Category: Injury Prevention
Meet Samantha Kreutter, PT, DPT, LAT
Samantha Kreutter, PT, DPT, LAT, is a physical therapist and a licensed athletic trainer who provides therapeutic care at Bone & Joint’s physical therapy clinics in Plover and Wausau.
Samantha joined Bone & Joint in March 2021. She works to improve her patients’ flexibility and range of motion so they can return to the activities they love. Samantha has special interests in sports medicine, general orthopedics, injury prevention, dry needling, and concussion management.
“Bone & Joint has given me the opportunity to meet people from a wide variety of backgrounds and […]
Stay pain-free while traveling
Traveling. Some people love it . For other people, traveling is something to endure until they reach their destination. No matter how you feel about traveling, there are a few tips to keep in mind to stay healthy while on your way.
As you think about masks and keeping your hands clean, you might want to consider your joints and […]
What’s the difference between an ankle sprain and chronic ankle instability?
Have you ever been walking with friends and hit a low spot? You felt your foot curl under, felt the searing pain, and just knew that you had sprained your ankle.
If you’ve not had that experience, you’re one of the lucky ones. Nearly 25,000 people of all ages sprain their ankles in the USA every day.
It’s easy to do. Whether you walk off the side of a curb, step wrong on a rustic trail, or quickly change direction while playing basketball, volleyball, or tag. It’s easy to pull and twist the ligaments in your ankle.
Your […]
How does sleep affect your bones?
Our bones are constantly being remodeled.
At night, when we’re asleep, the fixer-upper cells in our bones go to work.
Special bone cells called osteocytes regulate the body’s calcium levels, repair microscopic bone cracks, and heal fractures. These project-management cells direct the remodeling process. They signal cells called osteoclasts to remove minerals from the bones when the body’s calcium levels dip too low. They also send messages to bone-building cells called osteoblasts when cracks and breaks need repair.
Much of this activity happens overnight and into the early morning hours when we are supposed to be asleep.
But most […]
Common injuries with home-exercise programs
If 2020 taught us anything, it was how to exercise at home.
But without access to weight machines and personal trainers, the risk of injuries from video-based work-out programs has increased.
People injured during home-exercise routines seek treatment for:
• Shoulder pain, strains, and tears in the rotator cuff
• Low-back pain caused by improper form
• Knee pain from jumping and other high impact exercises
• Ankle sprains and strains
• Hand and wrist tendonitis
• Elbow pain from repetitive movements or hand weights that are too heavy
• Shin splints
• Hip and groin pain from hyperextension or overexertion
• Chest pain […]
Avoid these six common snow shoveling injuries
Shoveling snow isn’t particularly difficult, but it is fraught with injuries.
In 2018, the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that medical professionals treated 137,000 people for snowblower or snow shoveling injuries.
Some people will hurt their hands and wrists; others will injure their back and shoulders. A few will experience life-changing injuries through a serious fall or heart attack.
If you’re older than 50 years old and are prone to shortness of breath or chest pain, talk to your doctor to make sure you are healthy enough to shovel snow.
To avoid some of the more common […]
Avoid winter sports injuries
With basketball, wrestling, and other indoor sports on hold, people will seek outdoor adventures this winter. And with more outside activities, there are bound to be more winter-sports related injuries.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you hit the slopes, glide across the ice, or swoosh through the trails.
No matter how you choose to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, take a few precautions, and stay safer as you enjoy Wisconsin’s wintery weather.
Check the Conditions – Whether you are venturing to wooded cross-country ski trails or you’re snowshoeing across a […]
Five things your sports medicine specialist wants you to know
Sports medicine specialists are experts in body mechanics. They know how each joint, ligament, and tendon work together, so you can bend, flex, and twist your body. These orthopedic specialists focus on the treatment and prevention of joint-and-muscular conditions and sports-related injuries.
They have some advice to share about treatment and prevention.
1. Sometimes, you can do just as much at home as we can in the office.
Minor sprains and strains require RICE – Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. In real life, that means you:
Rest – Take time off from activity
Ice – Apply ice to the injured […]
Would an ergonomic assessment help you enjoy less stress while working from home?
Have you noticed a pain in your neck, back, shoulders, knees, or hands since the pandemic started?
It may be your workspace:
- A low chair strains your knees.
- A poorly positioned monitor leads to neck pain.
- The wrong seat height or chair pitch can create painful back conditions.
- Incorrect keyboard placement causes pressure and pain in the wrist.
Sitting for hours with your body in the wrong position plus the stresses and strains of working from home, and you have a recipe for tight muscles and pain.
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment to work with the […]
Walking may be the key to avoiding osteoarthritis in your knees
You’ve heard that walking 10,000 steps is the best thing you can do for your health. But when you have sore knees, walking five miles may seem impossible.
The good news is that as few as 1,000 steps every day helps maintain mobility in your knees.
According to a study of 1,788 people with an average age of 67 years and a body mass index considered obese, walking just 1,000 steps each day made a difference. The daily exercise lowered the risk of loss of mobility by 16 to 18 percent——even when they were at risk of […]
