OUR BLOG

Studies have confirmed that standing for long periods of time, a routine part of a police officer's job, causes back pain. While 62% of police officers suffer from low back pain, only 9% experienced low back pain before joining the force. These statistics show us that low back pain can unfortunately be one common and negative side effect of being a law enforcement officer.

With ski season here, most people create a checklist to make sure all their gear is ready to go. Edges are sharpened, boards are waxed, goggle lenses are replaced, and you're ready for the first good snow of the season. With all the attention we pay to the material goods of the sport, we tend to forget about our bodies' readiness to hit the slopes.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, I have had more time to practice and critique my I Love You (ILU) massage technique on my 16-month old son, who has been dealing with constipation since he started eating solid foods. I have found there are a few things you really need to do when doing the ILU massage. But before we dive deep into the mechanics, how does the ILU massage technique work?

The year was 1976. My parents decided to drive me, my sister, and our dog from New York to start a new life in Arizona. When we finally got there, we opened our first pizza restaurant within a shopping mall. This was a new concept back then so we we felt like pioneers.

Many physical therapy clients ask their PT about certain diet types or nutritional supplements. Although physical therapists receive some background education about nutrition during their course of study, it is outside of our scope of practice to recommend specific dietary changes or meal plans. As a profession we do strive to be aware of different types of diets, as well as the molecular biology of how food breaks down in our body, which affects our ability to perform physical activity. We are also aware of how nutrition can affect tissue healing which is why we address the topic as an overview for our clients to understand its importance in their recovery.

Mother Nature has her own timeframe for when you’re going to heal. You can, however, get out of Mother Nature’s way and set your body up for optimal healing by providing the right conditions. Having helped thousands of patients over the past decade heal from a variety of injuries, traumas and surgeries, I have distilled the top 8 ways to facilitate the healing process...

Many people walk into our physical therapy office with injuries from sports or exercise classes where they participate in activities that are too advanced for them. A main example of this is when people participate in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) exercises. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think that HIIT is a great form of exercise. There’s actually very few forms of exercise I don’t approve of. The exercise isn’t the problem, it’s the individual’s preparedness for it. Do they have the prerequisite strength and motor control for those fast paced movements.

The only person who can answer that question is you after discussing the risk/reward ratio with your family and your primary care physician. At Activcore Physical Therapy, every precaution is taken to ensure your health and well-being...

I get this question a lot from patients, but also from friends, relatives, friends of friends, etc. There is so much information out there, often conflicting, it can be paralysis by analysis. I think most of us are aware of the adage, “sitting is the new smoking.” I don’t want to spread a fear of sitting. Awareness would be a more useful term for me to use. Here’s a potential surprise for some folks out there. Sitting might provide relief for some spinal conditions... yes it’s true.

Whenever I go to social gatherings and people inevitably ask, “what do you do?” And I proudly reply, “I’m a physical therapist.” A frequent response is, “Well, I have ____ going on. I looked it up on the internet and I think it might be ____. Does that sound right?” Another common question is, “I have back pain, it’s really nothing, but it comes and goes. I like yoga. Is it okay to still do yoga or will that hurt my back?”