Denver Physical Therapy & Wellness

As we age, our bodies tend to become less limber and more stiff, potentially leading to a whole host of other health conditions which can negatively impact our overall well-being. This unfortunate fact of life can be prevented or at least slowed down, by following a regular workout routine which includes a yoga or stretching practice. This will help to maintain agility and functionality throughout one’s life, preventing the slow decline into old age that many inactive individuals may begin to face as a result of their habits and routines. Starting a regular yoga routine is a fantastic way to combat this fact of life. Here’s why from your Parker physical therapist.

Improves Your Flexibility

Perhaps the most obvious, straightforward reason to begin a regular yoga routine is that it will improve your flexibility. Performing various stretches will target each area of your body that needs to remain limber, ultimately benefiting your overall physical health as a result. Tightness in your body can play a major factor in pain, which is why doing yoga will help to loosen up your body and potentially reduce your pain level as a result. This will make you more able to complete activities which are more physically strenuous, such as skiing, rock climbing, running, and other more intense forms of physical activity. 

In addition to becoming more flexible, you will also become more able to respond to situations which require you to be more limber and agile. Remaining stiff and immobile is a recipe to become seriously injured due to a slip and fall or other form of setback which can be the result of not being flexible enough. Performing a regular yoga routine may be a pain to initiate in the early stages, but your body will be thanking you for it in the long run, as you will be more prepared to handle all different types of activities. 

Improves Your Posture

A major reasons why you should consider a regular yoga routine is that it will seriously help you with your overall posture. Keeping your spine straight and erect is not something that is natural for many people, especially as we have become a more sedentary and immobile species, dedicated to looking down at our phones more than we would care to admit. Thankfully, yoga can help address this concern, as a regular practice will help benefit your body’s posture, leading to other health benefits as a result. Your body can tend to slump, which can lead to fatigue, back and neck issues, and joint problems. Yoga can reverse these issues and reduce your chances of developing degenerative arthritis in your spine. 

Increases Blood Flow

In terms of things that are beneficial for your health, one of the biggest benefits to any form of physical activity is the fact that it will increase blood flow throughout your body. Any activity which increases blood flow will also help to circulate oxygen throughout all of the cells in your body, which can help with healing and restoring your body to an optimal level of health. You don’t necessarily want to remain immobile, as this will reduce your blood flow and potentially lead to a number of health conditions as a result. Instead, practicing yoga regularly will help to boost your blood flow, leading to increased levels of hemoglobin in your body, which can decrease the chances of heart disease and stroke.

Increases Your Mental Health

Although practicing yoga on a regular basis can have profound physical health benefits, one of the biggest things to keep in mind is the effect it can have on your mental health as a result. This is because exercise and physical activities such as yoga will help to increase serotonin levels in your brain, as well as decrease the amount of monoamine oxidase, which is an enzyme that is responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters and increasing the chances of becoming depressed.

Yoga also can have the profound health benefit of increasing mindfulness and boosting your sense of being grounded. A large component to yoga is the degree of mindful breathing that comes with each exercise. Many instructors will remind their students of how important breathing is when it comes to receiving the maximum level of benefit from any given pose. Yoga is a form of physical meditation, one that can connect a person to their body in a more deeper way than through other forms of exercise, as mindfulness is stressed throughout the exercises. 

Boosts Your Focus

In our busy world, focus and attention have taken a serious hit, as the amount of distractions present in our world have grown exponentially, making it difficult to complete many of the tasks we have on our plate. Thankfully, a yoga practice can boost our attention and focus level, as it trains our mind to become more rooted in our body and breaking the endless cycle of thoughts which can derail whatever we are attempting to focus on. Yoga also contributes to an increase in coordination, as we are more connected to all parts of our body, which is a result of paying greater attention to our physical selves, a major benefit to our mind-dominant culture.

If you are looking to improve your physical health situation is and are in need of physical therapy due to an accident or other physical ailments, contact Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness today and we will be happy to assist you with your first steps towards recovery. We have an extensive team of qualified physical therapists and specialists who care deeply about their clients and go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the highest quality treatment in the industry. If you are looking for a therapist who will carefully assess your individual needs and formulate a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness is your preferred choice for the physical recovery pro.

With winter fast approaching in the Denver area, the prospect of dealing with consistent, inclement weather is also on the horizon. Not only is this a concern for those who are unlucky to have to commute in their car to work, it is also something to be cautious of when walking on icy and slippery surfaces. Slips and falls during the winter time can be a major source of injury, regardless of a person’s age. Broken bones, strained muscles, and concussions can all result from an untimely fall, leading to the need for extensive rehabilitation services. Instead of slipping and falling, here are some things you can do to prevent this situation from your Denver physical therapist.

Be Mindful of Your Surroundings

One of the best, most obvious ways to remain slip and fall free this winter is to constantly remain vigilant and mindful of your surroundings. If snow or ice is on the ground, look at the ground when walking as often as possible to ensure you don’t accidently slip on an unexpected patch of ice. Taking the extra time to navigate icy terrain is another way to mitigate the possibility of falling, as you will have more room for error. Rushin on icy or slippery terrain is a recipe for falling, so give yourself ample time to get to where you are going.

Strength Train and Improve Your Balance

When you slip and fall, clearly you are losing your balance. One helpful way to avoid this situation from playing out is to regularly work on balance strengthening exercises, as this will make you more able to react in the event of a slip. One of the best ways to improving your balance is to strengthen the muscles used to maintain your balance, especially in your legs and core.

Consult a trained physical therapist or personal trainer to get a set of exercises you can perform to reduce the chances of becoming injured as a result of a slip and fall. If you fall, your muscles will reflexibly tighten, making it important to stay limber and perform regular exercises on these muscle groups. Additionally, make sure the shoes and boots you are wearing have adequate traction to help mitigate against slippery surfaces. 

If you are looking to improve your physical health situation is and are in need of physical therapy due to an accident or other physical ailments, contact Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness today and we will be happy to assist you with your first steps towards recovery. We have an extensive team of qualified physical therapists and specialists who care deeply about their clients and go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the highest quality treatment in the industry. If you are looking for a therapist who will carefully assess your individual needs and formulate a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness is your preferred choice for the physical recovery process.
 

If you’ve recently been seriously injured, part of your recovery process will likely include some form of physical therapy, as this will help you achieve the outcome you are seeking in a faster fashion. It’s important to stay informed throughout this process, which is why it’s critical to ask your physical therapist a series of questions which will help to keep you in the loop on your recovery journey. Don’t simply assume that every physical therapist will guide you through every step of the process, as some clinics are overloaded with clients and not always able to provide the best possible service. In order to be your own best advocate throughout the process, here are some important questions you should ask your Parker physical therapist.

How Long Will My Recovery Process Take?

In terms of commonly asked questions for your physical therapist, one of the most important ones you will inevitably ask is: how long will this process take? It’s important not to simply believe that this will be included in your treatment plan, as it can get overlooked if you are not diligent about asking your Parket physical therapist how long the process will take. As with many aspects of your recovery, it is vitally important to be your own advocate so you can receive the best possible treatment and information from those who are tasked with treating you.

As a part of your recovery, it is important to understand how long your recovery will take, to give you a realistic timeframe for when you can expect to return to normal activities. Being left in the dark will leave you to guess how long it will take, possibly leading you to make a mistake about whether or not you are ready to engage in whatever particular activity you would like to return to. Instead, get an accurate time frame of how long your recovery will take and ask regularly about how you are doing. If you are making a large amount of progress, recovery times can change depending on these factors. 

What Will My Sessions Entail?

For individuals who have never been through the process of physical therapy, the act of entering treatment can be something that is foreign and difficult to picture. Instead of guessing about what your sessions might look like, speak with your physical therapist about what your treatment will consist of, as they will be able to give you an accurate picture of what to expect. Of course, your treatment will depend upon your specific injury and what is needed to bring you back to your desired physical state.

Beyond your specific injury, your physical therapy sessions will also depend on individual factors specific to your case. These include things such as your medical history, your age, your overall physical condition, and the events which led to your injury. A physical therapist will assess these factors before creating a realistic treatment plan for you to follow. Once they have created a treatment plan for you, your regular sessions will follow a protocol of exercises, stretches, and other activities that the physical therapist deems relevant to helping you regain your motion. These can change and evolve over time, and will be based on how well you are progressing in your treatment.

Do You Commonly Treatment My Type of Injury?

It’s important to understand that not all physical therapists are equipped to handle all types of injuries. Although physical therapists are trained to be able to treat a wide variety of conditions, many physical therapists will not have the experience needed to fully address your specific condition in the best possible way. There are some PT’s who will have more experience working with a certain type of injury, potentially making them a much better fit to treat your condition. 

Before you begin the process of working with someone, think about asking them if they have experience working with your injury. If they don’t, it’s a good idea to consider asking them if they can recommend another therapist who is more experienced working with your particular situation. Some physical therapist develop specialty’s a result of who they work with, making them more qualified to handle your situation. 

Who Will I Be Working With?

It can be easy to assume that the person who is the physical therapist will be the individual tasked with working with you, but this is often not the case. Instead, you may end up working with someone else, likely a physical therapy assistant, who will be doing the bulk of the work with you. Many physical therapists hire assistants to carry out the bulk of their sessions, and are simply there to set the treatment plan and to consult with patients on their progress and what they would like to receive throughout their treatment process.

Additionally, it’s important to ask whether you will be seeing the same person with each session, as this can contribute to the overall progress of your case. Seeing a different person each time can provide a poor sense of continuity of care for clients, making it a priority that you request to see the same person each time so they know what is needed for your situation.

If you are looking to improve your physical health situation is and are in need of physical therapy due to an accident or other physical ailments, contact Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness today and we will be happy to assist you with your first steps towards recovery. We have an extensive team of qualified physical therapists and specialists who care deeply about their clients and go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the highest quality treatment in the industry. If you are looking for a therapist who will carefully assess your individual needs and formulate a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness is your preferred choice for the physical recovery process.
 

When it comes to outdoor activities in Colorado, perhaps one of the most popular is skiing and snowboarding. The centennial state is known for its vast amount of ski resorts and destinations where powder addicts can fulfill their craving for the best possible action on the slopes. The 2018-19 season was filled with snowfall, providing endless opportunities for skiers and snowboarders to carve into their favorite run, offering both recreation and exercise is one fell swoop. But before you get amped up to take it to the mountains this year, it’s important to be prepared, as an accident on the mountain can be extremely serious to your health, possibly even deadly. Here is what you need to know before you take it to the slopes this year from your Denver physical therapist.

Stretch Early and Often

It is especially important to regularly stretch during the course of a ski season, as this is one of the best preventative measures you can take to ensure you don’t become injured. It’s crucial to stretch all parts of your body that you will be using on a regular basis, as these will be much more vulnerable to injury. You will want to focus primarily on your lower body, as this will be the area that you will be using the most to traverse down the mountain. It’s important to make sure you are stretching before you hit the slopes and afterwards, as this will help you prevent injury more easily than if you did not stretch.

Areas which you should think about stretching include the hips, as you will be using this part of your body to turn. Engaging in squats while having your knees bent, making sure to keep both feet on the ground, is a great way to enhance your hip strength. Rotating from side to side while in this position will help to keep your hips loose, while also keeping your lower back engaged throughout the process. Stretching your hamstrings and calves will also help to provide the protection you need when you are hitting the slopes.

Aerobics and Cardio Exercises

One of the important things you need to be focused on prior to engaging in skiing and snowboarding is to make sure you are in peak physical shape in terms of your cardiovascular health. Although heading down hill may appear to be an easy activity to the laymen, anyone who has spent any amount of time on the mountain skiing and snowboarding knows how intense and grueling a day on the slopes can be. It is important to make sure you are in optimal cardiovascular health prior to hitting the mountain, as it will come back to bite you if you are not careful.

Prior to skiing or snowboarding, it is important to engage in regular activities which raise your heart rate. Anything such as running, riding a bike, or jumping rope can be a helpful way to make sure your endurance level is where you need it to be prior to the ski season beginning. Many injuries can occur when your endurance level is not where it needs to be, causing you to strain yourself and overexert your body. If you are regularly engaging in cardio activities, you will be more prepared to handle the stress that can come with hitting the slopes. Additionally, you will get much more enjoyment out of your day, as you won’t be constantly needing to catch your breath after every run.

Make Sure Your Vehicle is Ready for the Snow

Although it is absolutely important to think about all of the various ways in which you need to get ready physically for the ski season, you also need to be very mindful of the things needed to make sure your vehicle is ready for the season ahead. Skiing and snowboarding can be one of the most enjoyable activities you engage in in Colorado, but it is not worth risking your life for if you haven’t taken the necessary precautions to ensure your vehicle is in optimal condition. Anyone who has spent any amount of time driving on I-70 in the winter time knows how treacherous the highway can be, especially in the midst of a snowstorm.

Prior to heading up to your preferred ski resort, make sure your vehicle is ready to handle whatever a Colorado winter will be ready to throw at it. If you are not driving a vehicle with all-wheel drive, it is important to carry chains with you, as this is a new consideration not only for safety but also to remain compliant with traction laws. Additionally, regardless of whether or not your car has AWD, you will want to make sure you have the best possible tires to handle the roads. Studies have shown that tires make more of a difference in terms of driving in the snow that all-wheel drive, and it is important not to get arrogant simply because your vehicle has AWD. Consider investing in snow tires to double down on your car’s traction, as this can be the difference between spinning out and crashing on the highway, and driving safely and smoothly to your destination.

If you are looking to improve your physical health situation is and are in need of physical therapy due to an accident or other physical ailments, contact Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness today and we will be happy to assist you with your first steps towards recovery. We have an extensive team of qualified physical therapists and specialists who care deeply about their clients and go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the highest quality treatment in the industry. If you are looking for a therapist who will carefully assess your individual needs and formulate a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness is your preferred choice for the physical recovery process.
 

The act of locating the best Denver physical therapist can be a challenge, as there are seemingly endless numbers of clinics to sift through in order to find the one that fits your needs. Often times, you will be looking for a clinic after a serious accident and perhaps insurance will play a key role. Or perhaps you will have to pay out of pocket and you will be looking for a clinic who not only fills your specific injury needs but will also provide you will affordable services. Unfortunately, physical therapy can often be an expensive service to utilize, as clinics must meet their own financial needs during the course of business. But there are certain factors to consider above all others when locating the best Denver physical therapist for your recovery.

They Take Your Individual Circumstance Into Account

One of the key factors to consider when searching for a Denver physical therapist is to look for a practitioner who will think about your individual needs first and foremost. Often times, physical therapy clinics can make clients feel like they are being churned through a one-size-fits-all treatment approach, which can seriously overlook your personal needs and condition. It’s not as if every person will be able to react the same way to all forms of treatment, and it is important to keep this in mind when searching for a physical therapist.

The best physical therapists in Denver will look at all aspects of their clientele in order to formulate a treatment plan which effectively tackles and addresses their clients needs and treatment goals. If you are suffering from both knee and back pain, what works for someone with just knee pain will likely not be sufficient for you, as certain exercises may trigger your pain in your back. Bad physical therapists will overlook these elements and will not take the time to think about an approach that will address your concerns without causing you additional suffering in the process.

They Offer You Realistic Treatment Outcomes

When it comes to the health and wellness industry, one of the most common things which clients and patients can deal with is to navigate through a minefield of unrealistic expectations and promises from practitioners who are looking to gain as much business as possible. While it can be tempting to fall prey to unrealistic expectations, it will ultimately do you harm by not staying grounded within what is realistically possible. 

Physical therapists who claim that you will be able to make an extremely fast recovery will not only set you up for disappointment, they may also set you back in your recovery process, as you may try to do too much too soon. One of the fastest ways you can regress in your treatment is to engage in activities which you are not suited for. Physical therapists who are overly optimistic and are not grounded in reality can do their clients a serious amount of harm. Always be cautious of physical therapists who are making proclamations which seem unrealistic and not achievable.

Provide You with Fact-Based, Useful Information

Outside of the exercises you will be practicing with your physical therapist, an important component to look for when searching for a quality Denver physical therapist is to find someone who can provide you with useful information for your specific situation. If you have been injured in an auto accident and are having a difficult time engaging in your favorite physical activity as a result, a strong physical therapist will give you information which will help you achieve a faster recovery so you can get back to engaging in that form of activity. 

Often times, physical therapists will provide patients with information which is either too generalized or is not particularly relevant to their client’s individual situation. Always request information which is relevant and helpful for your situation. Additionally, a physical therapist should also provide their clients with helpful alternatives in addition to physical therapy, as there are many other modalities which can help a client achieve a faster recovery. Things such as massage therapy, chiropractic work, and acupuncture can all help you in your recovery and a trusted physical therapist will be able to provide you with reliable practitioners in these fields.

Cool and Compassionate

Although it can seem like something of an afterthought, one of the most critical things to take into account when searching for a reliable Denver physical therapist is to find someone who is kind and compassionate. A physical therapist who appears to be disinterested in the well-being of their clients will not help you feel tended to and will likely make you feel less engaged in your own treatment as a result.

Bed-side manner is often cited as something which every healthcare professional should have, but unfortunately this can be something that many physical therapy professionals lack. You should never have to put up with someone who is cold and not compassionate towards you as someone who is recovering from an injury. Always seek out a physical therapist who seems truly engaged in your treatment and will help you get back to where you need to be, as this is especially important.

If you are in need of physical therapy, or have questions about what physical therapy consists of, contact Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness today and we will be happy to assist you with your first steps towards recovery. We have an extensive team of qualified physical therapists and specialists who care deeply about their clients and go above and beyond the call of duty to provide the highest quality treatment in the industry. If you are looking for a therapist who will carefully assess your individual needs and formulate a treatment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness is your preferred choice for the physical recovery process.