The beauty of the outdoors naturally encourages people to go outside, inhale fresh air, listen to the birds, take a walk, or watch the wind animate the branches of the steadfast neighboring trees. The pull toward the natural world is present even in normal times. Now, as we’re confined indoors by the coronavirus pandemic, often spending hours in front of inanimate screens, the urge to be outside is ever more acute. One way to satisfy these urges while improving our health and well-being is forest therapy, a practice growing in popularity around the world…

Athletes, fitness buffs and novices alike all know the saying, “No pain, no gain.” To some extent, this saying is true.

Weight-bearing and cardiovascular activities stress the body. As a result of that stress, we enhance our strength and endurance. By pushing our physical boundaries, we optimize our athletic performance. But this process is almost always at the cost of feeling some level of pain…

In general, muscle soreness is a result of microscopic tears in the individual muscle fibers from exercise, or other activities you’re not used to doing. The amount and degree of these microscopic tears vary according to intensity, duration, and frequency of any particular exercise session.

This result is often referred to as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), and is a term you’ll hear thrown around in almost all fitness arenas as an association to a great workout, when in fact, it could lead you to taking a number in the orthopedic’s waiting room…

Foam rolling is a self-myofascial release (SMR) stretching technique that has been embraced throughout the fitness industry. This effective and simple to do technique delivers positive, feel good results. Foam rollers have become easily accessible, either shared at the gym or found in almost any sporting goods aisle to bring home for a minimal investment…

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Self-massage tools are used for soft-tissue therapy on trigger points, postural problems and can help you recover from stiff, tight and sore muscles. Get started with this chart. Your health care provider can also help you decide which tool is right for you.

Start gradually by using the device for a short time and then increase use progressively. You can also begin with a softer device (tennis ball), before trying something firmer (lacrosse ball)…

Many fitness professionals understand how critical healthy, functional feet are to a successful training program. After all, the feet and ankles make up the body’s foundation and act as “shock absorbers” when the body interacts with a surface (Price 2006)...

This article will provide you with background knowledge and practical suggestions on how to prevent or improve conditions of this muscle group through stabilization and strengthening exercises...

Shoulder pain and shoulder injuries are among the most common conditions within the general population and among athletes. Approximately 75 to 80% of these are caused by conditions related to the rotator cuff (1)...

Recovery from training is becoming recognized as one of the most important aspects of physical activity and overall wellness. As we...

You've probably heard the term biceps tendonitis as gym members highlight an ache or pain at the front of their shoulder...

Both medial and lateral epicondylitis are considered overuse injuries in which the tendons of the wrist flexor and extensor muscles become inflamed due to abnormal loading...

The warm summer weather is the perfect setting for people to get outdoors and participate in the activities they enjoy. However, too much of a good thing can...

See how foam rolling plus a dynamic warm-up affected performance testing results in college athletes...

With such large numbers of people affected by lower back pain (LBP), it is no surprise that myths and misnomers run rampant. When it comes to musculoskeletal pain, the lower back reigns as king. Approximately 80-85% of people in the industrial nations will experience lower back pain at some point in their lives...

Would you believe that your client’s function could be improved for less than $20? Sound too good to be true? By performing Self-Myofascial Release techniques on a simple piece of foam, your clients can improve flexibility, function, performance and reduce injuries. In a nutshell, your clients use their own body weight to roll on the round foam roll, massaging away restrictions to normal soft-tissue extensibility. And your clients can perform this program at home, maximizing their recovery time…