Need a Little Help Getting Active? Try Physical Therapy
Need a Little Help Getting Active? Try Physical Therapy
You know that regular exercise is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle. The CDC recommends adults aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity a week–about 22 minutes a day, so you don’t have to toil away in the gym for hours. But hitting those numbers can still be a challenge, especially if you struggle with persistent pain or limited mobility.
That’s where physical therapy at Fitness Matters comes in. We’re movement experts who understand all the impairments in your musculoskeletal system that can keep you from living the active, healthy lifestyle you crave. From pain management to maximizing your athletic performance, we’ll help you meet your exercise goals. Here are just a few of the ways we can help you get healthier. Ready to get started? Call our clinic today!
Our Patients Get Great Results
“I would highly recommend Fitness Matters in Westerville! Anna and Rachel have worked with me through some difficult health challenges. They are very skilled and purposeful in their work. They also have given me hope to regain my former fitness level. The support staff are wonderful!”
– S.S.
We Can Reduce Pain and Restore Mobility
Many orthopedic conditions and injuries can make regular exercise feel difficult (if not impossible). Osteoarthritis, herniated discs, tennis elbow–all can make you feel like it’s easier just to sit this one out. In reality, though, all these conditions (and others) benefit from regular exercise.
Dealing with persistent pain or limited mobility? Our physical therapists offer several options for pain relief, including several manual therapy techniques, such as soft tissue manipulation, joint mobilization, or myofascial release. We use these techniques as the first step in preparing your body for regular movement.
We’ll also show you targeted, tailored exercises to reduce pain in the affected area. Joint pain often stems from muscular imbalances or postural impairments that stress the impacted joint, leading to discomfort and setting you up for more serious injuries. Strength training will help reduce your pain and get you moving again.
We Can Let You Know If You’re At Risk for an Injury
Did you know you don’t have to wait until you’re in pain to visit the team at Fitness Matters? We’re in the business of preventing injuries, not just treating them–and we can help you enter into a new workout plan without fear!
Our comprehensive physical evaluations test the following:
- Muscle strength and endurance
- Overall mobility
- Biomechanics, which looks at how your body’s systems work together to get you moving
- Balance and fall risk
- Posture
- Walking patterns
- Functional movements that you might perform for work, hobbies, or recreation
During the screens, we’ll look for potential impairments that might cause injuries down the line and suggest corrections to address them–before they become a problem.
For example, let’s say that you want to take up running after some time away. During your assessment, we notice that you tend to bend forward at the waist when jogging. This habit means that every time your foot hits the ground, you cause more impact in your feet than necessary, which could, eventually, lead to an injury.
By catching the form mistake now–and working with our physical therapists to correct it–you lower your chances of suffering a knee injury (which could prevent you from exercising altogether).
We Can Help You Exercise with Confidence
Starting a new exercise program for the first time–or restarting one after some time away–can be deeply intimidating. You don’t know which exercises you should do. You have no idea if you’re performing movements correctly. You’re not even sure what types of exercise you would enjoy.
Our physical therapists can help with all these concerns and more. We can suggest an exercise program that suits your abilities, interests, and goals and work with you one-on-one to guide you through any unfamiliar movements or equipment. We can also suggest movement or activity modifications if something’s too difficult and offer reassurance that even small changes can have a big impact.
Our team doesn’t just help beginners, either. As you progress, you may find yourself plateauing or struggling with certain aspects of your performance. Our therapists can get to the bottom of things and develop a performance improvement plan so you can see the results you’re looking for.
Start the Journey to An Active Lifestyle Today!
No matter your needs, the physical therapists at Fitness Matters will help you get active in a way that works for you. Call us to schedule your initial consultation!
Holiday Jam (A Great Homemade Gift!)
Ingredients:
- 1 package (40 ounces) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed or 2-1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled
- 1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
- 5 pounds sugar
- 2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin
Directions:
- Grind strawberries and cranberries in a food processor or grinder; place in a Dutch oven. Add sugar.
- Bring to a full rolling boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in pectin and return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.
- Cool for 5 minutes; skim off foam. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
How to Approach a New Year’s Resolution
A New Year’s resolution is a promise or commitment made by an individual to themselves, and it can be anything from a pledge to stop smoking to a promise to lose weight. Achieving your goals takes time, patience, and determination. It also requires you to set realistic goals that you know that you can work towards. Setting a resolution for the New Year is a great way to set yourself up for success. Resolutions give you direction and help you get things done. But how do you set a resolution? What if the resolution is too hard to achieve? What if you don’t know what your resolution should be? It’s essential to start with small achievable goals that will lead to bigger ones. When you’re crafting your New Year’s Resolution this season, keep these 10 tips in mind.
- Start with a list of what you want from life and the most important things to you.
- Choose one aspect of your life that you would like to improve from this list. This could be anything from your physical fitness to learning a new skill.
- Write down your goal every day for a month to keep yourself accountable.
- Find someone who will hold you accountable if necessary. You might find that working towards a goal with a buddy is also more fun!
- Break down large goals into smaller ones so that they are more manageable and less intimidating.
- Your resolution should not be too difficult to achieve.
- Resolutions should be specific, making it easier to track your progress.
- Your goals should be realistic and attainable but also challenging enough to push you out of your comfort zone.
- A resolution should have deadlines, so there is a sense of urgency and accountability.
- Pick a goal that will bring you joy. If your resolution brings you a sense of accomplishment or happiness, you’re more likely to stick with it.
