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The summer heat can be brutal here in Denver, it is important to stay hydrated! Here are a few tips on how to keep yourself hydrated, not only this summer, but all year round.

Drink water

We will say it again. Drink water! It is recommended the average person consumes eight 8 ounce glasses of water daily. That is 64 ounces total! Depending on the individual, more or less might be sufficient. Take notice of how your body feels. Knowing the signs and your symptoms of dehydration can key you in on when to drink more water. Which leads us to our next tip.

Track your consumption

Count how many glasses you drink a day. It is easy to forget to drink water sometimes. Tracking your consumption is a great way to stay on top of your hydration. A great tool to help you track is a reusable water bottle! Set goals to have consumed a specific amount of water by a certain time of day. Achieving these goals is rewarding mentally, and physically. Try to drink one 32oz bottle before lunch and another before dinner. Meeting the daily recommended amount while setting general consumption guidelines this tip is one of our favorites. With water bottles in mind, let us take a look at our next tip.

Plan for later

No matter the excursion, we recommend taking water with you. Having fluids on the go is a reminder to drink them and it will keep you more hydrated than if you didn't have them, obviously. While many of us love the outdoors, warm water isn’t the most refreshing. If you’re going to be out in the heat but detest drinking warm water, tip: make your water bottle into an ice cube. Fill the bottle halfway, or a little under, and close the lid. Next, tilt the bottle on its side and toss it in the freezer. Some hours later you will have one solid ice cube. This is advantageous because it melts slower than multiple cubes, keeping your water cooler longer. Set your bottle the night before your activity and you are definitely good to go!

Foods 

While drinking water is the best way to hydrate, it has been found that about 20 percent of our water intake comes from the foods we consume. Summer time is the perfect time to gorge yourself on tomatoes and leafy greens with strawberries on the side. Though it's not the most effective way to hydrate, consuming these foods and others like cucumbers and apples is a tasty way to fill your body with nutrients and more water. Along with tasty ways to hydrate, another tip we have is to add flavor to your water!

Flavor

Adding fresh fruits and vegetables or liquid and powder based additives can be a yummy way to make water more appealing. 

Try to stay cool

Though easier said than done, regulating your body's temperature can be a helpful way to stay hydrated. Dress and accessories can help you sweat less throughout the day minimizing the liquids you lose. 
Lastly, again, drink water! Your body will thank you as will your physical therapist. We hope you have found these tips helpful and hydrating! Reach out to us here if you are interested in learning about our services and to work with our physical therapists today.

Are spells of dizziness all too familiar? Do you move your head or stand up and the room starts to spin? You may suffer from a vestibular system disruption or disease. No need to fear, we have got your back here at Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness.

What is the vestibular system? It is a sensory system that provides the brain with information about body position and is responsible for balance. Located in the inner ear, a little snail shell-like looking bunch of membranes and canals is the key to our postural reflexes and eye movements. For reference, look at something, then move your head. We can move with ease and react to our surroundings thanks to the vestibular system! Though it is mostly protected from external factors, we will note a few that disrupt the system and how we can help.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and Meniere’s disease are two common vestibular diseases directly linked to causing vertigo. Although there is no specific cause of BPPV it can be attributed to severe blows to the head. It is one of the most common causes of vertigo. Vertigo is the feeling of dizziness that can come after slight changes in head position or larger movements like standing up or rolling over in bed. Meniere’s disease is another ailment of the vestibular system. This disease affects only one ear and can lead to hearing loss as well as dizziness. 

Complications to the vestibular system are not one to be taken lightly. We here at Peak Physical Therapy and Wellness want to help you! That is why we offer specialized physical therapy to reduce debilitating symptoms of vestibular diseases like vertigo. 

Our Vestibular Therapy begins with a patient analysis to ensure we can offer the best and proper care. After an evaluation of your balance, gait, as well as head and eye movement, our physical therapist will develop a treatment program.  This program will outline exercises for improving form, balance, and function which can be used to relieve your symptoms of dizziness.If you are interested in an appointment, reach out to us here, today!

As we approach national Women’s History Month we here at Peak Therapy and Wellness want to highlight the women's health options we have available. Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any doubts about your health, we are here to help! We want to ensure you are the healthiest and best feeling that you can be.

Women’s health is a broad term that can be applied to a plethora of ailments dealing with the woman's physique. From prepubesent to post menopausal we have a variety of services to assist you with anything you may need. A few common symptoms our clients experience include but are not limited to: pelvic pain, low back pain, pain with intercourse, postpartum pain, and prolapse to name a few. None of these are discomforts to feel ashamed of or fear asking for assistance with. Our trained physical therapist will work with you continuously until your situation improves and you are feeling like a million bucks! 

As mentioned there are many possible complications that can arise in women's health and we want you to know that we have got your back! One of the most uncomfortable and unnerving complications women may face is prolapse. This is when the uterus begins to protrude outside of the vagina. This is caused when the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments weaken and stretch, they are no longer able to hold your uterus in place. There are varying degrees of prolapse and not all require surgical correction. This is something that can happen to women of all ages and is nothing to fear, rather, an issue that can be remedied with exercise alone if caught soon enough! 

There are many other pelvic health problems and help options that we can aid you with! Are you or someone you love experiencing an overactive or uncontrollable bladder? Few things are more irritating than the consistent feeling of possibly wetting yourself. Car rides, travel of any kind, even just a meal out can feel unbearable. We here at PEAK want to keep you out of the restroom and engaged in your activities! Our physical therapists are trained to offer the best treatment and support options to help you feel better. Other issues we can help you conquer are constipation, irritable bowel, pelvic inflammatory disease, abdominal pain, prenatal and postpartum discomfort, and weak abdominal muscles to name a few.

Get in with us today to start on your healing or preventory journey! We have offices located throughout the Denver area and want to service you to the best of our abilities. Looking for a location near you? Look no further, click here to locate the closest office and reach out today to get an appointment!

Running is an inherent ability to all of us who can move the lower half of our bodies without impediment. In order to survive humans used to follow prey for distances many cannot imagine today. To eat you had to catch your meal; in present times running is a lifestyle more than a life or death situation. While there are professional athletes who run for fame and glory, there are also individuals who simply enjoy the activity. No matter where you fall within this spectrum, we here at Peak Health and Wellness want to keep you running as long as possible. Let our team help you, come in for a running analysis!

If you have been running for a while you can probably feel it. That is because over time, running can deteriorate the cartilage in your knee joints and can cause minute fractures in your bones. These ailments are often referred to as runners knee and shin splints and though you cannot regain cartilage without surgery, you can move your body in a manner that does not negatively impact it as much. Though running can have some negative impacts on the body, a study spanning more than 15 years that was completed in 2014 indicates running can also improve a runner's overall health! Averaging 50 minutes of running a week the study shows you can increase your lifespan by three years and reduce all-cause mortality risk by around 30 percent. As you can see, running can both benefit you as well as cause some pain. That is why we want to ensure you are running properly and can continue to do so as long as you please!

What does a running analysis look like with us? We offer a comprehensive review of your running form through a close video analysis of your running! Are you looking to move more efficiently, take time off of your splits, run farther, or just simply not be in as much pain while running? These are all accomplishable with a better understanding of your running gait and form. We look for both musculoskeletal and biochemical impairments that may contribute to pain or lessened performance and then develop a plan to minimize these issues. Once we have established a plan to decrease your pain and improve your performance we will reassess your corrected form. Beyond offering an improved running regiment we offer a plethora of other services which also aid in pain reduction and muscle movement. To name a few: dry needling, therapeutic exercises as well as manual therapy and soft tissue mobilization! Don’t hesitate to reach out to us and begin your wellness journey today, until then here are a couple tips for before and after your run.

Previous to running, do some mobile stretches. While static stretches (stretches while remaining stationary) are a great way to get your body limber; the movement accompanying will best prepare your muscles for the strain you will soon put on them. Think of your muscles like rubber bands, if you try to use them when cold there is a much higher risk of damage than if you were to attempt then they are warmed up. Another great tip for any exercise is to make sure you are hydrated. Important before and after a workout water helps your body operate at its highest level. A final tip for post run is to do some cool down exercises. Do not sit down immediately even though you may feel as if you want to. We recommend a little jog. Continuing to move and use your muscles allows lactic acid that has built up to be somewhat flushed out which will help with soreness later on. Visit us for more tips and a solid plan on how to keep you running as long as possible!

From mild discomfort to knockout migraines, pain is annoying if not debilitating. Though a life without it seems like it would be amazing, pain is actually a very important bodily response. Connected to one of our five senses, touch, pain is like an alert system for our bodies. Our nervous systems sense an unknown feeling and contact the brain about a potential problem. Without this natural response system, we as humans would be much less aware of dangers and potentially harmful situations. There is a saying “pain is only temporary” sadly, this is not always the case. There are two types of pain, acute pain is more brief and often happens suddenly after injury or as a result of sickness or disease. Chronic pain on the other hand is a lasting pain that may never go away. Below we will dive into these two different types of pain and what we here at PEAK physical therapy and wellness can do to help you! 

Types of pain

Acute pain

As mentioned above, acute pain is often felt fairly immediately and for a “short” duration of time. A scraped knee, headache, upset stomach, to name a few, are all considered to be acute pains. If you are one of our more physical athletes participating in sports such as boxing or jiu jitsu, you have probably taken blows to the head and body. These instantaneous bursts often heal fairly quickly however, because of them you are probably very familiar with acute pain. If you have ever been knocked in the head and are experiencing pain, reach out to us! We want to ensure your best living without unnecessary pain. We can assess your injuries and offer a best plan of action to get you feeling your best! 

Chronic pain

A kind of pain that lasts. Chronic pain can be characterized as a discomfort lasting weeks to months to years. It can begin as an infection or an injury that never heals properly. While chronic pain might stay with you, here at PEAK physical therapy and wellness we have some great rehabilitative services to minimize your pain to the best of our abilities. Have you ever had issues with your jaw or other facial movements? You might suffer from a disorder called temporomandibular disorder or (TMD). The temporomandibular joints are what connect our lower jaw to the skull and they allow us to open and close our mouths amongst other things. When these joints work properly we hardly take notice however, if something is awry you will definitely know. Have you ever suffered from sinus pain, jaw pain, or headaches? Myofascial pain, degenerative joint disease, and dislocated joints all can be related to TMD. Going too long without treatment can be detrimental and lead to more severe and painful problems as time continues. 

We at PEAK physical therapy and wellness want you to always feel your best and while pain is a part of life, it doesn’t have to stop it! Reach out to us today and see what services we offer to help combat this discomfort!