable to give to an injury. When tendinitis develops, the best thing to do is to use ice and to relax that part of the body. Taking a few days off of practice or away from your workout may be sufficient, but in other cases, this may require a few days in a wheelchair or on crutches, with the bulk of your weight off of the affected area. Working with a physical therapist can help you identify the best treatment methods for tendinitis. Your physical therapist can also help you identify the best range of motion and strength-building activities to reduce your likelihood of developing tendinitis. For more information about preventing or treating pain from tendinitis, contact us.
HEALTHY RECIPE Vitamin Burst Smoothie
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup fresh orange juice • 1/2 cup milk (coconut, almond, or substitute plain or vanilla yogurt) • 1/2 cup frozen strawberries • 1/2 cup mango • 1/2 cup pineapple
• 1 tsp freshly minced ginger (or more to taste) • Optional: 1-2 tsp raw honey; a handful of fresh baby spinach; 1-2 tbsp almond butter
DIRECTIONS
Add the ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed until completely smooth, scraping down the blender as needed. Add a drizzle of honey or extra ginger to taste, pour into glasses, and enjoy. Bursting with healing Vitamin C, this hydrating smoothie will increase the infection-fighting ability of your immune system.
fountainavenuekitchen.com/recipe/immunity-boosting-smoothie
CALL US TODAY IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY PAIN
EXERCISE & MENTAL HEALTH
Patient Success Spotlight
Everyone knows that regular exercise is good for the body. But exercise is also one of the most effective ways to improve your mental health. Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts overall mood. And you don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits. Research indicates that modest amounts of exercise can make a difference. No matter your age or fitness level, you can learn to use exercise as a powerful tool to feel better. Exercise and depression. Maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing. It promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Exercise can also serve as a distraction, allowing you to find some quiet time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression. Exercise and anxiety. Anything that gets you moving can help, but you’ll get a bigger benefit if you pay attention instead of zoning out. By adding this mindfulness element—really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise—you’ll not only improve your physical condition faster, but you may also be able to interrupt the flow of constant worries running through your head. Exercise and ADHD. Exercising regularly is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce the symptoms of ADHD and improve concentration, motivation, memory, and mood. Physical activity immediately boosts the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin levels—all of which affect focus and attention. Exercise and PTSD and trauma. Evidence suggests that by really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise, you can actually help your nervous system become “unstuck” and begin to move out of the immobilization stress response that characterizes PTSD or trauma. Instead of thinking about other things, pay close attention to the physical sensations in your joints and muscles, even your insides as your body moves. Exercises that involve cross movement and that engage both arms and legs—such as walking (especially in sand), running, swimming, weight training, or dancing—are some of your best choices. When you’re under the cloud of an emotional disorder and haven’t exercised for a long time, setting yourself extravagant goals like completing a marathon or working out for an hour every morning will only leave you more despondent if you fall short. Better to set yourself achievable goals and build up from there.
“ THEY ’RE MAKING MY KNEES AND HIPS FEEL MUCH BETTER!”
Discover How To Live Pain Free!
At Wood Associates Physical Therapy, you will receive hands-on therapy treatments by a friendly, caring health expert during focused and individualized sessions.
1. CALL AND TALK TO YOUR THERAPIST
2. DISCOVER WHY YOUR PAIN HAS COME BACK
3. GET YOUR CUSTOM RECOVERY PROGRAM (617) 864-4200 CALL TO SCHEDULE TODAY! NO PRESCRIPTION NEEDED
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