I was still in high school when I first heard about toning shoes. One of my friends was always game for a new diet or fitness trend, and she was craving a pair of toning flip-flops from the U.K. Why the U.K.? Well, according to her research, they hadn't even hit the U.S. yet. A few years later, fitness shoes crossed the Atlantic, and now everyone ...

Whenever I see ''Improper Medicare Billings'' in the headlines, I think, Another one bites the dust. Health care fraud accounts for an estimated $60 billion each year, and quite frankly, I don't feel like paying more taxes just so a provider can shirk the government out of some cash. Usually, the stories that get me are the practices owners who ...

  Drive to work, punch in and...hit the gym? For physical therapists, sure, but for anyone outside the therapy realm, working out on the job is an unusual concept. Not so at Volkswagen's new U.S. plant, where exercise is a required part of orientation. The German automaker plans to manufacture a mid-sized sedan at the Chattanooga, TN site, ...

The U.S. may holding strong in the World Cup, but it's been trounced in the global health care arena. A report released two days ago by the Commonwealth Fund ranked the U.S. last in health care quality and efficiency when compared to six other developed countries. Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and New ...

It's a question every physical therapy practice must face: How much are you willing to spend? High-cost, high-tech tools offer the wow factor, and (hopefully) better odds for a positive outcome. But, as trends like yoga and Reiki have shown, sometimes, less is more. So where's the compromise? Researchers at the Oak Ridge (TN) National ...

Last week, while other staff members were in Boston for PT 2010, I was here at the office. It was quiet. Eerily so. Luckily, I found this story to liven things up. Zach Anner, a former University of Texas student with cerebral palsy, is hoping to be the next no-namer to benefit from Oprah's golden touch. The talkshow queen, who's launched careers ...

To sports enthusiasts, there's nothing more satisfying than hearing the smack of helmets in a heated football game. That is, unless the head under that helmet belongs to your kid. In that case, it's a terrifying reminder of how delicate the brain is, not to mention the rest of the 80 lb. frame being jostled around. Unfortunately, most parents ...

There are two sides to every story. Last week, we shared some of the risks text messaging poses to hand health and what organizations are doing to help teens avoid injury. This week, we take a different look at the texting trend--one that works with, instead of against, the need to be in the loop all the time. In our June 14 issue, ''Cool ...

I didn't get a cell phone until I was 17, and that was solely because I got my driver's license and my parents couldn't bear to send me on the road without some communication device. Less than 10 years later, kids a third my age are toting Smartphones and using them around the clock. The worst part is, they text more often than they call. Good ...

[Editor's note: This is the final session in our series of Hot Topic recommendations for PT 2010 attendees. For more Hot Topics and blog posts related to the American Physical Therapy Association's annual conference, click here. Also, make sure to check out ADVANCE's PT 2010 Conference ...