Lower Extremity Exercises From our Cary NC Physical Therapists

skaters

Power Development From our Cary NC Physical Therapists

Med Ball Slams

Core Strengthening From Our Cary NC Physical Therapists

Russian Twist Chop/Lift Pelvic Tilt

Shoulder Exercises From Our Cary NC Physical Therapists

Sword Pull Eccentric Shoulder Strengthening Great Baseball Players and Other Throwing Athletes

Early Sports Specialization: A Physical Therapist’s View

Early sports specialization is one of the leading causes of different overuse injuries. Often times, parents feel pressure to funnel their children into one sport at an early age. The pressure can come from coaches, the desire to obtain a college scholarship, or from other sources. There is a misunderstanding that there is not a direct correlation with focusing on one sport at young age, and developing the skills and knowledge necessary to become elite in that sport. While there are always exceptions, the majority of athletes who specialize in one sport at a young age, are not the ones we see playing...

6 Exercises From a Physical Therapist to Help Your Golf Game

There is never a wrong time to improve your golf game and improve your health at the same time. Whether you’ve been lucky enough to get out on the course already, or even if you are still waiting for the last bit of snow to melt here are 6 simple exercises from our physical therapists to help improve your golf game. For video demonstration of each exercise visit our exercise video library. Sword Pull Can be performed with a light weight or resistance band. Start with your Right Hand placed over your Left Hip. Rotate arm out so that you are leading with your thump up, and raise your arm in a...

Common Overuse Injuries in Youth Athletes and How You Can Help Prevent Them

Overuse injuries represent approximately 50% of all pediatric related sports injuries. It is also estimated that over half of these injuries can be prevented. So what is leading to this uptick in overuse injuries in the youth athlete population? Well, there are a variety of factors ranging from early sport specialization to poor mechanics and overtraining. What is an overuse injury? An overuse injury is physical damage to a bone, muscle, ligament, or tendon due to repetitive stress without allowing time for the body to heal. Often these injuries go untreated for far too long because the athlete...

Sprained Ankle and Physical Therapy

The Moment You Sprain Your Ankle We have all been there before. That moment where you are playing a sport or out running and you feel your ankle roll. Before you hit the ground your brain has been able to process that something went wrong. There are different kinds of ankle sprains out there and differing levels of severity. The most common ankle sprain is the lateral ankle sprain, and this is the injury that occurs when you roll your ankle. In most cases these can be treated conservatively at home and you shouldn’t have to miss too much time from the activities that you love. Some more...

Help, my son is a pitcher and we were told he has impingement syndrome. What is that and should he continue pitching?

What is Impingement Syndrome? Impingement syndrome is a common shoulder condition where the rotator cuff muscles get sandwiched between the arm bone and the top of the shoulder (acromion). When the rotator cuff muscles continually get pinched between the bones, the body releases a pain response to try and dissuade an individual from repeating the motion that causes the pinching. Swelling can also occur in the area, much like you would see if you were to sprain your ankle. Certain positions, like reaching up behind the back and reaching up overhead (much like the position of the arm for pitching)...

Time for a New Year’s Resolution

It’s that time of year again. Time to think, plan and implement your New Year’s Resolution. Here are 8 tips to help jump start your health related resolution. Set Realistic Goals If you want to lose weight, don’t jump on that new fad diet to try and lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks. A good weight loss goal is 1-2 pounds per week. Exercise Try to get 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days per week. This is the recommended amount by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). This can include going for a walk, riding a bike, running or jogging, playing a sport like tennis or basketball. Find...