A runner’s ability to avoid and manage injury will determine his or her fitness on race day. To help local runners reach their goals, Physical Therapists Rob Naber and Jenny Warner from Physical Therapy of Los Gatos, and Dr. John Kao from the SOAR Medical Clinic teamed up in May to deliver a running injury prevention and treatment seminar to 150 members of the San Jose Fit marathon training club.

Already several weeks into their training program, the San Jose Fit runners were engaged and attentive as Rob Naber presented information on avoiding and managing injuries. The runners received information on pronation and supination, walking and running biomechanics, and some corrective exercises that Physical Therapists prescribe to address specific problems.

Dr. Kao’s presentation provided information about the causes of injuries, specific training errors to avoid, and detailed medical descriptions of several kinds of running injuries. He also explained the injury first-aid “PRICEMM” protocol, which calls for Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Medications, and other treatment Modalities.

The presenters offered these key take-away messages to the San Jose Fit runners:

• Avoiding injury is the key to running success
• Most injuries result from overtraining
• Do not increase training mileage or duration by more that 10% per week
• Complement your running training with specific stretching and strengthening exercises
• If you have an injury, use cross-training activities to continue your fitness training
• Use a heart rate monitor to maximize the benefit from your cross training efforts

Dr. Kao recommended contacting a physician whenever any of these circumstances arise:

• Pain is localized to the bone or joint
• Joint motion is accompanied by catching, popping or locking
• Pain cannot be controlled by the recommended dose of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen
• The problem persists for more than two weeks
• You are worried or concerned about your symptoms

Dr. Kao noted that individuals can make the most of any medical visit by coming prepared with accurate information about their injuries and symptoms. Dr. Kao can be reached by contacting his assistant Wendy at (408) 247-4900 x1214.

The seminar presenters thank Sports Basement for the use of their Sunnyvale store conference facility for the San Jose Fit seminar.

On Saturday January 20, 2007, Pilates instructors from around the Bay Area met at Los Gatos Pilates to attend the Physical Therapy of Los Gatos Train-the-Trainer seminar: “Assessment for Pilates Instructors.” The purpose of the seminar was to present key physical assessment tools that Pilates instructors can use to customize exercise programs to meet the specific  needs of individual clients.

“Given the many similarities between Physical Therapy and Pilates, the move to more prescriptive exercise provides greater long term results for clients,” said Rob Naber, founder of Physical Therapy of Los Gatos.   The seminar included an instructional lecture and hands-on practice to assess client’s posture, spinal lumbopelvic range of motion and rhythm, flexibility and core strength.  At the conclusion, case studies were presented with “home work” for the attendees.  Answers to the assignment are provided at the end of the presentation.

Physical Therapy of Los Gatos thanks Nancy Chin and Marcie Ryken at Los Gatos Pilates for hosting the seminar.

Download “Physical Assessment for the Pilates Professional” (7.5 MB pdf)

Low back pain is a vexing medical and personal problem. Almost everyone has to deal with it sooner or later. Low back pain can interfere with almost every aspect of daily living and causes more days lost from work than any other malady except the common cold. Low back pain can make finding a comfortable sleeping or sitting position impossible, and due to the central position of the lower back and its key mechanical role in supporting and enabling movement, resting the painful spine during waking hours is very difficult.

A clear physical evaluation and focused goals are imperative when solving enigmatic health problems such as low back pain. At Physical Therapy of Los Gatos, evaluation for low back pain includes objective measurement of the patient’s function, mobility of the spine, neurological assessment, dynamic strength, flexibility, and gait analysis. In our experience, the outcome of physical therapy that begins with a comprehensive evaluation is more likely to be successful than one that passes over the opportunity to use up-to-date diagnostic instrumentation and methods for precise patient evaluation.

One of many tools and methods we use to evaluate low back pain is the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. Originally published in 1980, the Oswestry questionnaire measures how one’s low back pain affects a variety of daily activities. Patients usually complete the questionnaire in less than five minutes. The answers patients select from the multiple-choice questionnaire provide useful information about the behavior, mechanical cause, and severity of the patient’s low back pain. This information, combined with other responses and measures used in our evaluation, help us to design a personalized, effective course of treatment, and prognosticate the duration of treatment.

If you’d like to take the Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire, you can pick up a copy at Physical Therapy of Los Gatos, or call to have us fax or mail it to you, or download the questionnaire. You can find our location and contact information near the top right-hand corner of this web page. Afterwards, we’ll be happy to discuss the results with you and, depending on your score, discuss our recommendations for more precise evaluation of your low back pain.