• Why is it important?
  • Due to the the coronavirus pandemic, this is a great way for any type of health services to offer and continue treatment for patients in need of medical assistance
  • There is no reason why a patient's plan of care should be interrupted or discontinued for inconvenient reasons, and this is a perfect opportunity to continue desired treatments to work towards the end goal
  • Aside from the pandemic, telehealth is an up-and-coming business tool to reach out to patients who are unable to leave their homes for a variety of reasons

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• Should you consider participating in telehealth?
  • Yes! Off-Season Sports and Physical Therapy is working hard to ensure that all patients receive ongoing care so that progress is not disrupted. For those concerned about COVID-19, this is an easy solution for you. Through facetime, skype, zoom, etc... our therapists are willing to work with you and continue your rehab. We do not know how long social distancing will be in effect, and that being said, it is important that patients take the role in actively trying to continue physical therapy. Through telehealth, this makes the process that much easier to do so!​
• Do not delay your progress! It is crucial that physical therapy resumes as planned. We work hard at outlining individualized rehab plans that coincide with the injury and predicted healing process timeline. With delays in our plan, this will only expand your progress. Take advantage of telehealth while you can!

What should you choose? For me, it’s an obvious choice, but everyone has different fitness goals, and I won’t decide for you! I will hit on the benefits of both


Strength
        The cool thing about strength training is that, not only do you see physical changes, but the physiological changes happening within you are far greater. I’m talking about the hormonal benefits. When you do a strength workout (weight training), the anabolic hormones (testosterone, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor 1) can be elevated up to 48-72 hours post workout. That means things are happening inside your body when you’re not even trying! The recovery process is huge when it comes to strength training because of this. You are able to take rest days while your muscles are still growing and adapting to the exercise stimulus.
        What people don’t like about strength training is that it takes a long time to see improvements. People are impatient, and they want to see results right away as they’re putting in the hard work. It’s a several years process to achieve the body you desire. So why is it worth the wait? Well because of the hormonal effects I just mentioned, this has the ability to actually change your metabolism. You’ll be able to eat more and look better when your metabolism is higher.

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​Or should we say foot stretchers... Rowing is one of those sports... you know, one of those sports that makes you feel like you're going to die at the end of it. Recently rowing has become increasingly popular among the general fitness population. Crossfit, Orange Theory, and so many other fitness institutions are teaching clients to row on machines as part of a fantastic total body cardiovascular work out. 

Rowing mechanics are king! As with any sport, using your body mechanics can make or break you on the erg and on the water. Injuries like shoulder impingement syndrome, herniated discs and more can result from improper form. So what does proper form look like, you ask? Well... we could spend a few hours going over body mechanics of rowing but here are some of the basic principals to keep in mind: 1. Don't reach so far forward at the beginning of your stroke that you are pinching your hips or rounding your back. 2. Keep your core engaged and your down and back, to avoid unhealthy positions of the shoulders and spine. 3. Keep a light grip on the handle or oar to avoid tennis or golfer's elbow (and blisters!).

​So whether you're rowing for fitness on a machine, or hauling down the Head of the Charles race course, rowing is an excellent total body (and non-impact) activity. The actual footwear depends on the setting. In a boat rowers use shoes attached to the boat by way of foot stretchers, which allows the feet to remain stationary while the body is able to slide from front to back on a gliding seat (similar to the machine). Most rowers wear water-friendly booties inside these shoes as an additional barrier. On the erg, or rowing machine, you're afforded a more customizable experience. Because these machines have straps designed to look you in over your shoes, any good, supportive athletic shoe is appropriate. Dr. Larry recommends a good running shoe, fit by a knowledgeable vendor. However, there is some flexibility here since the activity is non-impact and the feet remain stationary. 

​If you're having pain with rowing, or for more instruction on the rowing machine or on the water, come on in and see us for a consultation!

Whatever it is you like to do to get your sweat on, stay moving, and be well!
Katie

Hi There!

My name is Dr. Katie McMahon. For those of you who don't know me, I am a physical therapist specializing in dance and performing arts medicine. I have been practicing now for 7 years and have an additional 15+ years experience in dance education as well as 30+ years of actual dance experience. Over the years I have had the privilege to treat students of all ages, professionals and teachers of various forms of dance, especially ballet. I have also had the opportunity to work with figure skaters, gymnasts, cheerleaders, divers, synchronized swimmers, and aerial artists. So basically, I have a very cool job. 


Some of my personal areas of interest are lower extremity injuries especially the feet, knees and everything in between, core stability and more recently, peripartum injuries and conditions. Something I feel strongly about both in my practice as a PT as well as in my won life, is treating the person, not only the injury, and finding and correcting the source. One of the ways I help my patients to overcome injury and reduce the likelihood of recurrence is to look at the demands of sport-specific movements, break it down and rebuild it using more sound alignment, biomechanics, and ensuring adequate muscle length, strength and proprioception to facilitate a correct pattern. What does this mean? Lets take ballet for example (since its my favorite!):

​Like in any sport, footwear is especially important, and highly specialized, just like it is in so many sports. At the professional and advanced student levels, pointe shoes are often required for many hours per week. The pointe shoe has a lot in common with any other shoe, in the sense that is the housing for your feet, the pointe where your ENTIRE BODY, comes into contact and interacts with the floor. HUGE! Now, pointe shoes are very different in the sense that they are hand made, made with very different materials than other footwear, and vary highly from length to width, and the overall shape which I will talk about more in another post to come. They also allow ballerinas to bare weight through the foot in ways that no other athlete is going to, through the tips of the toes. Thus selection of the correct shoe is crucial. Specialized fitters act as the "Olivander" of pointe shoes (Harry Potter reference), and select several pairs for students and professionals to try before the best fit is identified. A lot of the time, for my dancers, and all my other athletes, one part of treatment is taking a closer look at their footwear, and making changes as needed. 

So following this train of thought, of building from the ground up, and examining where we interact with the ground (or whatever else we're interacting with), I'm super excited to be bringing our patients posts about "walking in our patients shoes". In these posts, I will take a closer look at sport-specific footwear, examine what is important to know about getting into said shoes, and how we ensure a fun and injury-free sport experience through proper mechanics and training! So post on our page or message us if you have some shoes you want is to get into!

Look for up-coming posts!
Katie

​Hey guys, this is Taryn, and I am the Personal Trainer/Strength & Conditioning coach at Off-Season Sports & Physical Therapy. I run my business, Fit to a T, here and have recently launched social media (go check it out! @fit2a_t_official).  A little bit about me, I have a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology with a minor in nutrition. So yes, you could say I have an obsession for those two subjects. I am pursuing my Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and I will be graduating this coming May from UMass Lowell! In addition to this, I recently earned my CSCS, which allows me to train all athletes. With this background, my philosophy with training involves total body strengthening combined with injury prevention. I believe that maximizing function is the overarching goal in training, and if people move well, they most likely function great.

  I practice what I preach! You can find me at the gym 6 days a week performing the same exercises I give my clients. There are certain exercises I like and do not like, but I’m always up for learning new things and experimenting. I try to keep up to date with strength and conditioning figures and the fitness trends out there. My passion for learning has me on youtube trying to find new things from my favorite fitness icons. However, as much I love the strength and conditioning side of things, you will hear me talk a lot about nutrition. I am truly fascinated by science and bioenergetics, and I have studied these processes countless times so that I can grasp an understanding on how food and the body really work together. That being said, I keep a healthy diet and encourage others to prioritize this overall!

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This is not the photo you expect to see in July!! This blog post is to let Off-Season Sports and Physical Therapy clients know that there is a new nutritionist at the clinic. Kathleen Searles, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN is moving on after 5 years with OSSPT. My husband just retired from The Governors Academy, and we have relocated to northern New Hampshire. 

Erin Columbia, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN is now seeing clients at OSSPT. Erin graduated from Penn State University, where she has also served as Associate Director of Sports Nutrition.
She has a MS in Clinical Nutrition from Boston University. Erin relocated her practice from the South Shore in May and is ready to see clients at OSSPT! In addition to her sports nutrition expertise (and experience as a collegiate athlete) she has experience with eating disorders and general nutrition issues. 

While Erin is taking over at OSSPT, I am launching Snowtrition (www.snowtrition.com). Snowtrition offers sports nutrition expertise for skiers and snowboarders, and I will have some limited availability at OSSPT to meet with clients in addition to availability on-line and via telephone. Still working out the details, but I hope you will visit me at Snowtrition! Join the Snowtrition Facebook group and like Snowtrition on Instagram and Twitter!
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Can healthy eating go too far? Orthorexia is a form of disordered eating involving an obsessive interest in the quality, healthfulness and wholesomeness of food. Typically orthorexia starts with a focus on choosing healthy or unprocessed “clean” foods. But this interest in eating well develops into a collection of food rules that ultimately become overwhelming.

​From simply trying to eat healthy, persons with orthorexia become preoccupied with finding only
the healthiest foods. They may avoid social situations and family events because they are worried that they will be pressured to eat “forbidden” foods. Their sense of self-esteem may be related to their ability to follow the food rules, and they may experience anxiety and shame if they are not able to.

It won't be long before the sap rises and maple syrup season arrives. Here are a few maple themed products from New England that can be used for sports fueling and hydration.

Drink Maple is described as "pure maple water, straight from the tree." It is from Concord, MA and is marketed as a sports drink. An 8 ounce portion has 25 Calories, 6 grams of carbohydrate, and 40% of the daily manganese requirement. (Manganese does not have any particular known benefit for athletic performance.) This product has a little more body and sweetness than plain water.

Untapped, based in Richmond, VT, offers maple waffles and 1 ounce packets of maple syrup. The waffles are made with organic maple syrup and have 140 Calories and 20 grams of carbohydrate. They are a little drier and crumblier than I expected, but the maple flavor was pleasant. The Slopeside Syrup is billed as "all natural athletic fuel" and has 100 Calories, 26 grams of carbohydrate, and 60% of the daily manganese requirement. These could be used as carb sources during cross-country skiing, running,  cycling, or other activity.

Brown Cow maple whole milk yogurt is distributed by Stonyfield yogurt in Londonderry, NH. It provides 130 Calories, 23 grams carbohydrate, and 5 g protein. It is a "cream top" yogurt with a pleasant mpale flavor. It would make a good recovery snack.

If you are looking for a change from standard sports drinks and gels give one of these a try!

​© 2017 Kathleen Searles, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN 

Would you like to take the worry out of eating? That’s just what Ellyn Satter, a Registered Dietitian and Family Therapist, recommends in her Eating Competency Model. Satter developed her model after seeing that though people often feel guilty or worried about food, they often don’t actually follow published nutrition guidelines. Her mission is to help people feel joyful and confident about eating.
Competent eaters demonstrate the following behaviors:

1. * Feeling good about food and about eating…and not worrying about feeling good about it
2. * Liking a variety of foods and enjoying learning to like new foods
3. * Trusting themselves to eat the right amount (and allowing body weight to reflect genetics and lifestyle)
4. * Taking time to eat regular meals and snacks and paying attention while eating