‘Tis the season for darker, colder, and wetter weather.  For many of us, this means we move our exercise indoors for soccer, basketball, volleyball, and many other sports.  For others, we embrace the cold and ski or snowboard.  While these activities may seem quite different, they are similar in that they all require quick side-to-side […]

This blog is intended to supplement the Lifestyle Mom Fitness/Wellness talk given to the HOME Group of amazing mommas hosted at Northwest Hills Community Church.  It will continue to grow with resources with time.  Please don’t hesitate to comment with any questions or post them to our Facebook or Twitter!  This is all here to […]

Now that I stole your attention with the title, these aren’t really five reasons your movement “stinks”, but more of ways that you can improve your movement to move and feel that much better as a result!  Here are the five most common mistakes we see with general movement.  Follow each individual link for specifics […]

Another movement we do a lot during our day is pulling. Opening doors, pulling clothes out of the laundry, and even lifting an item up from the ground all have elements of pulling.  The problem we see with pulling is that individuals don’t use their shoulder blades well enough and over pull with their low […]

One of the most common mistakes we see with the upper body is over utilizing the upper trap muscle and hiking your shoulder blades up toward your ears with posture at rest and with lifting and reaching or pressing overhead. Why we see this a lot: If you have any shoulder pain this is the […]

Another common mistake we see with movement is that individuals learn to get up from lower surfaces and stand on a single leg by using their low back and front hip more than other muscles.  There are a few muscles that help us do this, but to simplify, we like to focus on the glute. […]

A common mistake we see with most knee bending activities including squatting, getting in and out of a chair, going down stairs, and getting down on the floor is allowing the knees to fall in toward each other inside of your hip and foot. Why we see this a lot: It’s the easy thing to […]

Where did you go to school? Pacific University for Undergrad. Long Island University for DPT What is your hometown? Hillsboro, OR Tell us about your family! Amazing parents that just recently started enjoying the retired life last year. One older sister and my crazy nephew. He is growing like a weed and smart as a […]

One of the most common movement mistakes we see in the PT clinic is over bending the low back when bending forward.   Why we see this a lot: It’s easy to do.  By just flexing your low back you can rest on the ligaments and muscles of your spine without having to use much […]

Do your feet look like this? Or worse? Or maybe not quite as bad, but they kind of seem flat? Do you wear orthotics to help “support your arches”? If so, I’d love to teach you how to better control your arches with your very own homemade orthotics, your foot and hip muscles! ***TIMEOUT*** If […]

Our fourth reason why your posture stinks is due to an over arched low back.  ***BIG DISCLAIMER*** for some of you it hurts for the exact opposite reason.  If you tend to walk or stand hunched forward, this blog does not apply as much to you, come in and see us and we’ll get you straightened […]

Your mid back actually might need an adjustment!  The mid back tends to be the middle man that gets us into trouble with bad forward posture.  Once it slouches forward, the head and shoulders follow. Just like a stack of blocks, you move one and the rest follow.   The 2 main reasons and corrections […]

Did your mom every yell at you for slouching? I know mine did.  Sure, slouching usually involves leaning back and rounding out your low back, but it also requires your shoulders slouching forward as well. Trust me, I know how comfy it can be to just let those suckers hang out forward, but you’re killing […]

Where did you go to school? I started at UCC, then finished my undergraduate degree at OSU and went to Columbia University in NYC for graduate school Where is your hometown? Chicago! (The best city in the world!) Tell us about your family! My entire family is 100% Polish. I’m a dual citizen and we […]

Does your head weigh 60 pounds? Well, we certainly hope not, but did you know you can make it weigh that much?! The average head weighs 8-12 lbs and when it’s stacked well over your spine, it weighs just that much.  However, as you see below, when you start to let it fall forward the […]

Posture is defined as the carriage of the whole body as a whole.  No matter your position, your body is in some form of posture every second of every day.  You can’t escape it! If there’s something you can’t avoid, such as posture, you should probably have a pretty good understanding of it, so that […]

We all want the best for our children.  Most of us have had bouts of pain in our life that have had an effect on our quality of life.  Often times, these episodes of pain go back to poor movement patterns we developed as children.  If you look at health babies, we all have normal […]

Where did you go to school? Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan for BSEE. Lane Community College for Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) What is your hometown? East Detroit, Michigan Tell us about your family! I’ve been married for 24 years to Rob who is an environmental health specialist. My daughter Kristen is graduating from CHS and […]

Auto accidents happen.  We do our best to avoid them and hope it doesn’t happen to us, but sometimes that’s out of our control, unfortunately.  Whiplash is a serious injury that occurs with accidents and can result in a lot of pain.  While you can’t always avoid whiplash, you can improve your set up and […]

We spend a lot of time driving in our society, and a lot of us don’t necessarily have the best posture while we do it!  This can lead to neck, shoulder, low back pain and even headaches!  We provide you with the tips to properly set up your seat so that you can maintain better […]

Your teenage years are an excellent time to build your strength!  However, it’s also a time where you’re learning to control a growing body and mind.  Your muscles and growth plates are also still getting stronger.  This means that sometimes you need to focus on controlling your body weight first before adding too much resistance […]

Where did you go to school? Oregon State University for undergraduate, University of Colorado (Denver, CO) for PT school. What is your hometown? Corvallis, OR Tell us about your family! I was born and raised here in Corvallis and am lucky enough to still have most of my family here.  I am also very excited […]

A mastectomy can affect your shoulders, neck, and upper back years down the road –Physical Therapy can help avoid both the general pain and disabling shoulder pain afterwards. Physical Therapy is an important component and is often missed in the treatment of breast cancer patients. Studies have shown, even years after a mastectomy, individuals can […]

We’re all getting older and unfortunately aging does come with some challenges. These include decreased bone density and lean (muscle) mass along with an increase in body fat and a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Some of these changes are intensified in women after menopause. Many people are also exercising or being active less often […]

Short answer – No! Now for the long answer. One quarter of women in the US have some sort of pelvic disorder including urinary incontinence. Most think it is something that is normal after having children or just part of the aging process but this simply isn’t the truth. Physical therapy and pelvic floor strengthening […]

Attention women! If you’re not thinking about your bones – you should be! After menopause, bone density decreases, leaving you with a higher risk for a fracture of your hip (femur) or even your vertebrae. We’re targeting women today because of the 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, 80% are women. There are multiple factors that […]

Corvallis Sport and Spine Physical Therapy (Corvallis, OR) Where did you go to school? Oregon State University for undergrad, Go Beavs! Chapman University for my doctorate down in sunny Orange, CA where every day is summer. Go Panthers! What is your hometown? Medford, OR; I went to South Medford High School.  Again, Go Panthers! Tell […]

Ever have back pain caring for your child?  Check out my helpful tips on how to help you avoid back pain while caring for your kid! It’s one thing to see that, but why is the hip hinge so important?  I tell you why here! That’s great, but how the heck do I hip hinge? […]

Tennis players experience a mix of chronic (overuse) injuries and acute injuries. The most common injuries include tennis elbow (lateral epicondylalgia), shoulder injuries, stress fractures, and sprains or strains. Most of these injuries can be prevented with appropriate strengthening, stretching, and warm up activities! If you are starting to have any kind of pain in […]

As you are gearing up for the start of track season, it is important to consider how you are going to keep yourself healthy from day one to your final meet.  50% of all youth track and field athletes experience some type of injury – make sure you aren’t one of them! The most common […]

Baseball and softball season are here! Sport and Spine of Corvallis and Albany want to make sure that you have an excellent season without injury, so check out our 6 tips to stay healthy on the diamond this year! 1. Have a good dynamic warm-up before throwing and between innings Baseball/softball is a unique sport […]

In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Sport and Spine team wanted to give you some tips on how to keep your heart healthy and happy! No, we’re not talking about dating or marriage advice, although that kind of heart health is very important too!  We’re talking about your cardiovascular health!  The health of your heart, […]

With our society of screens and desk jobs, we tend to sit a lot.  Sitting too much can get us into trouble.  One of the best ways to improve our sitting posture is to have a proper chair, desk, keyboard, and monitor set up to align your body better.  This will decrease the load on […]

If you have a cell phone or ever use one, pay attention! Our changing culture of constant texting and browsing on mobile devices may actually be causing you pain or headaches. Take a look at this picture – what do you look like when you’re on the phone? The next time you’re engrossed in reading […]

Our final resolutions! This week, we’re building off our previous goals with our last three resolutions for our next 10 years!  The theme of our last three resolutions is growing ourselves to be your first and only choice for Physical Therapy and movement health and wellness. 8.  We will nurture and grow our team with […]

We’re halfway through our resolutions! This week, we’re building off our previous goals with our next three resolutions for our next 10 years!  The theme of our next three resolutions is resolving to educate and support our community! 5.  Educate our community about how to move better to help prevent injuries before they occur One […]

Last week we started off our resolution series and focused on our patient care goals. This week, we’re building off those goals with our next two resolutions for our next 10 years!  The theme of our next two resolutions is growing our relationships with other local professionals to provide you the best care possible! 3. […]

Here at Corvallis and Albany Sport and Spine Physical Therapy our mission is to “strive to empower patients to achieve greatness, improving lives and building relationships for life.” January 2015 marks our ten year anniversary helping you work, live, and play again! In January 2005, Laura and Carrol turned their dream for improving human movement into […]

It’s almost the New Year and you know what that means – time for resolutions! If you are making a resolution to start exercising this year, we have some information and tips to get you started.   First off, you’ve heard it all before but let’s take a minute to recall the benefits of exercise! […]

In today’s day and age, many people have jobs that involve long hours sitting and working on computers and talking on the phone.  Sitting at a desk for hours on a day to day basis can take its toll on the body resulting in aches, pains, and sometimes injuries.  This is due to the stagnant […]

Have you noticed that as the seasons change and the cold, rainy weather returns that your knee suddenly aches a little more? Or your wrist seems to always be the most painful right before a big storm? Well you’re not alone! Many people, most with chronic pain, do experience some change in their symptoms as […]

Adolescents tend to be a high risk category for ACL injuries, but why? As girls and boys hit puberty and begin to experience growth spurts, they all of a sudden have a longer trunk and limbs that they’ve never been accustomed to controlling. That requires a lot more strength! As teens are trying to better […]

It’s that time of year again! Time to dust off those basketball shoes, pump up that ball, and get back on the hardwoods! As basketball season kicks back into gear, we want to provide you with tips to help you improve your skills and decrease your risk for injury. Basketball players are at risk for a multitude of […]

Click here to view closeup Calling all female athletes or parents of active girls – listen up! We as physical therapists love when you are active, competitive, and driven to succeed but there is an under-recognized and under-reported phenomenon seen in active women that can cause serious health issues. I’m talking about the “Female Athlete […]

As Physical Therapists, we consider ourselves the human body movement experts. Just as a car needs to move (that’s its purpose) so do we! And just like a car needs repairs, so do we! As Doctorate level professionals of human movement, Physical Therapists are here to be your body mechanics! Just like your family has a mechanic […]

In our highly competitive and driven society, many kids are now participating in one sport all year long without a break and doing it at younger and younger ages. Some parents feel that if their child doesn’t specialize early on, they have no chance at excelling in the future and hopes of a scholarship will […]

Did you know in the state of Oregon, and most other states, you can seek Physical Therapy care without needing a physician referral? That said, some insurances, including Medicare, still require a referral so call us and ask if yours does! Take a look at our “Why DPT” post. It explains our Doctorate level training […]

Click map for close-up The profession of physical therapy is ever evolving and changing. One of the biggest changes in the last 20 years has been the transition to the DPT or Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree. As of today, all Physical Therapy Schools are at a doctoral level (except for one). By the year […]

So, you’ve been back to school for a week now and had some time to start to break in that brand new backpack, but are you wearing it properly? Here are the top three things to consider when fitting your backpack: Use of straps If you have a backpack, use both straps! With both straps, you’re […]

Click photo to enlarge Football is a high-energy sport with a lot of contact. Despite the ample padding and use of helmets, football players are still at risk for injury – especially concussion. Head trauma can occur with helmet to helmet contact or even when getting tackled to the ground. While other injuries can occur, […]

Football is a unique sport in the fact that it involves a lot of contact. That contact can lead to more injuries than we tend to see in other sports. Some contact injuries are a result of bad luck. No matter how strong or flexible you are, if you get hit in the wrong way, you’ll be […]

Are you a young athlete, or do you have one that’s looking to weight train. Here are five important tips to consider: Check with your physician before starting on any weight training program Begin with a supervised, no- or low-resistance exercise routine to perfect form and technique before adding too much extra weight Once form […]

High school sports are kicking into high gear and so are many other youth activities. If your child is playing football, soccer, volleyball, running cross country, or participating in any other athletic endeavor – listen up! All athletes are at risk for injury in every sport but there are things you (as an athlete or […]

Whether you are gearing up for the Albany Half Marathon or just hoping for a short jog around the track, running can often highlight a small malalignment or inefficiency in your stride or body mechanics that you may never have noticed before. These small problems can often turn into big problems – pain or injury […]

If you’re running in the Albany 1/2 marathon this week, or competing in a future race, we’d like to give you some tips on how to optimize your performance on race day! Tapering It’s important to build your base and peak training to your race distance about 2 weeks prior to your race. The NSCA […]

As with any activity it is important to have the right equipment and ensure that the equipment is in good working order. With running or walking your most important piece of equipment (other than strong muscles and good joint mobility) is your shoes! They can wear and break down quickly under the right circumstances. Here are […]

If you’ve followed baseball news at all this Spring and Summer, you may have noticed many pitchers having their season cut short to undergo Tommy John Surgery. This surgery has been around since 1974 when Dr. Frank Jobe performed it first on Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Tommy John. The surgery allowed Tommy to return to […]

Pregnant? We’ve Got Your Back When you are pregnant, your body changes to accommodate the growing baby and you may experience discomfort in your low back, pelvis, or hips. 50-70% of women experience back pain during their pregnancy – often in the third trimester due to hormonal changes in your ligaments causing more laxity (looseness) […]

My back has always hurt. Why would Physical Therapy make it better? This is a question we hear a lot. That’s because back pain is very common in the United States. 25% of people in the United States report having had back pain within the last 3 months1. Many people attempt to alleviate their back […]

“I’ve always had this pain…it’s never going away.” Have you been diagnosed with chronic pain? You are in the company of more than 50 million people in the United States living with chronic pain. It is the number one cause of adult disability in the US.3 Does your pain cause you stress or change your […]

“But I don’t play any sports…” If you aren’t a competitive athlete, you may not think that a clinic with “Sport” in the name is the place for you. In a previous post, we defined “sport” as anything that you play in a lively and happy way. Using that definition, we truly believe that everyone […]

Summer break is here! For many of you this means you get to spend a whole lot more time with your kids for the next 3 months. As the use of electronics continues to grow in today’s society, the amount of physical activity individuals (especially kids) get during their week continues to plummet. Sitting is […]

Are you taking a trip to Disneyland? The Grand Canyon? Even if you are just trying to get your 30 minutes of walking in each day, it is important to think about your feet! Long summer days and exciting vacations often mean more time walking, standing, and exploring. The high temperatures also mean you might […]

At Corvallis Sport and Spine Physical Therapy and Albany Sport and Spine, our names means more than it may seem at first glance. We believe that “Sport” and “Spine” are foundational to every person’s enjoyment of life and their ability to maximize their movement capabilities and overall quality of life. For us, these words extend […]