Tom Willemann Health Tips

"Almost Daily Health Tips From Physical Therapist Tom Willemann..."

Use the Form Below to Get Them All Sent to You for FREE

Does running cause arthritis?

Does running cause arthritis?

A common assumption of most athletes and non-athletes is that running leads to knee osteoarthritis(OA).   The joints can’t tolerate the constant pounding of running. FALSE!  A study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2008 August 35(2): 133-138 shows evidence that this may not be true.  In this study researchers looked at 45 runners andContinue Reading »

Step Up to Therapy After a Meniscus Tear

Step Up to Therapy After a Meniscus Tear

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The menisci, two semicircular pieces of knee cartilage located where the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) meet, help diffuse the forces on the knee and act as shock absorbers. Meniscal tears are common. Young athletes often tear a meniscus when twisting with the kneeContinue Reading »

The Recipe to Relieve a Baker Cyst

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 If you suffer from knee pain, the culprit might be a Baker cyst, an accumulation of joint fluid that creates a bulge at the back of the knee. The bulge is noticeable, and a physician can usually diagnose it accurately by taking a history and feelingContinue Reading »

Acute ACL Tear- Is it safe to try physical therapy first?

A recent study in the British Medical Journal in January 2013  study compared early acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction surgery followed by physical therapy and another group who had just Rehabilitation Only (RO) followed by an acute ACL injury with the option of having surgery during the term of the study.  Both groups wereContinue Reading »

Straighten Out the Kinks After Knee Replacement

After your knee replacement, you might think your knee will work just fine. Unfortunately, many people do not realize that straightening the knee after surgery is not as simple as they originally thought. Along with loss of strength, reduced extension is one of the most common complaints following knee replacement. Full motion of the kneeContinue Reading »

Fighting Arthritis? Strengthen Your Muscles

Arthritis may be a joint disease, but strengthening the muscles is an important component in its treatment. That is because a leading cause of limited movement in people with arthritis—especially, for instance, knee arthritis—is the weakening of surrounding muscles, rather than pain, dysfunction or abnormalities in the joint itself. This raises an important question: IsContinue Reading »

Biker with a hamstring and calf strain

History of a problem is often the key! When did it start? What changed around that time? This information is critical to a therapist’s understanding the origin a patient’s problem. One of our patients suffered a fall that resulted in repairs to his bike. Soon after receiving his bike back he reported pain in theContinue Reading »

Regain Mobility After a Patellar Fracture

A patellar fracture affects the kneecap, which can be easily broken, and often occurs from a fall directly onto the knee. They are most common in people 20 to 50 years of age and affect men twice as often as women. One of three bones making up your knee joint, your kneecap serves as aContinue Reading »

Synvisc Injections for Osteoarthritis- Why do they work?

For over 10 years patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and shoulder have had an alternative to oral medication for controlling knee or shoulder pain.  The advent of the use of an intra-articular injections of mostly known as there brand name Synvisc  or Hyaluranon that serve to lubricate the joint surfaces can provide significant painContinue Reading »

Page 4 of 5