Low back pain is very common, and is the leading cause of activity limitation and work absence throughout much of the world. Individuals who have experienced activity-limiting low back pain often experience reoccurring episodes, and the prevalence of chronic low back pain has also significantly increased. Current research does not support a definitive cause for initial episodes of low back pain, and risk factors associated with low back pain are multifactorial, population specific, and only weakly associated with the development of low back pain (therefore, it is hard to "prevent" low back pain, as there are many factors that play a role!).

There are several different kinds of headaches, including migraines, tension headaches, and cervicogenic headaches. Each different type of headache has different causes and treatments. It is important if you suffer from chronic and frequent headaches to be evaluated by a qualified medical professional to determine which type of headache you are experiencing, and what course of treatment may provide the best chance at relief.

A common question we hear as Physical Therapists - how are you going to treat me without seeing my MRI? (Or variations of this - why do I need to see you before I have an MRI? Don’t you need a diagnosis to treat me? Etc). To answer this question, we need to start with what we actually look at during our Physical Therapy assessment, and how that guides our treatment.

Visceral Manipulation has been found to be beneficial for many disorders, including digestive disorders, acute and chronic pain and injury, women's and men's pelvic health issues, musculoskeletal disorders, emotional issues, and more. This treatment approach evaluates and treats the dynamics of motion in relation to organs, membranes, fascia, and ligaments. The goal of Visceral Manipulation is to improve awareness and communication in the body through gentle manual techniques to the organs.

Nearly 30% of the US population experiences constipation. While some causes involve diet, hydration, stress, and even which medications you may be taking, an often-overlooked source is the function of the pelvic structures themselves.

Sciatica is a common diagnosis and occurs when the sciatic nerve, which runs down the back of the leg and supplies many of the muscles in the back and side of the leg, is being pinched or irritated by some other structure. Although the diagnosis of sciatica is very common, it is also very frequently misunderstood and misdiagnosed.

While pregnancy can be an exciting time, it causes a lot of changes in the body that can leave the pregnant person in a lot of discomfort and pain. Because these changes are natural, I often hear people say things like “I just have to get through a few more months” or “There is no point addressing something that is temporary”. While I understand that pregnancy is temporary and that there are a million other things on a pregnant person’s plate, I want everyone to know that you do not have to live with all of these pains and that you can actually do a lot to promote a safe and healthy pregnancy that prepares you for birth.

Pelvic Pain is often described as a discomfort or painful/abnormal sensation anywhere around the pelvis, including but not limited to the abdomen, pelvis, and perineum. This covers a vast amount of different diagnoses, but there is one thing the majority of them have in common; pelvic health physical therapy can drastically help improve symptoms and quality of life.

Absolute Kinetics has chosen a cash-based model for our practice. We feel this model is the most efficient and effective way to provide physical therapy services. Here are a few benefits of the cash-based model.

We see a lot of patients in our clinic who have some level of hypermobility, and most of them don't feel clear about what they should and should not be doing in the gym. If you have read any of our blog posts in the past, I am sure you know the first thing I am going to say: it depends.

This is one of the most common things I hear. Imagine you come in for a physical therapy appointment with a primary complaint of hip or low back pain. As a pelvic health PT, I ask you a lot of questions you probably aren’t used to but that are related to how the pelvic floor muscles are functioning (how many times do you pee in a day? Is your urine stream straight or does it veer to the side? What does your poop look like? Do you have pain with sex? Are you able to orgasm?). You say that you don’t really have urinary leakage, but whenever you do jumping jacks or double unders, you do pee a tiny bit. That’s normal, right? Nope!

Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) occurs when there is weakness in the supportive ligaments/muscles, perineum, or the vaginal/rectal wall itself. This weakness can cause either the uterus, bladder, rectum, or small intestine to push into the vaginal wall, often causing symptoms.

Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA) is often described as the separation of the rectus abdominis muscles and is too often associated with fear and anxiety. At Absolute Kinetics, words and education matter to us in our goal to empower you, so we want to set the record straight by debunking some common myths.

When we think of the human body in today’s modern culture, we often think of ways to stop it from doing something. We take pain medication for any ailment and will often suppress symptoms to simply get rid of them. But what if we stopped looking at symptoms as problems and started treating them as communication from our body? How well are we listening to what our body is telling us?

Shoulder pain is a common occurrence and can have a large impact on daily activities. The shoulder is one of the most complex joints in the body, consisting of the scapula (shoulder blade), glenohumeral joint, and clavicle (collar bone). One of the most common shoulder diagnoses we see is shoulder impingement. Shoulder impingement is the pinching of a tendon, most commonly the supraspinatus tendon and sometimes the infraspinatus tendon, due to faulty mechanics of the shoulder. Shoulder impingement can occur due to repetitive motions, muscular imbalances and prolonged poor posture, and/or injury to the shoulder joint that creates inflammation. Some individuals are at a higher risk of developing shoulder impingement due to the shape of the end of their clavicle or if they have bursitis (inflammation of the bursa that sits under the end of the clavicle). Impingement symptoms commonly occur with reaching overhead, reaching behind your back, or throwing, and pain can occur in the top (superior) or back (posterior) of the shoulder.

We've heard from many patients who judge the effectiveness of a work out by how sore they are the next day. "No pain, no gain", right? But is that really a sign of a good training (or rehab) program Short answer: absolutely not.

We have recently been talking to many of our patients about their home office set up. Working from home can be challenging for many reasons, one of them being the ergonomic set up of your home office. This also brings up a common question that we get from those who work from home and/or in an office doing a job that primarily requires being on the computer: should I get a standing desk?

As the world starts to reopen, many people are excited to get back in the gym. Whether you've been working out at home, running outside, or have taken this time to take a break from working out all together, there are a few things to keep in mind before you head back to the gym.

As we have mentioned in previous blog posts, low back pain is a common diagnosis among Americans and one of the most common things we treat at Absolute Kinetics Physical Therapy. In Ohio, there are 2 times of the year when we see an even larger number of patients with low back pain: the first nice weekend in May when patients dedicate an entire Saturday to yard work, and the first big snowfall of the year. With the first snow coming early to Cincinnati this year, we want to share a few tips for preventing injury to your low back while shoveling snow.

Have you experienced pain in the front of your knee with walking, running, squatting, going up and down stairs, or other activities? Pain in the front (anterior) knee is often diagnosed as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Patellofemoral pain (PFP) can occur across the life span, from young children to older adults, however it is found to be most common between 12 and 19 years of age and 50 - 59 years of age. There are varying reports of prevalence, but idiopathic (no known cause) PFP is most commonly noted as having a prevalence of about 25% of the population. This pain is typically described as a nagging ache or a sharp twinge.