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California Orthopedics & Spine

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California Orthopedics & Spine

At California Orthopedics & Spine, our team of physicians and healthcare professionals are dedicated

03/30/2024

Whether it is due to aging or a recent surgery, kneeling can be difficult and painful for the knees. That does not mean you will never kneel again. While there are some exercises you can do to improve this function, getting a simple foam pad or pillow will reduce the pressure on the knees. This is a common modification used by gardeners and manual labor workers. If you still find this painful, you can start on all fours with the knees on the cushion and rock back and forth gently to gradually get your knees used to the load. Over time, you can work your way into being upright.

03/18/2024

If you are dealing with tight hip flexors, here is an exercise that might help. It is a fusion dance of two common physical therapy exercises, the Thomas Stretch and Straight Leg Raise. We like to call it the Thomas Straight Leg Raise or Long Thomas!

Setup: Position your body diagonally on a table/bed so that one leg is hanging off the side and the other is bent with your foot on the table.

Movement: Keeping your knee straight, lift your leg so that your thigh matches the height of the stationary thigh. Slowly lower it back down and pause at the bottom for 3 to 5 sec for a good stretch. Repeat for 2 sets of 10.

03/08/2024

The rotator cuff is a group of 4 muscles that act to provide dynamic stability to the shoulder. 2 great exercises to improve the stability of the shoulder are shown here:

Shoulders should be perpendicular to the wall. Arm out to 90 degrees against the ball. Move in small circles clockwise and counterclockwise.

Shoulders should be square to the wall. Arm out to 90 degrees against the ball. Move in small circles clockwise and counterclockwise.

Start with 3 sets of 15 reps in each direction.

01/23/2024

No gym? No problem! If you don’t have weights or travel and can’t take them with you, you can be creative and use a set of therabands! There are exercises for just about every body part that you can do with a theraband, and the bands are color coded based on resistance. Different vendors have different color coding, so check the scale out and always listen to your body and use the level of resistance that feels challenging but not straining.

01/19/2024

A gait belt is a valuable tool for rehabilitation professionals, caregivers, and family members to use for individuals that have balance deficits or higher risk of falling. They can be used to assist with transfers from the chair and bed and are better and safer than grabbing onto the individual’s pants or shirt, which can tear or feel uncomfortable. Here is how you use it:

Tighten the belt around the waist of the individual. There should be some space for your fingers. Stand close to the person while you assist them with their transfer or give them assistance for their balance. We recommend going to a trained professional, such as a physical therapist, to give you more training and guidance, as you do not want to hurt yourself while helping them.

12/22/2023

If you spend the majority of your day sitting, the figure 4 stretch along with a lower trunk rotation is a great way to decrease tension in the low back and maintain the flexibility in your spine.

For this stretch, start by lying on your back and placing one ankle on your opposite knee. From here you can gently push the knee away from you. At this point you can add a rotation. Try this 10x in each direction daily to decrease your low back tension and maintain spinal mobility.

12/14/2023

The Face Pull to Overhead Press is an intermediate rotator cuff strengthening exercise. It can be a good exercise to transition towards overhead lifting or as a warmup before upper body workouts.

To perform: Anchor a band at shoulder height, with light tension in the band at this initial position. Pull your elbows and wrists back, bringing your hands to your ears. Next, push your arms towards the ceiling, pausing for 1-2 seconds at the top. Initiate the return by lowering your arms back to shoulder height. Then allow your shoulders to rotate forward so your forearms are parallel to the ground, and move your arms forward slowly. Repeat for sets of 5.

12/08/2023

The “bird dog” is a simple exercise used frequently in PT for our patients with low back pain. This exercise helps with core and trunk strengthening. While in a hands and knees position, brace your abdominal muscles and then slowly lift a leg and opposite arm upwards. Hold for 3-5 seconds, then lower leg and arm down and repeat with the opposite side. Do your best to maintain a level and stable pelvis and spine the entire time. Repeat 5 times on each side.

11/29/2023

“Sitting is the new smoking” is a popular saying these past several years. It translates to mean that prolonged sitting can lead to detrimental health issues. Issues can range from joint and hip stiffness to nerve impingement/irritation, such as sciatica or numbness/tingling in the arms and hands. With an increase in work from home and seated desk jobs, it may be difficult to stand and move throughout the day. Here are some ways to improve your work ergonomics:

In the first picture, the individual’s head is protruding forward, his shoulders are rounded, his laptop is too high, and his spine is not supported by the chair. In the second picture, he now has his back supported with a pillow, his shoulders are relaxed and his wrists are supported on a desk. While this is a better position, getting up and moving every 30-60 minutes is better for overall health.

10/24/2023

The Bulgarian split squat is a great lower body strengthening exercise for single leg strength and stability. This is an especially good one for skiers/snowboarders preparing their bodies for the upcoming season! For this exercise, stand on one leg and place your other foot propped up on a chair or bench behind you as shown. Next, bend your front knee and lower your body towards the floor. Return to a standing position. You can add a weight in your opposite hand for an added challenge. Start with 3 sets of 8 reps on each side.

10/18/2023

Here is one of our physical therapists, Dr. Jim Zhu, performing one of his favorite exercises to strengthen glutes, called the Banded Toe Taps. To set up:

1) Place a loop band just above your knees or your ankles

2) Get into a half squat by bringing your hips backwards and chest down

3) Shift all your weight onto one leg. This will be your stance leg.

4) Movement: With all your weight on the stance leg. Tap the toe of the moving leg diagonally backwards and away from yourself and back next to your stance foot for the prescribed reps.

You should feel the lateral glute of your stance leg working the most as it is both supporting your weight and resisting the pull of the band as you move the moving leg.

10/13/2023

The Apley scratch test is a screening tool to determine shoulder mobility, stability, and dynamic range of motion. To perform the test, use one arm to reach behind your back by going over the shoulder. The other arm also will reach behind the back but from low back. If you are able to have the fingers/hands touch with no pain, it presents with a relatively healthy shoulder. However, pain, inability, or asymmetry compared to the other side may present with a problem(s) in one or both shoulders. A skilled PT can use this tool to help create a plan of care and exercise plan to address these deficits.

Address

18 Bon Air Road
Larkspur, CA
94939

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Website

https://www.caorthospine.com/

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