Archives for April 2018

Heat or Ice for an injury? How to know which to apply

April 25, 2018

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As a doctor of physical therapy, I answer a lot of questions everyday.

Of everything I get asked, without-a-doubt, hands-down, the most-common question is … “Should I put heat or ice on my injury?”

We all know that thermal modalities can help alleviate pain, stiffness, swelling, etc; but sometimes it’s hard to know which exactly is the right one to apply at the right time. There are a lot of different opinions out there and sometimes it’s difficult to discern which one is right for you.

Well – you’re in luck! Today I wanted to share with you the answer to this question and hopefully give you some advice as to which one will be the best for you. …

Honey Rice Krispy Treats (No Marshmallows)

April 22, 2018

My kids love Rice Krispy treats, so when I came across a recipe for them that didn’t use marshmallows, I knew that I had to make them right away!

I love using honey instead of sugar (or marshmallows) in baked goods. I prefer using local raw honey, but any honey will do! You can even buy it in bulk at a great price! I know that honey is not really a “health food”, but when it comes to baking, it’s my sweetener go-to. I like honey because it’s a little sweeter than sugar, so you can get away with using less. I also like that it goes through less processing overall compared to sugar and it does contain trace minerals and nutrients.

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Resistance Band Loop Glute Workout

April 18, 2018

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As a physical therapist, I see a lot of different patients for a lot of different problems.

However, oftentimes there are some commonalities between these problems that would warrant the same treatment – or in this case the same exercise.

Low back pain, SI joint pain, hip pain, and knee pain occasionally fall into this category with one of the biggest culprits being – HIP WEAKNESS!

Honestly – our hips are one area that the majority of us don’t spend enough time strengthening… especially when we really stop to break out into different planes of motion.

Think about your leg days. Chances are you’re doing squats, lunges, dead lifts, maybe some sort of step up, hip thrusters, etc. All of these are great exercises and should be done regularly – let me be very clear about that!

But they all have a commonality to them in that they’re working our leg muscles in one very specific motion. You get a ton of quad, hamstring, butt (glute max) and hip flexor activation, but essentially they’re all moving the same way – namely straight forward/backward – knee over toe.

Now like I said – these are great exercises, but we often miss the mark on hitting some crucial stabilizer muscles that not only serve a great function, but help your figure as well!

So if you want to strengthen your hips – I mean ALL your hip muscles – and make your butt and hips look full and round then you’ve come to the right place!

This is a series of 4 exercises that I’ll typically superset with my patients towards the end of a workout to really tap out all your glute muscles (especially the lateral hip stabilizers) to maximize function and form! I’ve even included video of these exercises so you can be sure you’re doing them right – keep reading down below!

But first (as always) a quick word about anatomy… …

How To Correct Your Posture – 5 Exercises To Improve Your Posture

April 11, 2018

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“Sit up straight.“

“Don’t slouch.“

“Stand up tall.“

Believe it or not – your mother knew exactly what she was talking about!

As a physical therapist, I treat many posture related problems.

The thing is – people don’t come in to my clinic complaining of “bad posture“. People come into my clinic complaining of the symptoms that are typically associated with bad posture. Neck pain, knots in your upper shoulders, headache pain, etc. are typically related to poor posture.

These are the complaints for which people typically seek Physical Therapy help; little do these patients know how many of them wouldn’t be in any pain if they just spent some time addressing their posture!

Today on Tone and Tighten I wanted to discuss these postural issues – specifically what is poor posture, why you developed it, and some simple exercises you can do to correct this problem.

Keep reading for more!…

The Best Hot, Healthy Breakfast – 3-Minute Scrambled Egg Omelette

April 4, 2018

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“What do you eat for breakfast?“

“I just can’t seem to find anything I like for breakfast.“

“All I ever have is cold cereal for breakfast.“

Ahhhh breakfast. We all know it as the most important meal of the day – how come it has to be so difficult to find something hot, delicious, and healthy? So often we just settle for our cereal, bagels, or muffin as we are running out the door and call it good.

Well today is the day that we reclaim breakfast!

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite hot, healthy, and delicious breakfast meals – a microwave egg omelette that literally takes less than three minutes to prepare!

This one will knock your socks off! Coming at you right now…

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