We all know that running is great exercise for our bodies, but often people stop due to knee or lower leg pain. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Over 50 million Americans deal with some sort of knee trouble, as the knees are the second most commonly injured joint, the first being the joints in the spine. Therefore, it is essential to know what you can do to prevent knee troubles from even starting.
Newsletter
Remembering Ben
There are no words to describe the pain we have experienced with the loss of our boss, mentor, and friend Ben. We are healing. Those of you that knew Ben and the impact he had on our community may be grieving just as we are. While our hearts are still heavy our resolve remains strong and unbroken. Northern Physical Therapy is the manifestation of Ben’s vision and we are committed to keeping that vision in motion. We’ll continue to put every ounce of energy into the care of those who need it. With much love from all of us here at NPT we promise to continue to provide the incredible, compassionate, and loving environment Ben created for us. Our doors and hearts remain open to the community that we love.
Newsletter
Quote of The Month:
“There’s No Age Limit To Consistent Activity!” RUN INJURY FREE
We all know that running is great exercise for our bodies, but often people stop due to knee or lower leg pain. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Over 50 million Americans deal with some sort of knee trouble, as the knees are the second most commonly injured joint, the first being the joints in the spine.Therefore, it is essential to know what you can do to prevent knee troubles from even starting. Almost all knee and leg pain can be attributed to the following issues: • Poor muscular strength • An imbalance of flexibility and muscle strength • Lack of flexibility in hip, knee, or ankle • Poor biomechanics of walking/running Common injurieswith runningorexercising: • Patellofemoral pain • Meniscus tears and pain • Ligament injuries (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL) • Osteoarthritis • Shin splints • Hamstring pulls • Achilles tendonitis Don’t push through pain While feeling a muscle burn is a normal part of exercising, feeling pain is not. It is not normal to have sharp pain during regular exercise and one should not push through this. Make sure you are doing an adequate active warm up prior to exercise as muscles and tissues require internal lubrication to work properly. Warming up brings natural fluids to the area to help increase range of motion and to improve elasticity. Lastly, be sure to stretch after exercise to help maintain and gain flexibility.
“If it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you!” -Fred DeVito
CALL TODAY!
(802) 626-4224
www.nptvt.com
The Runner’s Guide: 5 Ways To Improve Knee Pain 1. Improve your stride rate. Most runners over-stride placing increased strain on the knee as they reach forward. Shorter steps keep your legs underneath you and let ankles and hips help the knee absorb some shock. Grab a free metronome app from the app store and gradually work your way towards 180 steps per minute.
2. Get yourself mobile! Knees most often get painful when hips, ankles, or muscles aren’t doing their job and knees have to take on the extra workload. Foam Roll, stretch, and perform some dynamic warm-up and cool down activity before and after each run. 3. Build strength! Squats and deadlifts are a runner’s best friend to improve performance and help avoid breakdowns in form that lead to injury late in a run or race. Don’t neglect hip strengthening too, as this will keep your entire leg lined up properly so your knee can function as needed. 4. Make sure you can stay balanced. When running we spend the entire run on one leg, or in the air. If you can’t balance yourself standing still, doing so while running will be very difficult. Try balancing both with eyes closed, and on even and uneven surfaces, to make sure your body is ready for anything. 5. Make sure you have proper footwear. We are lucky enough to have excellent specialty stores that can assess your individual needs and get you in something supportive to protect your knees.
Seeing a Specialist If you have recurring knee pain or discomfort for more than 3 days, it is time to see a specialist. The ideal specialist to see is a physical therapist as they are medical experts in joint movement and function (kinesiology). A thorough evaluation needs to be done on your movement, running patterns, strength, joint mobility, patella tracking and proprioception. Only then, can the true source of the pain be found, treated and help you understand what you can do to prevent it from returning. If you are an avid athlete, our team of experts can look at your movement patterns and discover ways to make you both more efficient and more powerful to help improve your game. Get on the path to healthy knees and call us today for an injury screen. Discover how liberating it can be to run or exercise pain free.
Many people are so busy that they barely have time to eat, let alone pause for a water break. You may find that you often go hours and hours without quenching your thirst. But staying hydrated has real advantages, including helping you maintain your energy and focus. It’s important to give your drinking habits the attention they deserve. Here are some simple ways to stay hydrated this summer. 1.Alwayscarryawaterbottle. Ifyouhaveabottlewithinarmsreach, it’svery likely thatyou’llmindlessly sip from it throughout the day, without having to make a conscious effort. 2. When you’re feeling frazzled, grab a glass of cold water. Studies show that people instantly feel more alert after drinking H2O. 3. Sip on a mug of herbal tea every evening. If you make this a habit, you’ll add an extra cup of fluid to your body every single day. 4. Eat a diet rich in whole foods. Byeating foods likevegetables, fruits,andyogurt,you’llautomatically up your fluid intake. 4 Simple Ways To Make Hydration A Habit
Graston Technique: How It Can Help You By: Nic Tremblay, PTA
If you’ve ever seen a Physical or Occupational therapist, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, or Athletic trainer then you may have encountered Graston tools. Manual therapy is the physical manipulation of soft tissue including muscle, fascia, ligament, and tendon. While many clinicians use their hands for this therapeutic approach they sometimes opt for instruments to assist when the situation calls for it. Clinicians need to find points of restriction in the tissue before they can work on releasing them. These stainless-steel tools can be run over trouble spots to help clinicians locate the point of tension. Once located, a variety of techniques can be used to help release the constricted tissue by using the beveled edge of the tool. These come in different shapes and sizes to allow for work on places as small as the Achilles tendon and as large as the quadriceps of the thigh. The aim of running the tool over restricted tissue like muscle fascia or scar tissue is to help reduce the adhesive quality. Over several sessions this can help to decrease pain and increase the range of motion of joints involved. There are many conditions that Graston tools are appropriate for and can assist in the healing process. These include: Lower back muscle sprain or strain, Achilles tendonitis, Carpal tunnel, Plantar fasciitis, Rotator cuff tendonitis, Shin splints, and Tennis/Golfer’s elbow. We have an assortment of Graston tools at Northern Physical Therapy that we use everyday to help get people back on their feet (sometimes literally)! Feel free to stop by and ask a clinician how these fantastic tools and what they can do for you.
5
4 5 2 7
2 3 8 6
4
2 1
7
9 5 7 3 2 1
4
5 8
2
9 4 7 8
9 8 6 5
9
Mind Exercise: Sudoku
Exercise Essential
http://1sudoku.com
n° 229777 - Level Medium
7
3 9 6
Strengthens glutes
1 6
2 8 9
SQUAT Stand with good posture, feet are shoulder width apart. Perform a squat by bending at the hip. Stop at the point where you cannot keep your lower back flat. Rise up by straightening at the hip. Repeat 2 sets of 10 reps.
4
3 5
4 8 2
4 5
3 9 6
7
9 2 5
4 1
4 2 6
8
Exercisescopyrightof
http://1sudoku.com
n° 228310 - Level Medium
www.simpleset.net
5 2 The rules of the game are simple: each of the nine blocks has to contain all the numbers 1-9 within its squares. Each number can only appear once in a row, column or box. 8 9
Always consultyour therapistorphysicianbefore startingexercisesyouareunsureofdoing.
4
2 6
www.nptvt.com
9
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online