Phone: 303-444-8707 | 2955 Baseline Road Boulder, Colorado 80303 | Email: info@altatherapies.com
The length of your list of New Year’s Resolutions is inversely proportional to your success in making them stick. REALLY?? Hard to imagine, but the longer the list, the less likely you are to have success. So say Baumeister and Tierney in the book Willpower. We are almost half way through January. How’re you doing so far? Is your resolve starting to wane? If so, keep reading to find out how to keep your determination strong.
Plantar fasciitis is actually an inflammation and micro-tearing of the ligament that supports the arch in your foot– the plantar fascia. When your foot hits the ground, the plantar fascia stretches to accommodate your body weight and the ground reaction forces generated by walking and running. During walking, up to 3 times your body weight is taken through your arch; when running, up to 9 times. If the condition develops, the person usually reports a sharp pain under their heel that may spread into the arch of the foot. The onset is typically not from an injury, but develops gradually and, if left untreated, gets worse over time. Many causes can contribute to plantar fasciitis:
Today, I finished atop the podium, in third place, at the Teva Winter Games Vail Uphill race. This year was the first year the Vail Winter Uphill offered prize money to the top-4 and the caliber of racers that turned out definitely showed. The course takes athletes on an ascent of 2,200 feet in roughly 2 miles, from Lionshead up to Eagle’s Nest, finishing at 10,328 feet in elevation. The two runners ahead of me were ahead by 27 and 9 seconds, respectively. And each of us ran the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fastest times ever behind Rickey Gates’ course record. Although I was close to the win and am disappointed that I could have trained better for this event, I’m happy and will enjoy this result since, only 6 weeks ago, my training was compromised by an unfortunate accident.
We’ve all heard the stories of people laid up after shoveling snow. Maybe you’ve experienced an injury yourself. Shoveling is a strenuous and repetitive activity that can cause strains to the lower back and shoulders. Back injuries due to snow shoveling are more likely to happen to people who are out of condition.
Following these tips can help you avoid injuries:
Research has shown that gratitude leads to happiness and is associated with lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. But what does that have to do with physical therapy?
Since we started using MRI routinely to help treat back problems in 1994, success in treatment actually decreased. How can that be? For most orthopedic pathologies, the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is the diagnostic tool for physicians to determine the existence and severity of a problem. It is a non-invasive medical test that can help doctors diagnose and therefore know how to treat a variety of medical conditions. It can detect problems that traditional x-rays and CT scans cannot by providing images of soft tissue structures like discs and cartilage. So why then are we having less, not more success in treating back problems?The reason success in treating back pain has gone down is because we see pathology on the scan and feel eager to fix it. And though the surgery takes care of what looks offensive, it often does not solve the core problem, or it creates another set of problems.
Join our email list to receive the latest in health news and special events (1-2 emails a month)
© 2023 by ALTA Physical Therapy & Pilates.
Website by 200 Websites. Photography by Dona Laurita.
