Is a boat ride a workout? When you are a 94-year-old man who walks with assistance of a rolling walker in your assisted living home, it definitely is! My father in-law Tad has always had an upbeat attitude toward life
Forty-One Steps to the Boat
Stretching: Knowing What’s Best for Your Unique Body
Stretching has been an ever present component of my routine for just about as long as I can remember. It has played a role in my flexibility for dancing, sports, and yoga. And it has been a critical part of
Recognizing Resources: Learning to See What’s Right
One great thing about being a physical therapist is that I am always learning. Sometimes I learn in the clinic; sometimes studying on my own; and sometimes at a workshop. Recently, I attended a workshop called Body Reading 101. What
Hang Loose? Think Again and Consider Your Ligaments!
My daughter recently asked for my advice. She’s been having some elbow and shoulder pain since joining a climbing gym near her home in Pennsylvania. That’s too far away to ask her to just come in to Foothills for a
The Art of Physical Therapy
I’m in the weight room at the Y. Focused in. Feeling my shoulders work, then my hips and knees and always my core. It is 8 a.m., quiet and only a few people here. I am in my zone. I
Celebrating Nordic Skiing in Concord
You may wonder what a flatlander from Indiana knows about Nordic skiing? Growing up in the midwest, we did our fair share of sledding and ice skating. After moving east, I went into Eastern Mountain Sports on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue
Tools in the Toolbox: Dry Needling
Ask anyone at the office: I’m the “can do” person. The table won’t move up or down? Ask Maggie. She can fix it. Window stuck? Ask Maggie. She can get it unstuck. Computer not behaving? Ask Maggie. She will get
Forty Years as a PT: Life-Long Learning and Following Clues
After 40 years practicing as a physical therapist, I’ve been thinking a lot about what has kept my interest going all these years, long after graduating from PT school, and what’s helped to keep it all fresh. From the beginning,
Finding New Exercise Routines with Ankylosing Spondylitis
I’m a 28 year-old woman with a young daughter, dog, husband, demanding job and an overall active life. After a time of troubling symptoms, frustrations and some worrying, I was given a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a type of
Old Dog, New Tricks: When Dog Paddling Doesn’t Work In the Triathlon
Four years ago, I completed my first triathlon. I knew I would be able to do it, but there was just one thing. Triathlons involve running, biking and swimming. Running and biking I had mastered—hard work, but I have confidence