Kinetic Health

Hamstring injuries are common problems that affect numerous people every year. Hamstring injuries are often associated with sports that require fast acceleration and deceleration such as running (intervals), football, soccer, hockey, tennis baseball and rugby. Hamstring injuries are often slow to heal and have a very high rate of re-occurrence.

Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) is an overuse injury seen in runners, cyclists, soccer players, skiers, and weightlifters. ITBS is one of the most common causes of lateral knee pain. This condition often never completely resolves with conventional treatments, since most practitioners do not typically address all of the key structures involved in this injury.

The popliteus muscle is often called "The Key of the Knee" because it is responsible for "unlocking" the knee when the leg is in an extended position. Besides this "unlocking" function the popliteus muscle also helps to perform several critical actions during the gait cycle.

It is incredibly important to maintain balance of flexibility and strength between the Hamstrings and Quadriceps. The ratio of hamstring to quadriceps strength should be at least 60 percent but, ideally 75%. When these two structures are out of balance, you set yourself up for knee injuries, hamstring strains, gait imbalances, along with a host of other lower extremity injuries.

People often think that shin splints only affects runners but in reality, it's a common injury that affects participants of any sport that involves running or jumping. This includes activities such as soccer, rugby, basketball, volleyball, tennis, badminton, lacrosse, and dance.

The Achilles Tendon serves to transmit the force generated by the calf muscles to produce the push-off that is required for walking, running, and jumping. Despite its impressive strength, the Achilles Tendon is extremely vulnerable to injuries that often end athletic careers.

Although OA is not a condition that reduces life span, it does have a significant effect on the quality of an individual’s life. Fortunately, manual therapy and exercise can make a significant difference to this condition by slowing its progression, reducing or eliminating pain, and improving overall function.

In part two of “Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee” we will discuss using manual therapy techniques with video demonstrations showing both joint mobilization and soft tissue techniques that we use. We also include video demonstrations showing common exercises that we prescribe to our patients with hip and knee OA.