This blog was originally written on June 24, 2019, and has been updated since.

If you have scheduled a procedure to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), you’re probably wondering, “How long will I be out of my normal routine?” Although this is an important question, there is much more to ACL surgery recovery than just getting back on your feet. Even after you can walk without crutches or other assistive devices, your body is still healing, and the recovery process continues.

This blog was originally written on January 27, 2020, and has been updated since.

Anyone can suffer from a hip flexor injury, but athletes, martial artists, and dancers know this kind of injury all too well. The hip flexors are a group of muscles along the bottom of your abdomen and the top of your hips. Even if you’re not performing a three-hour stage show like a certain superstar, activities such as kicking, running, jumping, and dancing all engage those muscles.¹

Back pain: It can strike suddenly or sneak up on you after a long period of wear and tear. Considering it’s the second most common health complaint doctors hear after headaches, back problems are likely to happen to you sometime during your life. (1)

Whether you enjoy extreme sports (misty mountain hopping, anyone?) or just golfing the fairway to heaven, wrist injuries happen. Some of them, like fractures (a.k.a. a broken bone) might require surgery. If you do need surgery, proper recovery is important so you can ramble on with your favorite activities.

If you’ve ever hoisted a squirming toddler or forgotten your form during a deadlift, I’ve got a feeling you know what it’s like to pull a back muscle. What we call a “pulled” muscle in the back actually refers to one of two different injuries:

Regardless of activity level, no one is immune to muscle strains. And what is a muscle strain? It’s damage to a muscle or tendon (AKA the tissue that attaches muscle to bone).1,2 A strain can be as mild as over-stretching and as severe as tearing in the muscle or tendon. Muscle strains are not limited to athletes, either; you can strain a muscle by lifting something too heavy (say, a box of books, or an eager grandkid). Using one muscle over and over can cause strain, as can falling, reaching, turning your head too far or too quickly... the list goes on.1

Whether you’re throwing passes or passing the potato salad, injuries happen. Along with that twinge in your shoulder or twisted ankle comes swelling and inflammation. Why?