Portland Integrative Physical Therapy LLC, Noah Harrison DPT

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Portland Integrative Physical Therapy LLC, Noah Harrison DPT

Portland Integrative Physical Therapy LLC provides personalized, one on one rehabilitation and strength training in Portland, Maine.�

02/25/2025

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHOE?

Whether one likes it or not, the most accurate answer I can give is... it depends.

What it depends on is both the person using them, and what the shoes are going to be used for.

Truly, a good shoe is no different than a good pair of work gloves.

What this means is that they should fit well and allow you to do the work you are aiming to do more effectively and safely because of them.

Hence, it a depends entirely on the individual using them... and what they are looking to use them for.

That said, there are two very simple boxes to make sure any given shoe checks.

The first is that the shoe must be comfortable.

The second, is that when you are wearing them you should feel just as steady, or even steadier than you do without them.

12/03/2024

When I work with folks, we talk a lot about adaptation.

After all it is more than in part the process of adaptation that has caused the situation that they are in to occur.

And it is the process of steering their body to adapt in a very particular way that has the chance at changing their situation for the better.

Now while we all have an incredible amount of potential to steer the direction that our bodies grow and evolve into, the process not only requires certain things to be taken on both intentionally, diligently and in perpetuity… such as exercise… but also certain things to be avoided.

More often than not, the things that need to be avoided are both products and aspects of first world living.

You see, another thing that I find myself talking a lot to folk about is how our modern lives are more than a bit out of step with how we evolved to thrive, and how this is negatively impacting our health and well-being.

In many ways, as a species we have continually sought to make our lives more convenient.

And while the advances of the agricultural, industrial and most recent technological revolutions have allowed us to live more comfortably, and by and large for a longer span of time than the majority of our ancestors, the convenience that they have increasingly provided at each iteration has often times come at a cost.

Mainly, it being our overall health and well-being.

Essentially, it seems we need more than a bit of challenge, strife and struggle in order to stay well… And quite often I find myself having a variety of colorful conversations about how problematic the cushy lifestyle of modern, suburban American can be.

Despite the variety of those conversations, what they are about tends to be predictable and consistent.

They are…

The shoes on out feet,
The surfaces we sleep on,
The screens we use,
The mirrors we view,
and the way we walk.

06/13/2024

Despite each person being unique unto themselves, there are some pretty consistent patterns that tend to be present and contributing to the loops that folks with chronic or reoccurring aches and pains may be stuck in.

Yes, there is almost always a muscle or five that needs to become a bit stronger, or a place or two that perhaps needs to become a bit more flexible… however, often there are also some habits that need to change if the situation has any hope to improve.

Often times these habits will come down to a problematic way in which the individual may relate to, and respond to the messages from their body.

One of the more significant habits that tend to perpetuate chronic and reoccurring issues of the musculoskeletal kind... is habitual and aggressive stretching of any and all bodily aches, pains or perceived tightness.

Now, I am not talking about the kind of stretching your cat or dog may do when it gets up after a nap.

You know, the whole squirm and reach with a big yawn... then off to the food bowl or next adventure.

That is actually a fairly active and productive thing, and I hope that you yourself do it from time to time.

What I am referring to is the tried and true lean in until you feel the stretch... and then lean in some more.

The idea is that if it does not go where it should, just lay on it until it gives up.
In the world of strength training and rehabilitation this is typically referred to as static stretching.

To the rest of the population, this is arguably an understandable human reaction... and one that is a bit ingrained in American culture.

However, done intensely and regularly enough then over time the tendency to aggressively and regularly stretch the tissues of your body will progressively compromise your speed, your strength, your ability to sense yourself and quite literally the integrity of your joints.

05/29/2024

Swelling is not always, or even often something to be reduced… only managed.

A good example is how any of us tend to do best managing swelling when it occurs during a sinus infection.

IBprofen is only going to get you so far, and no… you do not ice your face.

Instead, and regardless of whether antibiotic is needed, your primary focus is on letting the infection run its course, and preventing things from becoming backed up. You rest as needed, and more if needed… but you do not shut everything down.

Musculoskeletal swelling tends to be no different.

05/22/2024

Swelling is simply part of the initial healing response to an injury of an significance.

It is not a problem, and should be allowed for.

That said, it can be extremely uncomfortable at times, and so it has to be managed.

Thankfully, gravity tends to works wonders.

05/08/2024

WHEN EXERCISING, SHOULD I WORK TO FAILURE?

Never.

Training to failure is literally training your muscles to fail.

After all, you get what you train.

Strength training, and with that any exercise... done well... is practicing straining well.

Strength is composure under duress.

So, learning to strain well, is learning to understand your limits and capacity... and quit while you are ahead.

That said, if your goal is to get enormous muscles then you will absolutely need to pump them full of blood, work through the burn... and often times train them to all out failure.

Absolutely, without a shred of doubt this is the cookbook recipe for making muscles grow larger than they typically would be.

It is not necessary to get stronger though…

Just bigger.

04/17/2024

HOW MUCH, OR HOW LONG SHOULD I EXERCISE FOR?

It is not as much as most folks would think.

For the people that are exercising every day, 20-30 minutes in total time is probably plenty.

This exercise, although still challenging, tends to be more moderate in intensity... and so the rest periods between any exercise can be shorter without the quality of the movement being sacrificed.

Get in, get out, get it done... move on.

For the folks that are doing things more three times a week, they will be aiming to accomplish more within any given session. And with that, the more strenuous work that they are able to take on tends to require longer rest periods between sets. So, these workouts tend to take longer.

However, it probably caps out at 60 minutes though... beyond that one is typically working hard, but the work is not very impressive.

In most cases, It is best to quit while you are ahead.

04/10/2024

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I EXERCISE?

For most of us, we need to exercise every day.

This is just what tends to work well.

The people that do this, tend to both feel good and look good. Exercise is part of their daily rhythms... it is incorporated into their general routines for work, eating and bathing.

Folks that do this tend to take on different things on different days, and all with an intensity similar to manual labor. They do the work, they do it well, and they quit while they are ahead.

After all, they are going to be doing it again the next day, so best to not get carried away.

That said, plenty of folks do very well with working out three times a week. However, within those three times they are doing some very strenuous things.

On the other days if we were to look at a step count they are getting some where around 10,000 steps a day.

So, if you are not one of those 10,000 step count folks... consider the every day thing.

02/20/2024

WHAT SHOULD I DO FOR EXERCISE?

It does not matter if you are looking to getstronger, lose body fat, tone your body, or solely have an eye on your longevity... the most important form of exercise for any of us to regularly do is strength training.

Yes, all of us will do very well with getting in regular exercise that is both rhythmic and aerobically demanding. In fact, we all seem to need to take this on very regularly in order to simply be well... period. Although this is commonly referred to as cardio, it actually does not require a spin bike, an elliptical or even via running.

While some have a high enough level of fitness to allow jogging at a pace to check the box here, this level of work can generally be obtained by brisk walking and moderate hiking.

However, while this form of exercise will help your blood pressure, your sleep, your mental health, your mental clarity, your digestion and even regularity of defecation... walking and hiking (no matter how brisk) will not make you a powerful, resilient human being that looks good in a bathing suit.

01/19/2024

In order to get a good breath out, you need to take a good breath in.

This may seem obvious, but so often folks don’t realize how minimally they are breathing in when they are in a state of excess tension.

Well knowledge is power, so be sure to make those breaths noisy and even a bit over the top of you are looking to let it go.

01/12/2024

If you want to up the tension, exhale with effort.

But make sure to synchronize that exhale with the pulse of the movement, and make if a partial one.

Why?

Because if you want to decrease muscular tension, you will need to exhale fully… and pause.

If this seems to simple, know that it is not.

Much like singing well, most will need to work on it.

01/02/2024

Every year during the month of January I tend to notice a pattern of conversation cropping up with many of the folks I tend to help.

Over the years I have learned it best to lead with the following acknowledgment as the first few weeks of January tend to unfold...

December can be a hard month for maintaining habits and routines of wellbeing, not to mention attempting to take on a new one.

Unless you are an all out hermit, most routines both old and new just tend to go out the window as the different social and celebratory demands of the darkest month of the year falls upon us… all the while coinciding with the end of most businesses' fiscal year.

Just leading with this acknowledgement has made the whole process of checking in, and with that focusing on how to "get back on" track all the easier for just about everyone.

And, it is that process of "getting back on track" that I want to touch on...

You see, oftentimes folks will begin to compensate for the rough month of December, and they often do so by taking on both more regular as well as more rigorous exercise.

Unfortunately, what I observe is that although some may have the best of intentions, the assumptions that many folks have about what effective exercise is, how to go about it, and with that how much, how often and how hard to push it… are often terribly off the mark with what actually tends to work.

At times, the approach they are taking is either setting them up for burnout, and at times even injury. Other times, the approach taken will leave them have no prayer at achieving whatever it is

So, if exercise is something that you are looking to take on in the coming year, and ideally every year beyond that you are graced to enjoy… then stay tuned for a handful of common talking points that I tend to have with folks about setting themselves up for success with regular and rigorous exercise.

Address

889 Brighton Avenue
Portland, ME
04101

Telephone

+12073956555

Website

http://www.portlandintegrativept.com/

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