Winter Warmth

I had been working on an elaborate post about cross-country skiing and its great cardiovascular benefits, but with the 65 degree weather in DC today my mind has drifted elsewhere:  golf. 
I have been an avid golfer for about 20 years now.  Its a little scary to say you've been doing anything for 20yrs when you're barely 35, but my love for the game has not dwindled a bit.  Golf is one of the most dynamic activities in terms of demands on the core and spine.  Ab, glut and quad strength are paramount in trying to stabilize the axis (spine) as the rotation of the shoulders and hips generate torque and club head speed.  This is why the best body type for golf is a tall wiry, lean frame. 

When looking at a clip of a golf swing from behind, one can see the proper, neutral posture needed at address.  This position should be held throughout the entire swing.  That requires tremendous core stability + spinal mobility. 

Most physical therapists work with golfers to help achieve the spinal postures and core strength needed for a golf swing that reduces risk of injury.  Golfers of any age will undoubtedly suffer from some ailment such as low back pain, shoulder pain and wrist injuries.  HouseCall PT DC offers private golf fitness lessons to help alleviate and prevent injuries.  Simple, straight forward golf swing tips are given to clients after a golf swing video analysis is made.  These tips are usually aimed at increasing balance within the swing and promoting lower scores.

Knee pain

A good percentage of my clientele suffers from knee pain.  They are runners, tennis players, hikers and even sedentary desk jockeys.  One major component of knee pain is poor patellar tracking.  In lay terms, this means the knee cap is not moving properly up and down inside the femoral groove as you bend and extend you knee.  This post will help explain the reason for poor patellar tracking and offer some simple home exercises to help resolve it.  As always, consulting a physical therapist for an evaluation and treatment would be highly advisable. 

The patella is a diamond shaped bone that sits in a groove at the end of the femur.  The patella should track up when extending the knee and down when flexing the knee.  The up and down movement in kept in balance by equal forces from all sides of the patella.  Due to increased tension in the lateral quad muscle and distal iliotibial band (IT band), in combination with weakness in the medial (vastus medialis) quad muscle, the patella often get pulled laterally over the rim of the groove.  Obviously this is not only painful, but can cause long term wearing away of the cartilage on the underside of the patella.
Increased IT band tension is commonly seen in runners or athletes.  Women are particularly afflicted because of the anatomical width of their hips.
Vastus medialis weakness is quite common with even small amounts of joint edema.  This makes poor patellar tracking quite common post knee surgery (arthroscopic).

A great intervention to help decrease IT band tension is to have a therapist manually massage the structure.  I've also found trigger point needling of the IT band to be quite successful in releasing the tension.  At home exercises include an IT band stretch and rolling of the IT band.  Another treatment for poor patellar tracking is McConnell patella taping.  This is a taping technique that helps the patella sit properly inside the femoral groove, and increases vastus medialis activation.

If you have knee pain, have tried these home exercises and are still dealing with pain, feel free to contact me at: housecallptdc@gmail.com

Mental Refreshment

If you live in a city like me, then you're probably used to dealing with swarms of people throughout your day.  Traffic. Lines. Parking issues. A million demands for your time.  The list goes on and on...
For me its a necessity to find a diversion from city life.  Luckily, my beautiful girlfriend and our dog Georgia, along with another couple found some refuge in the gentle slopes of the Shenandoah Mountains over the New Years weekend.  After getting accustomed to rushing through the day, it was a nice change of pace to slowly spend the day deciding between hot tub, book or a nap. 

Mental health is an important component of wellness.  Decreased stress levels through exercising, meditating and simply escaping the daily nonsense can go a long way in increasing happiness, physical health and overall outlook on life.  I suggest scheduling something monthly to change your scenery.  It can be a 2 hour trip to a secluded mountain spot or the perverbial "stay"cation.