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Health Articles

SSPT is unique in that we're not only interested in helping the community; we want to become a vital part of it. Because we believe that patient education is a vital component to comprehensive care, we participate in education and outreach activities. We also offer a monthly newsletter to keep you informed of the latest physical therapy news and trends, general tips for healthy living, and SSPT events and activities you might be interested in attending. Join our newsletter mailing list

Following is a list of articles introduced in our newsletters. Written by SSPT physical therapists and experts in their specialties, these informative articles strive to engage you in your health by offering tips for healthy living and pain-free function. Click an article title to view the complete article.

Interested in learning more about a topic not covered here? Suggest a newsletter article for us to write

Make a New Year’s Resolution for Back Health

The biggest risk factor for back pain is a previous case of back pain. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Taking action early is your best bet for back pain relief and for reducing your risk of re-injury.

Ergonomics for Athletes

Most well rounded training programs include technique, stretching, and strengthening exercises. I would argue for the inclusion of an additional area of focus to help you to improve your performance: ergonomics.

Beat the Heat

The dog days of summer have arrived in full force! Although you don't necessarily have to curb your training or completely avoid the outdoors, you should take certain precautions when exercising in the heat.

Common Cycling Injuries and What Causes Them

Cyclists can get hit by a variety of injuries. Knowing what causes some of the more common injuries may help you to avoid getting injured in the first place.

Want to Keep Running? Protect Your Hamstrings from Injury

Hamstring injuries are common among runners. But that doesn’t mean that you’re bound to experience one. Learn what makes you susceptible to this kind of injury and what you can do to prevent it.

Is There More to the Core?

Entrepreneurial inventions such as Pilates and Yogalates claim to strengthen your core, decrease your injury risk, and enhance performance. How much evidence exists to back up these claims, and is there more to the core?

Cycling – The Start of a Revolution?

Cyclists know only too well the dangers that await them on the streets. However, a much more covert enemy belies the well-intentioned cyclist: a poor bike fit.

Is Training for Marine Corp Making Your Shins Sore?

For many runners, training means a piercing, debilitating pain that occurs with each stride, known as "shin splints." Before you reach for the ice pack rather than the water bottle, take heart. The main cause of shin splints is within your control.

Back to Basics: Preventing Recurrence of Back Pain

Four out of five Americans will develop back problems at some time in their lives, and up to eighty-five percent of those people will experience a recurrence of their pain. Learn how you might be able to reduce your risk of recurrence by half.

Osteoporosis: A Childhood Disease with Old-Age Outcomes

Traditionally thought of as an older person’s disease, osteoporosis doesn't just happen when you're "old;" it starts years earlier. If you want be active later in life, take action now.

Do You Really Have ITB Syndrome?

Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome is an overuse injury that causes knee pain. The reported incidence of ITB syndrome ranges from 1.6 percent to 52 percent, but does everyone experiencing  lateral knee pain suffer from ITB syndrome?

Headaches Disrupting Your Life? It's Time to Take Action!

Most headaches we suffer are rarely dangerous but are just annoying enough to change our mood and interfere with our quality of life. Learn how to combat these moderate annoyances.

Stop Rolling Your Ankles!

Ankle sprain injuries can cause long-term disability and increased risk of future sprains. Wearing high-top or air shoes doesn't reduce your ankle sprain risk, but proprioceptive exercises, bracing and taping, and risk factor education can.

Gluteus Maximus: More than Just a Seat Cushion

Our gluteus maximus has several functions besides forming an attractive seat cushion, and if this muscle is weak we open ourselves up to a myriad of problems. How can we keep our gluteus maximus muscles strong?

Tennis Elbow: Not Just for Tennis Players?

Despite its name, most people affected by “tennis elbow” are not tennis players. There is no “quick fix” for tennis elbow. However, treatments exist that may help relieve your pain and improve function relatively quickly.

Big Toe Impeding Your Progress?

Every step we take places a force equal to about twice our body weight on our big toe. Osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint makes simple activities excruciating, but early treatment can relieve pain and improve function.

Help, I Can't Control My Bladder!

Many people find urinary incontinence too embarrassing to discuss, even with their doctor or healthcare provider. However,with the right kind of treatment, you can easily regain control of your bladder, your confidence, and your life.

Lymphedema? Why Me?

A complication of breast cancer surgery, lymphedema causes discomfort, undermines a woman’s self image, and can result in serious infection. Early identification and treatment is important in improving quality of life.

Lymphedema? Take Charge!

Breast cancer and lymphedema affect both physical health and emotional well-being. An effective lymphedema treatment program empowers women to manage their condition over the long term.

Improving Your Golf Game Is Not Just Another Day at the Office

A desk job could be silently dismantling your swing, minute by minute, hour by hour, muscle imbalance by muscle imbalance. Some simple tips can make all the difference in thwarting one of the golfer's biggest enemies—sitting.

The Perils of Poor Posture

“Don’t slouch!” But if your job requires you to sit for eight (or more) hours a day, how can you possibly sit up straight for all of that time? Learn ways to improve your posture to minimize the effects of prolonged sitting and prevent injury.

Don't Run the Risk of the Wrong Shoe

An endless array of running shoe styles and models can make it downright impossible to determine which shoe is right for you. This article simplifies and de-mystifies the running shoe so you can make an informed choice.

Your Tri Bike Fit: How to Hit the Ground Running

Can you get an optimal conversion of a “road” bike to do triathlons? Without understanding how bike angles affect your ability to hit the ground running, doing so is kind of like putting a lift kit and mud tires on a Ferrari.

Swimming Got You Out of Breath?

The need to breathe creates one of the biggest challenges for anyone trying to swim freestyle efficiently. However, breathing becomes much easier if you remember four key points.

Muscle Imbalance: Injury Risk?

Muscle imbalance may have caused an injury you already have or put you at risk for an injury down the road. Learn how to tell if your hip muscles are out of balance and how an imbalance can lead to injury.

Stretching the Truth

Stretching—long thought to be the medical answer to everything from ITB syndrome to shin splints—does not decrease the risk of injury on its own. But doesn't it help to stretch as part of your usual warm-up routine?

How Stable Is Your Core?

Small muscles deep within your core stabilize your spine and pelvis and prevent uncontrolled movements that can injure your back. Learn how to isolate and activate these muscles to improve your core stability.

What Flip-Flop Wearers Need to Know about Plantar Fasciitis

No longer worn only at the pool or beach, flip-flops have solidly joined the ranks of our everyday footwear. Although seemingly comfortable, your flip-flops may be putting you at risk for plantar fasciitis—the most common cause of heel pain.

The Art of Kinesio® Taping

Kinesio Taping took the 2008 Olympic games by storm. But can this product and method really deliver on its promises to numb pain, enhance performance, prevent injury, and reeducate the neuromuscular system?

Hamstring Injury or Sciatica—You May Have Been Misdiagnosed

That sharp, burning pain in the back of your thigh may not be a hamstring injury from overdoing it in yesterday's soccer game after all. The culprit may, in fact, be sciatica. How can you differentiate these two conditions?

Marine Corp Marathon: Are You Stretching?

Static stretches such as touching your toes do little to prevent injuries and may adversely affect your performance. Prepare your body to run by stretching dynamically—that is, in ways that take muscles through their full range of motion.

Off-Season Strength Training for Triathletes

Now that you've finished the Nation’s Triathlon, what can you do in the coming months to help prepare for next year’s race? A well-structured, dynamic strength program can improve your efficiency, increase your stamina, and decrease your risk of injury.

New Year's Resolution a Bit of a...Stretch?

It’s time for your New Year’s resolution. If your ultimate goal is to run a half or full marathon, you might want to also consider setting this important mini-resolution: to stretch…and to stretch the right way.

Is Yoga the Remedy for Your Ailing Back?

Yoga has been used for thousands of years to promote health and prevent disease. Today, more than 1 million Americans use it as a treatment for back pain. But is yoga a safe and effective for remedying an ailing back?

Foot Pain: Plantar Fasciitis, or Something Else?

Many structures in the area of the foot can be the root of pain. Sometimes, the pain can be referred from a more remote structure. So how can you tell the difference? Is it really the plantar fascia that’s to blame for your heel/foot pain?

Cycling Climbing and Descending Tips

What factors contribute to a good ride? Well, there's cadence, gears, strength-to-weight ratio, body position, pace, terrain, sitting vs. standing, aero bars vs. not, pedaling vs. coasting... Get the biggest bang for your energy buck with these tips.

Stretching for Cycling Success

The hours you spend on your bike can cause significant tightness and discomfort in your muscles and joints. See how stretching can reduce this tightness, improve your cycling performance, and decrease your risk of injury.

Be Good to Your Shoulders—Stabilize Them

Whether you're hitting a ball, pulling an oar, or propelling yourself through water, the repetitive demands on your shoulders can be intense. Learn what you can do to proactively protect your shoulders so you can be in the game all season.

Core Stability: Progressing from Gym Exercise to Sport and Life

Most of us have heard of the core and core stability. Do you try to strengthen your core muscles at the gym with exercises such as the “plank” or “bird dog?” How do you know if these exercises are really training your core muscles?

Core Strength Training: Taking It to the Next Level

Static exercises such as the plank provide you with a strong foundation. Take your workout to the next level by incorporating dynamic movement patterns that will steadily increase your core strength.

Are Minimalist Shoes Right for You?

"Minimalist" running shoes offer a more natural way of running and can improve running performance by decreasing stride length and contact time, increasing stride frequency, and reducing force of impact. But are they for you?

Is Your Child's Backpack Holding Him Back?

A backpack is one of the best ways for your child to carry around school supplies and homework. Follow these simple guidelines for purchasing, loading, and fitting your child's backpack to prevent injury and pain.

Running Form Tips—Keep It Simple!

With the buzz of the minimalist movement comes discussion about how running form can ensure efficiency and prevent injury. These simple tips can lessen your vulnerability to common injuries until the research catches up to the buzz.

Release Trigger Points, Relieve Pain

When our daily life stressors get to us, many of us reach for our neck and shoulders to rub away the tension. Learn more about trigger points and how to release them to ease your pain.

A Pain in the Back—Lumbar Disc Herniation

The words “lumbar disc herniation” might make you think of the worst case scenario: severe low back pain, nerve involvement, and even a trip to the surgeon. But a slipped or ruptured disk doesn’t always require the operating room.

Essential Stretch for Our “Professional” Athletes

Juggling a desk job with a training schedule and other daily commitments is tough. One simple stretch can get you moving, more efficiently and with less strain on your lower back, after a long day of sitting.

A Simple Exercise at Work Yields Big Rewards

See how a simple exercise can better prepare you for your work day, without spending long hours at the gym or investing in multiple pieces of expensive gym equipment that need lots of space.