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In This Issue
Pilates: Bringing Cyclists Full Circle
Losing Control: A Huge Part of the Pain Puzzle

 

ALTA NEWS  
 
 
 

In honor of Valentine's Day, we want to take this opportunity to tell you, our patients, how much we appreciate you! The connections we make with all of you inspire us to work harder to help you feel better, stronger and healthier. You warm our hearts - thanks for your confidence in us. Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at ALTA.

 

 

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Exciting Changes 

at ALTA

 

 

 

We are adding a new treatment room in response to our busy schedules. Though we expect few interruptions during business hours, you may hear some hammering and sawing on the south side of the building in the next month. Thank you for your patience.

 

AND

 

We have plans to add a covered ramp and new stairs to the north entrance of the building in late March. During that time, you will need to park in the lower parking lot or on the street and enter the building from the south entrance. The project should be finished in one week. Though we realize this will be a temporary inconvenience, we are excited to make access to our building easier for everyone

 

 

 

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DON'T FORGET

 

ALTA is Offering

FREE 15 Minute

Selective Functional Movement Assessment Consultations

(SFMA) 

to help you discover

 why you are in pain.

 

February 20th

5:00 - 7:00 pm

 

call 303-444-8707

to reserve your spot

 

 

 

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REMINDER:

 

The Pitfalls & Promise of Pilates

 

a lecture by:

Jonathan Oldham, MSPT, PMA-CPT

 

Thursday, Feb. 27th

6:00 pm

 

Please call to RSVP

303-444-8707

 

 

 

 


 


 


 

 





 

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                                            February 2014

 

The Pitfalls & Promise of Pilates 

 

Janet had to sit down when she read the report from her DEXA scan.

Impression: OSTEOPENIA in the right hip and lumbar spine.

 

Can't be. She spent more time pounding the pavement than most women.

Good diet - check.

Calcium and vitamin D supplements - check.

Regular weight bearing exercise - check.

 

Janet had few risk factors: She didn't take steroid medication; she didn't smoke and despite all her dieting, she wasn't underweight.

 

No wonder she was flabbergasted by the diagnosis.

Osteoporisis is an epidemic. Learn how to develop a safe, appropriate approach to bone health.

 

Janet had been doing everything she could imagine to keep her bones strong, but clearly something was missing. More and more older people were turning to Pilates and yoga for exercise because they seemed gentle and safe. Why not? 

 

Yoga made her sore, but it was a new kind of exercise, so maybe, she thought, she just needed to get used to it. She already had neck and back pain, so what the heck? If a little was good, more would be better. Resolute, she added a few more classes.

 

By the end of a fortnight, Janet couldn't sleep - she could barely walk. The pain was relentless. Her doctor confirmed the really bad news: she had several compression fractures in her spine. Smart as she was, Janet did not know how to protect and strengthen her bones during yoga or Pilates. Don't be like Janet. Though these exercise forms can be gentle, knowing how to modify them when you have bone loss is critical.

 

         


Losing Control:

A Huge Part of the Pain Puzzle


 

You can do the plank for 3 minutes straight and those muscles on either side of your lower back feel rock hard, you have glutes of steel, and ...your back still hurts. What the heck???

 

 

Strengthen your glutes, strengthen your abs - you've heard that - maybe ad nauseam- from us for years. Core, core and more core.... We've told you that core strength can help alleviate knee pain, hip pain, lower back pain and

more. We've told you that core weakness is a huge part of

the pain puzzle. In talking about the core, the abdominals and gluteal muscles keep coming up, but we've neglected the back muscles - the multifidus in particular. Here's why it's important:

 

The multifidus muscles take pressure off the vertebral discs and distribute body weight evenly throughout the spine. Those deep muscles make your spine more stable; they control the small movements from spinal segment to spinal segment. We call it local control. Studies have shown that the multifidus muscles are activated before any action happens.

   

Before you bend, lift, or twist, your multifidus muscles start contracting to prepare your spine for the movement so you . . . 

 

 

 

Click on Video to learn how to retrain your Multifidus Muscle

 

 

Sincerely,

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ALTA Physical Therapy & Pilates

2955 Baseline Road 

Boulder, CO  80303

303-444-8707

  

www.AltaTherapies.com