Once a rarely-used prop in fitness routines, the foam roller has rolled its way to popularity and now seems to be popping up in every gym, yoga studio, and retailer around the country.  This month, Jeff Fellure, a wellness coordinator on our ATI Worksite Solutions team, stopped by to fill us in about the foam roller.

What a foam roller is…

The foam roller is exactly what it sounds like – a small, round roll of foam! It’s used to improve tissue quality by helping to reduce any adhesions or scar tissue that may have formed in a muscle. In addition, it acts as a form of stretching to help relax the muscle.

Why you should use a foam roller…

• Improve mobility and range of motion
• Reduce scar tissues and adhesions
• Decrease tone of overactive muscles
• Improve quality of movement
• Help fill the gap between hands-on sessions of tissue work with a licensed therapist

What type of muscles you can target…

Although you can use the foam roller to help stretch a variety of different muscle groups, our wellness team focused on two of these muscle groups that can often benefit from foam roll stretching – the upper back and the hip rotators.

Upper back: Lay on the floor with your knees bent and the foam roller on your back. Roll your upper back region starting just below your shoulder blades to just below your neck, shifting your weight right to left as you roll.

Hip rotators: Begin on the floor, with the foam roller underneath you. Roll your hip rotators by sitting on one glute and crossing your leg as you vary the areas you address within the muscle.

How long to stretch…

As a general rule of thumb, Jeff suggests that you spend about one to two minutes on each area. Depending on your tissue quality, you may want to spend more or less time on an area. For example, if you have poor tissue in your upper back, you may want to target those muscles by stretching for a longer period of time.

Now, get rolling!

Today’s post comes from Matt Stapleton, the clinic director at our Doylestown, PA location.

What does the word ‘exercise’ truly mean to you?  

I pose this question because I feel that there is a disparity between the mind and the body’s perception of exercise.  I realized very early on that my goal in life is to get people motivated to be active and as healthy as they possibly can be to ward off preventable illnesses.

Over my career, I found that people have trouble finding time to ‘exercise,’ as they simply can’t fit it into their schedules.  They tell me “By the time they get home and have dinner, it’s too late to go to the gym and workout,” or “My lunch break is too short to use the elliptical at work,” or “I need to watch my kids on the days/nights I have off, and I can’t use my treadmill.”  Sound familiar? 

The explanations above all relate exercise to a certain activity, facility, or piece of equipment.  I am here to debunk the theory that calories can only be burned on an elliptical and muscles can only get stronger with dumbbells!  The body doesn’t know the difference between pull downs performed in a gym and using your arms to pull yourself up a ladder.  I want to find ways to incorporate ‘exercise’ into routine daily activities in the hopes that more people can be active.  I have listed a few ideas that I have recommended to patients in the past, but I hope that this posting will grow to allow for many more!  Always remember that any activity can be an exercise, it just may need to be tweaked a little…

• Use your body to get to work:  walk, run, bike, rollerblade, etc. 
• Be afraid of elevators and escalators:  only use the stairs
• Park in spots that are really far away from your destination:  you will always find a spot.
• Don’t be as efficient with house cleaning and yard work:  you may need to use the stairs more often, but that’s a good thing.
• Add little bouts of exercise after a certain number of emails, over TV commercials, etc.: our environment is usually very repetitious in nature, leaving opportunities for you to add exercise (and water!)
• If you need to let the dog out before you go to work or bed, take them for a short jog; it’s amazing how a little exercise can get this moving!
• Lunge down long hallways
• Wall sit while waiting for the bus
• Hold your squat position while weeding; it’s great for your posture and will definitely improve your leg strength
• Save some money and do your own lawn mowing and landscaping

What ways do you incorporate ‘exercise’ into your life?

Water, sports drinks, energy chews, protein bars, recovery shakes, bananas, carbohydrates – which should you put in your body before a workout? What about after? Which help aid weight loss? Which help aid muscle building? 

We know there’s a lot to take in. That’s why our athletic trainer Jessica Thompson weighed in with these five tips for fueling up for exercise…

1. Water is the way to go during a workout: During an actual workout or game, water is the way to go. It helps replenish and hydrate you throughout your exercise session.
2. Save your sports drinks for before or after your sweat session: Studies have shown that the nutrients in sports drinks aren’t absorbed in your system right away, says Jessica. Therefore, use it before or after a workout when your body has time to absorb the nutrients and properly replenish. 
3. Power through strength training with protein: Hitting the gym to lift weights and do some strength training? Try to eat about 90 minutes before your workout. The pre-workout snack should consist of a protein or energy bar and some fruit, Jessica says. Protein helps you build muscle and fruit contains natural sugars to give you an energy boost. 
4. Kill your cardio workout with carbs: Ramping up for a cardio workout? Be sure to get some carbohydrates before your workout. A small meal of whole grain carbohydrates (like wheat bread or crackers) along with fruit can help you power through a cardio workout and give you the energy you need. 
5. Carbohydrates key after a workout: When recovering from a workout, it’s important to replenish yourself with plenty of carbohydrates and some proteins within 30 minutes of finishing. With its mix of carbs and protein, chocolate milk is a great recovery food. And, even though you just worked out, it’s important to avoid anything with a lot of fat, says Jessica. Your body needs nutrients after exerting itself, and that’s not something fatty foods can typically provide. 

Authored by Dennis Carter, PT, MPT, physical therapist and clinic director at ATI Naperville South

What is a Meniscal Tear?

A meniscal tear in the knee is an injury to the cartilage that absorbs weight through the joint. Tears can occur as a result of sudden trauma such as twisting, or over extending the knee. Tears can also develop due to degenerative changes over time. Meniscal tears can limit a person’s ability in squatting, twisting, athletics, or performing activities at work and at home. A recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine supports that there is a high percentage of successful outcomes for patients seeking physical therapy as their first choice of care for a torn meniscus in the knee. This is a welcome statement to those who may have been recently given the diagnosis of a meniscal tear, and are weighing options for a plan of care.

Many times when patients are given a diagnosis, they form the opinion that they are set on a defined path without options.  A diagnosis of a “tear in the knee” is often associated with it getting “fixed”, which can be upsetting and discouraging when patients consider their future activity level.

The Benefits of Meniscal Tear Physical Therapy

Growing evidence supports physical therapy as a viable alternative to early surgical intervention. Physical therapy can provide treatments that reduce the pain and inflammation associated with the acute nature of a tear. Modalities such as electrical stimulation, compression, and ice are frequently used to reduce acute swelling and pain. Manual care provided by a Physical Therapist can help to restore range of motion, improve joint mechanics, decrease swelling, and increase muscle flexibility. Specifically prescribed therapeutic exercises can address deficiencies in strength and muscle control that may have resulted from, or even contributed to events leading to the tear.

Who Should Consider Physical Therapy for Meniscal Tears?

Physical therapy has been a successful option for many. More research is needed to identify what factors determine the characteristics that will identify who will be successful with either treatment option. Deciding if it is right for you should be done as part of a team. The decision should be made with your doctor and therapist based on several factors: the mechanism of injury, history of progressive symptoms, a thorough clinical examination, diagnostic studies (x-rays, MRI), and your goals/aspirations for future activity level. The decision is not simply black and white and often comes down to individuality.

How Does Physical Therapy Work for Meniscal Tears?

When the conservative approach of therapy is chosen, patients should be well educated in the nature of the injury, the avoidance of activities that could negatively impact their progress, and the expected progressions they will encounter. Treatment will focus on progressive strengthening, range of motion, flexibility, balance, gait training, and functional activities. Considerations are also given to address individual deficiencies that may have contributed to the nature of the injury: weakness of hip and thigh muscles, foot mechanics such as over pronation (flat feet), inflexibility of the calf and hamstring muscles.

Recieve Meniscal Tear Treatment Today

Whenever affected by any health issue or concern, awareness of options is prudent. Meniscal tears are no different. Custom treatments in physical therapy and dedication to prescribed home program allow many people to return to a high functional level following a meniscal tear in the knee. Please be sure to discuss details of your injury and all options with your doctor. If you have more questions please reach out to one of your local physical therapists who can help to answer your questions.

Are you one of the millions of Americans vowing to get in shape this year? If so, good for you! However, before you jump into a new fitness routine, there are a few things you need to know to help you reach your goal. 

Andrea Weber, one of our Sports Medicine supervisors, dishes out these tips for beginning a new fitness routine in 2013: 

1. Start slow. Too often, people will start their exercise programs with long, intense exercise and then experience soreness or injuries right away, Andrea says. Make small goals, such as doing a routine for 20-30 minutes, and gradually work your way up. 
2. Consider working with a personal trainer. If you’re not familiar with fitness routines, find someone who is. Many gyms offer sessions with certified personal trainers who can help develop an exercise program that’s right for you. 
3. Create a sustainable habit. As Andrea said, people too often try to go as hard and as fast as they can, but that’s impossible to keep up. Instead, choose exercises that are challenging-- but not impossible-- and easy to fit into your daily routine. If you can’t hit the gym for a sixty-minute sweat session on a regular basis, figure out what you can do and commit yourself to that. 
4. Avoid overuse injuries by mixing it up. Don’t stick to just one machine or one exercise, Andrea says. If you’re focusing on cardio, alternate between the treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc. This allows you to work various muscle groups and gives your joints a break, which can help prevent overuse injuries. 
5. Focus on nutrition. As your fitness routine picks up, be sure you’re fueling your body with the right foods to help you get through. It’s important to consume carbohydrates, which act as your primary energy source during a workout. In addition, be sure to get enough lean proteins, Andrea says. When you work out, you break down muscle and protein helps to rebuild that muscle and make it stronger.  Here is an easy way to determine how much protein you need:

• Sedentary adults: Multiple your body weight by .4
• Active adults: Multiple your body weight by .5
• Adult that is lifting to increase muscle mass: Multiply your body weight by .6 to .9