Eclipse Wellness

Eclipse Wellness Physical Therapy and Nutrition experts helping you reach your goals with one-on-one care

04/08/2026

Baseball players - try these 2 exercises if you are dealing with low back pain!

Low back pain often results from compensation due to decreased mobility in surrounding areas. The hips are a common area to experience tightness. Extension and rotation are two important movements with swinging and throwing, and we want to prepare our body to handle the load.

You may have seen these exercises before, but make sure that you are doing them correctly to isolate your hips and get the biggest benefit. Try these as a warm up and after practice or games to promote increased mobility and decreased low back pain.

04/02/2026

Here is how I have my spondylolisthesis and other back pain patients squat if they have pain with back squats.

Raising your heels and having a box behind you are great tweaks, but sometimes the issue is the position of the load. Your body is a series of levers. Having weight behind your center of mass causes you to shift weight to the front of your feet. Your body then compensates by extending your low back to push your hips backwards and counter the weight on the front of your feet.

Putting the weight in front of your center of mass allows you to keep your weight evenly distributed in your feet and avoid the low back extension. This decreases the stress on your low back.

You can utilize front squats while you are recovering and transition back to back squats as your body allows. You can also keep front squatting because as long as you are not lifting in competitions, it doesn’t matter how you squat. Front squats can help target the quads and provide a different stimulus to incorporate in your regular workout routine.

Try this simple suggestion if you are dealing with low back pain, particularly with squatting!

04/01/2026

Here are some simple exercises that I use with clients recovering from a spondylolisthesis.

Extension of the low back is often painful in these clients, so I want to maximize the extension in the segments above and below the lumbar spine. That means progressing thoracic and hip extension.

These exercises accomplish those goals with minimal lumbar stress. Your physical therapy should include interventions targeting the surrounding areas as they can help speed up healing and decrease pain!

03/31/2026

Try these exercises if you are early in the rehab process with back pain.

A spondylolisthesis typically results in more pain with extension and rotation. To start preparing for rotation, we want to load the rotational muscles isometrically. That’s where these exercises come into play.

They are a great way to load the muscles early in rehab, but they can also bridge the gap if you are having trouble getting back to full rotation with some lingering pain. Load up the weight and use these movements to build some baseline strength to improve your tolerance to rotation and extension.

Give these a try if you are dealing with low back pain, specifically a spondylolisthesis!

03/30/2026

Trigger point dry needling is an amazing treatment if you are dealing with spondylolisthesis.

Early in the rehab process we have a tough time stretching or mobilizing the muscles around the injury. Instead of stressing a painful area, I prefer trigger point dry needling to decrease muscle tension.

I have been dry needling for almost 10 years (yikes) and I was slow to adopt electric stim with dry needling. However, research shows that it is typically more effective than the piston technique that I previously favored. At the end of the day, I want to give my clients the best options and this is another tool in the toolbox.

If you are dealing with an injury, don’t just rely on rest early on in recovery. Manual therapy techniques like dry needling can decrease pain and accelerate healing. Questions about dry needling or spondylolisthesis or anything else? Reach out!

03/28/2026

Some simple lifestyle modifications can pay huge dividends when you are dealing with spondylolisthesis.

Extension and rotation tend to cause the most pain, so we want to avoid those movements. I’m hesitant to mess too much with sleep, as most people are particular about positioning. However, these are some simple changes with a pillow that can improve sleep quality and decrease pain in the morning.

Sitting also tends to be more comfortable, so sitting exercises such as a stationary bike are a good way to relieve pain. They allow you to move and get your blood flowing with minimal back strain.

Try these if you are dealing with any back pain at night, but especially if you have a spondylolisthesis!

03/27/2026

Spondylolisthesis is a scary word, partially because it sounds intimidating. Let’s break down what it means, especially for baseball players.

A spondylolisthesis occurs when there is a fracture on the back of your spine. This fracture can be small and asymptomatic, or it can be bigger and cause the spinal segment to slip forward. There are grades of spondylolisthesis, which simply tells you how far it has slipped forward.

These fractures can occur from trauma or repetitive stress. Excessive rotation such as swinging a bat can lead to stress that causes the initial injury.

You can imagine that a spinal fracture by itself can be painful. There can also be trauma to the nerves or surrounding muscles. Treatment involves rest to avoid exacerbation of the fracture. Surgery is rarely considered and conservative management with physical therapy is ideal. Stay tuned to see some treatment options that I love for baseball players with spondylolisthesis!

03/26/2026

Out-of-network physical therapy does not mean more complicated.

In fact, it is the opposite. It simplifies things and narrows the focus to the patient and the physical therapist. That way you and your physical therapist can focus on the task at hand: you feeling better.

I did not even go into the financial transparency with out-of-network care or the higher standard. At Eclipse Wellness, you can stop physical therapy at any time if it isn’t up to your standards. In-network care locks you into a practice because the insurance company approves visits for that individual provider. This is a uniquely frustrating system. It is easier to just not be a part of it.

Questions about out-of-network physical therapy? Let me know! You would be surprised how much time I spend explaining health insurance to patients. I think I know it pretty well!

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