Dana Palmer Physical Therapy

“Human beings are the only species that will deliberately deprive themselves of sleep without legitimate gain.”  - Matthew Walker, PhD (Author of " Why We Sleep ")                                               Sleep is a big issue for many people. Some have difficulty sleeping because they are in pain. Others have difficulty quieting their mind at night. Regardless of the cause, a lack of sleep can have some pretty damaging effects. I think we all sort of have a sense that sleep matters , but perhaps not how much or why, so let's go over what some of the research says about sleep. First of all, the average adult human needs 7-9 hours of sleep each night . This does not mean you should go for 5 days with only 5 hours of sleep and then try to "catch up" on the weekend by sleeping half the day so that your average sleep is 49 hours for the week. While this may work...

Foam Rolling.  MIRACLE tool or just another HYPED up product? And does it matter? There have been a lot of posts and debates on foam rolling. Many written by very compelling writers that would have you believe that foam rolling is a cure-all or completely useless. Like most things, I fall somewhere in the middle. Rarely is anything “all or nothing”. And you should beware of overly optimistic claims from someone who is trying to sell you something.  Will foam rolling for 5 minutes a day get rid of the pain you’ve had for 20 years? Not likely. Will foam rolling eliminate cellulite and turn back time? Nope. Will foam rolling detoxify your body? Ummmm . . . NO! If only all this were true. How easy it would be! Foam rolling can produce transient feelings of relaxation and reduction in tissue tension and pain (just like getting a massage or taking a vacation). Foam rolling can provide a nice prop to be able to perform exercises or increase joint mobility and...