Prior to living in the western slope of Colorado, I thought rock climbing was a myth created by advertisers to make me feel like I was not adventurous enough. Turns out it’s no myth. The rock climbers are real! Turns out they’re in western North Carolina too! What an amazing physical and mental challenge rock climbing affords to its participants. There are so many benefits to this activity: being outdoors, working together with others, activity and exercise. If you’re belaying, the activity can take a toll on your neck though. Any postural position held for long periods of time, particularly at end range, can cause pain,
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 Pects and Lats. For some reason I left PT school thinking the former moved your arm toward your chest and the latter helped you wipe yourself. Certainly functional, but not very exciting. Oh, and by the way they seem to get tight and keep shoulders in a forward rounded position-quite inconvenient. Then recently, I was in a Thomas Myer’s class on fascia and the instructor was going over the functional anatomy of these two muscles. They both do this funny little twist before they insert on the arm bone when it’s at your side. Weird thing for a muscle to do that’s trying to pull and exert force.
 It’s the season of resolutions, optimism, and fresh starts as we ring in 2018. For many of us though, January can be a long month with cold, short, dark days and resolutions can quickly become a distant memory as the stressors of everyday life return. There’s good news though. Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University suggests a simple prescription for those stressors. “If you could give one magic pill that would improve physical health, mood, and reduce weight, it would be exercise.” He goes on to report that in terms of stress relief and anti-depressant effects, 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a day are enough to get the benefits. What a powerful image of exercise as medicine. It’s never too late to start something good for yourself. Now is your chance to “tap your potential” by treating yourself right, feeling better, and enjoying your new year!
Most of us have experienced some kind of low back in our life. Did you know that low back pain can result in decreased hip mobility on the side of pain. And decreased hip mobility can lead to low back pain. What a vicious cycle! Here is a simple exercise you can do to help restore hip mobility… We all know stretching can help maintain flexibility, but is it the best thing to do immediately before an athletic activity? Current research suggests no. Literature has shown that passive static stretching to lower body musculature actually decreases strength and stability. Instead, warm up with active, dynamic, light resistive movements. For a dynamic activity to help lengthen hamstrings click above…
 One of the powerful things about the ability to move is the opportunity it affords us to do and go where we want. For some, this might mean being able to walk far enough to shop in a super target, for someone else, running a marathon. And for someone else, it might be the ability to tolerate sitting in a car long enough to take a long trip to visit relatives. I like to call this state of being the ability to "move how you like". It's important for our own well being and potential to be able to "move how we like". I lived and worked in western Colorado for several years. Anyone familiar with that area is familiar with the big horn sheep. They were my inspiration for thinking about this state of being and movement. With their uniquely designed hooves, bighorn are able to deftly climb the rugged mountain terrain of the high desert. A desert canyon or rugged cliff is not a deterrent to the bighorn sheep. (And not to many of the adventurous outdoorsy types living in Western Colorado.) Humans also possess a dazzling capacity for movement. Unfortunately, traumatic injuries, chronic pain, and the unique demands that modern life places on our bodies can rob us of our ability to engage in the life we would like. But, we don't have to settle! Well trained physical therapists are uniquely positioned professionals to help all of us realize our bodie's potential. A well trained therapist will analyze your movement patterns and listen to your natural history to identify ways in which she can change your system to function more optimally and with less pain and discomfort. She will empower and educate you to care for yourself and to recognize when you need a little help. In short, she will help you find your inner bighorn sheep and move you how like!
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
February 2019
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