The TLDR:

• Physical therapists help patients with chronic pain through multiple forms of interventions (e.g. therapeutic exercise, pacing, mental health strategies).
• Some prior studies have linked obesity with having greater odds of body pain, and possibly with chronic pain.
• A new study highlights how diet quality is directly related to pain. For women especially, a diet rich in unprocessed foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, had less pain. Interestingly, those that were more overweight did not necessarily have greater pain.

If you like what you see here, check out our board-approved CEU courses for physical therapy. We cover topics like:

- Nutrition interventions for chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases)

- Advanced nutritional strategies to support physical therapy for patients with metabolic disorders

- Case studies demonstrating successful integration of nutrition into physical therapy care plans

Each of our continuing education courses ...

The TLDR:

• We know the gut is linked to the brain: but could gut changes really impact function and health?
• There are many health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet with a recent RCT showing promise that it might help with positive gut changes, memory, and LDL.
• Many of the cognitive changes may be related to gut biome changes...check out our video for more details!

If you like what you see here, check out our board-approved continuing education courses. We cover topics like:

- Nutrition interventions for chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases)

- Advanced nutritional strategies to support physical therapy for patients with metabolic disorders

- Case studies demonstrating successful integration of nutrition into physical therapy care plans

Each course emphasizes practical, evidence-based learning, ensuring that participants can immediately apply the skills to their clinical practice. Sign up today and save:

Hello everyone, Dr. Wells here wi...

The TLDR:

• Polyphenols found in tea, chocolate, soy, and cocoa have many health benefits
• Sarcopenia is muscle mass loss with aging: it is associated with falls, death, and is an important factor in physical therapy management
• A new Meta-analysis and Systematic Review highlights some possible benefits of supplementing with these polyphenols on sarcopenia...listen to the video for more!

If you like what you see here, check out our board-approved continuing education courses. We cover topics like:

- Nutrition interventions for chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases)

- Advanced nutritional strategies to support physical therapy for patients with metabolic disorders

- Case studies demonstrating successful integration of nutrition into physical therapy care plans

Each course emphasizes practical, evidence-based learning, ensuring that participants can immediately apply the skills to their clinical practice. Sign up today and save:

Transcript:

• Water is essential for life and many guidelines tout varying amounts that should be consumed per day.
• We know that some guidelines have been swayed by the bottled water companies. 
• New research does show that water can be helpful for several key health conditions, but overall the number and quality of studies remain low and poor at best.
• Bottom line: Water can help with some health conditions, and finding the right amount should be patient-specific and dependent on other variables as well (e.g. exercise, environment). Water, unsweetened tea, and unsweetened black coffee should be the mainstay of fluids for most people.

Full article here, transcript below.

If you like what you see here, check out our board-approved continuing education courses. We cover topics like:

- Nutrition interventions for chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases)

- Advanced nutritional strategies to support physical therapy for patients with metabolic disorders

- Case studies...

• Recent data at a radiology conference sheds light on how diet can impact our muscles and joints.
• The new findings show that a diet high in ultra processed foods is correlated with more fatty infiltration in the quadriceps muscles.
• We know that with more fatty infiltration means weakness and a greater risk of developing knee arthritis (OA).
• Bottom line: While the study does not look at the cause and effect of Ultra-processed foods and OA, it does shed some light on possible mechanisms and how our diet can impact our muscle quality, and ultimately our joint health. 

Here is the press release summarizing the findings and our full video transcript below:

If you like what you see here, check out our board-approved continuing education courses. We cover topics like:

- Nutrition interventions for chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases)

- Advanced nutritional strategies to support physical therapy for patients with metabolic disorders

- Case studies demo...

• A new RCT shows some compelling recovery benefits for carbs 
• What we know about glycogen depletion isn't the full story
• Learn what to tell athletes when they want to "train low," especially after HIIT workouts and when they have more sessions ahead

If you like what you see here, check out our board-approved continuing education courses. We cover topics like:

- Nutrition interventions for chronic diseases (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases)

- Advanced nutritional strategies to support physical therapy for patients with metabolic disorders

- Case studies demonstrating successful integration of nutrition into physical therapy care plans

Each course emphasizes practical, evidence-based learning, ensuring that participants can immediately apply the skills to their clinical practice. Sign up today and save:

Transcript:

Good morning, Dr. Wells here from Nutritional Physical Therapy. I got a cool research update. This is a good one for our sports PTs, some o...

Boswellia: A PT Game-Changer in Managing Knee Arthritis?

By Dr. Sean M. Wells, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC/L, CSCS, CNPT, Cert-DN

In the quest for alternative and effective treatments for knee osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint condition marked by pain, swelling, and diminished mobility, Boswellia serrata, commonly known as Indian frankincense, is emerging as a promising solution.

Many of my physical therapy patients have asked about Boswellia, and honestly it was never covered in PT school so the depth of my answer was limited. Fortunately with my continued education, writing textbooks, and research advancements, Boswellia appears to be a possible solution for helping our PT clients with arthritis. Let's understand what it is, how it works, and if it is something you should discuss with your clients.

Tackling Inflammation at its Core
With its potent anti-inflammatory properties, Boswellia has shown remarkable potential in subduing the chronic inflammation associated with knee osteoart...

Recently I presented at the Florida Physical Therapy Conference at Disney World in Orlando, FL. My discussion was focused on Nutrition Recommendations for PTs. Needless to say the response was overwhelmingly positive! Here's a picture of the 190 chairs in the room before my presentation:

About 5 minutes into my discussion the event staff had to bring in more chairs as there was standing room only and people spilled out the door. The engagement of the PTs and PTAs in the room was amazing, and the feedback after the discussion was extremely positive and supportive. Overall, it is very clear that physical therapists and physical therapy assistants are hungry for more knowledge on nutrition for rehabilitation and PT outcomes.

As such, we are excited to announce a new course addition to our already fabulous line-up of nutrition courses for physical therapists and rehab professional: The Nutrition Crash Course for PTs. We understand some PTs may not want our full CNPT, 3 Course program, ...

By Dr. Sean M. Wells, DPT, PT, OCS, ATC/L, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, CNPT, Cert-DN

The Holidays Are Coming!

We have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Passover/Kwanza, and New Years coming. Data show that most Americans will on average gain about 0.4% of body fat during this time, most coming just after Christmas. While 0.4% does not seem like much fat, consider some quick math: a 175 lb man would essentially gain 3/4ths of a pound during the holidays. This small weight gain seems insignificant unless you add this weight gain with other gaining periods in the year, and compound the weight gain every holiday season. In other words, consider if this 175 lb 20 year old gained 0.4% every year for the next 20 years. This would equate to an extra 7 lbs of fat just gained in a few months over 20 years!

How does any of this matter for physical therapy practice? Time and time again my team and I are asked, how can we as physical therapists (PTs) educate our clients to lose weight? We are also told: I ...

By Dr. Sean M. Wells, DPT, PT, OCS, ATC/L, CSCS, NSCA-CPT CNPT, Cert-DN

The gut biome has been all the rage for the last several years. If you haven't heard about the gut biome, then you either live under a rock or haven't researched about how your body works. The gut biome, often interchangeably called the gut microbiota or flora, are trillions of small bacteria, archaea, and fungi that live in your intestines. We have these critters all over our body (e.g. nose, hands, mouth) but the most reside in our gut. What these small bugs do for us is truly amazing.

Data show the microbiome is capable of protecting our immune system, producing healthy short-chain fatty acids, and could be linked to many disease states like cancer, heart disease, and allergies. Recently I began listening to a great podcast by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz on gut health on the Rich Roll Podcast. Dr B, as he's commonly known as, pronounced easy methods to protecting and nurturing our gut. Some of his top tips:

• Eat a v
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