Year: 2011

The Benefits of Shape-up Shoes

Shape-up Shoes
Shape-up Shoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shape-up shoes are a new trend in the fitness world.  They are designed to challenge your balance while walking; therefore, increasing muscle tone to your calf, hamstring, core, and gluteus muscles.  There are many different brands that make these types of shoes and each brand has a different take on the idea. The Shape- up shoe has a built up sole which brings your center of gravity in a more forward position.  Therefore, your hamstrings, gluteus, calf, and core musculature are firing greater to maintain your balance.  Compared to wearing normal sneakers, you are working these muscles more with activity. 

 These shoes are beneficial to people that enjoy walking for exercise and would like to target their hamstring, gluteus, core, and calf muscles.  As with ankle/hand weights, shape-ups are another device to challenge your muscles in a different way with weight bearing exercise.  For people who work out at the gym or run, this will not substitute your typical exercise routine.  This is something you could add to your routine to challenge your balance, while performing your workout. 

 A lot of these shoes have a rocker bottom sole.  Rocker bottom sole shoes have been used for years to help treat patients with certain foot conditions.  However, most of the shoes made years ago are not stylish so compliance is always an issue.  With Shape-up shoes, they have inadvertently made a shoe with a rocker bottom that is in vogue.  Below are some reasons why a person would benefit from a rocker bottom sole shoe.   

 Depending where the rocker bottom is placed, it has different benefits.  If the rocker bottom is placed behind the ball of the foot, it aids in putting less pressure on the ball of the foot and the big toe.  Therefore, many people use this type of shoe to help diminish foot pain with walking.  When the rocker point is thicker in the back of the shoe, this limits ankle and mid-foot motion.  This helps to limit pressure placed on the heel of the foot.  

 Shape-ups should not be worn by people with balance disorders, chronic back pain, or a history of ankle pain.  If you are unsure if you are a candidate for these shoes, consult your doctor or physical therapist.

Tips to Reduce Back Pain While Driving

Most car manufacturers develop their seating options based on the aesthetics of the car versus the comfort of the driver and passenger.  Back pain can develop or increase from improper seating posture while driving.  Finding the correct seating setting is beneficial, especially for people that drive as an occupation. Therefore, listed below are some tips to reduce back pain while driving.

  1. Avoid driving for more than 2 hours at a time. Get out of the car, walk, and stretch your legs.
  2. Sit with your bottom all way back in the seat and use the vehicles built in lumbar support to provide cushion to your lumbar spine. If you don’t have a lumbar support, roll up a towel and place it in the curve of your low back.
  3. The back rest should have about a 10-15 degree incline. Most people tend to have the back rest too far tilted backward.
  4. Your knees should have about a 45 degree bend. You don’t want your legs so straight that you are reaching for the pedals. It you are short, some dealerships sell pedal extensions.
  5. Use cruise control while on long highway driving.
  6. Try to maintain good posture, and make sure you have good visibility with your mirrors.
  7. Take the wallet out of your back pocket and avoid wearing a tight belt. This can add pressure to the back.
  8. For long car trips, adjust your seat every 30 minutes. To prevent constant pressure on the same areas on your body, slightly adjust the backrest angle.

Benefits of Massage

Many people receive massages to relieve stress and relax their mind and body.  Physical Therapists use massage techniques along with exercise to achieve functional improvements. Physical therapists are trained to perform therapeutic massages to promote healing of an injury.  Not all physical therapy patients receive massage techniques.  The use of massage techniques for your specific condition is determined by your physical therapist. 

Some benefits of massage are increasing joint flexibility, promoting tissue regeneration, decreasing scar tissue, decreasing swelling, decreasing muscle spasms, relaxing overused muscles, improving circulation, decreasing stress, improving posture, decreasing blood pressure, managing pain, and increasing range of motion.

 If you are interested in learning more about the use of therapeutic massage for your condition, please contact us.

Hip Bursitis

According to the AAOS (The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons), hip bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa, a small jelly-like sac that contains a small amount of fluid. Bursas are found in several joints of the body, such as, the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, and heel. The bursa provides a cushion within the joint.  This helps to decrease the amount of friction between the muscles moving around the joint.

Symptoms of hip bursitis include pain at the outside of the hip joint and side of the leg. The pain can be sharp initially and become achy later. Pain increases at night when side-lying on the affected hip and transferring from a chair after sitting long-term. Pain can also be present with walking, stair climbing, and squatting.

Some causes for hip bursitis can include repetitive stress, landing on your hip during a fall, a leg length issue, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatment for hip bursitis may include modifying activities that cause pain, anti-inflammatory medication, using a cane or crutch to take weight off of the affected leg, physical therapy, and possibly cortisone injections.

Physical therapy helps to reduce inflammation in the bursa by the use of ice, ultrasound, stretching, and strengthening exercises.

What is a Stress Fracture?

A stress fracture is an incomplete fracture of bone caused by repetitive stress.  It is found within a weight bearing bone, such as the bones within the foot. A stress fracture has also been termed a “hairline fracture”. Symptoms of a stress fracture include tenderness in the area and pain with weight bearing.

Stress fractures commonly occur in athletes that play sports requiring excessive running.  They also occur in sedentary people who begin to exercise.  This happens because their body is not used to exercise; therefore, it is overwhelmed by the repetitive weight bearing forces.  Stress fractures can occur from muscle fatigue.  Our muscles help to provide stability, support, and shock absorption for our bones.  If these muscles become fatigued, our muscles ability to perform the role of shock absorption decreases.  This causes increased risk for a possible fracture. 

After a stress fracture, rehabilitation consists of decreasing weight bearing on the fractured bone to allow it to heal.  After the bone heals, physical therapy is often recommended to strengthen the muscles surrounding the injured bone to return the patient back to all daily activities and to prevent re-injury.

Types of Medications Commonly Taken by Patients

Pain Medication

Some examples of pain medication are oxycodone, motrin, and codeine.  When you experience pain, the nerves in the body send a signal to the brain so you perceive pain.  Pain medications decrease pain by slowing down or blocking the pain signal to your brain.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS)

The most common NSAID is aspirin.  Prostagladins are synthesized by cyclooxygenase to cause inflammation.  By taking a NSAID, it inhibits cyclooxgenase.  This prevents this cycle from taking place, causing decreased pain/inflammation.  There are COX1 and COX2 enzymes and aspirin inhibits both.  COX1 enzymes help to protect the stomach and kidney lining.  Therefore, a side effect to taking aspirin is gastric damage and decreased renal function.

Muscle Relaxants

Examples of muscle relaxants are baclofen, flexeril, and skelaxin. Muscle relaxants are used to treat muscle spasm and spasticity.  They are used to decrease muscle excitability by acting on the spinal cord or directly within the muscle fiber. Muscle relaxants increase the activity of GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) receptors, which inhibit excitatory neurons. This causes the skeletal muscle to receive fewer signals and relax.

All the above medications are commonly taken while receiving physical therapy.  They help the patient to progress through physical therapy by alleviating pain, inflammation, and muscle spasm.  These medications should be regulated by a physician to insure proper dosage and duration of usage.

What is Electrical Stimulation?

Electrical stimulation is a treatment modality used by physical therapists to help relieve pain.  Electrical stimulation uses a low voltage electrical current to stimulate nerves and sends signals to the brain that block or interrupt normal pain signals. It can be used for muscle pain, joint pain, tendonitis and bursitis.

Another use for electrical stimulation is to strengthen muscles. This type of stimulation is called NMES (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation). When there is muscle weakness (atrophy), electrical stimulation is used to elicit a contraction of the muscle. The electrical impulses work to retrain muscles to function normally. This is most commonly used after ACL surgery and a stroke.

Electrical Stimulation