Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’m proud and excited to be featured on Kinesio Taping Association International’s website. Click on the link below to be taken the KTAI website. As of this writing 11/19/2011, my article is on top. When it is no longer the top article, scroll down and click on “CKTP Karena Wu Featured in Advance for PT”.… Continue Reading

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the flu is going around earlier every year. We’re busy; we’re burnt out; we’re ignoring injuries, rather than treating them. And with the holidays coming up, it seems like the stress will only be increasing. So now is a particularly important time to remember that exercise is… Continue Reading

If you spend any time at the gym or playing sports, you’ll hear a lot of talk about the core. What’s it all about? Well, a lot! The core is at the center of everything that we do physically. It’s the powerhouse of the limbs. It powers your golf swing, tennis and karate kick, to… Continue Reading

In playing soccer, you need a lot of ankle joint awareness to make the sprinting, quick stops and sudden turns that the game requires. This awareness is called proprioception, and it can be improved through specific exercises that develop balance, strength and endurance. The proprioceptors are responsible for joint awareness, such as your position in… Continue Reading

  Patients of mine often ask me about why I use manual therapies in conjunction with strengthening exercises. Well, the short answer is that these two therapy protocols used together can create the most effective healing. But let me explain a little more. Manual therapies — which include joint/soft tissue mobilizations and passive movement (where… Continue Reading

  At their core (no pun intended, I swear!) Pilates and yoga are extremely alike. Indeed, as I have mentioned before, Pilates is heavily influenced by yoga. So it’s always very interesting to me that while yoga has become as mainstream as, well, baseball, Pilates remains mysterious to your average person. Here’s my theory on… Continue Reading

In my last post, I mentioned my strong aversion to the traditional ab crunch. There are a thousand reasons for this, but one biggie is because they completely ignore an entire half of your core! The area across your hips and lower stomach is a pivotal part of the core, and a great source of… Continue Reading

A lot of people believe there’s no getting over knee problems, whether it’s something chronic, like arthritis, or a true injury, like a meniscus tear. But recently, I’ve come to disagree. Here’s my physical therapy secret of the day- it’s the whole leg! (I wanna say “stupid” but…) When treating a knee I have a… Continue Reading

After weeks of merriment and celebration, there’s nothing like facing the New Year head on, well rested, and full of energy. Too bad you’ve come back feeling utterly horrid- what with the stress of your flight being delayed, then cancelled, and then cancelled again, thanks to the Blizzard of 2010, (who doesn’t love buying the… Continue Reading

Holiday Stretch #2- Downward- Facing Dog My absolute FAVORITE lately- nothing says “good morning” like a downward-facing dog. It’s a huge full body stretch that works whether you are in Mexico, Los Angeles, Peru or NYC. The “down-dog” is great for spinal decompression, but it can be severe, so don’t kill yourself trying to look… Continue Reading