Flatirons Physical Therapy

03/15/2022

Tech neck. Text neck. Forward head posture.
All the same thing. It’s the position we assume when we are on our devices, computers, reading, etc. That forward head posture can wreak havoc on our spine and affect more than what you’d think. That nasty tech neck can even be the cause of hip and low back pain! When the head is forward, some muscles are placed in a shortened position while some are stretched out. Chronically shortened or lengthened muscles mean one thing… weakness. If your postural muscles are weak, we start to cheat and use our bigger, stronger muscles to help support our head and neck. Then those muscles start to breakdown because we are overusing them. Then, that downward spiral can continue on down the chain. Most often, signs of cervical weakness present as headaches, neck aches, loss of range of motion, tightness and trigger points throughout the neck and shoulders, etc. It can also present in less commonly though of ways such as dizziness, light and sound sensitivity, ear ringing, and jaw dysfunction just to name a few. From the illustrations below, active trigger points in neck musculature can travel! Boy, can they move! Those areas lit up in red are pain referral areas from the muscles marked with “x’s” and, as you can see, can cover a large area.

So, what to do about this tech neck? There are daily exercises that can help relieve tight muscles, promote flexibility, increase joint movement, and restore strength in the smaller, stabilizing muscles of the neck. There are also people like us who work on all those fun areas… and, yes, with lots of tricks up our sleeves to get those problem spots outta there! So, in a nutshell, re-establishing balance AND being consistent.

Our tech is here to stay, folks. So, give that neck some love! 😉 -Andrea Terry, DPT

11/21/2021

Raise your hand if your hamstrings have ever given you a hard time. 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️

Yep. Me too.

Tight hamstrings can cause multiple issues, but one of the biggest problems people don’t always know about is how tight hamstrings are so closely related to chronic low back pain. How can this be?

When the hamstrings are tight, the pelvis is tilted posteriorly (think about tucking your tail), and the lumbar spine is flexed forward. When this posture is assumed long term, it puts stress on lumbar discs, ligaments, and other stabilizing muscles. Additionally, strain on a muscle called the quadratus lumborum increases. This muscle becomes overworked by constantly trying to extend the spine out of its forward flexed position. As a result, this causes deep aches and tightness and becomes a big contributor in chronic low back pain.

Think about this too. Do you work long hours at a desk? You sit in a position with flexed knees, usually rounded-back posture, and those hamstrings are in a constant shortened position. They can get pretty dang tight over time. The sciatic nerve (that BIG nerve that runs down the back of the leg) can also lose mobility and make the back of the leg feel tight as well. This can cause added feeling of tightness, but also symptoms of numbness and tingling along the leg.

So, could your hamstrings giving you a hard time? If that low back pain just won’t let up, let us take a look!

11/15/2021

Let’s talk about the lateral glutes and why they are so important!!!

Ok. The gluteus medius and minimus. These bad boys sit on the outside of the hip and have some serious responsibility. They not only help keep the pelvis stable with walking, but they help keep the whole kinetic chain (that’s just a fancy word for the whole lower leg and it’s function with movement) in alignment and working the way it’s meant to. When these muscles are weak, the leg will rotate/collapse inward. The femur rotates in… putting stress on the knee joint (this includes the kneecap or patella)… when the femur collapses inward, the tibia also tends to rotate in and brings the foot with it. This can cause a pronated foot, or flat foot. In other words, weakness at these muscles can affect the whole leg down to the foot. It causes issues with the hamstrings, quads, IT band, plantar fascia and more. Similarly to causing issues down the chain, it can cause issues upwards too. Weak lateral glutes can cause strain in the lumbar spine for several reasons, but excessive movement, loss of core control, and imbalance of proper muscle activation can create wear and tear in the low back.

Pain caused by these muscles can travel too! If these muscles are tight and causing problems, they can refer pain down the leg and it can look very similar to sciatica (see the picture below with the red zones).

There are many ways to strengthen and work on these muscles. If you have questions or think these muscles might be the cause of some of your issues, please reach out to our office and Lindsay, Katie, or Andrea would be happy to schedule an evaluation with you!

12/05/2019

Dry needling special! 15 minute appts $30 all next week
Text 720-441-5001

02/13/2019

Take advantage of our massage special Valentines Day through March! $90/90 minutes, $60/60 minutes, $30/30 minutes. Call the office to schedule or contact Candice directly at 303-408-2292

06/11/2018