I am frequently asked, “What is the best whole body exercise?” Hmmm…something that will target most muscles in the body. Planks? Definitely a favorite of mine. Burpees? Though I am not sure what the current obsession is in the fitness community with burpees, if done correctly, I do like a good burpee. Downward dog? Certainly one of my go-tos for a good stretch of many muscles. But my hands-down favorite whole body exercise is (drum roll please): Single leg balance. Go ahea

Do you smell what I smell in the air? That’s Winter, friends, and though we can all lament southwest Ohio’s overall lack of Fall 2018, we must face the fact that my car read 29 degrees outside this morning. I love winter, and if it could snow until March, I would be thrilled. You also may know by now that I love running. I can’t say that I love running in the winter. In fact, unless it is 90 degrees outside, I am most assuredly feeling cold, so when it is 30 degrees, I hi

Last fall, I volunteered my PT services at a weekly running group. I showed up early, ran with the group, and stayed late in hopes of doing injury screens and answering questions about running aches and pains. Runners are my people: I’ve been a competitive runner and have now graduated to recreational runner, and I was excited to help my people. The result? I was totally shunned by my people. All the while whispering to their friends about their low back pain, IT Band syndr

If your child plays a middle or high school state-sanctioned sport, chances are he or she needs to have a current physical on file to participate. It’s a good thing: the general physical conducted by an MD guards again severe illness (heart abnormalities, scoliosis, etc.) and ensures that your child can hear and see while participating. Included in these physicals is a general orthopedic component, usually involving moving the arms above the head, bending over to touch the t

Temperatures are changing, outdoor activities are in full swing, and it is time to talk about your choice in summer footwear. Athletic shoes are lovely, and I do advise that we complete most athletic activity in said shoes. I am not, unfortunately, an advocate for barefoot running since they long ago “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” and we therefore no longer live in a barefoot world. We do in fact need the soles of our shoes to counter the artificial terrain on whi

I wish I was built like some of the girls I ran with in college. They had symmetrical joints, dense bones, and solid ligaments. To this day, they can run 50+ miles a week and remain unscathed. Alas, I was not built this way; there was a time when I could catch a stress fracture like the common cold. Paradoxically, my brain and muscles are seemingly un-fatigable and were indeed made for endurance activities. And because brothers and sisters share a few genes, I’m not entire