Category: Back
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Which is better For Managing Acute Pain- heat or ice?
When you’re in pain which is better to use, heat or ice? The answer as usual is, it depends!
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Traveling This Weekend? Here are 3 of My Favorite Stretches After Traveling
Traveling this weekend? Prolonged sitting in a car or plane can tighten up your back, hips, etc. Here are 3 of my favorite stretches to do after a day of travel.
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What Does It Mean To Lift With Your Legs?
We’ve all heard the phrase “lift with your legs” but what does that really mean? This post discusses how to put this phrase into practice to prevent injury.
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Try These 5 Exercises For Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a leading cause of disability in the U.S. today. This post contains 5 exercises you can try for your back pain.
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Three Things I Would Never Use As a Physical Therapist
The media try to sell gimmicky things all the time that promise to “fix your pain.” Here are 3 things I would never use as a physical therapist. 1. The nemesis of a physical therapist: Posture Trainers These devices hold you up in a position of good posture and promise to reduce your back pain.…
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The Truth: Why Your Back Doesn’t Pop In and Out of Place
Before I even became a physical therapist, I repeatedly heard people say that their back was “out”. I hear people say that their joints are “out of place” and that a chiropractor or PT puts them back. This makes it sound like our spine is very fragile and unstable. Let’s go into what’s wrong with…
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What is piriformis syndrome?
Patients come to me for a variety of reported symptoms in their back and hips, self diagnosing themselves as having “piriformis syndrome”. Let’s talk about why this is impossible to self diagnose. Let’s start by defining the piriformis The piriformis is a muscle that attaches from our sacrum to our greater trochanter (the part of…
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Debunking the myth: back pain is not genetic
I often hear people tell me about how they have a bad back, and how it “runs in their family.” I’m happy to inform you that back pain is NOT genetic! That’s right – back pain is NOT genetic Pain in your back can be caused by a variety of factors, which may include: Unfortunately…
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Treating Low Back Pain: Unexpected muscles to strengthen
Treating low back pain is complex and is tailored to a patient’s individual needs. I get asked all the time about different ways people can work their core muscles to reduce back pain. The core muscles include the abdominals, anterior hip musculature, and posterior hip musculature. The “core” is made up of muscles that control…
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Getting an MRI for Low Back Pain? What you should know
Often times when people have low back pain – one of the leading causes of disability in the US today – they will get a lumbar MRI (“Lumbar” is simply the term for your low back). There are a LOT of things I wish all patients knew before getting an MRI of their lumbar spine.…