Pain shooting from your ankles to knees, dull aches, and warm-to-the-touch legs: it’s shin splint season. Spring is ripe for this cumulative stress disorder from repeated pounding on the bones in your lower legs as you amp up your cardio outdoors. Stop the pain before it even begins with these preventative tips from Horizon Rehabilitation:

• Increase exercise gradually. Muscles not used to the sudden strain of a new running plan or baseball pitching practice can tear easily. Slowly work your way back into exercise and push yourself within reason.
• Wear proper-fitting shoes. Shoes with little grip, no arch support, and an uncomfortable fit place undue stress on your ankles as they try to overcompensate for uneven footing. Lace up with sport-appropriate footwear, and opt for shoes with shock-absorbing insoles.
• Begin and end with stretching. Dynamic stretches like lunges, high knees, and grapevines help warm your muscles up and prepare them for impact. Cool-down static stretching incorporates long, slow holds to work out tension from exercise. Focus on proper technique for maximum preventative care.
• Incorporate strength training. Running and power walking strengthen your lungs, but weight lifting or body resistance training help build muscles that absorb stress. Focus on moves that increase musculature and movement in your calves and quads to relieve pressure from smaller muscle groups.
• Exercise on the right surface. Slanted planes like hills and curved tracks, and uneven terrain like nature trails and sandy beaches force your muscles to flex and adjust in excess. Aim for flat, solid surfaces to reduce impact.
• Most importantly: abstain from leg work when pain arises. Don’t fight through it.

At Horizon Rehabilitation, we’re thrilled you’re engaging in exercise that makes you happy. We want your body to feel the same! Give us a call for more injury preventative tips so you can make the most of your summer activities.

You know that adding protein and calcium-rich foods to your diet is key for building strong bones. But do you approach exercise with the same bone-building goal?

In the United States, over 10 million people have osteoporosis, which is a weakening of bones due to a lack of bone density. Engaging in a balance of these three exercise categories can help build muscle and bone mass to prevent brittleness and breaks in the future:

Weight bearing

Placing stress on a bone during exercise sends bone tissue into high alert, where they create more cells in response. These denser cells create denser bones, making breaks due to brittleness less likely.

• Power walking – your quads, calves, and Achilles tendon work together in this exercise
• Racquet sports – gripping and swinging tennis racquets or ping pond paddles places appropriate stress on your arms, writs, and shoulders
• Dancing – requiring 360 degrees of movement, dance and other rhythm-based exercise works muscles, tendons, and bones in brand new ways. Try kickboxing, aerobics, or step exercising at the gym, or check out your community center for classes in dances like the foxtrot or samba.

Resistance

While weight bearing works against gravity, resistance training works against the weight of another object. Strengthening muscles and building bones, these types of exercises both increase bone density and reduce the threat of fractures:

• Water exercise – providing resistance from all angles, water exercises like aqua jogging or aerobics minimizes pain on achy joints will putting healthy stress on muscles that can take it
• Resistance bands – portable and lightweight, these bands can travel with you so you can work your muscles in a full range of motion and build muscle and bone strength anywhere

Flexibility

Stretches that lengthen and strengthen muscles create proper strain that builds bone density, engaging major and minor muscles and preparing your body to handle more strenuous activity in weight bearing or resistance exercise categories.

• Yoga – deep stretches engage large muscles and place healthy stress on major bones in your hips, wrists, and shoulders.
• Pilates – blending both strength-training and weight-bearing exercises, Pilates use their body’s weight to through a series of moves designed to lengthen and tone muscles

Horizon Rehabilitation believes proactive care is better than reactive solutions. To take preventative steps for a stronger, healthier future, give us a call to set up an appointment today.

Spring is in the air! The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are blooming and your fibromyalgia symptoms are… getting better and worse at the same time?

In last week’s blog, we talked about some of the risk factors associated with fibromyalgia. For today’s blog, we’re going to discuss how the spring season can impact the symptoms of fibromyalgia:

Flare ups: Changes in the weather can bring a flare-up of your symptoms. You will usually feel it just before the shift. This phenomenon is not limited to just those living with fibromyalgia. It’s also seen in a number of people living with chronic pain, such as those with arthritis or who suffered a bad injury in the past (think grandma joking that her knees serve as a weather forecast).

Rainy days are hurting days: The shift in barometric pressure that occurs when a storm front comes in can cause you to feel arthritic-like pain. The more quickly the pressure changes, the worse your symptoms will be, making spring a particularly bad season for those living with fibromyalgia.

Temperature shifts: For most people living with fibromyalgia, winter is the worst season, because the cold can agitate their symptoms. While spring is a welcome start of warmer weather, it’s never reliably warm. Even warm days can be bad for some who live with fibromyalgia, because some are bothered more by heat than by cold.

Luckily, there are some things you can do to mitigate the symptoms. Bring plenty of clothes with you so you can keep warm or cool as necessary. Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep at night. And, talk to your therapist about what other treatment options are available.

Horizon Rehabilitation Center specializes in treating those who live with chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia. We have a comprehensive system in place to help you manage the symptoms and live a fuller life.

It’s called the invisible disease, and an estimated nine million Americans have it. Fibromyalgia is a neurological disorder that causes you to feel a pins and needles pain in your muscles, abdomen, back or neck. For today’s blog, we’re going to examine some of the common risk factors for it:

Gender: 80 to 90 percent of all fibromyalgia patients are female. Researchers believe this may be due to estrogen’s excitatory impact on the central nervous system.

Genetics: Researchers believe that there is a connection between genetics and fibromyalgia. Indeed, the numbers seem to back this up, as people with relatives living with fibromyalgia are 8.5 times more likely to get it. Even if you do not develop fibromyalgia, many of those who have relatives living with the condition report that they themselves have a higher sensitivity to pain and more tender points on their body.

Sleep disorders: Those who have insomnia or other types of sleep disorders are also at risk for fibromyalgia. A lack of sleep can increase your sensitivity to pain, and your body needs sleep for restorative purposes.

Age: Many fibromyalgia cases occur between the ages of 20 and 50. Symptoms will only grow worse as you age if you do not take care of them.

Physical trauma: Sometimes, the onset of the disease can be linked by major physical trauma, such as a car accident. Even those who aren’t predisposed to fibromyalgia may leave the scene of a major accident with chronic pain for the rest of their lives.

Autoimmune and Gluten disorders: Research has shown that those with certain autoimmune diseases (such as lupus or Sjögren’s syndrome) or gluten intolerance are at a higher risk to develop fibromyalgia later on in life.

At Horizon Rehabilitation Center, we’re sympathetic to the disruption fibromyalgia causes in your life. That’s why we offer a comprehensive fibromyalgia and pain management service.

It impacts approximately 500,000 people within the U.S. alone, and doctors don’t yet know the cause. Those who live with it are often left with limited mobility, among other symptoms. With March being Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, we thought we would take the time to talk about the signs, symptoms and treatment for multiple sclerosis.

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis occurs when the myelin coating around the nerve fibers in the central nervous system become damaged, leading to an interference with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body. One analogy people often use is that multiple sclerosis is akin to an electrical wire that’s been stripped of its protective coating.

Who gets Multiple Sclerosis?

Doctors aren’t sure what causes multiple sclerosis, but they think it may have something to do with people being pre-disposed to it and then being exposed to something in their environment that sets it off. It has not been proven to be hereditary, but doctors do know that it’s much more prevalent among those of northern European descent. Women are also more prone to developing it than men. Multiple sclerosis usually develops between the ages of 20-50, but some have had it as young as 2 and as old as 75.

What are the signs of Multiple Sclerosis?

Some of the common signs include:

• Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs
• Partial or complete loss of central vision, usually in one eye, often with pain during eye
  movement (optic neuritis)
• Double vision or blurring of vision
• Tingling or pain in parts of your body
• Electric-shock sensations that occur with certain head movements
• Tremor, lack of coordination or unsteady gait
• Slurred speech
• Fatigue
• Dizziness

These symptoms can also appear in other diseases, so make sure you are tested.

What steps should I take?

Here at Horizon Rehabilitation Center, we specialize in treating those who are living with multiple sclerosis. We use physical therapy to help improve your gait and balance, increase strength and maintain fatigue. We offer recommendations on the equipment and exercises you need for your home and vehicle. Contact us today if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

March marks Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Awareness Month. Every day, 138 people in the United States die from injuries that include TBI.  Those who survive a TBI can face effects lasting a few days to disabilities which may last the rest of their lives.

A TBI is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. A rapid acceleration or deceleration of the head, which can force the brain to move back and forth inside the skull, can also cause TBI.

Frequently reported problems after a TBI include: Speech, Hearing, Paralysis, Headaches, Vision, Seizure Disorder, Muscle Spasticity, Reduced Endurance.

Here at Horizon Rehabilitation Center, we work with patients to help them overcome the impacts of TBI. Patients can take advantage of three different areas of therapy in order to recover:

Occupational care:

An occupational therapist will help you learn how to do everyday activities in spite of your injuries, including eating, bathing and dressing. Your occupational therapist can also recommend any appropriate equipment and exercises for you to take home with you in order to remain safe and regain your independence.

Post-Concussion testing

Monitoring your condition after a brain injury is important. We have the equipment in place to test and evaluate your symptoms, and make recommendations on how you can speed up your recovery.

Balance Rehab

Other treatment you may need following a TBI is Balance Rehab. This is designed to help you overcome the dizziness and vertigo that can sometimes accompany an injury. We can walk you through exercises that are unique to you and your situation in order to help you regain your equilibrium.

By developing and following a treatment plan, you can recover after a traumatic brain injury. Our caring staff is here to help! If you or someone you love has experienced TBI, contact us today to set up an appointment.

Whether you’re exercising as a part of you physical therapy or just try to get healthier, it can be really hard to find the motivation to work out. Luckily, there are a few ways that you can psychologically trick yourself into putting in your exercise for the day. Here are some:

• Understand how self-control works

Psychologists have described self-control as a sort of gas tank. The more we have to exert during the day, the more likely it is that we will give in to temptation later on. If you want to motivate yourself to exercise, give into temptation somewhere else in your life. Go ahead and indulge in a guilty pleasure that isn’t related to diet or exercise, such as buying those new shoes you’ve been eyeing, going to a movie or getting a manicure. It will make exercising that much easier later on in the day.

• Psychological Rewards

Psychologists have shown again and again that positive reinforcement works well to cultivate desired behaviors. So, what should your reward be? Maybe it can be allowing yourself a small, edible treat—not anything that will break your diet, but maybe letting yourself put creamer in your coffee or a cookie with lunch. Or, it can be allowing yourself another activity you enjoy but that you don’t normally do on a regular basis.

• Psychological Punishments

Conversely, negative reinforcement can work as well. There are some apps that will actually charge you money every time you miss the gym. If that’s not feasible, then another thing you can do is cut out something in your life that isn’t tied directly to your diet and exercise routine—such as Facebook time or texting—and not allow yourself access until you do get in your exercise.

• Find an exercise that you enjoy

Or at least find a way to make the exercise more enjoyable. Watch your favorite TV show or movie while walking on the treadmill, doing squats or pedaling the stationary bike. Listening to your favorite tunes as you jog also works. Find the environment that makes you enjoy the workout—such as a nice trail or a gym where you feel comfortable (this last one is really important—even if it means paying more money each month!). Also, getting a friend to accompany you on your workout can go a long way to making it more desirable.

Whatever brain hack you choose, Horizon Rehab can be there to help you reach your health goals.

Here at Horizon Rehab, we see patients for a wide variety of diagnoses and reasons. Ones that we see all-too-often are ailments caused by car accidents. For today’s blog, we’re going to talk about some common injuries that result from car wrecks, and how we can help alieve them!

• Headaches

It’s common to have some form of head pain after a car accident. For the most part, these pains will fade away after a week or two as the body heals itself. But, that’s not always the case. If the headache persists for more than six weeks or if it becomes worse, there may be an underlying factor, such as damage to the neck, spine, shoulder or even head trauma itself. We offer a number of treatments that can help headaches that persist after an accident, including head trauma.

• Lower back pain

This is by far one of the most prevalent injuries we see from car accidents. Because such tremendous forces at work during a wreck, soft tissue is torn apart and bones are shattered. This makes spinal injuries far more likely, which can result in lower back pain. Often, the victim of a wreck must have immediate surgery. Horizon Rehab also offers therapy for those who are recovering from back surgery.

• Neck and shoulder pain

Pain to the neck and shoulders can result from whiplash, and the forceful trauma from impact can cause your shoulder bones to break. If you reached out your arm to brace for impact, you may have also broken your collarbone. We can help with recovery from these types of injuries.

• Muscle sprains and strains

High-impact crashes can certainly leave you feeling sore, and this can happen because of sprains and strains to your muscles. These occur when a muscle or ligament is torn, or if they were overstretched during the accident. Helping out with sprained and strained muscles is just one of the things we do here.

Remember, you don’t have to live with pain after a car accident. We’ve seen these types of injuries before, and we know how to treat them!

Here at Horizon Rehab, we encourage people to pursue healthy living, and runners are some of the most dedicated group of people we’ve seen! They will often run no matter what the weather or day is, just to not break their routine. While we congratulate runners on their dedication, we also want to caution against some of the injuries that can often befall runners. Below are some tips on how to avoid getting hurt during your morning routine:

When you stretch

Maybe of us were first introduced to physical fitness in elementary gym class, where we were encouraged to stretch before starting whatever the day’s activities were. But, when it comes to running as an adult, stretching before a run actually makes you less effective, and will make your hamstrings tense up more. The best time to stretch is right after a run. Instead of stretching, do a series of warm-up exercises such as lunges.

Don’t overdo it

It’s really tempting when you’re a runner to push just a little bit further—running faster and further than you did the day before. While this is great to build up your endurance, do it gradually over time. Adding a lot of mileage or time to your run suddenly is a quick way to give yourself an injury.  Remember, there is nothing wrong with starting off slow or building yourself up gradually.

Find the right running surface

There’s nothing quite as wonderful as greeting the day with a nice run around your neighborhood and its familiar surroundings. But, you could be setting yourself up for injury! Many city streets are built at a slope, leading to uneven running surfaces. An uneven running surface can lead to one leg working harder than the others, leading to injury. A better alternative would be running trails, if your town has them.

At Horizon Rehab, we help athletes of all levels get back on their feet after an injury. Contact us today if you’ve suffered an injury during your morning routine and need to get back on track!

The old children’s nursery rhyme goes, “Don’t step on a crack, or you’ll break your momma’s back!” While it may have been a game to you as a child, the truth is, lower back pain is something that will affect approximately two-thirds of all Americans at some point in their lives.

Sometimes, you’ll know precisely what caused your back pain; maybe you helped a friend move or had a strenuous workout or did something else to over-exert your muscles there. Other times, you’ll wake up and just know you slept on it wrong. This is what is known as acute back pain, and it fades away over time.

For other people, however, lower back pain is a constant reality. This is what is known as chronic back pain, and it has a number of different causes.

What causes back pain?

If we’re talking about chronic back pain, it can be caused by things such as:

• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Endometriosis
• Long-term damage caused by traumatic occurrences, such as a car accident or sports injury

When it comes to acute back pain, some of the causes can include:

• Weight gain
• Kidney stones
• Backpack overload
• Occupational factors
• Overexertion
• Herniated discs
• Traumatic injuries, such as a car accident or sport injury

These are just a few of the things that can cause lower back pain. To find the actual cause, please consult your doctor.

Treating lower back pain

There are a variety of different ways that you can treat lower back pain. Your doctor can prescribe a method of treatment to either alleviate the symptoms or eliminate the cause altogether. Here at Horizon Rehab, we regularly work with people who are suffering from lower back pain. If your doctor has recommended physical therapy to alleviate your symptoms, don’t hesitate to contact us today. The sooner you’re out of pain, the better!