The Best Sleep Habits for Healthier Living
Sleep, a crucial yet often neglected aspect of our health, significantly influences our physical well-being, mental acuity, and overall life quality. As a physical therapist, I’ve observed the substantial influence of sleep quality and duration on an individual’s health. This article will illuminate the significance of sleep, its effects on our health, and practical strategies […]
Achy Knees: The Facts About Knee Osteoarthritis
Knee osteoarthritis, the most prevalent joint disease globally, impacts over 240 million people. This condition can affect any joint, but it’s most commonly found in the knees, hips, hands, lower back, and neck. In the case of knee osteoarthritis, the cartilage wears down and becomes rough. As a result, the protective space and tissues within […]
Mobility vs. Stretching: How They Are Different & Why It Matters
Mobility vs. stretching…It’s a common misconception that mobility and stretching are the same, and the terms are often used interchangeably. What one person calls mobility training, another might call active stretching. Let’s outline the difference between mobility and stretching, why they’re essential, and how to use each to reach your fitness goals at any age. […]
The Essential Guide to Preventing Falling in the Bathroom: Safety Tips & Strategies
Approximately 235,000 people annually encounter bathroom-related injuries, with about 14% resulting in hospitalization. These alarming statistics highlight the importance of fall prevention, especially as we age and face challenges with balance and coordination. This article delves into the common causes of bathroom falls, such as slippery floors and coordination problems, and offers practical solutions for […]
Practicing Reactive Balance with a Physical Therapist
Reactive balance training (RBT) is a type of exercise that helps people prevent falls by improving their ability to respond quickly and effectively to unexpected situations that challenge their balance. In this video, you will see a physical therapist demonstrating some RBT exercises with a patient who has a history of falls. The exercises involve […]
Quick Desk Exercises to Ease Shoulder Blade Pain: Expert Tips from a Physical Therapist
In this video, physical therapist Kathy Doubleday DPT, OCS, discusses how to alleviate pain between the shoulder blades caused by sitting at a computer for long periods. She suggests a few quick exercises that can be done while sitting at the desk. She recommends getting the back and thoracic spine up and taking a deep […]
Physical Therapist Recommended Exercises for Balance Improvement
In this video, Kathy Doubleday, a doctor of physical therapy, discusses the importance of balance exercises for seniors to prevent falls. Falls are a leading cause of injury in older adults, and they are not a normal part of aging. She explains that there are various factors that can contribute to the risk of falling, […]
The Best Way to Breathe During Exercise
Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth is a common practice recommended during exercise, but is there an even better way? Nasal breathing offers several physiological and performance benefits. It helps filter and humidify the air, allowing for better oxygen absorption and reducing the risk of exercise-induced asthma. Nasal breathing also promotes […]
How to Improve Balance and Prevent Falls
Poor balance is a significant risk factor for older adult falls, which can lead to serious injury. In fact, one-third of adults over sixty-five will fall once a year. Fortunately, fall prevention for seniors can be as simple as practicing a couple of fundamental exercises in the safety of your home. Why Is There An […]
Step-Over Skills to Avoid Tripping
This video includes Dr. Kathy Doubleday’s advice to improve balance when stepping over objects, which was suggested to a patient experiencing difficulty in stepping over things at home. The lesson involves two components: getting the leg up high enough to go over the object without hitting or tripping on it and weight shifting from one […]
Improve Your Shoulder Health with Three Expert Tips from a Physical Therapist
Physical therapist Dr. Kathy Doubleday shares three tips to decrease stress on our shoulders in this video. You will learn: How posture affects shoulder motion substantially. Adjusting our posture to a tall position before lifting an arm can naturally increase shoulder movement. Lifting arms in extreme positions or reaching across our body stresses our shoulders […]
Walking and Brain Health
You’re likely aware of the physical health benefits of exercise – it helps to maintain a healthy weight, lowers blood pressure, decreases inflammation in the body, reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and heart attack, and even decreases the risk of developing certain cancers and diabetes. What you may not know is […]
Upgrade Your Brain With Exercise
When you think of exercise, you may think of typical forms such as running, cycling, or going to the gym. Exercise usually equates to training your body. However, not many people realize the importance of training your brain. So let’s introduce you to some great “cognitive exercise” practices and why it is so important. What […]
Slipping a Disk: We Explain Disk Herniation
Up to 80% of individuals will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, and in many cases, disc herniation is to blame. Despite being incredibly painful for some people, most cases improve with a few weeks to months of conservative treatment including traditional medicinal and complementary options. Spinal Anatomy To better understand […]
Exercises for Bone Strength
The Importance of Exercising with Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is fairly common, with an estimated 10 million people over the age of 50 suffering from this condition. And, about 43 million more people suffer from low bone mass, which puts them at an increased risk for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is characterized by significant bone loss and decreased bone […]
Staying Social: Why It’s Important to Our Health
Social connections are essential for health and well-being, especially as people get older. Loneliness and social isolation are quickly becoming public health concerns as the population ages. While loneliness and social isolation can occur at any age, studies have shown that older adults often spend more time alone, leaving them more vulnerable to social isolation […]
Cognitive Skills: Keeping the Brain Flexible
What is Cognition? Cognition is the ability to think, reason, remember, analyze, interpret, judge, and problem solve. It involves the higher-level brain functions such as language, perception, imagination, and planning. It is a mental process to gain knowledge and understanding. Cognition and memory are the cornerstone of rational thought and behavior. While everyone forgets things […]
Best Sleeping Position for Lower Back Pain
When you are dealing with back pain lying down on your back with your legs elevated on pillows or on the couch arm is the most decompressive position to rest the back and is the best place to start with acute pain. Low back pain is an extremely common complaint, with approximately 80% of the […]
Quick Changes That Can Boost Brain Health
Occasional forgetfulness happens to everyone at some point in their lives, and although this can be completely normal, it can be quite disruptive to your life. The good news is that your brain is naturally adaptable and has the incredible ability to reshape itself when it comes to learning and memory. You can take advantage […]
When to Start Exercising After Covid
Returning to Exercise after COVID-19 If you’ve recently suffered from COVID-19, you might be wondering when, and how, you can safely return to exercising. COVID-19 affects everyone differently and it’s difficult to tell what long-term effects an individual might have after they recover from infection and how this might impact returning to exercise. While […]
Natural Remedies for Menopause
Menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, and weight gain can be uncomfortable, and disruptive to your life as they interfere with your sleep, decrease your energy levels, and negatively affect your mental health. Luckily, there are various natural treatment options that can help to manage your symptoms and make this natural transition as […]
Getting an Epidural: What to Expect
Chronic lower back pain is an extremely common condition and is the leading cause of disability around the world. There are a variety of conditions that lead to lower back pain with or without sciatica, including prolapsed intervertebral disc herniation. Various conservative treatment options exist including physiotherapy, manual therapy, manipulation, and numerous anti-inflammatory and pain […]
Spinal Stenosis: The Other Cause of Back Pain
Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common condition, affecting more than 200,000 adults in the United States. Lumbar spinal stenosis is the most common reason for spinal surgery in patients over the age of 65; however, surgery has shown no significant benefit over conservative treatment options. If you have recently received a diagnosis of lumbar spinal […]
The Effects of Exercise on Diabetes
The Effects of Exercise on Diabetes If you are a diabetic, you may have heard of the debate between whether exercise is helpful to people with diabetes or whether it can be harmful. Some people believe that exercise can potentially do more harm than good, especially in those who take insulin. This is because exercise […]
Why We Should All Practice Balance
Why We Should Practice Balance Balance is involved in everything we do. From walking and dancing to leaning over to tie your shoes, you need good balance. Good balance plays an increasingly important role in our lives, contributing to our quality of life and independence. Practicing balance involves exercises and activities that strengthen your muscles […]
The Importance of Strength Training for Seniors
The Importance of Strength Training When we think of strength training, we often think of bulked-up dudes lifting more weight in one shot than we do in a week. But this type of exercise has many different levels, and a long list of health benefits that we should consider essential to our well being, (and […]
How to Exercise Around an Injury
How to Exercise Around an Injury: Why it is Important to Keep Moving Injuries can come in many forms. They can happen from accidents around the home, from exercise and physical activities, and even just sleeping in an awkward position. Injuries may come on quickly from an obvious accident, or slowly from overuse. You might […]
Ask a PT: “What exercises help a sore back?”
What Exercises Help a Sore Back? In general you can break down low back pain into two major categories. Disorders that affect the front of the spine versus the back of the spine. (The front being the disc and surrounding tissues and the back being the joints and ligament structures called facet joints.) Disorders in the […]
Walking Your Way to Health
Walking Your Way to Health There is a specific type of exercise that not only benefits the body in many ways, but in addition has been clinically linked to increases in creativity and improved memory. What is this exercise that is so beneficial for both the body and mind? Walking! Yes, good ‘ole walking. Out […]
