Overuse, injury, accident, or surgery – those are some causes of knee pain and injury. Whenever and wherever you have pain, physical therapy can help! Learn more about some common injuries related to knee pain and weight training by reading below. At Rausch PT, we will provide you with the best care possible so you can get back to doing what you love as soon as possible.

The lower back, shoulder, and knee are the big three “injury”‘ joints for active people. Even the inactive will inevitably have a mild or serious injury to one or more of these joints over a lifetime. However, adding regular weight training into your routine can improve knee strength and prevent injury. Safety is critical when weight training because strain and injury can occur.

Weight Training and Knee Injuries

While it may seem like weight training could contribute to knee injuries, this is not the case. Lifts like deadlifts and squats do place high forces on the knee joints, but these forces are applied mostly vertically and not horizontally or rotationally (twisting). The knees cope with vertical forces much better than high-impact horizontal and twisting forces.

While weight training is generally very safe for the knees, this is dependent on whether you practice proper form and follow the correct guidelines for each move. Even so, knee injuries do occur in weight training and in the very high forces of Olympic weightlifting, and if you have an existing knee injury from another activity, inappropriate weight training exercises could make it worse.1

Common Knee Injuries

In each of the knee ligament injuries below, the damage can range from a sprain to a slight tear or a complete tear in the most serious cases. Here’s what you need to know.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)

This ligament ties the femur bone of the thigh to the tibia or shin bone of the lower leg and controls excessive rotation or extension of the knee joint.3 Anterior means at the front. A rear (posterior) ligament is also present. ACL injuries are seen mostly in athletes. Severe damage to the ACL usually means surgical reconstruction and up to 12 months rehabilitation.

Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL)

The PCL connects the femur and tibia at different points to the ACL and controls any rearward motion of the tibia at the joint. The PCL is mostly injured with high-impact forces as a result of accidents and sometimes in sports activities where a sharp blow to the knee occurs.

Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL)

This ligament keeps the knee from bending too far to the inside (medially). Damaged MCLs mostly occur from an impact to the outside of the knee, or even from an accidental bodyweight force when the leg reaches an unusual angle.

Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL)

This is the opposite ligament to the MCL. It’s on the outside of the knee and controls excessive movement outward. This ligament connects the fibula (the smaller bone of the lower leg) to the femur. Similarly the LCL is injured when a force pushes the knee outward.

Cartilage Injury

Cartilage prevents bones from rubbing together and cushions impacts. The two knee menisci (meniscus single) are cartilages that cushion the inside and outside of the knee joint. Other types of cartilage protect the ends of the thigh and shin bones. When cartilage is torn or damaged, surgery with an arthroscope may be necessary. (An arthroscope is an implement that allows a surgeon to see and fix cartilage injuries with a small incision.)

Tendonitis

Aggravated and overused tendons of the knee can cause disabling knee injuries. A related injury called “iliotibial band syndrome” (ITB) causes pain to the outside of the knee, often in runners, but it can occur in any overuse situation. Rest, stretching, and a short, two-week course of anti-inflammatory medication is often recommended. Longer duration of medication usage can result in more side effects than benefits. For pain lasting longer than two weeks, consult a physical therapist. Anti-inflammatory medication is often recommended for these types of injuries.4

Prevent Weight Training Knee Injuries

There are steps you can take to minimize your risk of knee injury and pain while weightlifting. If you have an existing knee injury, take the advice of your doctor or physical therapist in the first instance.

• Avoid certain gym workouts. Gym exercises that may be best avoided are the isolation exercises like the leg extension machine, and the leg curl exercises, either standing or on a bench. Heavy loads or deep squats should mostly be avoided.
• Deep squat with caution. On the other hand, if your knee was perfectly healthy, with accurate technique under expert supervision and gradually progressive training load, current research shows the deep squat is a great exercise to protect against lower leg injury.2

Other Causes of Knee Injury

Knee injuries, especially to the knee ligaments, are exceedingly common in sporting communities. Knee injuries can result in pain, swelling, and immobility from minor to severe effects.

For weight trainers and physically active men and women, the knee joints endure a wide range of stresses and strains. For the most part, in younger years, the knee joints serve us well. However, in sports with twisting movements—such as football, basketball, hockey, and many others—ligaments that bind the complex bones of the knee joint together can be damaged, often severely.

In addition, as we age, normal wear and tear can result in osteoarthritis of the knee joints.5 In this condition, the cartilage that provides cushioning between bones deteriorates and causes bones to rub together resulting in pain and stiffness.

Closing Thoughts…

Weight training, when performed correctly, is generally safe for the knees. However, if you are concerned or have experienced a prior knee injury, you should talk to your doctor before beginning a new workout routine. Working with a personal trainer can be helpful in learning the proper technique and weightlifting form.

Take advice from our exceptional physical therapists to get the most suitable treatment for your knee pain. We will help help you recover better and fast. You don’t need a doctor’s prescription to see us, but we would be happy to convey your treatment and progress with your doctor if you would like. Visit our Rausch PT Dana Point Facebook Page or call us at (949) 276-5401 to book an appointment. There’s no prescription needed to see a PT. 

Reference: {https://www.verywellfit.com/knee-pain-and-injury-in-weight-training-3498459}

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Hi, my name is Kathryn, and I’m the dance specialist at Rausch Physical Therapy. As a past professional dancer and teacher, I have seen many injuries related to misinformation and dangerous habits. It is my goal to help educate the dance community on preventing these injuries in the future. Today I want to talk about knee hyper-extension. I have heard both sides of the argument for and against allowing dancers to stand with knees hyper-extended. One side is dancers should fully extend their knees, and avoiding full available extension is essentially allowing their knees to be bent. While the other side is that over-exaggeration of hyperextension can be dangerous and lead to injury. So let’s clarify that both sides are saying the same thing without realizing it. 

A slight amount of knee hyperextension is reasonable and good, but when excessive can cause an injury. While a hyper-extended knee looks pleasing in arabesque, it can be a central contributing factor to knee or ankle pain and injury. When in a weight-bearing position or movement, there is a tendency towards reliance on knee ligaments, specifically the Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL), for support versus quad activation. Over time, with continued inactivation of quads, this may lead to quad weakness and ligament laxity or tears (think of a rubber band that has been stretched too far). Along with these physical changes, a dancer will become more reliant on calf musculature to do the work the quads should be doing. That leads to Achilles tendonitis, knee instability and pain, and general balancing difficulties.

So what about the correction that you shouldn’t be dancing on a bent knee? That is true! But note the following picture, what feels “bent” to someone who is naturally hyper-extended is good alignment!

 

So what do you do if you have naturally hyperextended knees?

Focus on individual alignment and quad activation of dancers. While you don’t want your knee bent, it should not be fully locked out in standing. Think about lifting your knee cap to engage quads. When in 1st position, heels should be together, not apart, to allow for feedback when knees reach neutral.

 

As always, if you do start to experience pain with movement, find a physical therapist to help you! We can get you back to moving pain-free and help avoid future injuries as well.

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Wondering how to keep your knees healthy and prepared for your best performance? Experiencing any pain or discomfort while engaging in your workout? We are here to help. Schedule an appointment with a professional physical therapist for a complimentary injury screen to see if you’re a fit for physical therapy. Call us! (949) 276-5401.

If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment. Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us? (949) 276-5401

Returning to sport can be difficult, especially after taking a year off. There are 3 things to consider in your journey back:

1.Allow yourself extra time to warm up:

1. 1. 1. Foam roll
         
         1. Hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes, T/S extension, thread the needle
      2. Stretch
         
         1. Doorway pec stretch, hamstrings stretch, prone quad stretch, piriformis stretch
         2. Dynamic warm-up; a 3D dynamic warm-up is the best to get all joints in your body moving

2.Scale it back to half of what you were doing:

1. If you were running 3 miles, then start with 1. If you were used to walking for 30 minutes, then get out there and start with 15 minutes. Don’t go and play a tournament of pickleball. Play a match and take two days off to see how you feel instead.

3.Look out for Signs and Symptoms of an oncoming injury:

1. Burning, pulling or sharp pains are signs of potential strains if not taken care of
2. Pain during the activity
3. Pain that doesn’t go away after the activity stops
4. Need to ice afterward all the time
5. Need to reach for the medicine cabinet after the activity

If foam rolling, stretching, and scaling it back still don’t do the trick with returning to your sport or level of activity you want to be at, it is safest to come in for an evaluation. You may need a deep tissue release to get a muscle activated properly or a body alignment check-up to optimize muscle function.

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A tissue release may be what you need right now, to prevent that injury and optimize your performance. We are here with certified therapists to help you.  Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/

rauschpt or call us at (949) 276-5401 to book an appointment. Let’s get you on the road to recovery.

If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment. Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us? (949) 276-5401

Many people get caught up in their pain. How much pain they have. How often they have pain. BUT I’d like to say that Pain isn’t what matters… at least to us as your Physical Therapist, for your long-term goal.  As I evaluate and treat new patients, I am constantly looking at your whole body function, how you are moving, how you walk, how you can squat, what do your SL balance and squat look like. Does your arch collapse too much make your knee collapse in, are your glutes weak, do you have a hip drop, do your muscle compensate for weaknesses, do you have a leg length discrepancy, how is your foot affecting your knee which affects your hip and back? I look at the pain as a problem somewhere up or down the chain; looking at the body as a whole chain instead of an individual joint.

Too many people are pain-centered. If my pain is gone, then I must be fixed right? Wrong. Pain is your body telling you that something is not right, but even after there is no pain anymore, the body can break down to the weakest areas and start having pain again. People often come to PT with the goal of surfing or being able to run, but too often they are satisfied at that 6th-8th visit mark when they are feeling better, but far too often it hasn’t “fixed” why they needed the PT, to begin with. At Rausch, we want to get you better, doing the things you LOVE, and with that comes strength, functionality for long-term benefits. As much as we love seeing you, we love seeing you more if it is for a new issue/injury, not the same one that has crept back. So please please please, book out your full prescribed treatments so we can take a look at the body as a whole for your long term benefits.  Also, if we progress your exercises to make it harder for you and more functional, it is only because we love and care about you. We want you to be pain-free YES, but more importantly for the long run, we want you to be strong functionally.

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Dr. Ruth Meltzer PT, DPT, OCS

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary consultation. We would love to meet you.

Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us to!
(949) 276-5401

 

 

Can’t sleep? Are you having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep? Many people have had their sleep patterns disrupted — along with many other routines — since the pandemic. Here is a helpful article that correlates exercise with helping you get some good nights’ sleep once again.

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Regular exercise can help most people achieve better quality sleep, but what if you’re experiencing more serious sleep problems? Up to 15 percent of adults suffer from chronic insomnia, which is defined by difficulties falling or staying asleep, waking up too early, or experiencing restless sleep multiple times a week.

How Does Exercise Help Treat Insomnia?

Studies have shown that in as little as four weeks, individuals with chronic insomnia who begin regular exercise can fall asleep up to 13 minutes faster and stay asleep 18 minutes longer. In fact, study authors found that exercise was just as effective as hypnotic drugs in relieving insomnia. Researchers have a few theories why this might be the case.

Exercise causes changes in your core body temperature. During exercise, your body increases its temperature, and afterward your body’s temperature drops. That drop in temperature mimics a similar temperature change that happens before you fall asleep when your body cools down in the evening in preparation for rest. The similarity between these changes may signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep.

 

Exercise relieves symptoms of anxiety and depression. Insomnia often goes hand-in-hand with anxiety and depression. These symptoms — including anxious thoughts, worry, and stress — can interfere with one’s ability to fall asleep. Exercise can mitigate these symptoms through the release of endorphins, positively improving sleep quality.

Exercise may realign your internal body clock. Some people experience insomnia due to a misaligned internal body clock. A disruption of one’s circadian rhythms can cause them to naturally feel tired later at night than “normal.” Depending on the time of day they exercise, it can help reset their body clock and help them fall asleep earlier. Further, some forms of exercise, like running, boost serotonin (a hormone involved in the sleep-wake cycle), which may improve the brain’s ability to metabolize serotonin and regulate sleep.

While researchers are still working to understand exactly how physical activity affects sleep, they’ve found that moderate aerobic exercise is the most effective at relieving insomnia. Specifically, moderate aerobic exercise increases the amount of time you spend in a deep sleep. Deep sleep is the stage where your body restores and replenishes itself, healing your muscles and tissues to prepare for more exercise.

Can a Lack of Exercise Induce Insomnia?

Multiple studies have found that regular exercise correlates with better sleep. Across age groups, individuals who have a regular exercise routine are less likely to have insomnia and sleep issues. Further, those who are more physically active tend to be less likely to develop insomnia later in life, indicating that exercise also acts as a protective function against insomnia.

Conversely, a lack of exercise is associated with insomnia. Along with factors like poor health, stress, old age, and unemployment, lack of regular exercise is a predictor of insomnia. Problematically, when people are suffering from insomnia, it can be harder to be physically active due to higher levels of daytime fatigue and sleepiness.

Can Exercise Cause Insomnia?

In general, the answer is no. However, some people experience exercise-induced insomnia if they exercise too close to bedtime, while others have no trouble falling asleep right afterward.

For some people, exercising too late in the day can keep them up at night. In addition to elevating your mood, the endorphin release associated with exercise can energize your brain, leading some people to feel more alert. For this reason, experts recommend avoiding exercise at least 2 hours before bed so those effects can wear off.

However, the drop in body temperature that occurs after exercising can begin 30 to 90 minutes later, which may help with falling asleep.

 

To figure out the right time for you to exercise, consider keeping a sleep diary. Record when you exercise, what type of exercise you did and for how long, when you went to bed, and how long it took you to fall asleep. Just make sure you don’t make any other changes (like eating heavy meals or drinking coffee or alcohol) that otherwise might affect your sleep and interfere with your results.

What Types of Exercises Are Best for Insomnia?

While the options for exercise routines and movements are numerous, note that only moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, like walking, has been shown to relieve insomnia. Vigorous aerobic exercise, like running or resistance weight lifting, has not been shown to improve sleep.

Just a single 30-minute exercise session can reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep, and help you sleep longer overall. But these effects are stronger when you undertake a regular exercise program. Studies have shown that long-term exercise (ranging from periods of four to 24 weeks) enables individuals with insomnia to fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and enjoy better sleep quality than they did before exercising.

Moderate aerobic exercise can help relieve other symptoms associated with insomnia, too. For individuals with comorbid insomnia and anxiety, it can significantly lower pre-sleep anxiety, reducing the anxious thoughts that make it tough to fall asleep.

After a period of four to six months, a regular moderate aerobic exercise routine can also reduce depression symptoms and reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. Overall sleep quality improves, and you’re more likely to feel well-rested upon waking up. Best of all, the participants in these studies enjoyed the same results regardless of whether they exercised in the morning or late afternoon.

Exercise can be a powerful tool in relieving insomnia. If you are having trouble sleeping, consult your doctor about an appropriate exercise regimen to help you enjoy better sleep and wellbeing.

Reference: {https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/exercise-and-insomnia}

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Did you know you can be evaluated by a Rausch physical therapist who can help streamline the right routine for you to prevent injury and sleep better sooner? Did you know there is no prescription needed from a doctor to see us? Give us a call at 949-276-5401 or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rauschpt/. Don’t forget: there’s no prescription needed to see a PT in California.

If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment.

Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us? (949) 276-5401

 

 

 

2020 certainly taught us resilience — how are you going to apply that to the new year? If you want to live a healthier life but don’t know how to get started, here’s a helpful article.

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Many of us are looking to make changes to our health following a year of messed up schedules and life-altering events. Whether that involves getting back on track with a healthy diet, starting up a new food or exercise plan or re-introducing some much-needed gym time after the repeated closures, we are here to assist.

Often, getting back into, or introducing, healthy patterns can seem so overwhelming as a whole, which is why breaking the effort down into bitesize chunks can make the approach feel much more achievable. To help you overcome those challenges, we’ve put together 10 simple goals to set your health on the right track.

Start meditating daily

As you accustom yourself to simply sitting quietly with your eyes closed and taking measured breaths, you could soon find that you can focus, concentrate and sleep better, as a Medium article points out, so try it out for five to ten minutes a day. Meditating is a great starting point and will ultimately have a big effect on many areas of your life, don’t underestimate the impact that ten minutes a day of meditation can have on your wellbeing.

Eat just one more vegetable a day

It’s well-advised that you try to eat a range of vegetables in a mix of colors to help ensure you get various vitamins into your diet. If you’re not very good at getting those important vegetables into your meals then you could start diversifying your diet in this way by adding mushrooms to your toast for breakfast, try an extra carrot with your lunch, or sneak in some extra vegetables with dinner.

Drink a glass of water every morning

It is recommended to drink eight glasses of water a day, and that seems like quite a lot if you’re not keen on the stuff already. Consuming a glass of water when you first wake up will help you on your way towards suitably replenishing your fluids from the night, a step important to the health of your body and skin as well as your overall wellbeing. And once you start the day with good intentions, it will hopefully lead to better decisions throughout the day.

Write down what you daily eat

A great way to get an overall picture of your eating habits and to help you decide if there are any amendments that can be made is to keep a food diary. This is not to fill you with guilt, but to offer a valuable insight into how you are routinely nourishing yourself, consequently, you will be able to easily identify bad eating habits and ways to potentially regulate them.

Look for any food triggers

If you are overeating, could there be important underlying reasons why? If you notice that you tend to eat more often when, for example, you are bored or stressed, you could then work on changing that negative behavior, as Healthline notes. Keeping that food diary along with other notes about your health and mood can help you to spot trends and provide you with something to work with.

Do some exercise every day, even just for five minutes

Getting yourself up and moving will set you on your way to a much healthier path in the long run. Starting small is a great way to achieve this, so opt for five minutes a day to start with. This exercise could consist of jumping, squatting, dancing, hula hooping, or any other exercise you could fit into an easy five-minute session. Add the exercise to your to-do list in advance, and you will be afforded the satisfaction of crossing off that activity after completing it.

Try to slowly increase your amount of daily exercise over time

Start with five-minute sessions and build up the time in five-minute chunks as and when you feel ready, you may be enjoying the positive feelings and energy this gives you so much that you increase your time sooner than you think!

Alternatively, if you get yourself used to running a mile three times a week, you could soon transition into running a couple of miles on one or two of those occasions and build up the distance over time. Or you could incorporate different exercises into your routine to mix it up a bit if you are likely to get bored or doing the same thing.

Invest in new clothes for your workouts

As workouts become cemented as a major part of your routine, you should definitely think about buying new attire to get you in the mode. A new tracksuit can look as good in the queue at your local supermarket as it does in the gym, click here for an array of men’s tracksuits and get ready to up your fitness game once you’re dressed for success.

Spend a week instilling consistency into your life

Whatever new, small habit you want to take up, commit yourself to follow it for a week at first. A HuffPost piece says that doing this “will signal to your body and soul that consistency is possible, and steadiness will follow.” Whether that habit is meditation, drinking water, eating more vegetables, or exercising, focus on one and do it well then the rest will follow.

Replace each negative thought with a positive one

While negative thoughts will inevitably drift into your mind from time to time, consciously replacing them as they arrive over a three-day period can soon leave you with far fewer spontaneous adverse thoughts than before. Psychologists suggest that we have an average of 6,000 thoughts every single day and if you lean towards the negative in life, this can feel a bit much at times, so working hard to replace each conscious negative thought with a positive one can leave you feeling much brighter and more positive in general and ready to tackle those goals.

Reference: {https://www.luxurylifestylemag.co.uk/health-wellbeing/slow-and-steady-wins-the-race-10-simple-goals-to-set-your-health-on-the-right-track/}

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It’s a perfect time to be evaluated by a Rausch physical therapist who can help support you on your journey to better health! Did you know there is no prescription needed from a doctor to see us? Give us a call at (949) 443-0713 or visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/rauschpt to learn more.

If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment.
Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us?
(949) 276-5401

 

 

 

 

 

Are you waking up with pain and stiffness every morning? It may have nothing to do with your activities from the day before and everything to do with how you slept. Rausch PT at Dana Point can help you address your pain and provide a preventative plan. Here are some insights into how different sleep positions can affect your health. Call us at (949) 276-5401. We’re here to help you!

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The position in which you sleep is arguably one of the most personal things about you. Some people are loyal back sleepers, while others can’t snooze if they’re not laying on their stomach.

Whatever side or position you choose is often whatever you find most comfortable — rather than something you actively think about. But, it might be time to put some thought into your sleeping position as it could be affecting your health.

Here are the pros and cons of the back, side, and stomach sleeping. Your sleeping position might never be the same again after reading this.

Sleeping on your stomach

This is one of the least common sleeping positions, according to Sleep Health Solutions, with roughly 7% of adults sleeping this way. In general, this sleep position is the worst for your health because of the strain it puts on your neck.

The heaviest part of your body is the middle and when you sleep on your stomach, it causes your spine to overarch and according to Sleep Health Solutions, strains your back and neck. In time, this can lead to neck pain and nerve issues as well as numbness or tingling in the extremities.

“If you are sleeping on your stomach and notice you are suffering back pain, there probably is a reason,” Bill Fish, a certified sleep science coach, told mindbodygreen (mbg). “Since the majority of the weight of the human body is around your centre, that core pushes into the sleep surface further and basically puts strain on your spine in the wrong direction, causing back and neck pain.”

Sleeping on your stomach can also be hard on your face. If you sleep in this position, you’re probably no stranger to waking up with indentations. Cosmetically speaking, sleeping on your stomach could result in lines forming on your face that might not have formed had you slept on your back.

“Since we all spend around a third of our lives asleep, these ‘sleep lines’ get repeatedly reinforced and etched into your skin over time, like folds in leather shoes,” said Healthline.

Sleeping on your back

This is the best position for your neck and back, as it allows your spine to stay in a natural position. For the health of your back, this is by far the best option but the pillows you use can either help or hinder this.

“Sleeping on your back can be good and healthy, but your pillow should be really flat to that so you don’t have your chin to your chest,” naturopathic sleep doctor Catherine Darley N.D. told mbg.

“Additionally, being too elevated on your pillow can put pressure on the low back. Maybe they have a really big pillow so their neck is cranked up to the side, or it’s maybe they have too flat of a pillow and their neck is sagging down, causing misalignment and over years that’s not good for your cervical spine.”

For those who experience snoring or sleep apnea, sleeping on your back can exacerbate these things and might not be the best choice for you in that sense. Sleeping on your back causes gravity to force the base of your tongue to sink into the airway, which according to Greatist, can obstruct breathing and in turn, cause you to snore.

And finally, if you’re concerned about the cosmetic side of sleeping, your back is the best option here. Sleeping on your back means you won’t wake up with lines or indentations on your face from your pillowcase every morning and in turn, will save you from adding unnecessary lines to your complexion.

Sleeping on your side

A 2017 study found side sleeping to be the most common position and for good reason. The lateral posture of side sleeping is usually the most comfortable for people and according to Sleep Health Solutions, is recommended by sleep specialists because of its benefits. Side sleeping allows your spine to remain elongated and neutral, which helps prevent back, neck and shoulder pain.

According to Healthline, left side sleeping is actually the best option for your health and has the most science-backed benefits. While externally our bodies are pretty much symmetrical, the placement of our organs are asymmetrical and how we choose to rest can influence how these organs work.

For example, sleeping on your left side aids digestion and effectively allows gravity to move waste through your colon and can encourage a morning trip to the bathroom. It has also been found to help heartburn, as lying on the left side allows the gastric juices to stay lower than the esophagus while sleeping, which is not the case with right side sleeping.

Sleeping on your side (either left or right) has also been found to help your body clear interstitial waste from your brain, which according to Healthline, may reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases.

The only real downside to side sleeping is the pressure it puts on your shoulders and arms. This is why it’s important to swap sides when your arm or shoulder is feeling a little sore during the night. If pain persists, you might have to try sleeping on your back instead.

While choosing a sleeping position is totally up to you, arming yourself with the benefits of certain positions compared to others will help you make an informed decision when it comes to your health.

Reference: {https://thelatch.com.au/best-sleep-position/}

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If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment.
Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us?
(949) 276-5401

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, it’s Kathryn, the dancing PT. Today’s blog is about the benefits of cross-training for dancers.

Education about dancer safety and health has improved greatly over the last few years, but one topic that still seems to be shunned by some instructors is the idea of cross-training. There are many myths/misconceptions surrounding the topic. Some examples I have heard over the years include:

• Cross-training not only undoes the technique training that students work hard on, but it also causes bulky muscles.
• Cross-training takes up too much of the student’s time and is unnecessary.

I, however, believe dancers should cross-train to reduce the risk of injury.

Continuous training in one area can cause muscle imbalance, leading to many types of injuries. Examples of overused muscle groups for dancers include hip flexors (kicks), external rotators (turn out), adductors and quads (straight knees), spine extensors (straight back), and plantar flexors (point your feet!). While these are all necessary for correct technique and line, ignoring their counterparts lead to mechanical issues and injury further down the road.

Often dancers present to therapy with a combination of anterior pelvic tilt, increased lumbar lordosis, flat thoracic spine, knee hyperextension and valgus, and limited ankle dorsiflexion ROM. For those of you not fluent in biomechanics and anatomy, let’s break it down. Have you ever noticed that you get a pinching sensation in the front of your hip or low back with certain movements, knee pain with jumping or turning, back pain at the end of a long class, or tripping over your feet when you are not dancing? These are all signs of muscle imbalance and the start of an injury.

This is where cross-training comes into play. Light resistance training of opposing muscle groups will decrease your risk of muscle imbalance and increase dynamic strength to make you a more powerful dancer overall! I recommend Pilates to dancers as an effective cross-training program 1-2 hours a week, working both in parallel and rotation. Pilates was designed with dancers in mind. It helps build strong lean muscles and most importantly has proven to help prolong the healthy dancer body.

As always, if you are experiencing any pain with movement, check in with your physical therapist. They can get you back on your feet safely, quickly, and help prevent lasting damage.

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Dr. Kathryn Toteroh

If you find yourself in discomfort or think you could benefit from a personalized exercise plan, talk to a
Physical Therapist.

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary assessment.
Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us?
(949) 443-0713

 

Ron Thornton knew that something wasn’t right when he began to notice his lack of expression in the mirror, his inability to print or write well and started tripping whenever he tried to back up. After four CAT scans, four MRIs, and finally, a nuclear MRI, Ron was diagnosed with preliminary Parkinson’s Disease. He didn’t expect it, because to the best of his knowledge no one in his family had ever had it. After a series of in-office tests, Ron’s neurologist determined that he would be a good candidate for physical therapy to help with his walking and balance, and referred him to Rausch Physical Therapy — Dana Point. Right off the bat, he found a kindred spirit: his initial evaluation here was done by a physical therapist who shared his passion for surfing, motorcycle riding, and mountain bike riding.

Ron’s therapist, Brian Frank, was not only an excellent therapist and athletic trainer but was also familiar with his condition. Brian’s father is also dealing with the disease, so he was able to become a wealth of knowledge for Ron. He answered countless Parkinson’s questions and gave Ron some insights on what to expect as he goes through this journey.

Prior to starting his physical therapy, he was taking a lot of spills onto the ground. To help him improve his balance, Brian used our state-of-the-art overhead track and harness system and showed him how to slow down and walk out of any situation. Upon completion of Brian’s Parkinson’s specific exercises, Ron is then turned over to one of the equally awesome Aides Fred, Bryce, and Jose for another thirty minutes of general exercises. Whether he’s having a good or a bad day, Ron says it’s always uplifting to enjoy his therapists’ company and encouragement.

 

Most of the patients that visit Rausch PT get better and don’t come back, but Ron knows he will benefit from continuous care. His physical therapy program will keep him moving, feel supported, and help him remain independent.

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Brian Frank

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Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us too!
(949) 276-5401

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