Articles
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Our Iliotibial Band is a thick piece of fibrous connective tissue that runs down the outside of our leg. When too much strain goes through our IT Band it can lead to pain on the outside of the knee that can limit out ability to be as active as we like. This is common in walkers, hikers, runners, and anyone else who puts a lot of miles on their body.
At the clinic we help adults with IT Band keep active, strong and doing what they love. In this week’s article we look at the best things you can do to treat IT Band pain and run with less knee pain.
The squat is one of the most important movements to master in keeping active, strong, and doing what we love. Not only is it a great indicator of full body movement and function but -when performed correctly - is a great way to build strength and protect our joints for less pain, arthritis, and overall dysfunction.
We teach this movement to almost everyone who steps foot in our clinic and have seen many of the mistakes that people can make when learning. In this article we’ll cover how to perform the squat and what to pay attention to to avoid back, knee and joint pain.
The kettlebell deadlift is one of the most important movement patterns you can learn and will save you from years of back, knee and joint pain. The kettlebell deadlift takes pressure off your joints by improving your movement patterns, increasing motor recruitment, and building strength in your hamstring and your glutes.
We teach this movement to almost everyone who steps foot in our clinic and have seen it all. In this article we’ll cover how to perform the kettlebell deadlift and avoid the mistakes that lead to back, knee and joint pain.
I strongly believe that everyone should have a solid understanding of how to perform a good hip hinge movement…ESPECIALLY anyone dealing with back, knee, or joint pain. This is a movement that we use everyday anytime we reach forward, bend down, lift something off the floor, and especially in most exercise programs. If we don’t’ understand how to hinge we’ll put more force on our back, knees, and joints which OVER TIME will lead to pain, arthritis and dysfunction….something nobody wants.
We work with people everyday teaching them how to hinge and avoid a lot of the common mistakes people make when learning this important movement…which we cover in today’s article.
Joint pain and arthritis are a major concern for adults as they age. Waking up each morning with stiff and achy joints creates frustration and worry about what would happen if it were to get worse. A trip to most traditional doctors usually lead to recommendations of pills, injections, endless visits, or even surgery - without ever mentioning the most common causes of joint pain and arthritis in adults aged 40+. This leads to more pain, higher costs, and most importantly…a life limited by arthritis and joint pain.
In this weeks article we look at the top three causes of joint pain and arthritis that are most commonly left out of traditional medicine. By improving these three things you can save yourself from years of pain and dysfunction.
When it comes to getting out of pain and living an active, healthy, and happy life, exercise should be part of the solution…NOT the problem. Unfortunately for many, their favorite exercise routine is actually the source of their pain. For every one day on, they have to take 3-4 days off to rest their achy joints. Without a clear understanding of how to move and safely build strength we end up putting too much force on our joints that leads to more pain and limits our ability to keep active. The opposite of our goal!
In this weeks article we cover three things everyone should know to be able to build strength and exercise without overstressing their joints so they can continue to build the strength and confidence to live active, healthy and happy lives.
Sciatic pain is easily the most commonly searched term that leads people to find our clinic. Unfortunately, the word ‘Sciatica’ has become an over generalized term that has come to refer to ANY sort of back and leg pain. The problem is that there are A LOT of things that can cause back and leg pain. In fact, MAJORITY of what people call sciatic pain’ isn’t caused by your sciatic nerve at all.
This confusion leads people to scour the internet for the best sciatic pain stretches, unaware that there are many conditions that stretching sciatic pain can actually make your pain WORSE. Which is why in this weeks article we look at when you should, and shouldn’t, stretch for your sciatic pain.
The traditional approach to treating knee pain is NOT working. Pills and injections only mask symptoms and lead you closer to surgery. Therapies alone provide temporary relief but the pain always comes back. When these traditional approaches to treating knee pain fail - most people are being told it’s because of their arthritis, there’s nothing that they can do, and they should just give us their favorite activities all together. NOT TRUE.
Today we’ll cover the root causes of knee pain often overlooked by your doctor so you know exactly what to do to over come knee pain, keep active, and feel confident in your knee’s ability to do what you love.
Knee pain is one of the most common things that keep people from being as active as they would like. The problem with most traditional therapies is they fail to address the root cause of knee pain - leaving people with temporary relief that often comes back weeks (if not days later).
The root cause of MOST knee pain are movement issues that have been compounded over months to years. This includes how we move (movement patterning), how much movement we have (mobility) and our ability to control that movement (strength). If you don’t fix those three things, it’s a guarantee that knee pain will come back.
In this weeks article we take a look at three ways to improve movement to solve knee pain - even when nothing else has worked.
The squat is one of the best exercises to improve movement patterning as well as building strength needed to protect our joints and avoid back, hip, and knee pain. When recovering from an injury or simply getting back into exercising it’s important to be able to progress and regress certain movements to meet you where your at and keep you safe.
veryday we work with clients aged 40+ to keep active, strong, and doing what they love. One of the most common things we hear in the clinic, and a the driving reason that many people come to chat with us initially, is a thought that they ‘feel older than they should’. Usually it will be a big birthday or event coming up that will get them thinking more about their stiff, achy, and painful joints and realize that it’s not normal to have these things limit what they can, and cannot do. They’ll say to themselves “I’m turning 50 but I feel like I’m 80”….
Not a great feeling and 100% treatable and preventable. In today’s article we cover the top three reasons that people feel older than they and what they can do about it to start living active, healthy, and happy lives.
If you’ve seen your doctor for shoulder pain they most likely only offered rest, pills, injections, or surgeries. All can help with symptoms without treating root causes. Traditional physical therapy will often only focus on healing and strengthening the injured muscle - ignoring other contributing factors and almost guaranteeing that the pain comes back when you get back to your normal activities.
What if I was to tell you there may be something causing your shoulder pain that your doctor hasn’t told you about?
In this weeks article we’ll be looking at three causes of shoulder pain that are commonly overlooked by your doctor, physical therapist, and chiropractor and will explain while your shoulder pain just won’t go away.
It’s a running joke in the fitness industry. The New Years rush. The time in January when gym memberships spike, the number of people in the gym grows, and then steep fall off in February. Every year it’s the same thing. But why? Everyone know and wants to be more healthy, fit and strong. Why do so many people fail to hit these goals year after year?
In this weeks article we discuss the three primary reasons most peoples New Years Goals fall flat and what you can do about it.
If you’ve gone to see a medical doctor for chronic knee, hip, shoulder or back pain, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be recommended a steroid injection for pain. It’s their go-to treatment when pain pills aren’t enough. When recommending injections they often conveniently leave out or brush over all the negative long term side effects that injections have that lead to WORSE outcomes for their patients.
In today’s article we discuss three reasons for you to avoid steroid injections even after your doctor recommends them.
Everyday we work with individuals to overcome sciatic pain and we’ve often found that there are a lot of misconceptions and false beliefs that can actually hold us back from making a quick recovery.
The following are the three critical mistakes we see people make when trying to recover from sciatic pain and some tips on what you can do to avoid them.
Here at the clinic we work with clients everyday to help ease the pain caused by sciatica. But even once the pain and gone and the injury has healed, most people still have a nervousness or worry that any wrong movement may set it off again. That worry keeps them from participating or enjoying the activities that they used to love. It’s the reason that it’s so important not only to help our clients ease sciatic pain, but to build CONFIDENCE in their bodies ability to handle the activities they love.
In this article we discuss what you can do to ease sciatic pain and keep it from ever being an issue again
Everyday we work with individuals to overcome knee pain and we’ve often found that there are a lot of misconceptions and false beliefs that can actually hold us back from living the life we want. The following are the five critical mistakes we see people make when trying to recover from knee pain and some tips on what you can do to avoid them.
Neck pain is a common condition that keeps a lot of people from being as active as they would like. For many, the pain may not be debilitating but makes it hard to work, sleep, and exercise without that distraction that keeps us from being able to fully enjoy those activities. A lot of people try stretching, going to the chiropractor, - which helps, but has failed to fully resolve the issue.
Today we discuss three frequently overlooked contributors to neck pain and what we can do to correct them when traditional therapies haven’t worked.
While a seemingly low impact activity - running can be one of the most injurious sports out there. And one of the most common injuries we see from runners is knee pain. We’ve been speaking to and helping runners get back to their routine for the last 10 years and today we discuss three of the most common reasons runners experience knee pain and what they can do to fix it.
With most things in life, but especially in healthcare and the pain management world, we tend to overthink things. And the result is over-complicated solutions that don’t really get to the heart of the problem. We’ve been helping people get out of pain - even when nothing else has worked - for the last 10 years and found that the most commonly overlooked and under treated aspect of someone’s health - which we discuss in this month’s article.
Having had conversations with 100’s of adults with back pain, I can say that most people are very confused about what they should be doing about their pain. With so much information and mixed messages out there it’s easy to see why. But it doesn’t have to be. Which is why I wanted to have an honest conversation about what it is going to take for anyone to finally SOLVE their back pain.
Everyday people in Portland, OR are being told by their doctors that they have arthritis and that as a result – should stop performing their favorite activities (or take a boat load of pain pills or start getting injection). Not the most helpful advice.
What people aren’t being told is that arthritis is a normal part of the aging process and that there are many natural and safe options to keep you active, strong, and going what you love – regardless of age. In this month’s article we discuss three ways to treat arthritis and get back to doing the things that make you happy.
When you have knee pain, If your doctor is only looking at your knee there is a problem!
Summer weather means more opportunities for hiking, biking, running and walking! An unfortunate side effect of more fun summer activities can be more knee pain for some individuals. We’ve worked with 100’s of individuals struggling with knee pain get back to their favorite activities and I can say with 100% certainty that any (non-traumatic) cause of knee pain can be attributed to a problem elsewhere in the body. Today we’ll discuss three of the more common things to look at to finally find a solution to your knee pain.
Prime hiking season is almost here - and with the governor set to reopen some of Oregon and Washington’s natural areas now is the perfect time to start prepare your body for your favorite summer activities so you can truly enjoy your favorite hikes with friends.
The unfortunate truth is that we meet a lot of people are dealing with knee pain and worry that it may limit their favorite outdoor activities. In this weeks article we’ve put together the Top 5 things you can do to hike with less knee pain this summer.
The current pandemic is all a mental game. After taking some time off and observing how my friends, family, and other businesses are handling the crisis, I'm convinced of one thing.
The people who will come out of this whole ordeal the best are the ones best equipped to handle the mental game that this pandemic can play on you.
Which is why in this weeks article we wanted to cover the best things you can do to win the mental game and come out stronger, healthier, and better equipped for the post COVID-19 world.
When our circumstances change, we have to change. Life is really that simple.
Our services have always been about more than getting someone out of pain. They’re about having life changing impacts for anyone that walks through our door. And that can be accomplished in the clinic, at home, or on the freaking moon - it doesn’t matter. If you are looking to change your current circumstance to be more comfortable, get more focus, and fee better about yourself and what’s going on in the world around you - we can help.
Today we cover three ways you can benefit with our At-Home Therapy Sessions with our Pain Specialists.
Strength training isn’t just about ‘being in good shape’ anymore.
Did you know that between the ages of 24 - 50, our muscle mass decreases by 5-10%? After the age of 50 our muscle mass will decrease, on average, by about 10% per decade? Or how about that if we do nothing, our bone density will decrease with age by about 6% per decade?
Which leads to more arthritis, more osteoporosis, osteopaths, and bone fractures, and even more daily aches and pains.Which is the reason why it’s so important for strength training to be brought out of the gym and into the clinic.
In today’s article we cover the top three benefits of strength training for anyone in their 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s.
One of the most common questions we get asked is ‘Why does my back pain always come back?’. Most people that come into our clinic See most people have tried chiropractic, physical therapy, massage, and/or acupuncture. All of which provided some symptomatic relief during the course of therapy - but didn’t seem to keep it from coming back the minute they stopped. They’re frustrated because they’ve already spent a good amount of time, energy and money on ‘solutions’ to their back pain - only for the pain to come back a few weeks later and they don’t want to make the same mistake again.
In this article we discuss the top three reasons your back pain keeps coming back…eve after years of treatment and therapy.
There’s nothing more frustrating than investing time and money in solving a problem like knee pain - only to have the pain come back years, months, even days later. In this weeks article we cover three reasons your knee pain keeps coming back even after traditional physical therapy and chiropractic care.
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Building strength is THE most important thing adults aged 40+ can do to live with less joint pain and maintain their ability to do what they love (among a host of other health benefits). It’s also something that most doctor’s offices leave out of their treatment plans. If you are new to strength training it’s hard to know where to start. Which is why in this week’s article we look at the top three strength exercises adults aged 40+ should master for less joint pain and better confidence in their ability to do what they love.