Dealing with Low Back Pain: Part 1

This is going to be a two part post the discusses one of the more common ailments that the general public will experience at some point in their life. Working in the outpatient physical therapy world, I personally will see/work with multiple patients throughout the year that have either chronic or acute low back pain. (Chronic refers to pain that you have experienced for many weeks/months/years, whereas acute is a more recent injury)

Low back pain is common in many people (Image from Google Images)

These two posts will be more geared toward chronic issues, but can also hit on the acute symptoms you might see.

Part One will discuss common characteristics I see in patient's with chronic low back pain. Part Two will go into detail on a couple different exercises you can try at home to see if your symptoms decrease/resolve.

Effects of Music On the Brain

It's been a while, as I was finishing up Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) classes. I've been sitting on some of these posts, which are essentially projects that I did while going through the PTA program.

This post (which is basically a bunch of bullet points) focuses on the positive effects music can have on you and your cognition, among other things.

Does Distance Running Decrease Lactic Acid in Your Pitching Arm?

This is a question that I've had a few people ask me about recently so I decided to make a quick post on the subject.

If you've played baseball/softball long enough, you've almost certainly had (or heard) a coach/parent say that the pitchers need to go on a long distance run after throwing. Why? The reason (if they have one) is to "flush the lactic acid" from the throwing arm.

Is this correct, or is it a waste of valuable time that could be used to make these pitchers better?

Why Are Some Pitchers Able To Avoid Tommy John Surgery Longer?

With what seems like an increase in Tommy John surgeries the past few years, I've had people ask me why it seems that some pitchers are able to avoid the surgery longer into their pitching career. There are a multitude of things that can decrease the risk/odds of tearing the UCL in the pitching arm. I will try to hit on a few of the major ones in this post.

Short Post on Pitching Mechanics

Hey all! Just wanted to make a quick post on pitching mechanics. We recently had a kid come into the clinic with elbow pain. After examining the elbow, we came to the conclusion that he likely had an Ulnar Collateral Ligament tear (Tommy John). I found a picture from a few months prior of the same kid simulating his throwing mechanics in the clinic.

Click to continue reading....

The Importance of Corrective Breathing

I wanted to make a quick post on corrective breathing strategies and why they are important. These play a big role in athletes and the general public. Being able to properly utilize your diaphragm can play a big role in reducing or preventing many common symptoms, including hip and back pain.

The Tommy John .... Dilema?

Earlier last week, one of the top young pitchers in baseball, Jose Fernandez, had an MRI that revealed damage to his Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). Shortly after, sports writers/analysts/etc. across the country began searching for the reason why there seems to be a rise in UCL reconstruction surgeries (Tommy John Surgery). Many of these people even seemed somewhat angry that MLB teams "don't do more to protect their pitchers' elbows."

I'm suggesting that they shouldn't be blaming the MLB organizations, but maybe the parents/coaches of those MLB pitchers when they were ages 5-18.

Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins