Injuries can be tough for athletes on many levels. Whether it is the stress of sitting out from your favorite activity, the physical pain of the injury or the difficult rehab process, there’s never an “easy way out” when trying to get back to your sport. Once the athlete overcomes the injury from a clinical standpoint and the structures are healthy & safe to resume action, the most crucial part of return-to-sport begins! It is imperative that the athlete go through rigorous training in the rehab setting to practice skills they will be performing but also build confidence that they can attack their sport in a better fashion than they did pre-injury. Here are 3 tips for any athlete recovering from an injury, that they MUST do before stepping back into their arena.

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If you are an athlete, runner, speed-walker, or enjoy a lot of hiking and walking exercise, you may have experienced the dreaded pain of “shin splints”, also known as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS). These are microtraumas that develop in either the muscles, connective tissue or bone in the lower leg, causing pain with impact-related activities. If gone untreated, shin splints can last for a long time and reoccur quite frequently. Read further to discover 5 Ways to Decrease Shin Splints!

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If you have ever been in a gym or worked with a trainer, I’m sure you’ve heard them cue you by saying “brace your core”. What does that even mean?! Should we be squeezing those abdominal muscles like we are flexing for a bodybuilding championship? Should I be wearing a weightlifting belt at all times? What does bracing even do for me? Today’s blog will break down all of the important information behind intra-abdominal bracing and its benefits!

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Squats are one of the most common exercises seen in gyms worldwide. They are present in all forms of workouts, whether it be HIIT classes, calisthenics, powerlifting, strength & conditioning, crossfit, high school & collegiate teams or your typical weekend warrior trying to get stronger at the local gym. Although squats are an extremely useful exercise, there is a stigma that comes along with them, in that they cause lower back pain. The truth is that squats CAN cause lower back pain if performed improperly, but SHOULD NOT when done correctly! Here are some great tips that we use here at Restore Physical Therapy & Olympia Fitness + Performance to reduce the risk of lower back pain, while improving form and increasing strength!

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Gymnastics is without a doubt one of the toughest sports (physically) for an athlete to participate in. Especially when it comes to young athletes, the risk of injury is much higher. The reason for this is the lack of skeletal/muscular development at the starting age, sheer volume of training hours and speed of progression. Injuries will commonly happen in every sport, no matter how good your coaching or recovery is. However, the more we can become familiar with these injuries and how to prevent them, we can successfully reduce the frequency of these injuries and keep our athletes on the mats!

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Modalities have been a staple in most physical therapy clinics for as long as I can remember. Hot/cold packs, e-stim units, ultrasound and more, are almost expected as part of a treatment session. In fact, these treatment methods are taught throughout the doctorate program (at nauseum) and you are responsible for it’s content on the national boards examination. However, many experts have drifted away from using these modalities in their clinics.

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The time has finally come for Americans to get out onto the slopes! Here in the northeast, snow has been scarce for the past few years, so any chance we get is a big opportunity to scale a mountain. Dust off the ski’s & snowboards, wax the edges and pick up your lift tickets...it’s time to shred some fresh powder! Let’s get educated on some common injuries first!

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Every trainer, physical therapist or health expert will tell you to “work on your core”. They will stress how a weak core is the reason for a lot of different pain points in the body. Unfortunately, many of those same professionals do not take the time to really explain WHY it is so important and how utilizing a variety of different exercises to target specific muscle groups can benefit you in daily life.

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The wear and tear of your footwear can tell a physical therapist a lot about the way that you move. Sometimes these are positive findings, which confirm that you’re doing the right things! However, most of our clients come to the office because of pain from NOT doing the right things. If you are a running athlete, the bottom of your footwear is one of the very first things to evaluate

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