Enough with the shin-anigans, reduce your pain
You’re in the zone. Your pace is good, breathing is in check, and your favorite song is playing through your headphones. The only distraction is the pain in your shins.
Shin splints, medically known as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, is a common running injury. It got the name “shin splints” because pain is felt along the shin (tibia) bone, which is the large bone on the front of your lower leg. There are many possible causes, but people often experience it when intensifying their training routine, which overworks the leg’s muscle, tendon, and bone tissue.
Aside from runners, this injury…
Put an end to your knee pain
Patellofemoral pain, often called runner’s knee, is one of the most common injuries I see in the office. It accounts for over 25% of all injuries seen in a sports clinic yearly.¹ Currently, the best evidence for treating this condition is through exercise. This article will explain what causes patellofemoral pain and provide exercises to help treat your knee.
What is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS)?
Signs and symptoms
- Pain when the knee is bending — ex: squatting, kneeling, stairs.
- Ache when sitting or standing in one position for long periods.
- Pain around the kneecap or beside/underneath the patella tendon.
- Pain is usually worse on harder surfaces vs softer surfaces…
It’s time to change how I view the past
“You change your valley into a peak when you find and use the good that is hidden in the bad time.”
— Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson
This year has been tough for everyone. Going into 2021, all people talk about is how 2020 was the worst year. Everyone except for one patient who changed my entire worldview. She told me that 2020 has taught her more about herself than any other year in her life.
This was the first time I heard something positive about 2020.
It immediately reminded me of two books I came across this year.
- …
Defining Achilles tendinopathy and providing evidence-based treatment
Roughly 7–9% of runners and up to 18.5% of ultramarathons runners have Achilles tendinopathy¹
What is Achilles tendinopathy?
Achilles’ tendon
The Achilles tendon is also known as the heel cord and is the tendon at the bottom of the calf. This tendon connects your calf muscles to the heel bone (calcaneus) with the primary job of transferring force from the muscle to the bone. It is crucial in helping the foot push-off during walking, running, jumping, and many other activities.
Tendon Changes
When a tendon begins to degenerate, the fibers of the tendon start to become misaligned. See the picture below as an example. The goal is to…
Now my past failures drive today’s success
I didn’t make the team.
I had given my all for three consecutive days, yet on that last day of tryouts my name wasn’t on the roster.
I was devastated.
It was my first year of junior high, and I was so excited to represent my school’s basketball team. To add insult to injury, the girl I had a crush on started making fun of me for not making the team. It was a low point.
My dad could tell it upset me. …
Saying goodbye to my days as an introvert.
There is no way I’m going. I don’t care what she says, I’m not going.
Sure, it would be “good” for me, even I know that, but today’s just not the day.
Why doesn’t she understand? She doesn’t get it… we are opposite in that way. One of us is going to give in but I really don’t want to.
This was a constant battle each Friday night my partner (now wife) and I were together. She wanted to hangout with our classmates and I just wanted to stay in and watch a movie. …
A physical therapist’s most used products.
With the holidays around the corner, I came up with a list of products I use every day in the clinic. These are items that my patients have benefited the most from and often ask where they can purchase this equipment.
I have attempted to provide a product for each body part, although many of these products can overlap and be used elsewhere as well.
I will put the links to the products I have personally used in the clinic. There are tons of knockoffs/generic brands that are significantly cheaper and the same quality, so look around as well.
1. Theracane — great for those with neck pain and headaches
Leave your old identity behind to make room for the new one.
While playing collegiate basketball, I quit.
I knew I needed to quit, but wasn’t sure if I could. My gut was screaming at me, saying this needs to happen, but the huge decision terrified my brain. How do I take the past 10 years of my life and throw it all away?
I followed my gut, told my parents I was quitting, and transferred to a larger school. That summer, it felt like I lifted a weight off my shoulders.
That sense of relief didn’t last long. I was going through an identity crisis.
The following year would be one…
Grandma always said to sit up straight
“Sit up straight or you’ll get stuck like that!”
- Every grandma ever
There is some truth behind this. It would take many years of poor posture to cause permanent damage, but it is still an actual possibility.
More importantly, poor posture can increase your pain.
What causes poor posture?
There are many reasons we don’t all sit and stand perfectly upright. Below are some of the most common:
- Muscle flexibility: Too tight or, less commonly, too loose muscles which cause imbalances.
- Muscle weakness / poor endurance: The body requires strength and endurance to hold posture. …
How to improve stability in a joint that’s made to move
Why is the shoulder so susceptible to injury?
Stability vs. mobility
A golf ball on the tee — that is what the shoulder’s bony contact looks like. That analogy is the size difference between the ball of the upper arm bone (the golf ball) and the bony socket it sits in (the tee).
What’s the benefit of having such little bony contact between the arm and the trunk? You can move your shoulder in more directions than any other joint in your body. But, like most things, this is a double-edged sword.
Almost all problems with the shoulder can link back to this constant tug of war between shoulder mobility vs…
