Riverside Physical Therapy

Riverside Physical Therapy IRG Physical & Hand Therapy is the Northwest's premier physical and hand therapy group. We want to make it easy for patients to get the care they need.

We have locations throughout the Puget Sound, so you'll never have to travel far to receive exceptional service. Nestled in a northern Idaho valley sits a small community packed with big adventure. Orofino, Idaho has year-round recreational activities that attract families and thrill seekers alike. At Riverside Physical Therapy, we strive to achieve results quickly with virtually every condition or injury. We offer a full range of specialized services to cover a majority of patient conditions. We offer early morning and evening appointments to accommodate a variety of schedules, and we accept most insurance plans, including Medicare and Worker's Compensation.

03/09/2026

Workout:
5 Rounds:
• 10 Squats
• 10 Jump Squats
• 10 Lunges
• 10 Jump Lunges

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Why getting your heart rate up is beneficial at every age:

Elevating your heart rate challenges your cardiovascular system — and your heart is a muscle that needs training just like the rest of your body.

Here’s why it matters for all ages:

• Improves heart health – Strengthens the heart so it can pump blood more efficiently.
• Boosts circulation – Delivers oxygen and nutrients to muscles and brain more effectively.
• Supports metabolic health – Helps regulate blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity.
• Builds endurance – Everyday tasks feel easier when your aerobic capacity improves.
• Enhances brain function – Increased blood flow supports focus, memory, and mood.
• Maintains bone density – Higher-impact movements (when appropriate) stimulate bone strength.
• Promotes longevity – Strong cardiovascular fitness is one of the biggest predictors of long-term health.

For younger individuals, it builds a strong foundation.
For adults, it maintains performance and metabolic health.
For older adults, it supports independence, balance, and resilience.

A stronger heart = a stronger body overall.

03/08/2026

Happy Sunday! ☀️

We are OPEN our normal hours this week:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday — 7am–4pm (times may vary).

Come in, get a workout in, and start the week strong. See you all soon! 💪

03/04/2026

Here’s why it’s beneficial to perform exercises before getting out of bed✅

1. Lubricates Your Joints 🦴

Overnight, joints and discs absorb fluid and stiffen. Gentle movement helps:
• Redistribute synovial fluid
• Reduce morning stiffness
• Improve range of motion
This is why people often feel creaky first thing in the morning.

2. Activates Key Muscles for Posture & Stability

Light bed exercises (glute sets, pelvic tilts, core engagement, ankle pumps) help:
• Wake up deep core muscles (TA, multifidus)
• Turn on glutes before standing
• Improve spinal support before loading your body
This can reduce low back pain and hip stiffness when you stand up.

3. Improves Circulation & Reduces Dizziness

Slow movement helps:
• Increase blood flow
• Improve blood pressure regulation
• Decrease risk of lightheadedness when standing
Especially helpful for people who get dizzy when they first get up.

4. Prepares Your Nervous System for Movement

Think of it as a warm-up for your brain and body:
• Improves neuromuscular control
• Enhances balance and coordination
• Helps your body transition from sleep to upright movement safely

Bridge 10-15 reps + bridge with leg kick 10-15 reps + single leg bridge 10-15 reps + dead bugs 10-15 reps + planks 30-45 sec hold + side planks 30-45 sec hold

03/02/2026

🧠 Why Forward & Lateral Step-Ups Are So Effective (The Research)

1. They Closely Mimic Daily & Sport Movements

Step-ups are a closed-chain exercise, meaning the foot is fixed on the surface—similar to stairs, curbs, and sport landings.
Research shows closed-chain exercises improve functional strength and joint stability better than many open-chain movements.

Why it matters:
✔ Transfers directly to daily activities
✔ Improves movement efficiency and confidence

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2. High Activation of Key Lower Extremity Muscles

EMG studies show step-ups strongly activate:
• Gluteus maximus & medius
• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings

Lateral step-ups, in particular, significantly engage the glute medius, a muscle critical for pelvic and knee control.

Why it matters:
✔ Helps reduce knee valgus (inward collapse)
✔ Supports injury prevention (ACL, patellofemoral pain)

⸻

3. Improves Single-Leg Strength & Balance

Both forward and lateral step-ups challenge the body in a single-leg stance, requiring neuromuscular control, balance, and coordination.

Research shows single-leg training:
• Improves proprioception
• Enhances lower extremity symmetry
• Reduces fall risk and re-injury rates

Why it matters:
✔ Better stability
✔ Stronger, more resilient legs

⸻

4. Joint-Friendly Strength Building

Compared to squats or jumping, step-ups:
• Allow adjustable height and load
• Reduce excessive joint stress
• Are easily progressed or regressed

This makes them ideal for rehab, post-op, and return-to-sport phases.

⸻

5. Forward vs. Lateral Step-Ups
• Forward step-ups: Emphasize quads and glute max → great for stair climbing & knee strength
• Lateral step-ups: Emphasize hip abductors & frontal-plane control → crucial for cutting, running, and injury prevention

02/25/2026

Workout:
30-Minute EMOM (6 Rounds)
• Jumping Jacks
• Wall Sits
• Lunge Stance Hold
• Lateral Lunges
• Flutter Kicks

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Why EMOM workouts are so effective:

EMOM stands for Every Minute On the Minute. You perform the assigned movement at the start of each minute, and whatever time you have left in that minute becomes your rest. When the next minute starts, you move to the next exercise.

Here’s why EMOM training is great:

• Built-in structure – The clock keeps you accountable and focused.
• Improves conditioning – You’re working against time, which challenges both muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness.
• Teaches pacing – Go too hard early and you’ll feel it later. It encourages controlled, efficient movement.
• Progressive overload made simple – You can increase reps, resistance, or intensity while keeping the format the same.
• Time efficient – 30 minutes is focused, intentional work without wasted time.

EMOMs are a great way to blend strength, stability, and cardio in one session while keeping intensity high and rest structured.

02/23/2026

Workout:
3 Rounds:
• 15 Hammer Curls
• 15 Overhead Press
• 15 Elbow Plank Rock Backs
• 15 Forward Raises

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Why we want our core and arms strong:

Strong arms aren’t just for aesthetics — they improve your ability to push, pull, carry, lift, and stabilize in everyday life. From picking up groceries to getting off the floor, upper body strength matters.

Your core is the foundation. It transfers force between your lower and upper body, protects your spine, improves posture, and enhances balance. A strong core also reduces compensations that can lead to shoulder, neck, or low back discomfort.

When your core and arms work together, you:
• Improve shoulder stability
• Increase lifting efficiency
• Protect your spine
• Build better overall movement patterns
• Support long-term joint health

Strong, stable, and functional — that’s the goal. 💪

We will be open normal hours and days this week! You may see a new doggy face in the clinic this week! Everyone meet Gus...
02/23/2026

We will be open normal hours and days this week! You may see a new doggy face in the clinic this week! Everyone meet Gus🐶🫶

02/17/2026

Thoracic mobility (movement through the mid-upper spine) is important because it directly affects how well you move, breathe, and distribute force through your body—especially in daily life, sports, and lifting.

Here’s why it matters 👇

1. Better Shoulder & Neck Function

The thoracic spine and shoulders are closely linked. Limited thoracic extension or rotation often leads to:
• Shoulder impingement
• Rotator cuff irritation
• Neck stiffness or headaches

If the thoracic spine doesn’t move, the shoulder and neck are forced to overcompensate, increasing injury risk.

2. Improved Posture (Without “Forcing” It)

Adequate thoracic extension allows you to sit and stand upright naturally, rather than constantly cueing “sit up straight.”
Good thoracic mobility helps counter:
• Desk posture
• Phone use
• Long driving hours

3. More Efficient Breathing

The rib cage attaches to the thoracic spine. When the thoracic spine is stiff:
• Rib expansion is limited
• Breathing becomes shallow
• The neck and accessory muscles work overtime

Better thoracic mobility = better rib motion = more efficient diaphragmatic breathing.

4. Power & Rotation for Sports

Many sports depend on thoracic rotation:
• Golf
• Tennis
• Baseball
• Running and throwing

If rotation is limited, force leaks occur and stress shifts to the lumbar spine or shoulders instead.

5. Lower Back Protection

The thoracic spine is designed for rotation; the lumbar spine is not.
When thoracic mobility is limited, the low back often moves more than it should—leading to:
• Overuse
• Strain
• Chronic pain

6. Better Overhead Movement

For squats, presses, pull-ups, or daily overhead tasks:
• Thoracic extension allows the arms to raise fully
• Reduces arching through the low back
• Improves overall movement quality

02/16/2026

We are closed today and will be open tomorrow Tuesday 17th at 12pm!!

Last day at conference and my brain is 🔥 in the best way.

Here’s what we dove into:

• Your body makes its own opioids. With chronic pain, those natural pain-relieving channels don’t fire the way they should.
• A 6-mile run can stimulate endorphins comparable to ~10mg of morphine. Movement is powerful medicine.
• The nervous system is a predictor. Sometimes it predicts pain even when the movement itself isn’t actually dangerous.
• Chronic pain isn’t just about the painful body part. Knee pain? Work the hip. Work the spine. Work the system.
• Dermatomes matter — asking a patient where they feel touch (R vs L, back vs knee vs foot) tells us how the nervous system is mapping the body.
• Chronic pain requires cognitive homework, not just exercises.
– What 3 reasons do you think your alarm system is sensitive?
– Can you explain the “alarm system” story to your spouse?
• Living in pain all day is exhausting. Fatigue is real — the nervous system is always “on.”
• Loss of lumbar spine motion? The hip is forced to pick up the slack. Regional interdependence always shows up.
• With an anterior hip approach, the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve can be affected — numbness rates are high. Anatomy matters.

Biggest takeaway: we don’t just treat tissues. We treat nervous systems, beliefs, behaviors, and movement patterns.

Pain science + movement science = better outcomes.

02/14/2026

What did we learn today you might ask! Here are some bullet points✅🤷🏼

• To activate the quad → distract the brain with an upper extremity movement
• Hop testing is key with ACL rehab
• Inflammation = increased nervous system activity
• Too many C-fibers firing → you “lose the gate” and pain ramps up
• With chronic pain, the brain can disown that body part and stop using it
• The brain literally forgets how to use that area efficiently
• Wrist pain can drive elbow pain → which can then drive shoulder pain (regional interdependence)
• Push intensity in our older patients: 90–95% max HR for 2–4 minutes for 19 minutes 3 x week
• Think time under tension instead of just counting reps
• Use functional tests: step test or 6-minute walk test

02/09/2026

🔥 Core + glute stability circuit 🔥
5 rounds focused on hip extension strength, deep core control, and total body stability. This combo builds a strong foundation for better movement, injury prevention, and everyday performance. Slow, controlled reps for max benefit.

5 rounds:
-15 standing hip extension
-15 quadruped hip extension
-15 dead bugs
-15 bird dogs

Address

150 126th Street
Orofino, ID
83544

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 2:30pm

Telephone

+12084767105

Website

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