Life long learning

Congratulations to Eden Prairie Physical Therapist, Meredith Butulis, on completing her MBA this weekend. This life-long learner also holds a Doctorate and Master's in Physical Therapy, Bachelor's in Pre-Med Health Studies, and several Personal Training and Pilates certifications. 

Hip post op labral tear

After surgery, people typically ask how long it will take to get back to various activities. Today, we will focus on post-op hip labral repairs with bony resections.

A labral tear means that the cartilage rim that helps support your hip stability has been injured. Not all labral tears require surgery. Surgical procedures and post-op protocols are also highly variable. The ideas presented here relate to one of our more common protocols, but again, it does vary by surgeon and exact procedure.




Here are the typical time frames for common activities:

1 week: Driving (for left hip surgeries)
3 weeks: Walking without crutches, Driving for right hip surgeries
6 weeks: Elliptical trainer
10 weeks: Some jogging and sport training
12-16 weeks: Modified return to sport
6 months-1 year: High level competitive sport without restriction

We hope this provides you an overview of activities. You should always check with your surgeon on his/her specific time frames for your specific surgery. Have a question or idea to share? Leave us a post!

Patellofemoral syndrome

What is patellofemoral syndrome? This is a question that we hear quite often at OSR Physical Therapy!

Patellofemoral syndrome means that your kneecap is not staying in line with thigh when you perform activities like walking, stair climbing, running, squatting, lunging, and jumping.

Think of your kneecap (aka patella) like a train. Think of your thigh (aka femur) like a set of railroad tracks. The train needs to stay centered on the tracks while you perform activities.

While traditional physical therapy focuses on strengthening your VMO (aka vastus medialis) and providing orthotics (shoe inserts), we use a more comprehensive sports medicine approach at OSR.

As suggested at the annual Cincinnati Sport Medicine Conference, the focus needs to be on the hip, not so much at the knee cap. Therefore, we assess the hip, knee, ankle, foot, and even core for muscle imbalances. Once we find those imbalances, we create a comprehensive custom treatment plan to resolve the muscle imbalances and retrain how you are performing the activities that were provoking the pain.

Most of the time, we find that we focus much more on how the "train track" works, and then the "train" just needs a little fine tuning so you can enjoy activities again!

Here is a video of one "train track alignment" exercise that we find almost everyone benefits from at some point in time:


Have questions or comments? Leave us a post!

This article was written by Meredith Butulis, DPT, who works at our Eden Prairie office.

Anterior oblique system

Last week, we discussed the posterior oblique muscle system. This week, let's move on to the anterior oblique system. When your external obliques and opposite side adductor work together, you can create power. This is especially beneficial in throwing sports.

After you've activated any under-active muscles or reach the final stages of your rehab program, here are some conditioning exercises you may wish to consider to build the strength of your anterior oblique system:

Posterior Oblique Muscles and Exercises

Have you ever rehabbed a back, hip, knee, or ankle injury? If you rehabbed with a Physical Therapist at OSR, you likely incorporated some exercises for your glutes. Numerous Physical Therapy and Athletic Training research articles guide us in ensuring that we assess and treat hip weaknesses with any lower body injury.

At some point you will be ready to move beyond basic exercises. At this point, you might wonder, what comes after the basics like clams and bridges? Transitioning from the basics of Physical Therapy back into fitness and total body training in a logical progression is advised to achieve optimal performance.

Muscles not only work in isolation, but also in groups. These groups are referred to as muscle systems (aka subsystems or slings). This article will focus on the posterior oblique system. This refers to how your lats and gluteus maximus work together during every day motion and sports motion.

Here are three exercises that can be used to target how these muscle groups work together:

Squat to row: This can be done with a TRX, cable, or band. It can be progressed to standing on one foot instead of two.

Bridge lat pull: This is traditionally a Pilates exercise, but can be done with a band anchored to a fixed object.

Single leg RDL: This can be performed without weight, and then progressed to using dumbbells or kettlebells.

This article was written by Meredith Butulis, DPT, ACSM HFS, NASM CPT. Meredith is a Physical Therapist at our Eden Prairie location. OSR Physical Therapy does run an Aftercare program to transition from Physical Therapy back to sport. 

Physical Therapy Month

October is Physical Therapy month. Have you ever wondered what kind of educational background Physical Therapists have? Check out this article on the basics of Physical Therapists.

Have a question about becoming a Physical Therapist, or about the background or specialties of your specific Physical Therapist? Leave us a post!

Introducing Minnetonka Athletic Trainer Kristin Kutch

I’m new to the Twin Cities and am very glad to have found a home with OSR Physical Therapy. I moved to Twin Cities in July from Kansas City due to a work move for my husband. 

Back in Kansas City I worked two years as the Head Athletic Trainer for a high school in Independence, Missouri. I was solely responsible for care of all athletes involved with the school’s 13 different sports. In addition to working at the high school I also worked as an Athletic Trainer with a youth hockey league, summer soccer league, and was part of the medical staff for the 2013 NAIA Division I Basketball Tournament. I was also fortunate enough to work as part of the stretcher crew for several professional soccer games at Sporting Kansas City Stadium.

I look forward to learning a lot in my new position at OSR as well as offering my knowledge and experience of sport performance enhancement. It is very rewarding as a clinician to see your patients return to their sport or activity at their full capacity, something I look forward to working towards every day at OSR. 

Kristin is located at our Minnetonka office and works as a team with Physical Therapist, Matt Gannott.

Introducing Eden Prairie Physical Therapist Meaghan Cox

Meet one of OSR's new providers: Meaghan Cox!




"I am very excited to be a new member of OSR working at the Eden Prairie clinic. I am originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where I grew up very involved in sports such as swimming, track and field, figure skating, Ukrainian dancing and watching a lot of hockey. However, artistic gymnastics was always my passion and I was grateful to be able to travel all over the country to compete at the Elite and National level. When I was 18, I moved to Illinois to attend college on a full gymnastics scholarship at Illinois State University. I also spent 1 year involved in my school’s acrobatic circus. After graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, I moved to Kentucky where I graduated with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The University of Kentucky.

While spending many hours in the gym, I sustained multiple injuries and spent my fair share of time in physical therapy. It was through this personal experience that I fell in love with the profession of physical therapy and knew that I wanted to spend my career helping athletes and active individuals get back to their respected sports and activities just as someone had done for me for so many years.

I plan to be active in the gymnastics population as well as high school and community events as I become settled into the Eden Prairie clinic. I also have a great interest in all sport and orthopedic injuries and look forward to working with all people to help them achieve their PT goals."

Focus on Women's Health: ACL and knee injury prevention exercises

Interested in understanding why females are more susceptible to knee injury? Would you like some exercises to include in your workouts that can help as part of your injury prevention plan?

See this National Academy of Sports Medicine article, written by Meredith Butulis, DPT. Meredith works out of our Eden Prairie office. Here is one of the sets of exercises you will find in the article:

Physical Therapy for Prehab before ACL reconstruction?

“Should I really go to physical therapy for ‘prehab’ before I have my ACL reconstruction?” 

 

This is a very common question asked by athletes who have recently suffered an ACL tear, and the answer is YES.  The single largest mistake people make is neglecting the importance of regaining functional knee range of motion, maximizing strength/coordination, and reducing swelling as much as possible BEFORE going in for surgery.  The pain and swelling caused by inflammation after an ACL tear can produce reflex weakening of the muscles surrounding the injured area. Neuromuscular control needs to be restored prior to surgery in order to facilitate normal muscle recovery post-operatively. The stronger the muscles are going in, the faster they will recover afterwards.  Doing nothing for even the couple weeks leading up to surgery can make your post-operative recovery much more difficult.  

In addition to the physical benefits of pre-operative therapy, establishing a relationship with your Physical Therapist beforehand will provide a huge mental boost and allow you to become prepared for surgery and what is to be expected afterwards.  An ACL tear is a HUGE deal to an athlete and is a very difficult injury to come back from mentally.  Going into surgery with a strong sense of mental preparedness enables the athlete to be both confident and realistic about the rehab process and goal setting.  Athletes are often nervous about surgery and will likely forget to ask the surgeon the right questions.  Working with your physical therapist before allows the procedure to be explained thoroughly and gives the athlete/therapist opportunity to discuss their rehabilitation program in detail, so that they fully understand what is expected of them.  

At OSR Physical Therapy, we specialize in the treatment of athletic injuries and have had the opportunity to return many local athletes to their sport in PRIME CONDITION following ACL Reconstruction.  We are proud to be the choice provider for many of our local high school athletes and are confident in our staff and state-of-the art equipment.  Please do not hesitate to contact us to answer any questions you may have about ACL Reconstruction and rehabilitation.  

Here are some related links of interest:

http://www.osrpt.com/physical-therapy/acl-prevention/

http://www.osrpt.com/fitness-services/alter-g/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001074.htm

This article was created by Josh Rolfes, DPT. Josh works out of our Eden Prairie office. 

Swimmer's shoulder

The start of fall sports season has begun filling OSR with high school sports injuries. This post will cover a common injury in swimmers : Swimmer’s shoulder.

Historically swimmer’s shoulder has been any pain in, or around the shoulder of a competitive swimmer. Specifically it is a type of impingement of the tendons of the rotator cuff muscles as they pass over the ball of the shoulder joint. Unlike “standard” impingement, swimmer shoulder is much more commonly associated with too much mobility in the shoulder joint as well as the shoulder blade.

Due to the propulsion required by the upper body with all swim strokes, swimmers often demonstrate a stereotypically rounded, or forward shoulder posture. This posture is a result of weakness of the muscles that stabilize the shoulder blade (trapezius and rhomboids) as well as the rotator cuff, along with the strength of the muscles across the front of the shoulder (pectoralis and latissimus) that are required to move the swimmer through the water.

The resulting imbalance leads to a shoulder that does not have enough space on the top of the ball and socket joint to allow the tendons of the rotator cuff to pass without “pinching”, also known as shoulder impingement.

A swimmer with shoulder impingement must balance the need for an extremely mobile shoulder with enough strength in the scapular stabilizers and rotator cuff to prevent impingement. The best exercise to stabilize the shoulder blade is horizontal abduction, and the best to keep the rotator cuff group strong is sidelying external rotation. The following are pictures and brief descriptions of each.

Horizontal Abduction: Lie on your stomach with the arm hanging down off the edge of the bed or table. Start the motion by squeezing your shoulder blade in toward your spine and then raise your arm out to the side as if to make the letter “T”. Slowly return to the starting position.
Sidelying External Rotation: Lie on your side with the arm you want to exercise facing up. Place a small towel roll between your elbow and ribs. With the elbow bent to 90 degrees, slowly raise the forearm toward the ceiling then slowly return.



 Both exercises should be performed with low weights (0-3 lbs) for high repetitions (30-50) every other day. These exercises should NOT be painful, but fatigue and muscle “burn” can be expected. Relative rest from your daily yardage while the pain persists is also recommended.

If your shoulder pain continues with the combination of these exercises and relative rest, contact your physician or call any of our offices with questions or to sign up for a free injury consultation with one of our certified athletic trainers.

This article was created by Ryan Koepp, DPT with collaboration of Andrew Ernst, ATR. This team works out of our Eden Prairie office. 

Minnetonka clinic is now open!

You will find this clinic on the corner of HWY 101 and 7, across from Minnetonka High School. Visit our web page for address and phone number: www.osrpt.com
You can schedule with Physical Therapists, Rusty Wallman and Matt Gannott, at this location. We continue to operate our Chanhassen and Eden Prairie clinics as well.

Thigh injuries and water sports

This month, I have seen a remarkably high number of thigh contusions/injuries from people coming into contact with boating docks during water sports.

 

If you find yourself with a serious thigh bruise after this incident, or after a sports injury, here are a few recommendations:

1. Get the injury evaluated by a medical professional to ensure that you have not injured your underlying bone.
2. Ice --15 min on. 15 min off
3. Compress--Using an elastic bandage can help control swelling
4. For the first 24 hours, try to keep your knee in a bent position

You can find more technical and detailed information on management via this link. 

Introducing Chanhassen Physical Therapist Steffon Swenson

We are excited to introduce you to one of our newest team members, Steffon Swenson! 

 

"I’m extremely excited to join the staff at OSR- Chanhassen! I recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Program in Physical Therapy. I also completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota. 

I grew up playing soccer all around the United States and was fortunate enough to have multiple opportunities to play abroad while attending IMG Academy in FL. Unfortunately, I had a trio of major injuries in high school and had to hang up my cleats before college. These injuries ultimately led me to this awesome career as a physical therapist and also got me into coaching soccer. 

 I plan to be very active in the Chan-Chaska soccer community as I get settled into the clinic. My professional interests include all orthopedic and sports injuries. I very much look forward to working with people of all ages recover and improve."

Patellofemoral Pain

"The front of my knees hurt when I sit, when I go up stairs, when I do squats" . . . does this sound like you or someone you know? This is a very common symptom that Physical Therapists at OSR assess and treat. Many times this is due to patellofemoral syndrome or kneecap tracking problems.

 

This affects kids, teens, and adults. It is not uncommon to see someone who has had this complaint for many years, although treating it when it first becomes a problem leads to a much faster resolution.

Check out this WebMD article, which explains the basics of this condition. Physical Therapists perform an assessment and then progress exercises in supervised therapy over several weeks to ensure that you reach your goals in a safe and effective manner.

Patellofemoral pain, ACL tears, back pain, pronation distortion and more

Knee pain, Achilles pain, torn ACLs, back pain . . .the list goes on and on! Many times these injuries increase in the summer, and sometimes this is due to changing footwear from more supportive arches to flip flops.

However, the solution often isn't just in the shoes. Many people also have pronation distortion syndrome, which can contribute to pain and injury. The good news is that it can be improved with exercises!

Check out this National Academy of Sports Medicine article for lots of assessments and exercises to help with your injury prevention workouts!

New clinic opens this week!

OSR opens the doors to it's Minnetonka clinic this week! You will find it right across from the Minnetonka High School. For scheduling or questions call 952-512-2400.  You can schedule with our Minnetonka Physical Therapists, Rusty Wallman and Matt Gannot, as well as their Athletic Training care team!

Athletic Training Job Opening

OSR Physical Therapy has a new opening for an Athletic Trainer. Athletic Trainers at OSR work in a clinic setting in direct patient care, as well as performing outreach. If you are interested, please send your résumé to Nate Tellers at nate.tellers@osrpt.com.

Baseball injuries part 3

Welcome to the final article in our baseball series for the month of June!

If you missed part 1 or part 2, follow the hyperlinks to find out what we previously posted!

The third common throwing injury is a condition called scapular dyskinesis. This occurs when the shoulder blade is not moving fluidly with the arm. Without our shoulder blade moving, we can reach just above shoulder height. The movement of the arm and shoulder blade together is what allows us to reach above our head. If this ‘rhythm’ is not in sync, it can cause defects in a thrower’s mechanics and also cause impingement in the joint as a thrower tries to force them into the correct arm slot.

 

Finally, the most preventable throwing injury is caused by overuse. Often pitchers get themselves in trouble when they fail to rest in between starts. By throwing with fatigued muscles a player is at risk of decreased shoulder stabilization which can cause injury to both their shoulder and elbow. It is imperative that a pitcher fully recovers before making the subsequent start.If you notice a loss of speed or distance, this is a sign of fatigue. 

Baseball season is enjoyable for players, coaches, parents and fans. By keeping the shoulder and elbow strong and pain free that enjoyment will last the whole summer. Have questions? Leave us a post!

Baseball injuries part 2

Here is part 2 of 3 regarding Baseball injuries:

Elbow injuries also get a lot of attention. Most people have heard of the dreaded Tommy John procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament is reconstructed. This procedure commonly sidelines a player for a full year if not longer. When the stress of the throwing motion is not able to be absorbed by the shoulder joint, the next stop for this stress is the elbow. Most often a throwers elbow pain has been caused by one of 2 things. Either he or she has weakness in his or her rotator cuff or they may have mechanic issues which can stress the elbow in unneeded ways.

Please follow this link to see our most recent rotator cuff and shoulder stabilizer strengthening article on injury prevention.