exercise

Who Benefits From Physical Therapy?

Myth: Physical therapy is only for people who are experiencing pain. 

Answer: FALSE- Physical therapy can be beneficial to people experiencing a wide variety of conditions. While we do treat a lot of people that have some sort of pain, we can also help those who are not in pain but still limited in their ability to move and get around. Some of these conditions are listed below. Physical therapists are considered “movement experts” and are well equipped to help you reach your movement goals and achieve a higher quality of life. 

  • Muscle weakness due to aging or chronic neurological conditions – Physical therapists will help develop a program that promotes recruitment and strengthening of weakened muscle areas to help make day to day life both easier and safer. 
  • Injury prevention – Some patients come to physical therapy because they are prone to injury and want to take the necessary steps to avoid injury prior to starting a new exercise routine.
  • Walking abnormalities – Whether due to a genetic abnormality or acquired from a certain illness or injury, physical therapists analyze how you walk and work to improve your walking to be more safe and efficient. 
  • Decreased balance/stability -A physical therapist helps to decrease your risk of falling by improving your balance and stability through prescribed exercises.
  • Deconditioning – This is commonly seen in physical therapy and can be due to a variety of reasons (aging, prolonged hospital stays, chronic injury, etc). A physical therapist will evaluate you and determine and create an exercise plan to improve your muscle strength and endurance.

Can I Exercise While I am Pregnant?

A simple answer is yes, exercising while pregnant can be very beneficial to expecting mothers. There are certain instances, such as high risk pregnancies, where your doctor will likely tell you to avoid non-essential physical activity, but for most pregnant women it is recommended. Below are some guidelines and tips on how to exercise safely while you are expecting. 

  • Talk with your doctor – make sure you are aware of any restrictions or guidelines your OB-GYN wants you to follow. 
  • Pre-pregnancy activity levels should equal pregnancy activity levels – being pregnant is not the time to go from couch to 5k if you were sedentary previously. Performing very strenuous exercise such as running a marathon or playing contact sports is not recommended. If you are unsure, always contact your physician.
  • Adjust as necessary – as your body changes, your physical activity may also change; be sure to listen to your body and make good/safe choices. 
  • Avoid exercising on your back – as the baby grows, it can place more pressure on major blood vessels if you exercise on your back for a prolonged period of time.
  • Avoid excessive stretching – to help with the birthing process, a woman’s body produces hormones that increase the flexibility of your ligaments. This is something to be aware of while exercising since it puts you at a slightly higher risk of injury.
  • Remember to breathe – while it is always important to breathe throughout an exercise, it is particularly important while exercising when expecting. Holding your breath causes increased pressure in your abdominal cavity and can decrease the amount of oxygen being brought to the placenta

Benefits of Physical Therapy for Arthritis

Physical Therapy is a great option for patients with arthritis. Physical Therapists will evaluate your joints that are affected by arthritis to determine your baseline level of motion and strength. Physical Therapy will help to ease your symptoms associated with arthritis by improving your strength and stability through prescribed exercises. With increased muscle strength supporting your joints, it will decrease joint stress and improve overall function. Physical therapist might also recommend certain modalities along with exercises to help decrease your discomfort. Examples of these modalities are heat, massage, and electrical stimulation. The most common joints that are affected by arthritis are the hands, knees, hip, and spine. The good news is all these joints can benefit from physical therapy.

How To Warm-up Before Running

Getting back into running? Trying to figure out where to start? The best way to start your run is with a dynamic warm-up. This allows for increased blood flow to the muscles, aids in raising your core temperature and metabolism, and also provides increased stretch to the muscles you will soon be activating during your run. A dynamic warm-up can reduce your risk for injury and simply prepares the body for activity.

Dynamic Running Warm-up Sample:

  1. Forward leg swings
  2. Lateral leg swings
  3. Walking straight leg kicks
  4. Walking toe scoops
  5. Lunges
  6. High knees / walking knee hugs to chest
  7. Butt kicks
  8. Skips
  9. Side Shuffle
  10. Grapevine

It’s a Bird. It’s a Dog. It’s a Bird Dog!

The bird dog is a simple exercise that enhances core strength, provides stability, aids in neutralizing spine position, and reduces the onset of low back pain. 

The bird dog:

  1. Improves spinal and core stability by stiffening the musculature and enhancing muscular endurance.
  2. Improves hip extension by increasing glute strength and aids in differentiating low back extension and hip extension. 
  3. Improves shoulder stability by loading the joint with your body weight to help maintain stability throughout the exercise.
  4. Improves balance and coordination by engaging in contralateral muscle movements while maintaining proper positioning.

If this exercise is too difficult to perform with contralateral movements – try performing one limb at a time until your balance and stability improves – progress as tolerated!

Focus on Strength Training as You Age

Photo from Harvard Health

Aging is inevitable; losing your strength and ability to perform daily activities doesn’t have to be. Sarcopenia is a term used to describe the age-related progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. The process begins in your 40s and ramps-up between the ages of 65 and 80. While age-related strength loss is normal, sarcopenia speeds up the loss of muscle mass and can reduce your muscle mass by 8% each decade. Factors such as insulin resistance, obesity, loss of mobility, and inactivity contribute to the progressive loss of muscle mass in older adults and as a result increase the risk for falls and make daily activities difficult to perform. 

Sarcopenia is often diagnosed with the following mnemonic:

S – strength (loss of strength)

A – assistive device (use of a device for walking)

R – rising from a chair (difficulty standing from a chair without use of hands)

C – climbing stairs (difficulty with stair climbing)

F – falls (presence of falls in the last year)

Aging might suddenly sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be as long as you stay moving! Improving your strength and staying active reduces your risk at developing sarcopenia and also improves your quality of life. Strength training alone can improve your ability to complete daily activities, protect your joints from injuries, improve your balance, and reduce your risk for falls. It can also enhance your thinking skills, improve bone density (to reduce risk for osteoporosis), and help manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. 

Strength training as you age doesn’t have to be difficult. Research shows that exercising even just 2-3x per week can enhance muscle mass and strength. Ideally, 2-3 sets of 1-2 exercises for each major muscle group should be performed. If the “ideal” situation doesn’t exactly match your lifestyle, try starting small and just get moving! Any physical activity is better than no physical activity, because even small steps lead to big changes. Try walking more often, getting up out of your chair repetitively to build leg strength, lifting small weights, or joining a fitness class at your local facility; make the change to live a longer healthier life! 


Benefits of Squatting

Squatting isn’t just for those really muscular people who put 700lbs on their back at the gym. In fact, I bet you don’t even realize how often you squat in a day. Think about the number of times you sit down on a chair and have to get back up, the number of times you go to the bathroom in a day, or even the amount of time you spend bending down to pick something up you might have dropped… This is constant, every-day squatting!

The squat is one of the most important exercises to perform for a wide variety of reasons. The squat aids in (1) increased leg strength, (2) increased core strength and lumbar stability, (3) increased hip and ankle mobility, (4) helps aid in the reduction of injury, and (5) increased metabolic rate due to muscle growth. Muscle loading the squat can be an effective way to increase muscle growth in the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. Additionally, increased repetitions of squats with minimal muscle loading can enhance muscle endurance; this improves your ability to perform daily activities, increases athletic performance, and helps maintain improved posture/stability for extended periods of time. 

Should I squat below 90?

Squatting below parallel does not increase your risk for knee injuries, however, it does often increase your risk for breaking proper squat form/mechanics. Squatting below parallel does not provide any significant muscle activation benefits, but can enhance mobility. Studies show minimal differences between squatting to 90 and squatting below 90. Most importantly, maintain good form and mechanics before progressing the depth of your squat – this will enhance overall benefits.

photo credit- santacruzcore.com

The Power of a Corset

In the early centuries, a corset was typically worn as a supportive undergarment that improved posture, supported the spine, and shaped the body into what was then called “ideal proportions.” While corsets used to come in many shapes, sizes, and colors – in today’s world the most important “corset” goes by a single name – the Transverse Abdominis (TrA). 

The TrA is the deepest of the abdominal muscles and acts a girdle around the spine. The TrA responds most to perturbational movement and is the only abdominal muscle that remains activated with resisted extension in the spine (resisted extension often comes with exercises such as lifting a box incorrectly, deadlifts, and a quick jerking motion backwards). The TrA is the first stabilizer that kicks in with any arm/leg movements, and as a result helps limit your risk for injuries. It also aids in stabilizing each bone in your spine; so without this muscle, your spine would just be dancing around, pinching on nerves, and collapsing (almost). 

The take home here is… the TrA is very important! You need this muscle to assist in stabilizing the spine and when it doesn’t do its job… you end up with back pain. The TrA is difficult to control. It doesn’t work like the 6-pack abs you’re used to. Try activating your TrA to reduce your risk of low back pain, improve your core and back stabilization, and reduce your risk for injury.

Transversus Abdominis- photo credit- physiopedia.com

How to Make Exercising Fun!

We all know that regular physical activity is an important part of staying healthy, but committing to a regular exercise routine isn’t always easy to do- in fact, sometimes it can seem quite daunting. But it doesn’t have to be! You are more likely to stick to an exercise routine if you enjoy what you are doing and if it is easily accessible/attainable. Check out and explore your options and find something that works for you so exercise becomes part of your everyday life! Below are some ideas on how to make exercise more enjoyable:

  • Make a game out of it
    • Deck of Cards – in this game you turn a 52 card deck into a workout. Take out the Jokers and come up with one exercise for each suit and then shuffle the deck and place it face down. Pick up one card at a time and perform the exercise for that suit for the amount of repetitions designated by the number on the card (*all face cards equal 10 repetitions)
      • Variations can include making the 4 exercises all lower body focused, upper body focused, core focused, etc.  
      • Progressions can involve timing yourself and trying to “beat the clock” the next time you perform that set of exercises. Or you can choose more complex exercises to perform. 
    • Exercise Roulette – for this game, you write down various exercises on individual pieces of paper, fold them in half and toss them in a box/hat/bowl/etc. Once you decide how many exercises to do, you choose that many from the box and to create your workout. Then, you choose how many sets and the duration. A sample workout could be to pick 5 exercises and perform each for 50 seconds with a 10 second rest between each and then repeat that circuit 3 times. 
      • Variations can be similar to those listed in the Deck of Cards explanation.
      • Progressions can involve increasing your “on” time, decreasing your “off” time, or just choosing more exercises to complete.
  • Find a class 
    • In Person – Gyms, fitness centers, and sporting goods stores everywhere provide a wide variety of classes for people of all ages and fitness levels. If you belong to a gym, explore the classes they offer and see if one is a good fit for you. If you don’t belong to a gym, do your research to see what is available in your area (and keep an eye out for programs that may offer a free first lesson or a certain amount of classes at a discount). 
    • Virtual – Since the pandemic, virtual workout classes have been on the rise. You can find practically any kind of exercise/workout class online now and some fitness centers/gyms even have virtual access to lessons. Take some time and browse the web for what might interest you, and be sure to look at all different channels/accounts to see what instructor(s) work best for you. 
  • Meet with a friend/group
    • If you don’t feel comfortable going to a group class for whatever reasons, try meeting up with a friend or two to exercise. This will help pass the time and keep you accountable.

Written by: Dr. Taylor Ryan

Why Should I Strengthen my Core?

Your core muscles are important for strength, balance, and overall function. Having a strong core helps to decrease the likelihood of developing back pain due to muscle compensation. There are many core exercises that can be performed in a variety of positions. You can even contract your core while performing any exercise of your choice to make the exercise into a core strengthening exercises.

Here is a core strengthening exercise you can perform anywhere to strengthen your core muscles.

  1. Assume a push-up position but bend your arms at your elbows so your weight rests on your forearms.
  2. Tighten your abs, clench your glutes and keep your body straight from head to heels.
  3. Start by holding the exercise for 10 seconds and build from there.

Make sure you are breathing while performing this exercise.