Health & Nutrition Archives - Omaha Physical Therapy Institute : Omaha Physical Therapy Institute

What is Sarcopenia and Why Should I Care?

04/03/22

Sarcopenia is a term that means “age-related muscle loss,” and can be a factor in predicting frailty and fall risk in older adults. It can lead to a DECREASE in performance and strength, but also other critical body functions: fighting inflammation, hormone regulation, and absorption of nutrients. Sarcopenia can be caused by not just the normal aging process, but also…

The Benefits of Strength Training

03/10/22

Strength training can be an essential component to keeping your body healthy and your mind happy. There has been a lot of research, especially in the most recent years, on the importance of adding strength training into your daily routine! We were going to write a whole blog on the benefits of strength training but then we came across this…

What Causes Muscle Cramping?

11/03/21

Many people experience muscle cramping during or after exercise which can be uncomfortable and alarming. A muscle cramp is a sudden, involuntary contraction of the muscle that can last for seconds or for minutes. Whether it’s a small muscle cramp or full body cramping, there isn’t an exact reason proven yet as to the cause of it. However, there are…

Get Moving…A Little More!

08/06/21

Do you feel like you haven’t been moving enough? Have you been cooped up inside too much, working from home, not getting out of the house as much anymore? For a lot of the general population, the amount of movement significantly decreased with the onset of the pandemic and people being more confined to their homes. Even though some of…

Staying Fit in the “Off” Season

05/31/21

With spring soccer season winding down and summer try-outs approaching, some of your coaches may give you a few weeks off. Although you may be “off” from scheduled practices and events, an athlete is never truly “off.” While it is SO IMPORTANT to take days off for your body to recover from the wear and tear of the season, it…

The Benefits of Walking

04/18/21

The health benefits of walking have been well-established. Getting regular aerobic exercise promotes cardiovascular benefits such as aerobic capacity as well as improved body composition and blood pressure. In addition to these wonderful benefits to one’s physical health, improvements can also be seen with mood, pain management, and stress reduction. A research article (cited below) found online in the Journal…

Walking HIIT Workout

04/07/21

Do you want to make your walking program a little more exciting and potentially more effective? Try walking and incorporating this high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout! Here are a few tips before you get started: -Perform a dynamic warm-up routine simulating movements that will be used during your exercise intervals -Begin walking at a slow, comfortable pace and gradually…

Load vs. Capacity

03/21/21

Musculoskeletal injury, whether sudden or from repetitive use, often boils down to the imbalance between load and capacity. Many factors play a role in an individual’s experience of pain, but when we think about musculoskeletal injury on the level of the tissue, we can just about always see that load/demand has exceeded the capacity of the injured tissue. Many patients…

Aerobic Fitness and Injury Risk

02/23/21

A great deal of research has emerged in the past decade that shows a correlation between aerobic fitness levels and injury risk. This research has studied populations of elite athletes, firefighters, and Army trainees, and discovered that those with lower aerobic fitness levels are more prone to musculoskeletal injury in their given vocation or sport. Aerobic fitness has at times…

Balancing our Body

02/18/21

Our bodies do amazing work to keep countless variables in check without us even knowing. There really is something to the yogic ideal of achieving balance in one’s life—scientifically speaking this attempt to achieve balance is seen across many different systems within the body allowing us to thrive in a state of homeostasis. Homeostasis is the perfect balance that our…