The most common prescribed medication for musculoskeletal problems or post surgical protocols are anti-inflammatory medications or NSAIDs. In a recent study it has come to the attention of researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill that some of these medications can reduce the ability of tissues to handle an appropriate load force. Read the full story

The Spotlight section of our website is designed to collect a grouping of articles and posts that deal with a specific pathological condition or an area of focus in the field of Physical Therapy. Read the full story

We begin this post by defining the subacute stage of healing for soft tissue injuries. This is the second part of a three part series on soft tissue lesion management. The first post entitled Guidelines for Acute Stage Interventions dealt with days 4-6 of initial injury.

The Subacute Stage (healing and repair) the symptoms of pain, swelling and redness will be much less and will eventually be absent. The patient’s ROM will be very specific to end range tissue tension. Meaning the patient will have little to no pain during most of the range until tension is applied at the end of a movement to the tissue.

The subacute stage occurs in the first 10-17 days but it can last from 14-21 depending on the type of tissue that is injured. Read the full story

I would like to begin this discussion by defining what the Acute Stage of injury is as mentioned in the previous post.

The Acute Stage (inflammatory response) has a vascular or cellular response immediately after the insult. This response is characterized by swelling, redness, heat, pain at rest and loss of function. When taking the patient through the range of motion for the area involved they will usually guard at some point during the movement. Read the full story

First of all let me refresh your memory on what types of soft tissue lesions exist for example: Strain, Sprain, Dislocation, Subluxation, Muscle or tendon rupture, Tendinous lesions or tendinopathy, Synovitis, Hemarthrosis, Ganglion, Bursitis, Contusion and overuse syndromes. This is a long list of injuries and dysfunctions however they have many commonalities which allows them to be classified into a basic approach.   Read the full story