Onward Physical Therapy Blog

One of the common things we treat here at Onward is overhead squat shoulder pain in the functional fitness athletes. This is because the overhead squat position (really wide grip overhead) can be a stressful position on the shoulder. If you don’t have good strength and mobility around that area this stress is increased. We’re going to go through three...

Suffering from femoracetabular impingement? Dr. Zach Long is a sports physical therapist in Charlotte, NC who specializes in helping individuals dealing with this painful condition. We’d love to help get you on the road for recovery.   Best Hip Impingement Stretches video transcript: What’s going on everybody? Zach Long here, doctor of physical therapy, to talk about my three favorite...

Hip Pain During Squats Video Transcript: Hey, what’s going on everybody? Zach Long here, Doctor of Physical Therapy,talking about the best stretches for dealing with hip pain during your squats. This is often referred to as femoracetabular impingement or hip impingement. This is something that I very commonly treat, especially with CrossFitters, powerlifters and Olympic lifters. These two stretches will...

For endurance athletes, getting back to running postpartum is a huge goal. Having a child is life changing, coming with many good things, but also lots of increased stress. Running for so many is a fantastic outlet for this stress but lots of misinformation exists about when it is safe to return to running after pregnancy. We hope to clear...

Dealing with shoulder pain? Limited mobility hurting your performance in overhead lifts? No worries…we’ve got you covered with these exercises designed to open up your shoulder mobility! Shoulder Mobility Exercises Prayer Stretch First, we have the prayer stretch (aka the bench stretch). This is a very easy to set up drill with only a bench, couch, or chair needed. However,...

Your upper back, or thoracic spine, mobility is incredibly important for athletic performance and rehabilitating from injuries to your low back, shoulders, and neck. When stiff, it can put extra stress on each of these areas so mobilizing these joints can be very important. Our Favorite Thoracic Spine Mobility Exercises. Foam Roller Thoracic Spine Extensions Up first is foam roller...

If you’ve been suffering from chronic headaches then you know how devastating they can be on your life. For example, missed work, skipping the gym, and lost time with your family to name a few. At Onward, our team specializes in helping individuals suffering from headaches get their lives back. Next, he will share some of his favorite headache relief exercises....

If you’ve been suffering from migraine headaches, you might not know there are many different types of headaches. Because of this, they are often misdiagnosed. As a result, we frequently see patients who have suffered for years, trying multiple medications and treatments, all with little to no relief. Why? Because they have been diagnosed with “migraine” or “tension” headaches. In...

One of the most common areas of pain we see in functional fitness / CrossFit athletes is medial elbow pain. This is also known as a golfer’s elbow. This condition makes gymnastics movements such as pull-ups, muscle-ups, and toes to bar painful. When even more irritable, barbell-based movements become difficult as grip strength and pain are altered. So, why is...