Episodes

June 21, 2016: Helo Matzelle ignored the ringing in her ears until that sound was joined by voices in her head. What she hoped might be a small problem wasn’t: Helo had a brain tumor. Surgery to remove the tumor was successful, but it was not without complication. Helo experienced brain swelling, and at one point had to have her body packed in ice just to keep her alive. Once Helo stabilized, a second life-saving process began -- an effort to return Helo back to the woman she was before the tumo...

May 26, 2016: If you want to improve your fitness, one great way is to swim. Swimming works muscles throughout the body without the pounding of land-based exercise. That’s why injured athletes often turn to the pool when they want to maintain their fitness and rehabilitate an injury at the same time. But that doesn’t mean that swimming is an injury-free activity, which is why competitive swimmers benefit from cross-training out of the pool. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, a physical thera...

May 6, 2015: Playing sports as a kid likely used to mean there was a good chance you played several sports. Maybe soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and track and field in the spring. However, today, many kids aren’t so diversified. At a fairly young age many kids now pick just 1 sport and stick with it almost all year long. The potential upside is obvious: more focused time increases a child’s experience, which can accelerate their progress. But there are potential downsides, too – s...

April 21, 2016: When it comes to treating people with cancer, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The type and severity of cancer a person has will dictate the method and intensity of their treatment. But early research suggests that anyone with cancer will likely benefit from prehabilitation—a period of intervention between a cancer diagnosis and the traditional treatment. In today's episode, a physical therapist discusses what prehabilitation entails and how it benefits the patient. Downlo...

April 7, 2015: In 2007, 20-year-old David was stationed in Iraq when a sniper shot him in the legs. With two bullet wounds and many eventual surgeries, David wondered if he would ever walk again. He was depressed and pessimistic about his recovery. And he was scared at the thought of putting weight on his injured limbs. But that’s when David met some physical therapists who told him that his chance of recovery was good and made him believe again. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, David shar...

March 17, 2015: Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system that’s typically diagnosed when someone is between the ages of 20 and 40. An estimated 400,000 Americans have been diagnosed with MS, but while those people are united by their diagnosis, the effects of MS can vary significantly from person to person. That can make diagnosis alone difficult, and it can make treatment and management of the disease’s symptoms even harder. That’s where physical ...

March 3, 2016: Affecting an estimated 5 million adults, 80-90% of them woman, fibromyalgia is a condition whose symptoms include widespread pain and fatigue. Difficult to diagnose, fibromyalgia is also a condition without a cure. Its various symptoms can be treated with components such as education and exercise. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, a physical therapist discusses the diagnosis, treatment, and management of fibromyalgia. Download the podcast on iTunes. Read more about fibromyalg...

February 18, 2016: Kobe Bryant called her his secret weapon. And as head physical therapist of the Los Angeles Lakers, Judy Seto not only works to keep the 18-time NBA All-Star healthy and on the court, but his teammates as well. Her responsibilities span a 82-game regular season, plus preseason, postseason, and the offseason. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, Judy gives us a glimpse of what NBA players go through to perform on the court night after night in city after city. And she also pr...

February 4, 2015: There are numerous reasons someone can be admitted to an acute care hospital, such as an injury that require emergency care, or a planned surgery. Whatever the case, a patient in an acute care setting is going to encounter numerous medical professionals, at least one of which is likely to be a physical therapist. What’s the role of an acute care physical therapist? In this episode of Move Forward Radio, a physical therapist will describe and highlight some of the benefits of ph...

January 21, 2015: Improving strength is a typical component of physical rehabilitation after injury. But often standing in the way of all the muscle building necessary to recover from an injury is the injury itself. While working at Brooke Army Medical Center, physical therapist Johnny Owens, MPT, saw wounded warriors who needed to improve strength in injured limbs without further compromising vulnerable joints or soft tissue. So he and his colleagues began experimenting with a relatively new tr...

January 7, 2016: As a teenager in Taiwan, basketball was Jonathan’s identity. His athletic ability made him a team leader, and the team’s championship goals gave him purpose. He knew his role and his value. A knee injury changed all of that for Jonathan, but ultimately, for the better. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, Jonathan shares how he plans to help others return to doing what they love, whether it is basketball or other daily activities. Download the podcast on iTunes. Read more abou...

December 17, 2015: Isabella had been passionate about dance for as long as she could remember. When she was 12, she was excited to attend an intensive summer program at the Joffrey Ballet in New York. But a hip injury got in the way. Isabella’s hip problems took her away from the thing she loved most. But a physical therapist helped her return to dance, and over the course of her recovery Isabella redefined her passions. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, Isabella shares her story of endurin...

December 3, 2015: Laura was 30 years old and anticipating the birth of her second child when pregnancy turned to paralysis in a matter of hours. An emergency C-section led to an infection in her spinal cord, which led to Laura being unable to feel or move her legs. She was told she’d never walk again. With a toddler and a newborn at home, Laura refused to give up. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, Laura shares the story of her 3 year journey. From giving birth, to being told she would need ...

November 19, 2015: At one point in his life Scott wondered if he was about to lose his ability to walk. He was only 50 years old, but he weighed more than 500 pounds and he had chronic venous wounds on his legs. His health and quality of life were deteriorating rapidly. Fortunately, Scott met someone who changed his life: a physical therapist who not only treated his immediate condition but also gave him the encouragement and confidence he needed to make essential and drastic changes. In this ep...

November 5, 2015: For infants, crawling is not only the typical step before walking, it's a gateway to exploration – exploration that encourages a child’s physical, mental, and social development. But what happens when a child can’t crawl because he or she doesn’t have the necessary strength or coordination? That’s a situation typically faced by infants with cerebral palsy. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, physical therapists Thubi Kolobe, PT, PhD, FAPTA, and Peter Pidcoe, PT, PhD, DPT, di...

October 15, 2015: Throughout October, National Physical Therapy Month, the American Physical Therapy Association is providing resources to help people learn how to #AgeWell. One of the things the #AgeWell campaign makes clear is that you shouldn’t wait until you’re feeling the effects of aging to start thinking about your long-term health. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, a physical therapist talks about trends he sees in the clinic and provides age-specific advice for healthy aging. Downl...

October 1, 2015: October is National Physical Therapy Month, and this year the American Physical Therapy Association is recognizing the occasion with a campaign to educate the public about healthy aging, and releasing a list of nine physical therapist tips to help you age well. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, a physical therapist discusses some of the themes from that list, which includes information on chronic pain, diabetes, falls, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and several other c...

September 17, 2015: If you’ve ever pulled your bike out of the garage for the first time all summer and then gone on a long ride, or if you’ve ever hit the weight room hard on January 1, trying to achieve a year’s worth of fitness goals in single day, you’ve probably experienced delayed onset muscle soreness, otherwise known as DOMS. It's a long name for something that's quite common, and also preventable. In today's episode of Move Forward Radio, the director of research at the Nicholas Institu...

September 3, 2015: Chronic diseases are widespread in this country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that almost half of adults have at least one chronic health condition, and a quarter of adults have two or more. Chronic diseases are also often deadly – responsible for seven of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S., and expensive – accounting for 86% of our nation’s total health care costs. The good news is chronic diseases are largely preventable. In today’s episode of...

August 20, 2015: This summer, the United States Women’s National Team clinched the World Cup trophy with a 5-2 win over Japan. As the team hoisted the trophy at the end of the match, forward Amy Rodriguez was in middle of it all, celebrating with her teammates. Not only did this moment allow Amy to add a World Cup title along side her two Olympic gold medals, but it was made sweeter because of her well-earned return to the team roster after having a baby not quite two years earlier. Pregnancy an...

August 6, 2015: The number of total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries has more than tripled over the past two decades. Despite the growing popularity of the procedure and the improved outcomes, TKR is an invasive and expensive procedure. One physical therapist has watched patients and families struggling to cope with the information overload that accompanies TKR surgery, and decided there had to be a better way to prepare families and improve expectations. To fill that void, she has written a gui...

July 23, 2015: In the July 2015 issue of Redbook magazine several physical therapists were asked to share the advice they give their friends. The answers were diverse; from encouraging children to try multiple sports, rather than specializing at a young age; to reminding women that a physical therapist can help them strengthen pelvic floor muscles to avoid problems like urinary incontinence. In this episode, Move Forward Radio follows Redbook’s lead. Over the course of this episode you’ll hear f...

July 2, 2015: July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month. The word “arthritis” might call to mind images of older adults, and with good reason – aging is a primary cause of osteoarthritis, which affects an estimated 27 million Americans. But arthritis isn’t exclusive to adults, children can develop arthritis as well. Juvenile arthritis isn’t a specific condition but an umbrella term that includes numerous types and subtypes. In this episode of Move Forward Radio, a physical therapist will walk u...

June 18, 2015: Total shoulder replacements aren’t nearly as common as knee and hip replacements, but they can be an effective treatment option for patients dealing with osteoarthritis, among other conditions, when more conservative treatments fail. In this episode we'll talk with a physical therapist about what physical therapy before and after total shoulder replacement looks like. And we will also talk to one of her patients, who suffered through shoulder pain for so long that surgery became h...