At the beginning of every new year people often make resolutions or goals they plan to achieve in the coming year. Often those goals include starting or resuming an exercise program that went by the wayside for a variety of reasons. Exercising regularly is important for many reasons. It improves musculoskeletal health, joint health, energy […]
Find Calm in the Holiday Chaos!
Guest Post by Meditation Expert, Judy Craven December brings a flurry of joy, doesn’t it? Perhaps. But it also brings deadlines, meetings, parties, weather, kids, family… a whirl of activity, or a slow in activity… both can be stressful. It’s important to pause and practice self care. Here are 4 mindful practices for the Holiday […]
Tips for a Powerful Public Speaking Voice
In a recent blog post, I connected how your posture and core strength affects your voice. For most people, the information I shared will be helpful in everyday speaking. But, for people who need to really make their voices heard, there is more you can do. Do you regularly speak in business meetings or in public? […]
How Your Posture Affects Your Voice
Is your voice not strong enough? Do you have difficulty projecting? Voice fatigue? One component could be because your core is weak and your posture inefficient, whether it be sitting or standing. Let me tell you about my patient, Kaitlin. Kaitlin, once a collegiate athlete, now had difficulty speaking as she would lose her voice, […]
Kinesio Taping: Relief for Anything from Ankle Sprains to Back Pain
Have you been to the gym working out on the elliptical, happened to look at the person next you and noticed brightly colored tape wrapped around their shoulder? Or maybe you watched the olympic bobsledding a few years back and noticed black tape on this athlete’s calf? A few years ago, when I had achilles […]
Important Update: No RX Required for Physical Therapy in Illinois
Until recently, Illinois and Texas were the only states that still required a person to obtain a doctor’s prescription for physical therapy. In August 2018, the State of Illinois passed a new law stating that physical therapists now have direct access. You can read the exact law here. What does “direct access’ mean? It […]
9 Tips to Avoid Shoulder Pain
Betty had constant shoulder pain. Her shoulder hurt doing just about anything — opening doors, sleeping, putting on her seatbelt, and even while sitting in a movie theater. As Betty is 81 years old, she and her doctor did not want her to have surgery for her torn rotator cuff.
Active Summer? Here are Some Tips to Keep you Safe
Summer in Chicago is finally here! Do you have any big plans? As you’re going about your outdoor activities this summer, don’t forget to be mindful of your body to keep it performing at it’s best. Here are a few “common sense” tips that are worth repeating, as it’s easy to get caught up in […]
How to Bend Over Without Pain: Hip Hinging
I went out for a walk the other day and saw my 88 year old neighbor, Erika, taking out some garbage. As I have a tendency to do, I watched how she was using her body – and she was hip hinging! In other words, she was keeping her back straight and bending or hinging at […]
Dealing With Anxiety and Difficult Situations
Recently I invited licensed professional counselor, Holly Katz, to The Manual Touch to present some tips on how to deal with anxiety. Many of us feel anxious in situations such as at work, race day, or in everyday life. I thought her tips were so wonderful and user friendly that I wanted to share them […]
How to Start Practicing Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation is a very popular concept these days. But do you really know what it is? How to do it? Or how it can benefit you? Let me tell you a little bit about my own experience with mindfulness and meditation. When I began studying IMT (Integrative Manual Therapy) 20 years ago, I […]
Tips for Avoiding Back Pain and Other Injuries at Work
When you went to college, they probably didn’t teach you how to sit all day and not get back pain or carpal tunnel. When you started your career, you probably did not learn how to use your body to avoid injury. During your new employee orientation, they probably didn’t mention injury prevention. In our society, […]
What is at the Core of Many Pain Problems?
Different people might suffer from different kinds of pain, yet the core of their problems is often the same. Take these four people, for example: Kirk had shoulder pain while doing some of his exercises. Gail had had 2 metatarsal fractures in the same foot in a year’s time. Lisa had jaw pain for the […]
The 3 Best Exercises to Eliminate Back Pain
To recover from or prevent back pain, you need to have a strong core. Your core consists of your abdominals, back, and hips. In this video, we’ll walk you through three core stabilization exercises to improve and maintain your core and back strength.
Personalized Physical Therapy: Using Both Traditional and Non-Traditional Methods for Pain Relief and Healing
Physical therapists (PTs) are movement experts who understand all the individual components of movement, such as which joints move and what muscles work during any phase of any activity, e.g., walking, running, lifting, etc. When you take a step, PTs know the muscles that are working and how much mobility you need in every joint […]
My Story of Hypermobility and Chronic Pain
Guest Post by Emilie Totten When people used to ask me, “What hurts?” I’d find it difficult to describe. For nearly 10 years, I’ve had pain in some form or another in many different parts of my body. I used to tell people that it was like a “traveling demon”, showing up in different ways […]
How to Lift Properly to Avoid Back Pain and Injury
Did you know that low back pain and sciatica is the #1 reason people go to see their doctors? Low back pain or sciatica (pain, numbness, or tingling down the back of the leg) can be caused by many things including spinal stenosis, arthritis, a herniated lumbar disc, or a sacroiliac dysfunction. Often these conditions […]
“I Can’t Do What I Did 10 Years Ago”
Now that I’m in my mid 50’s, I notice I don’t sleep as well as I used to. And, after the first couple of steps in the morning, my feet and ankles feel very stiff. My older patients and friends complain of back stiffness upon waking in the morning. In fact, no matter the age […]
What is Mindful Movement?
Mindfulness – quite the buzz word these days. I’ve seen articles fly by on my google homepage about: Mindful eating Mindful showering Mindful meditation Mindful exercise How about Mindful Physical Therapy? I haven’t seen an article about Mindful PT fly by on my homepage. But really, PTs have been teaching mindfulness forever – we just […]
Doctors Now Recommend Physical Therapy as an Option Over Opioids
I’d like to share a story about a patient named Gail. Gail had severe low back pain lasting a week that began after doing an intense core exercise class. She was evaluated and received manual therapy and extensive body mechanic instruction, as to prevent further injury to her back. This instruction included how to […]
