Solutions: Run Injury Free

Health &Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

“CONTINUE MOVING WITHOUT PAIN!” RUN INJURY FREE

• Run Injury Free • The Runner’s Guide • Staff Spotlight • Patient Spotlight • Exercise Essentials • Healthy Recipe Inside:

We all know that running is great exercise for our bodies, but often people stop due to knee or lower leg pain. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Over 50 million Americans deal with some sort of knee trouble, as the knees are the second most common injured joint, the first being the joints in the spine. Therefore, it is essential to know what you can do to prevent knee troubles from even starting.

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Health & Wellness The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body

“There’s No Age Limit To Consistent Activity!” RUN INJURY FREE

Most all knee and leg pain can be attributed to the following issues: • Poor muscular strength • An imbalance of flexibility and muscle strength

• Poor biomechanics of walking / running • Lack of flexibility in hip, knee, or ankle Common injuries with running or exercising: • Patellofemoral pain • Meniscus tears and pain • Ligament injuries (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL) • Osteoarthritis • Shin splints • Hamstring pulls • Achilles tendonitis

Don’t push through pain While feeling a muscle burn is a normal part of exercising, feeling pain is not. It is not normal to have sharp pain during regular exercise and one should not push through this. Make sure you are doing an adequate active warm up prior to exercise as muscles and tissues require internal lubrication to work properly. Warming up brings natural fluids to the area to help increase range of motion and to improve elasticity. Lastly, ensure to stretch after exercise to help maintain and gain flexibility. Did You Know?... “Physical therapy can improve athletic performance. A physical therapist can do a biomechanical analysis to help you become more efficient at your respective sport.”

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The Runner’s Guide: 5 Ways To Improve Knee Pain

1. Increase your leg strength Try some wall sits, clams, calf raises, planks, or side-lying leg lifts. Your physical therapist can set up a supplemental strength program. 2. Improve your patella (knee cap) tracking Your patella needs to glide to actually form a C pattern when you bend your knee. Do leg lifts with your whole leg rotated outwards to strengthen the inner thigh and knee muscles. Make sure to stretch your knee cap up and down, side to side, to ensure gliding. Most patellofemoral pain comes from poor patella tracking and a physical therapist can diagnose and treat this problem. 3. Maintain and improve flexibility Running alone can cause mobility and flexibility issues. For example, the hamstring and outer tissues of the leg (iliotibial or “IT” band), can be very tight and alter the mechanics at the knee or cause pain. Stretch after every time you run and do adequate warm ups prior. Try integrating yoga and stretching into your routines. 4. Improve your balance and coordination Do balance exercises to build up your proprioception (sense of balance position). Exercises such as foam rolling, glute strengthening and standing on one leg with and without eyes closed are important. Make sure you have something to hold onto while doing the balance exercises to ensure your safety. 5. Improve your agility Try some butt kicks, high knee drills, skips, or karaokes to get warmed up actively and to move in different planes that you’re not usually running in.

Seeing a Specialist If you have recurring knee pain or discomfort for more than 3 days, it is time to see a specialist. The ideal specialist to see is a physical therapist as they are medical experts in joint movement and function (kinesiology). A thorough evaluation needs to be done on your movement, running patterns, strength, joint mobility, patella tracking and proprioception. Only then, can the true source of the pain be found, treated and help you understand what you can do to prevent it from returning. If you are an avid athlete, a physical therapist can look at your movement patterns and discover ways to make you both more efficient and more powerful to help improve your game. Get on the path to healthy knees and call us today for a free joint movement analysis. Discover how liberating it can be to run or exercise pain free.

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Patient Success S P O T L I G H T

“I was able to stay ambulatory throughout my entire pregnancy!”

“As a physically challenged individual, with cerebral palsy, who wants to remain ambulatory, my experience with “Solutions Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine”, since I found them in April of 2013, has been fantastic! The 1981 surgery that initiated my ability to walk with forearm crutches is not repeatable. As long as I continuously keep up with my PT, over the course of my life, in order to keep my muscles strong, and stretched out enough to ensure that I keep my current range of motion, I can stay walking, and out of a wheelchair. This is where “Solutions Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine” has excelled in my experience. The PT provided by Solutions is individualized to each person and it is quality PT. I’ve had to receive PT and do PT assigned exercises at home, since that surgery. In that time I have gone to many different places to receive the PT that is medically necessary for my health. Solutions, hands down has provided me with the best quality PT, outside of the hospital that did my 1981 surgery. It is because of the team efforts of the staff at Solutions and myself that when I chose to become a mom, after my OBGYN had verified that I should be able to carry a child, that I was able to stay ambulatory throughout my entire pregnancy and after! It is extremely common for women with CP who can walk before a pregnancy, to end up in a wheelchair, over the course of the pregnancy, birth,

and post-delivery recovery. I made sure to be active, stay mobile and maintain my PT at Solutions right up to the day before I gave birth. I had my daughter naturally, with no C-section needed because my muscles had retained a strength and range for a normal birth! Thanks Solutions! After having my daughter, as soon as I was medically cleared to resume my PT, I was back at Solutions intensively

continuing my PT, and making sure I had not lost, nor was I losing, my range of motion or muscle strength. I choose to stay walking, and the quality level PT I receive at Solutions, helps me achieve that on-going goal. I am continuing my PT with the staff at Solutions. I cannot thank the staff at Solutions, enough for working with me to keep my ability to walk, The quality of the PT at “Solutions Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine” is outstanding. Thanks, Solutions!” - Tiffany

You Have The Right To Choose Your Physical Therapy Whether you want to come in because you’ve suffered a recent injury or you want to improve your physical health, tell your doctor about Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. Get started feeling better today! See our physical therapists for: • Recent injury • Nagging aches and pains • Shoulder, wrist or elbow pain • Joint pain and movement problems • Walking or balance difficulties Call Us To Schedule An Appointment Today!

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Staff Spotlight

LAUREN SIMPKINS, PT, DPT Lauren Simpkins graduated with her B.S. in Exercise Science from Virginia Commonwealth University and then received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. While at Miami, Lauren attended and helped plan the program’s first international service trip to underserved populations of San Jose, Costa Rica, and conducted research on the relationship between mild cognitive impairment and deficits in balance which she presented with her group at the national conference that February. Lauren has also had the opportunity to work with athletes from the University of Richmond and Nova Southeastern University. As a result, Lauren has taken interest in a wide variety of populations and age groups but is particularly interested in the osteopathic manual therapy approach to treating spinal dysfunctions. In her free time Lauren enjoys running, being outdoors, traveling, and spending time with her friends, family, and dog Harvie.

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Healthy Recipe

Easy Hot Apple Cider Eating Right Never Tasted So Good!

INGREDIENTS • 1 (64 fluid ounce) bottle apple cider • 3 cinnamon sticks

• 1 teaspoon whole allspice • 1 teaspoon whole cloves • 1/3 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS In a slow cooker, combine apple cider and cinnamon sticks. Wrap allspice and cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth, and add to pot. Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and keep warm.

Exercise Essentials Try these exercises to help with aches and pains...

Helps decrease knee pain

Strengthens glutes

SQUAT Stand with good posture, feet are shoulder width apart Perform a squat by bending at the hip. Stop at the point where you can- not keep your lower back flat. Rise up by straightening at the hip. Repeat 2 sets of 10 reps.

CALF RELEASE (FOAM ROLLER) Sit with your calf on a foam roll. Roll your calf up and down on the roll. Stop on tight portions of the calf muscle to allow them to release. Repeat for a 30-60 seconds time period.

Not all exercises are appropriate for every person. Please consult with a healthcare provider before starting.

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We get you better faster!

When You Should Come In For Another Check-Up:

If you can’t do the following: � Move without pain � Bend and move freely � Balance confidently and securely

� If you have pain or soreness > 48 hours after playing sports

� Walk for long distances � Live an active and healthy lifestyle

Take Care Of Your Aches as Soon As They Start

For more information go to solutionsphysicaltherapy.com