how to | Tone and Tighten

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. …

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!…

Best Exercises For Diastasis Recti

February 14, 2018

Looking to get your “pre-baby body” back but aren’t too sure where to start? Our “Back To Basics – Beginner’s Workout Program” is perfect fo your! Check it out by clicking on this link.

A diastasis recti is a condition where the anterior abdominal muscle (the rectus abdominis) is stretched so far that it actually starts to separate down the middle. In my physical therapy clinic I encounter this issue most often in pregnant or recently-delivered women. Believe it or not, there’s actually a lot that physical therapy can do to help this issue, and I’m going to show you how today! This is the same workout progression that I take my diastasis patients through, and I’m excited to share it with you….

Best Stretches For Low Back Pain

January 15, 2018

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As a doctor of physical therapy, low back pain is without a doubt the most common injury that I see in my clinic. For those of us who have experienced it before, we know how utterly debilitating this pain can be!

Whether it’s “come and gone for years” or you just experienced it for the first time after mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway, it’s estimated that about 80% of us will experience some degree of back pain in our lives.

Today I wanted to share with you four of my favorite lower back stretches to help decrease your pain. I recommend these more than any others and I hope they can help you get back to doing those things that you love!…

Total Body Burner Workout At Home

November 22, 2017

25-minute total body workout you can do at-home with no equipment required! From Tone-and-Tighten.com

Hey everyone! And happy Thanksgiving eve!! 🙂

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably expecting to eat a little more than you should when the day arrives tomorrow. That being said, there’s nothing like a little pre-emptive calorie burn so the effects aren’t quite so drastic!

Now – don’t misunderstand me… exercising some moderation and self-control is 100% more effective than trying to “pre-burn” some calories and then stuff yourself. What I’m saying is that if you’re going to eat a little more than you probably should it might be a good idea to create a little more of a calorie deficit than you normally would!

This total-body workout is a BURNER! This 25-minute at-home workout requires zero equipment and is designed to work as many muscles as possible in as short a time as possible.

Interested? I thought so! So let’s get to work! …