ALTA NEWS 

ALTA PT & Pilates is Proud to Sponsor 

The Boulder Bike & Brew Fest is Saturday, August 15th at Valmont Bike Park. 

The proceeds from this event go to benefit very important causes – EFAA, BMA & C4C 

Events for the whole family include MTB and CX races and clinics and Dual Slalom 

competition. Then stay to sample beer from 17 craft breweries, great food, 

awesome music and a local business expo. 

WIN A FREE ENTRY 

Email us at: 

info@altatherapies.com with “Enter Me” in the subject line 

Hamstrings: How to Loosen without Stretching 

Jake pulled his hamstring a few years back, lunging during a soccer match and it hasn’t been the same since. While sitting, he feels an achy tenderness right at the “sits bone” and he’s stiff when he first gets out of a chair. With running he has good and bad days, but his left side is never as fluid as it used to be. 

If you suffer from chronic hamstring problems, you are not alone. But there’s hope. Find out why you are so tight and what you can do about it: 

Scar tissue: Muscle pulls or strains are micro-tears to the muscle fiber or tendons. Once you have a micro-tear in the muscle, flexibility can be lost because of scarring. Blood supply to the muscle is also compromised. And a scar does not move as well as the surrounding muscle fibers. What to do: It’s important to get that mobility back, and ASTYM might be your best bet. Check outASTYM on our website. 

Nerve tension: Scar tissue can interfere with the mobility of the sciatic nerve as it runs down the back of the leg. When scar tissue compresses and irritates the nerve, the hamstring muscle it innervates becomes tense. Stretching is the wrong thing to do when a nerve is irritable; it will make things worse. In a study of athletes suffering repetitive hamstring pulls, 57% had abnormal nerve tension compared with 0% of the people with no history of hamstring pulls. Do you have nerve tension that makes your hamstring tight?

and you will be entered into a drawing to receive 1 of 4 free entries. Be sure and send your name and contact info. 

Do it quickly, drawing to be held Monday, August 3rd. 

BAM BARE BONES 

ALTA PT was proud to sponsor the last BAM 

(Boulder Aquatic Masters) Bare Bones race of the season. The BAM program meets at the Boulder Res every Tuesday and Thursday through August. Check out their website here. 

In July, Allyson and Scott were at a morning practice to answer questions about running and swimming injuries. They were busy fielding great questions and coming up with solutions. They hope to get out there again soon. 

Sorry to keep you waiting… 

Our phones have been ringing off the hook, business 

Watch this video 

to test it yourself 

What to do: Have neural tension evaluated and treated by your PT. You can learn ways to get nerves moving better which will allow the hamstring to relax. Ahh. 

Muscle Imbalance: When your hamstrings feel tight, they might be overworking because your gluteal muscles are turned off or weak. Hamstrings have two functions – they extend the hip and bend the knee. When the primary hip 

extensors (buttock muscles) are shut down, the hamstrings often take over. “Sitting disease” can make the glutes ever weaker and cause the hamstrings to help out more than they should. For ways to combat sitting disease, click here. What to do: You can test your ability to fire the glutes over the hamstrings with the following test: 

Watch Video on 

how to test your 

Glutes vs. 

Hamstrings 

If you failed this test, learn how to fire your glutes –read more here. If you still can’t get those glutes turned on, you may need help. There are lots of tools we have to get glutes to fire, and we might also use dry needling to get the hamstrings to quiet down a bit. 

Back problems: A history of lower back problems makes hamstring tightness more likely. Either nerve tightness or hip weakness from a back injury can predispose you to hamstring problems long after your back feels better. Addressing the underlying issues of either neural tension, or muscle imbalance can help prevent another back injury and finally get your hamstring feeling better again. 

A Weak Core: If your core is weak, your pelvis falls forward and the hamstrings lengthen (like the picture on the right). Though the muscle is longer than normal, it actually feels tight. Strengthening the abdominal muscles may relax the hamstrings by keeping your pelvis in a more neutral position (see picture on the left). 

To really figure out where you are tightest and where you are weakest, you need an expert. The solution is in the details. An SFMA screen is designed to find your weakest link.

is booming and we are very grateful! As most of you know who are waiting to get in, we have a very active wait list and available appointment times are always popping up. To make sure these openings are getting filled right away and to keep the flow at the front desk moving smoothly, we implemented an 

automated phone system for our wait list. This allows our receptionists to give you the attention you deserve when you call or come in. 

Some of you have already experienced how this works. As soon as there is an opening with your therapist, we send out an automated 

There are many 

possible reasons for 

chronic hamstring 

tightness. Therapists 

at ALTA do the 

detective work it takes 

to come up with a 

successful plan for 

you. Give us a call 

today. 

Ramping It Up 

The brand new entrance we promised you last year is finally going to happen. ALTA is building a new stairway and a ramp into our building from the parking lot. To make this happen, we will shut down the upper lot for about two weeks. The lower lot will be available for ALTA clients during construction. If you can 

walk from the lower lot to the 

south side of the building, you just 

earned a few more steps on your 

Fit Bit. If walking is difficult, 

please try to park on the street 

west of the building. If you are 

driven to your appointments, 

please tell your drivers to let you 

phone call with date and time to everyone on the wait list. This is a first come first 

off there as well. We are sorry for the 

IT’S ABOUT TIME!!! 

served system. We can fill our open slots faster and more easily, giving you, our valued clients an opportunity to get an appointment as quickly as possible. 

inconvenience, but are confident you will love the ease of access once construction is completed. 

You know how construction goes….. We hope to be started by August 13th, and back, better than ever, with a new entrance by the end of the month.