Denny PT Solutions

Hamstring tweaks during Track and Field or Soccer season are no good!

Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, here are some suggestions of exercises to add into your repertoire:

1. Inchworms:
https://youtube.com/shorts/fBQWRbDEozE?si=-lugU_SvYaAP80P5

2. Big 3 for Hammies:

https://youtube.com/shorts/99oc5R7j0Xw?si=hBa-vZo-2VHUqyfd

Inch Worms

Are you curious about what causes a 7.6x fold risk of tendon ruptures in people?

This one surprised me:

https://youtu.be/BnFzjcPTSsc?si=zXMHCIgcxCnTJzth&t=4790

After watching that if you're curious now about Sartan/Angiotensin Receptor Blocking Drugs:

https://www.google.com/search?q=sartan+drugs&sca_esv=a8822ba01c419370&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1086US1086&sxsrf=AHTn8zqMK3qk2W2Ui5NMK_skNV2VOwkuVg%3A1740931425809&ei=YYHEZ8CNMbic0PEPs-mNuAY&ved=0ahUKEwiAwtr54uuLAxU4DjQIHbN0A2cQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=sartan+drugs&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiDHNhcnRhbiBkcnVnczILEAAYgAQYkQIYigUyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgQQABgeMgQQABgeSNwJUP4FWIIIcAF4AZABAJgBYKABvQGqAQEyuAEDyAEA-AEBmAICoALHAcICBxAAGIAEGA3CAgYQABgNGB6YAwCIBgGSBwMxLjGgB7oN&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

🔎 sartan drugs - Google Search

For my softball pitchers out there:

"HS pitchers who report pain typically pitch more than 429 pitches/wk.

Pitchers who do not report pain pitch around 219 pitches/wk."

And:

"High pitching workloads have deleterious effects on performance & injury risk."

Sports Health - January/February 2025 - 150 Experience our interactive, profoundly engaging digital publication!

Know what an ER doctor recently told me?

The ER has been going gangbusters since Thanksgiving with people coming in with a multitude of virus, bug, and upper respiratory issues!

With that said:

Suggestions on Staying Healthy: From Winter Blues, Flues, and Funks.

1. Sleep.

Do you really need to be convinced on the benefits of sleep on all aspects of health, mental and physical performance, and bodily functions?

Essentially, every aspect of your mental, physical, and physiological systems are impacted significantly when sleep deprived, and the effects compound over time.

Tips:

1. Wear blue blocker glasses when on devices after sunset.

2. Stick to a schedule. Yes, even when you don’t want to.

3. Cool, dark bedrooms, free of devices is an optimal sleeping environment.

4. Write down whatever will be running around your mind at night so it can wait until tomorrow.

5. Body pillows weighted blankets, and clean pillowcases for the win.

2. Neti Pot/Nasal Lavage.

Incoming face cringes in three, two, one...

The long-practiced art of using a Neti pot or nasal rinse with distilled water and salt is time tested and a great preventative for upper viruses, infections, allergies, and those with chronic nose bleeds.

Either use distilled water from a purchased bottle; or use reverse osmosis or tap water that has been boiled, then cooled.

Add a 1/4 tsp of non-Iodized salt to the water in the vessel of your choice and let the good times roll!

Here's a quick video on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwQquCx4YCU

Repeat every 48 -72 hours, and follow with salt water gargle.

3. Stress, Operating on Tilt, and Emotional Sabotage.

You know how much fun life can be at times, and our reaction to “out of control” events can trigger hormonal and physiological responses that dampen immune functions, mental and physical performances, sabotage sleep, and lead to bad places.
Tips:
1. Write down all the things that are, or could be stressing you out.

2. Write down “Why” they stress you out.

3. Identify what you tend to do when those stressors are engaged.

4. Write down two to three actions steps going in a new direction when feeling stressed and what other options you can take.

5. Breathe slowly, fully, and deeply for three minutes every waking hour.

6. Spend less time on social media. Seriously, what would you miss? Some pic of someone’s food? Some highly curated pic of fiction? Someone’s “wall of words” of indignation?

7. Walk. The only thing doctors can agree on are the benefits of walking on health and longevity.

4. Nutrition

I am convinced nutrition and intentional eating is not so much about knowing what to eat, but rather breaking habits, overcoming food addictions, addressing emotional triggers to eating, and making new habits over time.

The old mantra: “You are what you eat,” is as true as “Motion is Lotion.”

Tips:

1. Start with the above Stress suggestions and identify the foods you tend to consume when “on tilt.” For me it is salt; I put it on everything and crave salted macadamia nuts.

2. Get some lean, clean protein with every meal. Animal is better than plant, and plant is better than anything else after that.

3. Eat a piece of fruit and some veggies with every meal. Fruit is easy, yet opportunities abound with veggies that require very little time and prep. Think EVOO with pan-fried broccoli, EVOO and apple cider vinegar on shredded carrots, sunflower seed butter on apple slices, bananas, celery, etc.

4. Try to have ~12 hours between last meal tonight and the first meal tomorrow. Close enough is often good enough.

5. Ditch preconceived ideas on what “breakfast food” is and think about what farmers and settlers had before food manufactures programmed us.

5. Hydration.

HVAC is great when the “Real Feel” is 5 degrees outside, but the forced heat and low humidity levels dry out sinus passages and our skin, and winter itself tends to reduce our desire to drink fluids—other than your hot beverage of choice—you know the one I’m talking about!

Mental fog, physical fatigue, energy levels, mood swings, and performance levels, can all be influenced by hydration levels AND doing so with full electrolytes.

You can go into a deeper dive here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/u64L9MAAfvd2jzpJ/

6. Follow Grandma’s Generational Advice:

1. Wash your hands and do not touch your face (btw, regular soap is fine).

2. Turn and cover your face when sneezing.

3. Soup is good for you…bone broth is even better.

4. Starve a fever, feed a cold. Drink tea thru it all.

5. Stay warm. Bundle up when outside, and add some humidity back into your environment.

6. Teas of any combination of ginger, rosemary, sage, thyme, peppermint, and honey are good for any upper respiratory issue.

7. If in doubt, walk it out.

8. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Be good, stay healthy!

Neti Pot Benefits | How to Use Neilmed Sinus Rinse Neti Pot Benefits | How to Use Neilmed Sinus RinseGrab your free step-by-step instruction on how to use a neti here: https://www.annswansonwellness.com/netiH...

Are you a friend of Bonnie?

Have you participated in Bonne Living Yoga?

Has she provided you speech therapy?

Have you bumped elbows with her at MURC?

If so, please come out and help us wish her Godspeed on her new adventures outside of this mystical land known as Illinois.

If you'd like to come, but have other obligations, please text, email, or DM me any memories or words of encouragement you'd like to send her to include in a memento book.

"A sprained ankle is the biggest sign of mental fatigue."

Interesting article on the influence of fatigue on injury rates in dancers.

Just like every athlete, scheduling deload weeks, active recovery sessions, and time away is an important part of the process.

Sometimes, there's an unspoken fear by people that skills will deteriorate, and performance will drop if practice isn't happening all the time.

In reality, most people come back better with more focus, energy, and ability/desire to improve to the next level.

While "Motion is Lotion" is my favorite saying, number 2 on the list is: "Fatigue is the enemy of skill."

Photo credit to Liz Bayley.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38218024/

"A sprained ankle is the biggest sign of mental fatigue."

Interesting article on the influence of fatigue on injury rates in dancers.

Just like every athlete, scheduling deload weeks, active recovery sessions, and time away is an important part of the process.

Sometimes, there's an unspoken fear by people that skills will deteriorate, and performance will drop if practice isn't happening all the time.

In reality, most people come back better with more focus, energy, and ability/desire to improve to the next level.

While "Motion is Lotion" is my favorite saying, number 2 on the list is: "Fatigue is the enemy of skill."

Photo credit to Liz Bayley.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38218024/

I've seen clients who told me their pain/ problem was due to ____________, because that's what they were told by the last person or what they found on TikTok.

Some things can be simple.

Some things need a deeper dive.

Some things are the summation of several little things that need to have the light of day shined on them.

Life is short and stressful enough without being hampered by pain and self-imposed limitations.

If you want someone who will take the time to unearth what's troubling you, reach out to schedule an initial consultation.

"Omg, it's exhausting lying around on my bed, playing fetch, and getting petted all day long... I wonder what's for dinner?"

For all those waking up today and needing some recovery strategies:

https://youtu.be/TgfTq8MKQRw?si=O-fPclMPLejXbsWm

Strategies for recovering after an OCR, run, or contact sporting event. Dr Denny Kolkebeck, DPT shares some ideas and soft- tissue strategies for recovering after an obstacle course race (OCR), 10k, 1/2, or full marathon, and eve...

Have you or a loved one every experience an "incident" that left you unable to walk on one foot?

Maybe it was due to a fracture, or after a surgery, or just a really bad sprain?

Some friends of mine in the community have been recently dealing with this scenario and have asked what they could be doing to either keep up their fitness, and or to be ready for the next phase of rehab.

Here are some suggestions, and as always, listen to your healthcare provider.

Exercises and ideas for foot-ankle fracture, surgeries, or when you can't beat weight. Dr Denny Kolkebeck, DPT, covers some exercise suggestions for people dealing with non-weightbearing status on one foot due to fracture, post- surgery instruc...

Do you remember the "Most Interesting Man in the World" commercials? Ahh, good times when we all laughed a little easier--worth the Google search.

These two memes crossed paths recently and they are the perfect summation of the last couple weeks in the clinic.

Whether it is "summer covid" becoming "back to school covid," or an early athletic tweak, injury, or "it hurts, but I still want to play," issue. You can find similar precipitating reasons for the net result.

Some suggestions to stay healthy, uninjured, or back on your feet faster:

1. Sleep.

School, after-school practice, shower, dinner, homework, text the world, wash-rinse-repeat can leave student-athletes drained and tolerances for the unforeseen lowered.

In fact, many non contact injuries in sports are due to neurological fatigue resulting in poor motor control and recruitment...WTH does that mean? You can't run, cut, control your body, or execute coordinated movements very well when you are tired vs well rested. Same for cognitive performance.

Enforce sleep curfew times and get YOUR phones out of their bedrooms.

Just to drive the point home: any unresolved physical, emotional, mental, or bizarre symptoms you just can't figure out? Start here.

2. Hydration.

The fundamentals continue: mental fog, physical fatigue, energy levels, mood swings, performance levels, and an all be influenced by both staying hydrated AND doing so with full electrolytes everyday and during the day--not just a few minutes before practice/game.

You can go into a deeper dive here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/u64L9MAAfvd2jzpJ/

3. Nettie Pot/Nasal Lavage.

Incoming face cringes in three, two, one...

The long practiced art of using a Nettie pot or nasal rinse with distilled water and salt is time tested and a great preventative for upper viruses, infections, allergies, and those with chronic nose bleeds.

Either use distilled water from a purchased bottle; or use reverse osmosis or tap water that has been boiled, then cooled.

Add a 1/4 tsp of non-Iodized salt to the water in the vessel of your choice and let the good times roll!

Here's a quick video on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwQquCx4YCU

Repeat every 48 -72 hours, and follow with salt water gargle.

4. Nutrition.

What macronutrient does every client think they get enough of, but w/ questions is shown to be the opposite?

If you said "protein" you win, and wait for further prize delivery instructions!

Protein has three main functions: 1. Growth, 2. Maintenance, and 3. Repair. Student-athletes are in the throes of needing all three!

Even the athlete who talks about guzzling whey protein, creatine, and whatever else he saw om Instagram, isn't getting enough clean, lean, quality protein to meet their daily ongoing needs.

Ideally shoot for 1.0-1.25 grams of protein per lean muscle weight a day. Lean into eggs, meats (bonus for free-raised vs CAFO), oysters, fish, hemp-seed, hydrolyzed collagen, and gelatin--yes from jello.

Rely less on whey (cheap byproduct of cheese production), dairy (most athletes have dairy tolerance issues and if acne and bloating are an issue, then for sure lean away from it), nuts (more of a fat than a protein), and bars (God knows what is in the one they're eating).

5. Stress/Pressure/Life.

Getting to brass tacks: your student-athlete is trying to navigate the trials and tribulations of adolescence (and ALL that it entails), school-work, athletic "greatness," social obligations, appearances, home-life, dating, eating, training, relationships with teammates, coaches, parents, etc...it is exhausting!

Give them a minute when they walk in the door, get in the car, sit down to eat to decompress, reframe, and deescalate. Post game statements of greatness are usually fine, but "suggestions on improvements" can usually wait 24 or more hours--for both of your sakes!

Give them the time and space to answer open-ended questions with a neutral tone, and natural curiosity. They tend to be there own worse critics and direct perceived slights, poor performances, and less than expected outcomes into their inner soul.

Of course everything already mentioned above also helps here too!

6. Time.

All things in time, and this comes from the guy whose father used to tell him: "Dammit, Denny, one of these days you are going to have to learn some patience!" To which I would always quip: "I don't have time for that."

Whether an illness or tweak, it's going to take a little time to get the body back to 100% full tilt boogie.

Most things came on over time (even if we weren't necessarily aware of it) and will take time to ameliorate. Have realistic expectations all around--this is the reason for the meme about Physical Therapy.

Sometimes I can see a client and have quick, immediate results, yet some things take time, even if gametime is within 24 hours.

Once of prevention is also worth three pounds of cure (used to be a pound, but you know inflation has been a bu**er).

Get out in front of tweaks, imbalances, and nagging issues early and often. Some athletes that I see for_________ had a minor "something" months or years earlier that may have stopped hurting, but did not fully get addressed.

On this note, even though athletes get "sports physicals," no one is checking for the joint and muscle imbalances in a way that can predict future bigger issues, so consider booking a consultation when you have the time vs "We don't have time for this__________!"

Be good!

It's that time of the year when our cross-country runners, football, and soccer players are hard at work doing the voodoo they do so well.

It's also that time of the year that we tend to see a spike in shin splints.

Shin splints are that painful sensation felt along the inner aspect of the shin bones made worse with running and weight bearing.

What causes shin splints?

1. Lack of calf mobility.
2. Ankle-Hip joint stiffness
3. Decreased ability to absorb ground reaction forces.
4. Running too long, at too high an intensity, with too little rest.
5. Mismatch between your foot needs, your sport demands, and your current shoe selection.
6. Nutritional deficiencies.

If you need help in getting yours under control, please schedule an initial initial consultation with me by going to link in my insta homepage.

You can find some self strategies here:

https://youtu.be/1I4E1YsjqLs?si=yN18mM8erzIgnUjs

It's that time of the year when our cross country runners, football and soccer players are hard at work doing the voodoo they do so well.

It's also that time of the year that we tend to see a spike in shin splints.

Shin splints are that painful sensation felt along the inner aspect of the shin bones made worse with running, and weight bearing.

What causes shin splints?

1. Lack of calf mobility.
2. Ankle-Hip joint stiffness
3. Decreased ability to absorb ground reaction forces.
4. Running too long, at too high an intensity, with too little rest.
5. Mismatch between your foot needs, your sport demands, and your current shoe selection.
6. Nutritional deficiencies.

Below is a video on some self treatment strategies.

If you need help in getting yours under control, please schedule an initial initial consultation with me by going to 1daybetternow.com/physicaltherapy

https://youtu.be/1I4E1YsjqLs?si=3oidddtOF6dZGVzS

How to Treat Shin Splints Dr denny covers why SS come on and how to treat them.

Typical August weather has returned with temps in the 90s this week.

Make sure your fall athletes are staying hydrated with electrolytes.

Why?

1. Fluid Balance. 60% of your weight is water, and that water needs to be in the right cells in the right concentrations for optimal health.

Fluid balance also correlates with your energy levels. Fatigue is a down stream symptom of both sodium deficiency and dehydration.

2. Your cells communicate via the "Sodium-Potassium Pump." An electrical impulse fires — the cell’s doors spin open, with sodium ions rushing in and potassium ions rushing out. Afterward, the pump “resets” and the opposite happens.

This supports all nervous system activity (i.e., your brain, heart, muscles,) and also supports sugar and amino acid transport between cells

It's so important your body allocates 20-40% of your cellular ATP energy to running it.

Put simply, your athletic performance, your heart health, your hormonal levels, immune function, mood, etc. all need adequate electrolytes to function properly and optimally.

Maybe you've got a brand you use already, maybe you just "go with what you know," or maybe this whole electrolyte topic is just not that big of a deal to you. No worries, you do you.

LMNT is not the only brand in this space, it's just the one my kids use, I use, and the ones I recommend to my clients because they also have Magnesium, besides sodium and potassium,, with no other chemicals or sweeteners I wouldn't put into my system.

If you are interested, swing into the west side of Moose - L Up Redemption Club and Denny PT Solutions during business hours.

You'll find boxes of 30 packets for $35, individual packets for $2, and sparkling 16 oz cans for $3.50

Years ago, I recommended another brand of electrolytes until they changed their formula and their quality control.

If LMNT does something similar, you won't be hearing me recommend them.

Be good!

Sending some good juju and positive vibes to the '26 Valpo Physician Assistant class as they start their new adventures!

Take it all in one day at a time, and stick to your fundamentals!

Be good to each other and extend grace to classmates and yourself as needed; everybody shows stress in their own way.

Find time to laugh and blow off stream.

Use strategies that work for you, disregard what doesn't work for you, and add your own unique style... be authentic.

All my best!

Dr Denny Kolkebeck, DPT

Over the last two years I've seen a disturbing trend in softball and baseball players coming in with high-level injuries to their elbow ligament.

Some of these have even needed surgery to reconstruct the torn ligament and are referred to as "Tommy John" repairs in most circles.

This has affected players from U10 up into the college level, and the trend has been growing, not just locally, but across the nation at an alarming rate!

I've put together a video sharing strategies to minimize risk of injury for players, coaches, parents, and anybody involved in working work our softball and baseball players.

Please share with those who you think would benefit because I believe we can reverse this trend and keep players on the field, not in medical offices.

Preventing Elbow UCL Injuries in Softball and Baseball Players There has been a rise in mid and high level injuries to the pitching/throwing arms of softball and baseball players among all age and experience ranges.Dr De...