Check out our 10 tips to prevent injury during cheerleading. Cheerleading involves intense gymnastics tumbling, partner stunts, lifts, and tosses. The physical demands of cheerleading contribute to injuries to the ankle, wrist, shoulder, knee, back, neck, and head. Physical therapists can help cheerleaders not only safely heal from an injury sustained during cheerleading, but also help prevent injury through a targeted conditioning and strengthening program.

Football is a high-contact sport with one of the highest sport injury rates. Common football injuries include concussions, ACL tears, ankle sprains, turf toe, shoulder dislocation, rotator cuff tears, and hamstring strains. Physical therapy provides effective treatment for football-related injuries, helping the athlete to safely recover and return to sport when fully healed. Physical therapists help athletes regain strength, function, and range of motion through a targeted therapeutic exercise and strengthening program while managing pain and minimizing the risk of future injury.

Check out our tips to minimize your risk of ACL injury! Preventing ACL injury saves an athlete from physical trauma, an interrupted sports season, and intensive rehabilitation. ACL injuries are most common in sports that involve pivoting, landing, and sudden changes in direction. Sports medicine physical therapists can design ACL injury prevention programs for athletes that include strengthening exercises, balance and agility drills, and jumping and landing technique training

Arthritis is the leading cause of joint pain in the United States. Arthritis is a chronic, progressive condition causing inflammation, swelling, pain, and stiffness in joints. Whether you are dealing with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriatic arthritis, summer heat and weather can affect your arthritis and worsen symptoms. Check out our tips to handle the heat and manage arthritis during summer!

Running has numerous benefits, including increased cardiovascular fitness and stronger muscles and joints. However, running injuries are a fairly common occurrence due to the repetitive stress that the act of running can place on certain joints and muscle groups. Physical therapists can help runners manage common injuries like runner’s knee and plantar fasciitis with personalized treatment that includes pain management, exercise rehabilitation, manual therapy, and body mechanic instruction.

Whether you are cycling outdoors in the warm spring weather, participating in a spin class, or competing at the professional level in cycling, it’s important to take steps to prevent injury. Cycling is an excellent low-impact activity that improves overall fitness, cardiovascular health, and core and leg strength without placing too much stress on your joints. However, cycling injuries can occur due to overuse, improper bike setup, and lack of a proper warm-up and cool down. Check out our 8 tips to prevent injury when cycling this spring!

With the start of spring and warmer weather, it’s that time of year to get outside and build and tend your garden. Gardening has many health benefits, including reduced depression and anxiety, increased life satisfaction and quality of life, and consistent physical activity. However, gardening is a physically demanding activity and certain gardening tasks, like weeding, raking, digging, and mulching can place strain and stress on joints and muscles, particularly the back, neck, shoulders, knees, and wrists. Check out our 10 gardening tips to prevent injury this spring!

March is #NationalNutritionMonth, a month to focus on building a balanced, nutrient-dense diet personalized to your specific needs, tastes, and health goals. As physical therapists working with patients as they recover from surgery and injury, we recognize that nutrition can play an important role in your recovery. Adequate nutrition during recovery from an injury can help to control inflammation, provide the necessary nutrients to rebuild and restore injured tissue, decrease the risk of muscle atrophy, and preserve muscle strength.

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek physical therapy. Nearly 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their life. However, there are numerous ways to support spinal health and prevent back pain, such as regular exercise, an ergonomic workspace, physical therapy, and proper lifting techniques. Check out our latest blog for our 10 Tips for a Healthy Back!

How do you know whether you’re suffering from a pulled muscle or a pinched nerve? Both a pulled muscle or a pinched nerve may cause severe pain and limit your mobility, function, and ability to complete daily tasks. Being able to ascertain the difference between a pinched nerve and a pulled muscle is critical to ensure you receive the correct treatment and return to your activities quickly and safely.

This past year brought a number of sweeping changes to our work and home lives, including the rise of remote work and extensive technology use, which will likely continue into the foreseeable future. While there are many benefits and advantages to technology use for remote work, it can also contribute to poor posture and subsequent back, neck, and wrist pain. Check out our ten tips for an ergonomic workstation to prevent work-related aches and pains!

Winter in Northeast Ohio means several months of snowy weather and the inevitable task of shoveling snow. It’s common to experience muscle soreness and aches and pain after shoveling, but more serious injuries can occur as shoveling snow in the cold temperature places stress on your body. Check out our 8 Snow Shoveling Safety Tips to prevent injury this winter season!

Physical deconditioning is a significant impact of the isolation-driven inactivity in seniors during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lack of movement contributes to reduced physical fitness, strength, and mobility, leading to increased vulnerability to falls and fractures. Physical therapy can effectively address deconditioning in seniors and improve their physical function and mobility gradually and safely through an exercise conditioning program tailored to the senior’s specific needs and ability.

Arthritis, the leading cause of joint pain in the United States, is a chronic, progressive condition causing inflammation, swelling, and stiffness in one or more joints. Winter weather can increase arthritic pain. To manage arthritis during winter, follow our 8 tips and work with our physical therapists to craft an individualized exercise and aquatic therapy program to improve your fitness and relieve arthritic pain this winter!

Holiday preparation and festivities can place a strain on your body. If you lift heavy objects incorrectly, you can strain and injure your back, neck, and shoulders. Proper lifting technique protects your back and neck and minimizes strain on the entire body. When you lift an object properly, you avoid placing too much stress on one body part and instead, allow the body to work as a cohesive unit, sharing the weight of the object and distributing it evenly. To stay healthy and prevent pain during the holidays, follow our 8 tips for proper lifting technique!

Marathon running can be one of the most challenging and demanding athletic feats, requiring significant physical and mental strength. It is essential to physically prepare for a marathon for optimal function on race day and create a post-race recovery plan. Physical therapists can accompany marathon runners throughout the training process, from strengthening your musculoskeletal system and addressing injuries to helping you actively recover post-race.

The start of fall brings with it the excitement of a new sports season. Training for the fall season begins in the summer so that athletes are prepared and ready for a successful season. However, due to contact or overuse, sports injuries can occur. Physical therapy can help student-athletes regain strength, function, and range of motion safely following sports injuries.

Yard work and raking leaves, while enjoyable, can take a toll on the body. The twisting, turning, bending, and pulling of raking can contribute to low back pain while incorrect biomechanics can lead to neck and shoulder pain. Before you get outside to rake the leaves in your yard, take a moment to review our raking injury prevention tips!

With the warmth of summer upon us, many are eager to enjoy the weather and take our workouts and our runs outside. Running has numerous benefits for your overall health—from strengthening your bones to reducing the risk of cancer. However, it is important to approach your summer runs with care to prevent injury and safely run in the heat. Take a look at our 10 Tips for safe, injury-free running this summer!