Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease that affects the central nervous system, characterized by chronic inflammation and progressive demyelinating lesions in the brain and spinal cord. Exercise rehabilitation under the supervision of a physical therapist can help multiple sclerosis patients conserve and regain functional abilities, manage symptoms, and improve quality of life.

Physical therapy is essential after a stroke to regain strength, coordination, balance, motor control, and function. A stroke occurs when blood flow to the area of the brain is cut off, depriving the cells of oxygen and leading to physical and cognitive impairments. Using a targeted exercise rehabilitation program early in the post-stroke recovery period, a physical therapist can help stroke survivors relearn basic motor skills, maximize their functional abilities, enhance their independence, and improve their quality of life.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that causes decreased bon mineral density and changes in bone structure, leading to bones that are thin, porous, and brittle, and more susceptible to fractures. Physical therapy plays a critical role in managing osteoporosis, helping those with osteoporosis maintain and build bone density through a customized exercise program.

An ergonomic workstation is one that supports your body in a neutral position and reduces the risk of discomfort or pain that stressors like sitting at a desk and computer for long periods of time can place on our bodies. This means that your neck is not bent back or down to see the computer, your arms aren’t lifted or extended out to the side of your body to type, your spine isn’t twisted, you’re not slouching, and your wrists and hands are level, not bent up or sideways to type.

Shin splints are a common running overuse injury that involves inflammation of the tibia and surrounding muscles and tissues caused by repetitive stress placed on the lower leg. Shin splints commonly occur at the start of track and field season, when an athlete overexerts themselves or increases the frequency, duration, and intensity of their training too quickly such that the body cannot adjust to the stressor, leading to injury. Physical therapists can help athletes with shin splints recover pain-free movement, return to sport safely, and prevent future re-injury through a targeted exercise rehabilitation program.

Sciatica is nerve pain that radiates from the low back through the buttocks and down the length of the leg due to compression of the sciatic nerve. Originating in the low back, the sciatic nerve is most commonly compressed by a herniated or slipped disc causing shooting pain and tingling and numbness through the back and leg. Physical therapy is one of the most effective treatments for sciatica, reducing inflammation, managing and minimizing pain, improving your physical function and mobility, and preventing the reoccurrence of sciatica symptoms.

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of foot and heel pain that develops due to repeated activities that strain the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot and supports the arch of the foot.  Physical therapy is highly effective in treating plantar fasciitis, using manual therapy and therapeutic exercise to reduce pain, restore function and strength in the foot, and improve foot mechanics.

Parkinson’s disease is a multifaceted neurodegenerative disease that impairs movement, coordination, and cognitive function over time. Physical therapy-led exercise is a critical component of managing Parkinson’s disease, helping to manage symptoms, and even slowing progression of the disease. Therapeutic boxing is a unique targeted exercise therapy, requiring full-body movement, combining upper-body punching sequences with lower-body footwork to build strength, counter rigidity, and improve hand-eye coordination, balance, posture, and agility.

Prehabilitation has numerous benefits for pre-surgery patients. Prehabilitation is an individualized exercise conditioning program that prepares the body for the stresses of surgery, manages symptoms, and helps restore function in the injured area as much as possible prior to surgery. 

Most gardening injuries occur gradually over time due to repetitive tasks, such as bending, lifting, squatting, and kneeling. 

The low back can be particularly susceptible to injury during gardening as bending, lifting, and squatting can cause you to twist your body into awkward positions or to overstretch, leading to muscle strains or sprains or persistent lower back pain.

As physical therapists working with patients as they recover from surgery and injury, we recognize that nutrition can play an important role in your recovery.

Adequate nutrition during recovery from an injury can help to control inflammation, provide the necessary nutrients to rebuild and restore injured tissue, decrease the risk of muscle atrophy, and preserve muscle strength.

Healthy aging is the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age. Regular exercise can improve muscle strength, bone density, and overall fitness and balance in older adults. Physical therapy can promote healthy aging through a targeted comprehensive exercise program, including aerobic conditioning, flexibility training, resistance training, balance and gait training, and aquatic therapy.

Aquatic therapy utilizes the physical properties of water to help patients heal and regain strength, balance, and function without placing unnecessary pressure on healing joints in a safe environment. Balance is essential to your daily life, allowing you to maintain a stable, upright position when standing, walking, sitting, and climbing stairs.  Check out four ways aquatic therapy can enhance balance training!

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to improve arthritic pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion in your joints.

The goal of an exercise program for those with arthritis is to preserve or restore range of motion and flexibility in affected joints, increase muscle strength and endurance to take stress off of arthritic joints, and increase aerobic conditioning to reduce health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

Check out 7 benefits of exercise for arthritis!

Check out our 8 tips for fall sports conditioning safety. Fall sports conditioning serves as a foundation upon which the sports season's success is built and can help reduce the number of in-season injuries.

Fall sports conditioning involves a program of weight training and aerobic sport-specific conditioning that allows the athlete to slowly acclimate to the demands of the sport by gradually increasing the intensity and volume of their training over time.

Check out our three tips for backpack safety this school season!

Check out our August 2024 Newsletter, highlighting backpack and school ergonomics tips, physical therapy for swimmer's shoulder, and three golf elbow exercises.

Check out our infographic on backpack and school ergonomic tips! Carrying a backpack can have significant biomechanical, physiological, and discomfort impacts on a child during a critical time of growth, placing undue stress on the body, changing posture, and leading to back, neck and shoulder pain. Our 7 tips highlight how to ensure the backpack is loaded safely carried correctly, proper posture and lifting technique when using a backpack, and computer use safety while at school.

Golfer’s elbow is an overuse injury that develops when the flexor tendons of the forearm become inflamed due to repetitive use of the forearm, hand, wrist, and elbow. Golfer’s elbow can affect golfers, baseball and softball players, those who work on computers all day, and manual laborers in construction, carpentry, or plumbing. Physical therapy offers timely and effective treatment for golfer’s elbow to reduce pain, restore function and strength to the elbow, forearm, and wrist, and address body mechanics to prevent recurrence of the condition.

Swimmer’s shoulder is the most common swimming-related shoulder injury, often caused by overuse due to the repetitive overhead motion of the swim stroke that irritates and inflames the rotator cuff muscles and tendons, leading to pain and limited shoulder mobility. Physical therapy is one of the most effective treatments for swimmer’s shoulder, utilizing a targeted manual therapy, stretching, and strength and conditioning exercise program to restore shoulder function, mobility, and strength and a safe return to competitive swimming.