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I came to Allison after tearing my ACL for the second time. I was unable to do anything. After 10 months, I was able to return to playing sports (football and basketball) with complete confidence. I have had PT before on the first knee and Peak Performance was different than any other place! I feel great and better than I ever have. Thank you for allowing me to get back to football. Thank you, Allison! Timothy"Tim" Reilich November 13, 2018

Have you ever asked yourself, "Does my kid's injury need to be looked at by a professional?" No easy answers here…that’s for sure! Fall sports is definitely a time where we see more acute injuries in the clinic. It can be pretty tough to know as a parent when to bother getting seen by your doctor or a physical therapist versus just letting things settle on their own with some rest and ice. Most high school athletes have an athletic trainer at the school – so that’s a great starting point. But for some the hours don’t match up to be seen or things are so busy it might be harder to get looked at. There’s plenty of injuries that are minor bumps and bruises and “sort of” strains that probably don’t need to have you running off to the emergency room or urgent care right away. We’ve all seen those. It seems so painful in the moment and first hours and then the next day they’re (or you’re) up and running around like nothing happened. Quick recoveries are awesome aren’t they! But we’ve also seen in the clinic those times where somebody was days out and still limping. A week out and not able to use their arm normally. Or even two days later and the joint was sharply painful or making odd noises. Or just couldn’t be used properly. When a possible broken bone is the concern...if there’s obvious deformity or it swells really dramatically/quickly, if it’s exquisitely tender right over the bone itself, or the part won’t accept weight, then call your doctor or consider heading to the emergency room or an urgent care. You might need x-rays done to be sure there isn’t a fracture. But there are plenty of injuries that don’t immediately require x-rays but leave you wondering when to pull the trigger on seeing a professional. Plenty of minor injuries are painful but improve quickly. If the pain is lessening steadily and function (the ability to use the body part) is significantly improving day by day then monitoring things may be fine. But the more moderate an injury is, the more delayed the recovery process can be…and delaying treatment can add more time to that day you make it back to playing or work or just living normally again. And it’s often avoidable. If substantial improvements aren’t happening steadily, let’s say at least as you look back every day or two, then see a professional who can evaluate the injury or pain and make recommendations. Be demanding. Expect significant improvement. It’s much easier to get a quick treatment response when you get help sooner versus later! If you’re not sure what to do for your pain or injury, give one of our physical therapists a call at 218-0240 and we’ll try to help you through this. Karen

by Karen Napierala, PT, AT, MS, CAFSI vividly remember pick-up baseball. Hockey in the street. That one season where we were unstoppable. Maybe watching from the sidelines while the rest of the team slayed their opponent. Do those great memories of youth energize you? Have you thought about why you want your own kids to play sports?Are you looking to instill toughness, teach life rules? To buuild friendships, gain prestige? Maybe it's to keep them active and out of trouble, or maybe even earn a scholarship? These are all worthy goals. But why do our kids play sports? Simple...Because they love playing sports! Reality check: Only 6% of high school athletes go on to play college sports. The odds of winning an NCAA athletic scholarship are 2% and many of those scholarships are not full scholarships. Only 2% of all youth go on to professional sports.Why is it that 90% of parents believe that their child is in that 2%? And, a U.S. poll shows that 70% of kids actually quit sports for life after age 13. This trend is happening all around us. WHY? Here are a couple of possible reasons: The “adultifying” of sports. Many kids are being forced at a young age to play the sport for 9 to 10—even 11 months—a year. Even professional athletes take off 1 to 2 months from their sport every year to recharge mentally and physically! Parents can get caught up in thinking that their kids will be “behind” if they don’t play year round and on travel teams. A new study of more than 3,000 athletes ranging from high school to professional revealed that those who played only through high school began to specialize at an average age of 12.7, while collegiate and professional athletes specialized when they were over 14!Kids' sports are big business. Parents can and do drop thousands of dollars per year on travel sports. In 2015 it was a 15 billion dollar business!So, is early sport specialization eroding youth? Let me share my experiences and perspectives, both as a professional physical therapist and as a parent of four athletes. Kids who are self motivated may do well. These are the kids who are willing to go out and practice on their own just because they truly love the sport (maybe 10% of kids!). The ones who are shooting around outside until you make them come in when it gets dark! I have seen these kids, but they are far and few between and a coach's dream.Overall physical literacy has declined. Playing one sport develops a pattern of movement specific to that sport alone. For example, tennis develops specific muscles and patterns necessary for only tennis...which would not help with gymnastics or swimming. On the other hand, a sport like tennis can help with volleyball or throwing sports. Not only do they use complementary muscles, but the patterns between sports are similar, and the development of visual tracking can also cross over between sports. Coaches are calling for kids to just “play” or participate in multiple sports through the high school level to develop different muscles, hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and reaction times.Stay tuned...I'll share the rest of my thoughts on early sports specialization in Part II next week!Karen

I had a knee injury back in 2014, decreasing the daily activities I did. It wasn’t diagnosed that I needed more work, though, until the winter of 2016-2017. Andrew and the Peak Performance staff helped me get back to my old self! I am so grateful that I can now play baseball and basketball, and play outside pain free. Thank you, Andrew and the Peak Performance staff, for making this possible. I would not want to go to any other place. Thanks for all the support. Korbin J.

Any intense activity caused my shoulder to flare up. Andrew really helped me strengthen and stabilize my shoulder. I’ll always have some limitations, but I can play sports and work out more consistently now. And I will continue to work to get stronger and stronger and do more and more! Jonathan B. December 8, 2016

Peak Performance was a great experience! I’ve never had to take physical therapy before, and hope I never have to again, but Andrew helped me immensely. I was beginning to get frustrated because I couldn’t keep up in hockey, baseball, or soccer. After working with Andrew for 3 months, I got to the point where I can play sports without being held back by my injury! Thanks, Andrew! Matt K. Dec. 19, 2016

Before PT, I was having trouble in my sports, judo and soccer, due to a shoulder injury. I had separated my shoulder in May, but in July and August I still experienced pain and an overall feeling of weakness. During my PT with Andrew I worked to regain the strength that I lost. Now I am back to all activities with no trouble at all. Molly S. October 10, 2016

After hurting my hamstring during a lacrosse game, I was out for a while from sports. After coming to Peak Performance, I was set through specific training, stretching and lifting. After a few meetings with Peak, I felt stronger and more flexible with my whole leg. Thanks to Andrew, I was able to get back to sports very quickly! Michael M. October 10, 2016