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Did you know that if you’re unable to do a side plank or if you have significant strength differences between sides, you may be more likely to develop low back pain? Let’s see if you can perform a side plank maneuver on each side and hold this position for the recommended time for your age and gender.

It’s common to think of physical therapy when you’ve had an injury or surgery. But, did you know that physical therapists can help you with pain that limits your recreational and leisure activities? You should most definitely be able to play without pain!

Even adults need play. Playing with your kids, recreating, crafting, playing card games, playing an instrument, dancing and participating in sports – all of these lead to a richer life.

Push-ups are a great exercise to practice throughout your life. They keep your upper body and core in shape for functional things like getting up and down from the floor and being able to push heavy loads. Considering your age and gender, let’s see if you’re able to complete the recommended number of push-ups in one minute.

Bridging is one of the earliest functional movements that humans master. Even babies know how to bridge. On the changing table, older babies and toddlers intuitively help out by lifting their bottoms to make it easier to change their diapers! Throughout childhood we continue to bridge as we play and do back bends. But, just like anything else, we can lose the ability to bridge over time if we aren’t practicing.

Ultimately, bridging is a wonderful exercise to strengthen your hip extensors throughout your life span. Because of this, holding bridge pose is an important wellness benchmark that you should check in with periodically to make sure you’re in tip top shape.

Can you run or walk a mile in 15 minutes without pain? This is a question physical therapists ask to assess if our patients are fully functioning and thriving in life. Also, walking and running are an important part of a well-rounded fitness routine. If you answered no to this question, please read on. We want you running or walking a mile pain-free, in 15 minutes or less.

Some of the biggest occupational hazards we see these days are postural faults from too much sitting. One of the main problems is tight hip flexors. Sitting most of the day shortens the muscles that cross the front of your hip. In turn, this can cause hip, knee or lower back pain. When these muscles are tight, they can pull you into a stooped forward posture when you are attempting to stand upright. Physical therapists have a variety of ways to stretch this muscle group, there’s a hip flexor stretch for everyone.

There are times when you need to be able to lift heavier weights. As physical therapists, we want you to be able to do this pain-free, which is usually do-able with the correct set-up. Some examples of chores that require lifting heavy weight include yard clean up, removing snow, lifting heavy groceries or transporting laundry. Additionally, many adventures like travelling or backpacking require heavy lifting. All of these activities require that you are able to lift twenty pounds or more without pain. If you’re unable to do this, please read on.