Functional dry needling is gaining pretty wide recognition as a powerful technique for facilitating not just the rehabilitation process by addressing muscle pain and promoting healing when used in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities in the physical therapy world (manual therapy, progressive strengthening and tissue loading), but also in injury prevention and performance improvement in sport. Beyond its local effects …

Updated: Aug 16, 2023 While temps are still hot here in the Midwest, we’re looking ahead to pre-season for many athletes as they gear up to head back to school. Most of us know first hand just how much student athletes take on. Between school, practice, games, additional conditioning, family and social lives – their plates are full. Learning to juggle …

Updated: Aug 16, 2023 First things first, I am not a dietician. I am not a nutritionist. I have read a lot about how nutrition can affect pain and recovery, but my strengths lie elsewhere. That said, this particular topic has been popping up in my office more frequently and it deserves some attention. Have you ever experienced unexplained pain or …

Updated: Aug 16, 2023 Summer came in hot this year with days consistently in the 80s and 90s with minimal rain so far. Here in Wisconsin, we’re typically used to more of a spring time to break us in to the sunny days, outdoor adventures, in addition to a gradual acclimation to outside workouts. So while it’s important to stay consistent …

For eons (literally since the age of the Ancient Greeks and Romans), it has been believed that stretching prior to a workout or race was an important step in preventing injuries and improving performance. However, recent research has shown that stretching before a workout may not be as beneficial as once thought. In this blog post, we’ll discuss why you …

The Spring National Championship and NCAA Championships have put a wrap on the annual short course swim season. Whether swimming at the age group club level, in high school or with a college program, the short course season is intense and requires a lot of energy and effort. Swimmers spend hours in the water and weight room, in addition to …

Heel pain is a common problem that can affect anyone, but it’s especially common in runners. If you’re a runner who’s experiencing heel pain, it’s important to know that there are many possible causes beyond just plantar fasciitis for this pain. In this post, we’ll explore some of the most common causes of heel pain and how they can be …

A paper published by the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine in May of 2018 looked into the prevalence of hip pain in athletes. They found that hip and groin injuries are a common complaint among all athletes across a wide range of ability levels, accounting for 5-6% of all sports injuries. There are many tissues that can be implicated in …

In my physical therapy career, I’ve had the great privilege to work with athletes across the spectrum from healthy and able-bodied to kids who have suffered severe traumatic injuries that have forever changed their life paths to US National, Olympic and Paralympic athletes (*I’m on the far right in the photo). In my current practice, I generally treat those that …

I have the very great pleasure to live and work in a literal swimming epicenter. Madison, WI is home to the All City League that includes 13 neighborhood swim teams that all come together annually for the All City Swimming and Diving Championship at the end of summer. This happens to be one of the (if not the single) largest …