by Michelle Padget, PTA, Surprise Clinic Shoulder surgery encompasses a variety of procedures, from addressing bone spurs and labral tears to repairing tendons and fractures resulting from falls. While your surgeon will provide specific guidelines based on your procedure, physical therapy is often crucial to your recovery journey. The Path to Shoulder Surgery Recovery Tailored Protocols The extent and type of surgery you undergo will influence the protocols you follow. These may range from no restrictions to limitations on overhead movements and gentle stretching. Your physical therapist will ..read more

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which examined data for 11,989 people aged over 50 from Norway, Sweden, and the US, found that 22 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, can lower mortality risk. To avoid a sedentary lifestyle and maintain good physical health, adults should generally engage in at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week and muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days per week. Here are some guidelines to consider for avoiding a sedentary lifes ..read more

By Kyle Decker, ATC, CSCS at FAST Performance Training As parents, choosing the right sports program for your child can be a significant decision. Many families are considering enrolling their kids in sports training programs with summer approaching. Before making this commitment, there are important factors to consider to ensure your child’s experience is positive and beneficial. Research Different Sports Programs Not all youth sports programs are created equal. Take the time to research different programs in your area, considering factors such as coaching quality, facilities, and program ph ..read more

by Kevin Truitt PT, DPT, CSCS | Anthem It is no surprise that athletes are prone to injuries. However, overhead athletes who participate in sports such as baseball, softball, swimming, volleyball, and tennis are even more prone because their movements are complex and multifactorial. These injuries are not only due to the position of the shoulder and arm during repetitive movements but also the transfer of power between the overhead athletes’ upper and lower extremities. Keeping overhead athletes on the field There are often underlying causes of an arm or shoulder injury due to a la ..read more

By David Johnston, PT, DPT at Foothills Waddell If you’ve ever experienced lower back pain or sciatica, your doctor may have told you that your core strength is lacking and recommends core physical therapy. But what exactly does this mean? How do you go about strengthening it? And what are the best core strengthening exercises? The core is a group of muscles that run from the base of your spine to your pelvis. It includes the abdominals and back muscles that help keep your bones stable and supported while you move around. The more stable your core is, the easier it will be for you to move arou ..read more

A dynamic warm-up can help safeguard you against injury. It’s difficult to achieve your fitness goals when you’re completing injury rehabilitation for an injury that could have been easily prevented. Typically, warm-ups are overlooked due to time constraints or lack of understanding about the importance of this step. Both stretching and warm-ups are beneficial prior to activity, not only for performance but also in injury prevention. What is a Dynamic Warm-Up? A dynamic warm-up is a sequential series of movements performed prior to physical activity. It aims to increase blood flow to the muscl ..read more

The idea of walking ten thousand steps per day has been popularized as a daily goal for maintaining good health. However, this specific number is not a scientifically established threshold for optimal health. The ten thousand-step goal is somewhat arbitrary and has more to do with marketing and ease of remembering rather than being a precise health recommendation. We asked several Physical Therapists from around the valley for their thoughts, and here’s what we learned. Physical Therapist Kevin Truitt PT, DPT, CSCS Anthem “While walking 10,000 steps per day can be a reasonable goal for many ..read more

Winter sports are a great way to exercise, enjoy the outdoors, and challenge yourself. But if you want to be successful in winter sports, it takes more than just showing up. Typically, Arizonans are not used to the cold weather. So off we go to romp in the snow, and we can end up completely unprepared to handle the physical and physiological demands cold weather sports bring. It’s undoubtedly not as cold as the Northeast, but for those of us in Arizona, it can feel cold in the balmy months we call “winter.” Sports that take place in the winter offer new variables for our bodies. Variables, lef ..read more

by Renee Lambeth, PTA | Arrowhead Location While surgery may be necessary to treat a medical condition, it can significantly impact your body. Even if everything goes according to plan, you may experience pain, joint stiffness, muscle weakness, and even the risk of more severe complications. However, prehabilitation (prehab) before surgery offers a way to mitigate these risks and optimize your recovery. Post-operative rehabilitation is typically recommended to help return you to your pre-surgical condition more quickly. Surgical prehabilitation is a way to improve your physical fitn ..read more

Kev’s Best Voted Foothills Sports Medicine Physical Therapy as one of the top five Physiotherapy locations in Chandler, Arizona, based on this rating points list.  Here’s what they had to say about us: “Foothills Sports Medicine Physical Therapy uses a patient-centered, hands-on approach to care. The area is at the crossroads of Queen Creek Road and Alma School Road, making it easy to get to and from. They schedule your recovery sessions so that you may feel like yourself again as soon as feasible and go back to living life to the fullest extent possible. And there is no need to stre ..read more