If you know me, you know that I love to simplify things especially when it comes to physical therapy. That’s why I love Redcord. It is a simple yet effective tool. Now don’t get me wrong, it looks intimidating with all of those ropes, slings and bungee cords. But once you learn how to use the equipment and understand the testing and clinical reasoning process (known as Redcord NEURAC), it makes treating people so much easier.

I wanted to share something that happened to me while recently evaluating someone for physical therapy. A mother of two elementary school children comes in with complaints of right hip pain and a long history of hammer toes on both feet. Neither of these issues are urgent or in an acute stage. She just wants to prevent them from getting any worse.

Our knees take so much wear and tear for us, but maintaining proper knee health ensures we can stay active during any phase of life. The knee is a complex joint consisting of bones, tendons (connect muscle to bone), ligaments (connect bone to bone), muscles, and nerves (that innervate those muscles).

The day is finally here and we are excited! The weather looks to be in our favor: slightly cloudy and not too hot, even a bit of a breeze. I am caffeinated, hydrated and ready to go. My mission is to have fun, support my team, and survive intact!

A key feature of Spartan races is hurdling. Not like track hurdles, but having to jump or scramble all manner of objects and obstacles in an often muddy environment. As I worked through my training plan to get myself ready to tackle the literal hurdles in the race, I encountered some figurative ones too.

Once I committed to the Spartan race, figured out how to make space for training in my busy schedule, and then got my body (and how it moves) tested by the experts... I decided to up the intensity of my training a few notches!

Because I’m a Performance Specialist at Activcore, I have a good sense of my own physical condition. Nonetheless, I knew that getting an outside, objective perspective from other professions would help me optimize my Spartan training plan.

I made the verbal commitment to join my friends for a Spartan race. I did not immediately purchase my ticket or start training with my team. Instead, I started testing the waters. My work and family schedule were pretty full, making a traditional training schedule feel out of reach.

It was a crisp, cold January day. My boys, Finn (6) and Liam (3), pretended to be dragons breathing smoke on our walk to school. I loaded my thermos full of espresso to go work at Activcore where I teach Redcord, Pilates, and Kettlebells.

The kettlebell is a physical training tool that has given rise to a great selection of very functional strength training exercises. The shape of the kettlebell is a ball with a handle, which makes it functionally similar to objects that we carry in everyday life, such as luggage and grocery bags.