The health and wellness industry has been receiving the attention and value it deserves over the last few decades. Whether we're talking about the hottest new workout, latest self-care trend, or coolest fitness gadget to add to our gym bag, the topic of health and wellness is on the forefront of everyone's minds. Therefore, it should come to no surprise that, as a physical therapist, I support an active lifestyle for myself and for my clients.

Have you ever had a concussion? Even if you haven’t, chances are you've heard the term CTE. But what do we really know about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy? Is this something you should worry about if you've had a concussion?

Most people think that a concussion occurs when the brain comes in contact with the skull. However, this simply is not the case.

Before starting a performance training program, it’s always best to go through the proper evaluations and preparations with a qualified movement expert, such as a physical therapist.

The squat as a foundational movement pattern and exercise is becoming more of a staple movement in physical rehabilitation, fitness and sports performance training. As this type of exercise gains in popularity, we should take a look at not only its benefits, but also its safety.

It’s that time of year again for a lot of us here in Colorado when we dust off the ski boots, strap the snowboards to the roof, and head up to the mountains. Skiing and snowboarding both require a combination of strength, endurance, agility and balance to keep you upright as you head down the hill.

In a previous post, we discussed how kettlebells allow you to replicate many of the basic movements you make in everyday life. This type of strength training helps you re-establish natural movement patterns, learn how to handle unstable loads without thinking about it, and reduce the risk of injury.

Keeping the knees behind the imaginary vertical line of the toes is a cue frequently given when instructing someone to squat. This “over-cue” may be the result of certain biomechanical studies — showing compression forces on the patella-femoral joint with a knees forward approach — that have since been extrapolated to all populations. What may be at issue here is the suggestion of a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching the squat.

The squat exercise continues to have a dual identity in the realms of fitness, sports performance, and physical rehabilitation. On one hand, an exercise like the barbell back squat is in an elite category for its ability to build full body strength, especially in the legs. It has even been called the “King of exercises” by some enthusiasts. On the other hand, there is a polar opposite perspective in the industry where squatting is misconstrued as a negative exercise that increases wear and tear on the knees.

So you want to throw, swing or hit harder. But how? I remember playing high school volleyball and one of my coaches used to yell “HIT HARDER!” And all I could think was “Well, if I could I would!”‍ Sure, there are plenty of things about your throwing, swinging or hitting mechanics that can be tweaked and fine tuned to improve velocity and power. However, much of your ability to do this comes from the strength and muscle control you’ve developed in the off season.