When was the last time you stopped to breathe? I mean really, intentionally took breaths in and out. It sounds silly since we wouldn’t survive without breathing but as a physical therapist, I see A LOT of people that have difficulty breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing, often known as belly breathing, is the breathing pattern I work…
We all know being stressed is bad for our body. It can affect our mental health. It can affect how our body systems functions. It can affect our pain perception. It can even affect our pelvic floor function. Being stressed and tense is no fun. You know what’s even less fun – when someone tells…
You have made it to the final push of your pregnancy! Most of baby’s organ systems are in place and he or she is working on maturing and packing on the pounds for independent survival outside the womb. And as baby’s body and systems continue to come together, mom’s body may feel like its falling…
EXERCISES OF THE WEEK! Sciatica is a general term for radiating pain down the back of the leg due to irritation of the sciatic nerve or one of the nerve roots of the sciatic nerve. A formal evaluation is necessary to determine where your symptoms are originating from but in the mean time, these simple…
EXERCISE OF THE WEEK: STAR DRILL! Is knee pain limiting your squatting, kneeling, standing from the floor, or going up/down stairs? The Star Drill is for you! This exercise is great for improving patellar tracking, knee mechanics, and quadriceps strength and control! Instructions: Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a star. Stand on one…
Whether you’re kneeling and lifting a little one up from the ground all day long, or pregnant and packing on the baby pounds, or feeling the effects of osteoarthritis, knees are joints that commonly talk to us with pain. Luckily, there are a few things we can do to improve this pain! Improve Your Patellar…
What mom is not familiar with the pain associated with lugging a car seat around? You know the nagging ache in the shoulder blade or back, the numbness and tingling running down your arm, and the feeling that your arm may actually fall off? Trust me, you are not alone. Carrying around a car seat…
Upper back pain is one of the most frequent complaints of pregnant and post-partum women. This pain is usually located between the shoulder blades and the spine and can range from sharp to dull to just a “stuck” feeling. This pain is very common during these life transitions due to the major changes happening in…