The Fizeek Geeks

📣The “tightness” in your muscles may not always indicate poor flexibility or “stiffness.”

👉At times “tightness” may be caused by weakness!
🧠There are times our body seeks stability where “tightness” is a compensatory mechanism

💡Benefits of seeking a physical therapist to guide your pre - rehabilitation (pre-hab)
♦️Improve outcome of your surgery
♦️Improve strength and mobility prior to surgery, which translates to improved function post surgery
♦️Therapist can guide and assist you in answering any questions regarding your upcoming surgery and help reduce any anxiety.
♦️Prevent further injury

🧐Need a foot x-Ray after an immediate foot injury???
🧠The Ottawa Ankle Rule was designed to rule out unnecessary imaging and reduce healthcare cost.

✋If following an acute ankle injury such as an ankle sprain check the following conditions:
👉bone tenderness at medial malleolus
👉bone tenderness at lateral malleolus
👉bone tenderness at base of 5th metatarsal
👉unable to walk 4 steps
🏥Viet your physical therapist,physician, or emergency room following an acute ankle injury for further insight regarding your ankle injury.

🏋️‍♀️What exercises are good to do? 🏋️🏆All exercises are good for you, but to be efficient and to maximize your time at the gym, it’s ideal to go into the gym with a plan.
🦵Some examples such as working on a leg strengthening program to improve squats.
⚽️Single leg stability to improve cutting in soccer.
🤽‍♂️Shoulder stability to improve throwing capacity.
🏌️‍♀️Rotational strength for golf or tennis.

🍓Nutrition is important to helping the body recover and perform.
🍎Anti-inflammatory foods such as avocado, fish oil, pecans, walnuts, and almonds are all great food with healthy omega 3.
🍉Be sure to incorporate some of these great choices into your diet to keep your body healthy!

💪🏼Every sport has different physical demands on your muscle. We never know what will happen on the field. Therefore it’s best to practice your movements in a various setting and context.
👍Exercises should be prescribed to demand progressive, integrated multi-joint, multi-planar, proprioceptively-enriched movement at various load and speed.

Triangular fibrocartilaginous complex injury?
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You might have heard of TFCC pain from sports or jobs that require repetitive loading to the wrist.
The TFCC is a load bearing structure located near the pinky side of the wrist. As the name describes it, the fibrocartilaginous structure is responsible for bearing load and shock absorption during wrist activity.
SYMPTOMS: Wrist pain on the pinky side accompanied by clicking and tenderness at the joint line. The wrist might feel unstable and lack grip strength.
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EXAMINATION: If TFCC is suspected and MRI can be performed to diagnose, but sometimes an arthroscopy may be needed to accurately diagnose a TFCC injury.
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MANAGEMENT: Physical therapy CAN help in some cases. Conservative management will usually be attempted first, but if the problem persisted, surgery may be considered. Keep in mind, there aren’t a lot of muscles around the wrist and most of us use it repetitively on a daily basis. So sometimes physical therapy can be tricky.
Thanks for listenining in today! Comment and ♥️ if you would like to learn more about orthopedic injuries!
Source: Casadei K, Kiel J. Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) Injuries.
Image: patients.stryker.com
Note: This is not intended to be medical advice. Seek a licensed professional if you are in pain that persists.
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🔔This is a reminder to move!Movement throughout the day is a simple way to improve your overall health! Not only is it good for improving mobility, but it is also linked to improving oxygen to the brain, increasing energy, and reducing stress!
🧠Furthermore, movement and exercise improve memory and cognition!
🍎Currently, the recommendations say to exercise for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week.
👯‍♀️Go for a walk, stand up to stretch, or phone your friends for a hike to get moving!

The trap bar should be in every outpatient physical therapy clinic. True or false?
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If you have been following us for a while, you will know that we are big advocates for the trap bar.
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Whether you are training for performance or rehabilitation, the trap bar is a great way to induce heavy loads and resistance.
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We also think that the trap bar is a little easier to teach than a typical barbell squat or deadlift. We might even say that it’s easier to teach than a sidelying clam!
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So, what is our case for it being in the clinic? We like that the trap bar can be loaded according to a person’s individual needs and strength levels. For most cases, the trap bar does not require significant end-range flexibility and is easy to learn.
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But what are your thoughts? We would love to hear from other perspectives. Are there other pieces of equipment that should be in the outpatient physical therapy clinic? Besides the age ole theraband?
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motivation .

Clams solve everything! 🤣🤣🤣
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By no means is this meant to knock on the all-time famous clam exercise. But we hope your rehabilitation consists of progressions and variations and does not have you sticking with the same exercise throughout the whole process.
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Don't be afraid to challenge yourself and take your strength to new heights!
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🧠You are not your diagnosis🧠
❤️You do not need to live in fear of what you are labeled as. Instead, look for empowering thoughts, guidance, and graded movements to improve function and mindset. Our bodies are very resilient! Rebuild your confidence in yourself starting with basic mobility and progressing safely with load and dynamic stability!
Find your local physical therapist to guide you back towards your functional goals!

Brain Injury Awareness month is here!
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This month awareness looks to educate others what is is like to live with brain injury. Brain injuries can vary from traumatic brain injuries,concussions, stroke, tumor, encephalitis, etc.
Brain Injury Association of America aims to
🔸increase understanding of brain injury
🔸reduce stigma associated with having a brian injury
🔸educate the diversity of injury and demographics in the community
🔸Improving care and support for individuals with brain injury and their families.
www.biausa.org/
🔔Provides great resources and education on brain injuries.

Kettlebells vs Dumbbells!
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We like to use both! But what are some of the main differences?
The biggest difference is the placement of the handle. The kettlebell's handle is placed away from the weight whereas a dumbbell's handle is in the center of the weight. Therefore, a kettlebell will always have some space between your grip on the weight and the load. This might make the weight easier or harder depending on the exercise. The handle of a kettlebell also allows 2 hands to fit on it as opposed to a dumbbell which is meant for only 1 hand.
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An example of harder exercises would be a bottoms-up kettlebell press where the weight sits a few inches above the handle requiring your shoulder to work a little harder for stability. Some also argue that handle makes the exercise a little more specific to daily tasks such as picking up heavy bags or suitcases with a handle!
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So, what about absolute strength? You are probably going to want to load up the dumbbells where the handle is in the center allowing you to push more weight!
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With regards to power training, many individuals like using exercises such as kettlebell snatches and swings. Research is a little mixed as to what is superior for power and explosive exercises when it comes to dumbbells vs kettlebells. In essence, both can be used for power/explosive training. But we like the kettlebells because the design and handle allow them to be moved around for dynamic movements such as swings, cleans, and snatches.
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We like both and recommend our patients and clients to utilize the two weights in their workouts! Stay tuned for more dumbbell and kettlebell exercises!
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Carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel! 2 areas that can be a pain when irritated!
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What’s the difference? Let’s take a quick peek!
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Carpal tunnel: The carpal tunnel is in the wrist on the same side as your palm. This tunnel houses the median nerve and 9 tendons of muscles that flex your wrist and fingers. Excessive compression to this area can lead to irritation of the nerve that can result in discomfort at the hand, fingers, and wrist. Pain, numbness and tingling might be felt in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger.
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Cubital Tunnel: The cubital tunnel is located on the inner side of the elbow. The ulnar nerve passes under the bony prominence which is called the medial epicondyle. Similar to carpal tunnel, excessive compression from the elbow can lead to irritation at this tunnel. This syndrome is common among professions that involve repetitive elbow bending such as construction, phone work, and computer jobs. Pain, numbness and tingling might be felt on the inside of the hand, ring finger, and pinky finger.

Congrats to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!
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Tom with the quote today “You know which ring is my favorite? The next one.”
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The grind never stops. Keep at it! Keep going!

What’s the difference between a “Strain” and a “Sprain” injury?? Many are often confused about between these two types of injuries. We are here to explain the differences for you today! (TLDR: STRAINS can only happen to muscles and tendons. SPRAINS can only happen with ligaments.)
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In today’s post, we’ll make it clear once and for all! Make sure to drop a like and save this post if you find it helpful 😊
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Let’s start with “Strain” first. A Strain is a type of injuries that typically occurs with muscular and tendinous tissues, described as disruption of the muscle fibers or tendons. This could lead to pain and a decrease in strength.
In most cases, a Strain will happen at the Musculotendinous junction (this is where your muscle meets your tendon and allow movements). Because this is where two different types of soft tissues meet (tendon + muscle), the tensile strength is not as great as where there are only muscle fibers or only tendons. .
Now, let’s talk about “Sprain”. A Sprain injury is a ligamentous injury. For example, when people “sprain” their ankles, they are talking about a sprain in the Ligaments of the ankles, not the muscles or the bones.
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There is also a grading scale, ranging from Grade 1 - 3, with grade 3 being the most severe with a complete tear of the ligament.
Hope you found this helpful. There’s a lot more to go into with each injury type. Drop a comment and let us know what else you would like to see!
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🛑Disclaimer🛑: The information or advice provided on this page is for educational purposes and not intended to replace individualized professional healthcare/medical care. Please seek a licensed professional’s help as necessary.
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Repost from last year!
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I went to go see a therapist … the psych kind.
And to be honest, I cried during every session except my last one.
I stopped taking care of myself and the idea of being alone with my own thoughts terrified me. This post is not meant highlight any past triggering events or lay blame anywhere. I wanted to figure out how to finally move forward.
About this time last year I sought out help from a PsyD. She didn’t diagnose me. What she did, was explain the concept of “self-compassion.” It wasn’t self-esteem I lacked, but the ability to properly love myself.
And like any therapist, she didn’t fix all of my problems in one session.
Just like what I tell my patients, rehabilitation is a team effort. When looking for a provider, look for someone you can trust and relate to, someone who takes the time to build genuine rapport. She looked at me with no bias, no preconceived notions. She gave me tools and resources to help myself. She reminded me that as often as a I fall into a negative headspace, there are ways to eventually get out of that headspace.
Reading was one. I included an excerpt from the book “Self-Compassion” written by Kristin Neff, Ph.D. The book merges science and first-hand experience to explore the topics of maladaptive thoughts, cultural biases, attachment theory, falling in love, falling out of love, and everything in between.
As much as we preach physical well-being on this page, there is no amount of physical fitness that can create wholeness if the mind is not healthy. Your attitude really does determine your latitude. It’s evident in the literature of psychosocial factors and their effect on patient outcomes.
And it’s okay if you’re still figuring it out. Hell, I still am. It is okay to be still with your thoughts and understand there is no timeline to the process. If you have a mental health journey you would like to share, I would love to hear it. Our DMs are always a safe space and I read all of them. If you have yet to seek help, know that it is completely normal to do so. It is not a sign of weakness but a sign of taking back control.
I want to help normalize therapy in all of its forms

Let’s talk about Osteopenia and Osteoporosis!
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You probably have heard of these terms before but might not have known the difference. Gotchu, fam!
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Osteopenia is a condition where bones in your body have less mass and density than normal. Osteopenia can lead to Osteoporosis where the density of your bones is so low that they are at a higher risk for fractures. Severe osteoporosis can make your bones become more brittle that even a low impact fall can lead to fractures
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Our bones’ ability to rebuild themselves typically slow down after the age of 30. Individuals over the age of 50, especially females are at a higher risk of developing Osteoporosis. Other risk factors include family history, diets of low calcium and Vitamin D and more.
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Having to live with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis is no fun...However, there are many things that you can do for yourself and loved ones to help prevent and manage this condition.
Leading an active lifestyle and eating a healthy diet with enough Calcium and Vitamin D are some of the simplest ways to help prevent osteoporosis! .
Sources: Mayo Clinic and National Osteoporosis Foundation.
🛑Disclaimer🛑: The information or advice provided on this page is for educational purposes and not intended to replace individualized professional healthcare/medical care. Please seek a licensed professional’s help as necessary.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Fizeek Geeks!
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Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing day as we come close to the end of the year!
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Gonna be a little basic here with gratitude, but I do not think gratitude ever gets old. We are so thankful for all of your support and everyone who had been a part of our journey until now! Thank you to all!
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“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest, yet most powerful things humans can do for each other” -Randy Pausch
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Posted • Stenosis vs bulging disc? What do all these things from the doctor mean?
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It PT school we are taught to search for clinical patterns to understand pathology.
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Disc pathology is normally worse with sitting and stenosis is normally worse with standing. Though these patterns can help lead us into understanding what treatment to prescribe, we have all learned that pathology rarely follows the patterns.
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In the beginning stages of both of these conditions, we like to find tolerable exercises to progress patients through. At the end of the day, we have the same goal. Build strength.
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The main takeaway from this post is to not be afraid of these scary medical terminologies. Yes, they are true conditions and may sometimes require surgery, but many times, they can improve with the right strength progressions!
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Note: This is not meant to be medical advice. Please see your local physician or physical therapist if you are in pain or feel like you have any medical condition.
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New blog~

A quick read on the importance and benefits of quality sleep!



https://www.thefizeekgeeks.com/blog-hub/2020/11/16/getting-enough-sleep

Getting Enough Sleep? — The Fizeek Geeks Ever feel like your energy is low throughout the day?

Progressive stiffness in your shoulder? painful and limiting range of motion? kinda came on out of nowhere??
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You should go get it evaluated by a Physical Therapist 👨🏻‍⚕️ to rule out other pathologies. You might be experiencing the common symptoms of Adhesive Capsulitis or also known as Frozen shoulder.
Adhesive Capsulitis (AC) is a condition in which your shoulder, specifically the capsule surrounding your glenohumeral joint becomes inflamed with progressive stiffness. The cause of this condition is still a topic of extensive research since some cases present without a clear mechanism while others might have specific causes such as physical trauma to the joint, chronic inflammation, history of injuries to the shoulder, etc. However, most patients do present with some if not all of these symptoms:
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1️⃣Painful Active Range of Motion.
2️⃣Pain with both rest and activity.
3️⃣Progressive stiffness
4️⃣Difficulty with daily activities (i.e. reaching for the cabinet, dressing, grooming, etc).
These are some of the most common symptoms of AC. In a future post, we will talk about the 3️⃣ progressive phases of this condition and treatment options for it. Follow us and Stay tuned, fizeekgeeks! 🤓
🛑Disclaimer🛑: The information or advice provided on this page is not intended to replace individualized professional healthcare/medical care. Please seek a licensed professional’s help as necessary.