Changes in our health are inevitable as we get older. But while doctors tell us to focus on the basics — eat right, exercise and keep cholesterol and blood pressure in check— is there more that we need to know about staying well as we age?
In this special section, you’ll be able to learn the best that science and medicine can offer for taking care of yourself. You can also test your knowledge and read more health news at the Well blog.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/05/13/health/20080513_WELLGUIDE.html
http://physical-therapy.advanceweb.com/Web-Extras/Online-Extras/Common-Running-Injuries.aspx
| Every weekend, millions of Americans lace up their running shoes and hit the pavement. Running can be an excellent exercise. It has been shown to raise levels of good cholesterol, increase lung function, lower risk of stroke and fight depression, among many other health benefits. As with any physical activity, though, there is the chance for injury.
In this interactive guide, we explain the possible causes of 10 common running injuries and offer suggestions for how a physical therapist could treat them. Says Michael Conlon, PT, who specializes in working with athletes, “The treatment advice is generic in nature. For all of these injuries, athletes need at least thorough evaluation of hip and ankle joints and often extending up to the thoracic spine. The goal of PT evaluation is always to determine the root cause.” Click on the ‘hot spots’ below! All information provided by Michael Conlon, PT, owner of Finish Line PT, New York, NY |
Runners often develop muscular imbalances and faulty movement patterns, or have poor training strategies predisposing them to injury. Â Physical therapists will be an essential part of the rehabilitation and prevention of running-related injuries.
I often discuss trigger points, or knots, as they are more commonly known as, to patients during a physical therapy evaluation and treatment.  The above article gives great explanation to different treatments for these annoying nodules, commonly the source of local and referred pain.
I love the statement made by the PT in the article:
As a certified manual trigger point therapist, Kulp views his patients as living, breathing maps of muscles, over which his fingers roam in a search-and-discover mission. When he finds and releases trigger points, then stretches the now-relaxed muscle, patients feel almost instant relief. “You must know what you’re touching,” he said. “It comes back to what we all learn in anatomy class.”
Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine help fibromyalgia patients shift their focus to lifestyle changes rather than on the chronic problems of pain, stiffness and fatigue.
