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30 Minutes a Day

30 Minutes: The Benefits of Daily Activity for Life We are all familiar with the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." While a healthy diet continues to be important, a more contemporary adage might be, "Thirty minutes a day keeps the doctor away." Consider the top five diseases in the United States: Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and stroke. The risk for developing each of these diseases is significantly reduced by engaging in 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. Still not convinced? Let's look at some data; it's impressive. With 30 minutes of moderate exercise (3 to 8 MET activities), we can: Reduce the number of deaths from heart disease by 30 percent in this...

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Side-lying Option for Advanced Traction with HipTrac

Another Home Hip Therapy Option In this excerpt from his workshop at OPTA 2016, Dr. Tony Rocklin, a leading advocate for conservative treatment for patients with hip osteoarthritis, discusses the use of HipTrac in the side-lying position. After patients have used HipTrac and advanced to pressures of 70 PSI or more, and have decreased the flexion of the HipTrac from 30 degrees to 0 degrees, they can try the side-lying position for increased traction force. In the side-lying position, the end of the HipTrac furthest away from the patient is placed up against a wall (or another stationary object) and the patient lies on their side while performing the traction. Like other physical therapy techniques, the positive results – pain...

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Poor Swing Mechanics, Repetitive Movements Can Lead to Golf Injuries

Many golf injuries occur due to repetitive movements Golf is one of the oldest and most traditional sports in the world. Its origin can be dated back to 15th-century Scotland, although some historians believe a form of it started as early as 1st century BC with the Romans. Most people consider golf a mild sporting activity unlike football, basketball and soccer in which there is constant physical contact with other participants. But in golf, there are significant forces acting through one's body to produce the power and accuracy required for success. In fact, many golf injuries occur due to the repetition of bending, twisting, squatting, walking, sitting and standing for 4-5 hours at a time. And that is just playing...

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Poor Hip Joint Mechanics Increase Risk of Injury in Baseball Players

In researching injuries sustained during baseball, the focus of most studies has been primarily on the shoulder and elbow, and for good reason. Baseball players are known to sustain many injuries from head to toe but due to the specific components of their sport, including overhead motions, the majority of injuries occur in the upper extremities. According to the 2007 study by Hootman et al in the Journal of Athletic Training looking at injury rates for men's college baseball from 1988-2004, 45% of all injuries were to the upper extremity and about 30% to the lower extremity.¹ Another study in 2011, by Posner et al in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at Major League Baseball injuries from 2002-2008....

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Soft Tissue Releases, Strengthening & Biomechanics

Patients with hip pathology In this excerpt from his discussion at OPTA 2016, Dr. Tony Rocklin reviews soft tissue releases, strengthening, and biomechanics as part of conservative treatment of intra-articular hip pathology. He also discusses his approach to starting new patients on therapeutic exercises and giving them the "tools" to participate in improving their own condition – and explains how positive reinforcement of small improvements can keep them engaged. Tony also covers the importance of educating new patients on pain and setting expectations on the results they can expect from their course of treatment. Watch this final segment below and see previous installments here. Conservative treatment that isn't "drug-centric" Dr. Rocklin is a leading advocate for conservative treatment that isn't...

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