Canyon PT: 3 Easy Steps To Healthy Knees

Wellness Expert Newsletter

• Improving Sports Performance • Exercise Essentials • Patient Results

• Health And Wellness Tips • Healthy Recipe

“Are You Ready To Conquer Your Goals?” 3 EASY STEPS TO HEALTHY KNEES

For many people, knee pain can be a way of life, limiting their ability to climb stairs, squat down to get something off the floor, enjoy long walks, shopping and a host of other daily activities. The knee joint is one of the most complicated joints in the body and has to bear up to 6 times your body weight with running or jumping. This incredible joint has to move over a million times each year and over 80 million times over a lifetime. This is also the reason why things can go wrong, causing injury and pain. Just like taking care of your heart, your joints need attention to maintain a healthy state. Here are easy ways for you to take care of your knees, avoiding arthritis and other joint problems: 1. Stretch your hamstrings, quadriceps and adductor muscles each day. By keeping these muscles flexible, the forces on your knee joints can be balanced, allowing your joint to bend, rotate and for your patella (kneecap) to track properly.

2. Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong, especially the gluteals and quadriceps muscles. Studies show that adults (especially over 55) with stronger gluteals and quadriceps tend to have less back pain, as well as more ability to do daily activities. 3. Exercise regularly. While this is good for the whole body, the knees especially need exercise to keep their cartilage healthy. The cartilage does not have much blood supply and requires its nutrition from joint fluid. Most of the joint fluid absorbs into the cartilage only through movement and compression of the knee. Therefore, it is important to do weight bearing exercise such as walking, running and other sports. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised to do less impact activities such as biking, elliptical machines, aquatic exercises, etc.

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IMPROVING SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Having a regular physical therapy checkup ensures that your joints are working at their peak performance. In addition, any problems will be discovered early, preventing the onset of arthritis and joint injury. If you do have arthritis or have had surgery, a regular physical therapy check up is especially important. If your attention is on that sore knee, then it is time you called us for a free knee joint analysis. Talk to one of our expert physical therapists today and see how life can be with freely moving knees. Whether you are a high school athlete or just like to exercise for fun, improving your body’s ability to exercise is a good challenge. While there are many different ways to train for your particular sport, including nutrition, we are going to focus on improving your joint performance and stability. This will allow you to run longer, cut faster, and throw better.

Joint Stability Improve your sports ability through joint stability. When a joint is more stable, muscles can function better. For knees, ankles and hips try balance exercises on uneven surfaces such as foam or a folded towel. Try standing on one leg while doing small knee bends. Joint Flexibility Joints need to be flexible in order to move through their proper range and allow muscles to pull correctly. For many people who are runners, stretching must be done every day to maintain muscle and tissue elasticity. Dynamic stretching is often best, where the stretch is done in a moving fashion, such as in yoga. This is different than a prolonged stretch.

Joint Strength Incorporate strengthening exercises into your sports routines. This is especially important for runners and weekend warriors. A little strengthening exercising can go a long way to prevent sports injuries and soreness. The stronger your muscles are around your joints, the better ability you have to play and avoid injury. Joint Coordination You have an inherent sense of where your joints are in space (proprioception) and how they are moving in space (kinesthetic sense). This allows your brain to coordinate the muscle movements around your joints. By improving your balance and coordination with specific exercises, you greatly reduce the chance of injury and will enhance your sports performance.

“My life miraculously changed for the better!” “It was a hot and humid night, and my back hurt. I went to the doctor, and they stated “never fear, PT is here!” I met Danny a couple weeks later, and my life miraculously changed for the better! Danny not only related to me on a personal level (soccer & Beck), but he gave me exercises with explanation and taught me how they would fit into my life. Danny’s dream team– Jess, Michigan Megan, and Utah Megan, were awesome! They gave Danny superpowers and helped me conquer all the evil that was in my back. Now I feel like a million bucks and feel as if I can carry the weight of a tiny village on my back. I would definitely recommend Danny and his dream team to anyone wanting to improve their physical health. Go Team!” - C.S. PATIENT RESULTS

from the staff at CanyonSports Therapy

OUR MISSION “To restore physical ability and bring out your inner athlete.”

www.canyonsportstherapy.com

OWIA/Steve Cuff

DID YOU KNOW?

Canyon Sports Therapy is an official sponsor of the Australian Freestyle Ski Team. Our team has been instrumental in helping the Flying Kangaroos stay on the winning side of International competitions for the last several years. As another winter season is upon us we wish them safe flying and loads of medals.

Always consult your physical therapist or physician before starting exercises you are unsure of doing. Exercise Essentials Try this simple exercise to keep you moving...

Single-Leg Squat Strengthens Legs

Stand with good posture on one leg. Begin to squat with one leg by bending at the hip and knee, with dumbbells hanging straight down. Return to the starting position by straightening at the hip. Repeat 6-10 times.

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Healthy Recipe: Low Carb Peppermint Cheesecake Bites

INGREDIENTS • 1½ cups butter, softened • 20 oz cream cheese, softened • 1½ cups of Splenda or Swerve • 2½ teaspoons peppermint extract, or to taste • 1 candy cane (optional)* • red food coloring (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS Line an 8x8 pan with waxed or parchment paper, leaving a little extra hanging on both sides. Mix all ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Feel free to add more peppermint extract for desired taste. Pour cheesecake mixture into lined pan. For red swirls, put 3-5 drops of red food coloring on the top of the cheesecake and swirl using a knife. To decorate, break the candy cane and sprinkle it over the cheesecake. Chill in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours. Use the hanging paper to lift the cheesecake and then peel paper off. Cut cheesecake into 8 bars. Source: https://the-lowcarb-diet.com/peppermint-cheesecake-bars/

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