Attaining Those Elusive “Six-pack Abs”
For many people, achieving a defined abdominal area seems to be a nearly impossible goal, one for which we purchase a variety of abdominal trainers with the hope that they live up to their advertised claims of attaining “six-pack abs.” Unfortunately, achieving a slim and defined midsection is more challenging than simply using one piece of…
When Backing Up the Car Becomes a Pain in the Neck
That pain you feel when turning your head while backing up your car is probably due to tightness in the muscles of your neck and upper back, often the result of years of poor posture. To improve your posture, keep your neck in a “neutral” position, with your chin more tucked in than pushed forward. When you walk, stand or sit, pretend that a string is…
Night Splints and Foot Pain
Night splints are removable foot and ankle braces designed to treat plantar fasciitis by passively stretching the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia, a dense band of fibrous tissue that runs under the foot and supports the arch. The Achilles tendon attaches the calf muscle to the heel bone and puts tension on the plantar fascia.…
Treating Tennis Elbow: Shock and Relief
If you have suffered the pain and frustration of recurrent tennis elbow, looking for a permanent solution is appropriate. Unfortunately, in the past, too often the quick or easy fix was not satisfactory, and even the well-performed rehabilitation program did not always resolve the condition. For these people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2003…
New Theories About Brain Concussions
Every year, many people sustain a concussion—an injury to the brain that results from a mild or severe blow to the head. In most cases, injuries sustained from a concussion will resolve sometime between a few minutes or a few weeks, with no permanent damage. However, researchers are now discovering that repeated concussions to the head,…
Plantar Fasciitis—A Pain in the Foot
Most heel pain is due to a condition called plantar fasciitis, inflammation and/or degeneration of the plantar fascia, a thick connective tissue running from the heel bone to the ball of the foot that helps maintain the arch of the foot and transmits your weight across the foot as you walk or run. Typically, symptoms…
Getting the Best Push-up Technique
A highly flexible exercise is the push-up. Push-ups build core strength and help you get a total body workout. When correctly performed, push-ups use muscles in the shoulders, chest, back, abdomen and legs. If you perform push-ups incorrectly, however, you risk injury and may not get results from the time and effort you expended doing…
PhysioFit Celebrates National Physical Therapy Month
No one wants to live in pain. But no one should put their health at risk in an effort to be pain free. Since 1999, Americans have increasingly been prescribed opioids—painkillers like Vicodin, OxyContin, Opana, and methodone, and combination drugs like Percocet. In some situations, dosed appropriately, prescription opioids are an appropriate part of medical treatment. However, opioid risks…
