Mastering Foam Rolling Whether at the gym, CrossFit, or even AzOPT, you have seen someone laying and rolling around on a cylindrical shaped piece of foam. Foam rolling has become an extremely popular and effective self-massage technique. To understand why, let’s discuss the basic structure of our muscles and tissues. Our muscles are surrounded by…
How Physical Therapy Treats Plantar Fasciitis Have you ever woken up in the morning with increased foot pain with your first few steps? After walking for a few feet does the pain improve? Pain when pulling or lifting toes/ankle towards your shin? Do you have tenderness and pain with pressure on your heel? If so,…
Goal Setting For Success Do you wonder where you will be in five years? Have you thought about your main objective in life? What is it you want to achieve by the end of every day? Successes in various aspects of our life are often driven by the goals we establish. Goals lead us to…
Each year, to no surprise, the most popular New Year’s resolution is to improve one’s health and get in better shape. How do you succeed with this resolution? What are the keys to getting started, and more importantly, maintaining that focus throughout the year to stay in shape? Here are 5 tips to help you…
What is Vestibular Therapy? People often don’t realize how large the scope of physical therapy practice can be. There are many different domains including orthopedics, geriatrics, cardiopulmonary, pediatrics and more. One unique niche of physical therapy is vestibular rehabilitation. What is vestibular therapy exactly? It’s an exercise-based treatment program that works to improve your sense…
Celebrate National Physical Therapy Month with Activity! This October, we celebrate National Physical Therapy Month (NPTM)! NPTM is an awareness celebration held each October by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) to recognize the important roles physical therapists play in restoring and improving motion in people’s lives. Nobody understands this more than the “Active Adult”…
What is a joint mobilization? Joint mobilization, often called a manipulation, is a type of passive movement of a skeletal joint, using high-velocity, low amplitude (HLVA) thrusting maneuvers. Often associated with chiropractors, this technique has been used by a variety of practitioners throughout history and has evolved with time, experience and study. But did you…
Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Massage Therapists – What’s the Difference? There are many misconceptions regarding the similarities and differences between physical therapy, chiropractors and massage therapy. Patients often believe they are the same thing. In fact, the three professions have very different theories regarding the preferred method of treatment, the benefits of each treatment, and the…
The Problem of Low Back Pain It is estimated that almost half of the US population will experience low back pain at some point in their lifetime. Low back pain can decrease our ability to participate in recreational sports and everyday activities, such as dressing and getting out of bed. Back pain can be acute…
Ask the Therapist: Do I Really Need Physical Therapy Before Replacement Surgery? “My surgeon is going to remove all the arthritis from my bone-on-bone knee and replace it so I am pain free! What’s the point of physical therapy before surgery?” True – during most replacement surgeries, patients often have great success removing the arthritis…
