Return to sport testing is critical to ensure that an athlete is ready to return to competition and to prevent future re-injury. Return to sport testing is most commonly performed after ACL reconstruction and rehabilitation. At Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, our sports medicine physical therapists provide a thorough, evidence-based functional return to sport test for athletes of all ages. Check out our video below to learn more about the return to sport testing process after ACL rehabilitation at our clinic!

Physical therapy plays a critical role in restoring men to optimal health through treatment of a variety of musculoskeletal and health issues, including work and sport-related injuries, post-surgical rehabilitation, chronic pain, incontinence, sexual dysfunction, and TMD. June is Men’s Health Month and June 14-20 marks Men’s Health Week, a time to highlight the importance of men’s health, early treatment of disease and injury, and development of sustainable healthy habits.

Migraines and headaches can be debilitating, limiting daily activities, work, and quality of life. While neuro-vascular, nutritional, and chemical imbalances can trigger migraines and headaches, musculoskeletal dysfunction in the neck and shoulders is a common cause of headaches and can contribute to the development of a migraine. Physical therapy can ease headache and migraine symptoms, addressing the underlying neuro-musculoskeletal causes for safe and sustainable management of chronic headaches and migraines.

Shin splints are a common athletic injury, causing pain and tenderness in the shinbone and muscles. Shin splints often occur due to too much repetitive force placed on the shinbone and muscles too soon, particularly when athletes first begin a sports season. Physical therapy can help reduce pain, strengthen the affected muscles, and maintain fitness to help athletes return to sport safely. Check out our infographic to learn how to heal shin splints with physical therapy!

A sports hernia is a soft tissue injury that occurs in the groin area, involving a strain or tear in a muscle, tendon, or ligament deep in the abdominal wall. A sports hernia is often due to intense repetitive or explosive twisting movements or sudden changes in direction and commonly affects soccer, football, rugby, and hockey players. Physical therapists play a critical role in helping an athlete recover from and return to sport safely after a sports hernia.

Check out our June 202 Newsletter, which includes our Achilles Tendonitis Infographic, a spotlight on Mangiarelli Rehabilitation as the Reader's Choice Award Winner: #1 Rehab Center in Trumbull County, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation in the news discussing therapeutic boxing for Parkinson’ disease, and celebrating men’s health month in June.

Dance is a full-body sport and art form, demanding incredible muscular strength, flexibility, and stamina. Dancers engage in long hours of training and performance, requiring extraordinary feats of athleticism, repetitive movements, and extreme flexibility. Due to the intense physical demands of dance, dancers are susceptible to injuries of the ankle, foot, leg, and lower back. Physical therapy can effectively treat dance-related injuries for a safe return to dance, helping the dancer regain full function and range of motion, addressing muscle imbalances, improving strength and conditioning, and providing bio-mechanical analysis for injury prevention.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord is damaged. This can lead to a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, difficulty walking, coordination issues, and muscle stiffness and spasticity. Physical therapy plays a key role in rehabilitation and conserving functional abilities in those with multiple sclerosis. Check out our infographic on physical therapy for multiple sclerosis to learn more!

Arthritis is one of the leading causes of joint pain among American adults. Arthritis is a chronic, progressive condition that causes inflammation, swelling, pain, and stiffness in one or more joints. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve arthritic pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion in your joints. A physical therapist can develop a customized and effective exercise program to improve your mobility and function and decrease pain safely.

After a stroke, physical therapy is essential to regain strength, balance, coordination, and muscle control. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off, depriving the brain cells of oxygen. This leads to the impairment of abilities that that area of the brain controls. Through a targeted and customized exercise program, physical therapists help stroke survivors optimize function, independence, and quality of life.

Having a baby is a joyful, special event in the life of a mother. However, the process of delivery and recovery post-delivery can be challenging, particularly if a mother has undergone a c-section delivery. Women may experience pain at the c-section incision site, low back pain, urinary continence, and pelvic floor muscle weakness following a c-section. Physical therapists can provide women customized physical therapy treatment to address these issues, relieving incision pain through soft tissue mobilization techniques and strengthening the core, back, and pelvic floor muscles through an exercise program.

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness Month. Osteoporosis is a bone condition that causes thin, fragile bones, leading to an increased risk of bone fractures. Osteoporosis is a preventable disease that largely impacts women, who account for 80% of individuals with the condition. Exercise plays a critical role in preventing and managing osteoporosis. Exercise improves bone density, building stronger bones, helping maintain bone health, and slowing and preventing bone loss. If diagnosed with osteoporosis, it is crucial to safely engage in targeted exercise with your physical therapist, including balance training, weight-bearing aerobics, and strength training.

Achilles tendonitis is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon, often due to repetitive stress on the tendon or a sudden increase in the amount or intensity of exercise that places too much stress on the Achilles tendon. Physical therapy helps decrease pain and swelling of the tendon, strengthens the affected area, improves flexibility and mobility, and helps individuals return to activity safely. Check out our infographic to learn more!

Check out our May 2021 Newsletter, which includes an infographic on plantar fasciitis, 8 tips to prevent injury when cycling, improving your balance with our physical therapist Jen, and celebrating Women’s Health month throughout the month of May.

On the blog, physical therapist Jen demonstrates several exercises to improve your balance. Balance is critical to your daily life, allowing you to walk, climb up and downstairs, and prevent falls. Good balance allows you to maintain a stable, upright position when standing, walking and sitting. Improving your balance has many benefits including increased body awareness, joint stability, coordination, posture, and athletic performance as well as reduced risk of injury and falling. Physical therapy can help you improve your balance safely and address underlying issues causing your balance problems.

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.

A shoulder labral tear involves partial or total separation of the labrum from the shoulder socket, often due to excessive trauma to the joint from overuse or direct injury. The labrum is a ring of cartilage that surrounds the rim of the shoulder socket, providing stability to the shoulder joint and a cushion to the shoulder during activity. Physical therapy can help those with shoulder labral tears regain strength, stability, and range of motion in the shoulder joint through manual therapy, postural training, and a stretching and strengthening exercise program.

Golfer’s elbow is an overuse injury that develops when the tendons on the inside of the forearm become inflamed and painful. It occurs due to repetitive use of the forearm, hand, wrist, and elbow, affecting golfers, baseball players, and tennis players. Physical therapy provides timely and effective treatment for golfer’s elbow to reduce pain, restore function and strength to the elbow, forearm, and wrist, and address body mechanics to prevent the condition from recurring. In today’s blog, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist, Bobby, demonstrates exercises for golfer’s elbow to strengthen the wrist, forearm, and elbow.

Baseball is America’s favorite pastime, a sport beloved and played by those of all ages from Little League and high school through college and the Major Leagues. As we start the baseball season, it’s critical to address common baseball injuries, particularly to the shoulder and elbow, that can result from overuse in a timely and effective manner. Physical therapy provides effective treatment for common baseball injuries to help players return to their previous level of function, improve body and throwing mechanics, and return players to sport as quickly and safely as possible.

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!