Skip to main content
img Call
Athletico

Health Resources

Home > Blog
Menu and filters

Staying Comfortable in the Classroom: Five Stretches for Students and Teachers

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Courtney Fullenkamp PT, DPT

We wish all our teachers, students, and parents all the luck as they kick off a new school year. Whether you are preparing your classroom, purchasing new school supplies, trying on new gym sneakers, moving into your first dorm, or starting a technical program here at Athletico, we wish you all the best success as you begin this next year full of learning and fun. With all of the excitement of a new school year below, you will find a list of simple stretches to keep your body in tip-top shape during your time in the classroom. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Stretching back stretching classroom stretches hamstring stretch

Is Walking Backwards Good for Your Health? 5 Benefits You Didn’t Expect

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Brandon Jones, PTA, BS, MBPR

Have you ever seen someone walking backwards at a park or gym and wondered why? While it might look unusual, backward walking has been practiced for decades in countries like China and Japan—and for good reason. It turns out, this simple activity can offer a wide range of health benefits. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Exercise and Fitness Health and Wellness backwards walking walking

4 Lifestyle Changes for Long-Term Pain Management

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Tony Matoska, PT, DPT, CMPT

Living with chronic pain can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s lingering back pain, joint stiffness, or widespread discomfort, it often interferes with the things you love like work, hobbies, and time with family. While physical therapy is an important part of treatment, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Making key lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your pain and improve your quality of life. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Health and Wellness healthy lifestyle pain management

Move Better, Feel Better: 5 Tips to Restore Your Range of Motion

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Zachary Vandenberg, DPT

We’ve all felt stiffness after sitting for too long or bending over. Limited range of motion (ROM) can affect how you move, how you feel, and even how you perform during physical activity. Whether you’re an athlete, a weekend warrior, or just someone looking to stay active and pain-free, restoring flexibility is key to staying mobile and avoiding injury. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Exercise and Fitness Health and Wellness flexibility training range of motion Stretching

Injury Prevention for Summer Sports

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Tanner Neuberger, PT, DPT, TDN Level 1

Summer sports are in full swing! Baseball and softball seasons are thriving, and off-season prep for fall sports like football, cross country, and volleyball is ramping up. With how busy youth athletics have become, many young athletes juggle multiple teams and training programs throughout the summer. While this high activity level can be exciting and rewarding, it also increases the risk for overuse injuries. Taking proactive steps toward injury prevention is more important than ever. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Injury Prevention Sports sports performance

Strength Training for Rhythmic Gymnasts

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Tara Hackney, PT, DPT, OCS, KTTP

Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport where athletes combine dance, tumbling, and the use of an apparatus to perform high-level athletic routines. Rhythmic gymnasts require extreme flexibility. They also need strength to perform their leaps, turns, holds, and acrobatic skills. Weightlifting is a common way that many athletes build strength. However, in the rhythmic gymnastics world, weightlifting has mixed thoughts. Historically, gymnasts have a desire for a certain body type. They may avoid weightlifting to avoid “bulking” up. Rhythmic gymnasts indeed need to maintain flexibility to perform their skills. However, strengthening should be an important component of their overall training program. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Gymnastics Sports resistance exercises for gymnasts weight training and gymnastics

How to Build a Cardio Routine

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Tanner Neuberger, PT, DPT, TDN Level 1

Cardiovascular health is vitally important in any training program. Less than 50% of adults in the US are meeting the AHA requirements of 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes/week of vigorous activity. It’s my guess that people know about the guidelines and that they should be more active, but they have trouble knowing exactly what to do, and how to structure a plan. Below is a plan that progresses your cardiovascular ability over the next 12 weeks. It is cardio-specific and does not include any weight training, and it is a 4-5 day/week program; however, if you cannot commit to that frequency, it will become a 20-week program to perform all the sessions. (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Endurance Running aches and pains cardiovascular health running routine

6 Exercises to Relax Your Psoas

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Brandon Jones, PTA, BS, MBPR

The psoas is an important hip flexor muscle that allow your leg to move forward. We often think of the psoas as a weak and/or tight muscle, so we stretch and strengthen it with hip flexion-based exercises. However, what if we thought differently about the psoas? What if we saw the psoas as an overused muscle that just needs to relax and get some support? Below, we will go over some exercises to do just that! (more…)

Read more health resources related to these topics:

Exercise and Fitness hip flexor hip joint psoas psoas stretch