1. Improve Mobility No matter what area of the body ails you – neck, shoulder, back, knee – Sports and Physical Therapy Associates has an established history of helping individuals improve their quality of life. Through SPTA Fitness, we are aiming to take injury education, prevention, and recovery to a new level. With medically based strength programs designed by Physical Therapy Assistants (PTA’s), Athletic Trainers, and Strength and Conditioning Specialists, SPTA Fitness can help you move freely again without pain and discomfort; feeling renewed and ready to move on. SPTA Fitness can even help you prevent an injury altogether. For instance, a study of 1,435 NCAA Division 1 female soccer players demonstrated that those who participated in a medically based strengthening program had an overall ACL injury rate 41 percent lower than those who did only a regular warm-up prior to practice.* Because PTA’s, Athletic Trainers, and Strength and Conditioning Specialists receive specialized education in a variety of sciences – physics, human anatomy, kinesiology (human movement), to name a few– and understand how the body works and how to get you moving again. SPTA Fitness Professionals know how to manage all four of the body’s major systems – musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular/pulmonary, and integumentary (skin) – to restore and maximize mobility. *American Journal of Sports Medicine, August 2008 2. Improve Balance and Prevent Falls Falls among the elderly are prevalent, dangerous, and can diminish their ability to lead an active and independent life. According to the National Aging Council, about one in three seniors above age 65, and nearly one in two seniors over age 80, will fall at least once this year, many times with disastrous consequences. At SPTA Fitness, our medically based professionals can help you prevent falls by designing an individualized program of exercises and activities with an emphasis on strength, flexibility, and proper gait. (walking) Balance may be improved with exercises that strengthen the ankle, knee, and hip muscles and with exercises that improve the function of the vestibular (balance) system. Once an SPTA Fitness trainer has reviewed a complete medical history and conducted a thorough functional assessment, he or she will develop a personalized plan of strengthening for you. This may include a walking regimen with balance components such as changes in surfaces/terrains, distance, and elevations; recommendations for aquatic therapy or yoga; and teaching specific strengthening and balance exercises that can be performed at home. 3. Reduce the Risk of Injury Playing a round of golf or doing everyday chores may seem harmless, but these everyday activities can result in injury due to abnormal movement, stress on joints and strain on muscles. Because SPTA Fitness trainers are experts in knowing how the body works, they are able to design personalized strength training programs to reduce the risk of injury whether in everyday activities or sports. For example, women perform athletic tasks in a more upright position, putting added stress on parts of the knee such as the ACL, resulting in less controlled rotation of the joint. While men use their hamstring muscles more often, women rely more on their quadriceps, which puts the knee at constant risk. To combat these natural tendencies, your SPTA Fitness Trainer may develop a strength training program to improve strength, flexibility, and coordination, as well as to counteract incorrect existing patterns of movement that may be damaging to joints. 4. Live With Diabetes Diabetes is a growing health issue that affects approximately 24 million adults and children in the United States.* If you have diabetes, a SPTA Fitness can work with you to design a program that helps control your glucose and fight complications such as loss of movement. While aerobic exercise is often recommended for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a recent study found that adding high-force strength training to an aerobic program offered significant advantages, helping to improve glucose control, increase strength, and reduce the risk of falls among study participants. People with diabetes often have reduced muscle mass, and, as a result, decreased mobility. Adding resistance training to a diabetes treatment program leads to increased lean tissue, which in turn, may be an important way to increase resting metabolic rate, protein reserve, exercise tolerance, and functional mobility. SPTA Fitness trainers are ideally suited to help people with diabetes safely and effectively address their loss of movement. *American Diabetes Association 200 FIRST AVE NEEDHAM, MA 02494 781-444-5141 For scheduling, pricing, and questions about our Needham, Lexington, and Longwood Fitness Programs and Locations, email: sptafitness@sportsandpt.com | 
