Articles, videos, and interviews from some of the best physical therapists, athletic trainers, and strength coaches in the business.

 

Functional Taping for the Knee and Ankle- Videos Gray Cook Functional Taping for the Knee and Ankle - these short videos give great insight into how Gray uses mobilizations and reinforces with taping to improve mobility. Corrective exercises are then used to integrate the new mobility back into functional patterns such as the squat and lunge. . . . keep reading Super Stiffness Stuart McGill, Professor of Spine Biomechanics At a gymnastics or martial arts meet, or at a weightlifting competition, listen to the coaches advice to the athlete -- Stay tight! This means to maintain stiffness. Being stiff ensures that there will be minimal energy losses as forces are transmitted through the linkages. Optimal performance requires stability, and stability results from stiffness. Stiffness in the body results from muscular co-contraction. Used properly, it will assist in getting through "sticking points", enhance whole body strength and speed. Be stiff, and be compliant. Knowing the difference and when to be one or the other is a major way to improving performance. . . . keep reading What Not To Do! - Part I Joe Heiler PT, CSCS Every so often I see something in one of our professional journals or magazines that just makes me sick. Maybe frustrated is a better word. In a profession that is so concerned with being research based and "everyone needs to have a DPT", some of the treatment approaches are just unbelievable. Instead of complaining about it to no one in particular, I've decided to write about it and provide some research to back up my claims that these exercises, machines, approaches, or whatever are garbage. That's the beauty of the internet. . . . keep reading Multi-Dimensional Hip Training Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS Core training is obviously a buzz word in the industry. Just about every strength and conditioning professional values a strong core, and over the past few years we have seen hundreds of new exercises and routines created to help make that happen. Most of the emphasis is on training the abdominals and low back musculature (from the ribs to the pelvis on all sides of the spine), and there have been some great new techniques created to develop functional core strength. But, there is a major void in many core training routines. I like to extend my view of the "core" a little farther south to include the hips . . . keep reading Audio Interview with Laura Ramus - PT, ATC Laura Ramus is a PT, ATC with the Detroit Shock of the WNBA and is responsible for their strength and conditioning programs as well. Laura also runs the site 'Girls Can Jump', educating female athletes around the country in the principles of strength and conditioning for performance and injury prevention. . . . keep reading Selective Functional Movement Assessment Level 1 Course - 2008 The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) - An Evidence Based Clinical Model to Address Regional Interdependence (updated version). I've never been a 'pain chaser', but I didn't really have an organized way of looking at the entire body either. The SFMA model has streamlined my evaluation and focused my treatment approach with great results. Highly recommended, especially if you have a background in the FMS. - Joe Heiler . . . keep reading Selective Functional Movement Assessment - A Case Study This is a 'quick' case study involving the SFMA and how I recently treated an athlete with a recurring abdominal strain. As I have said before, the SFMA has made me a better therapist, and this is just a quick demonstration of how it can point you in the right directions. . . . keep reading Junior High Football Movement Prep Program A warm-up is more than just getting stretched out before running. A proper warm-up (aka Movement Prep) should simultaneously address joint mobility, muscle flexibility, joint stability, strengthen athletic patterns, and prepare the athlete to give 100% during their speed and strength work. Here is a portion of the program I used this Summer with my Junior High athletes. . . . keep reading Upper and Lower Body Rolling Pattern Videos I've talked a bit about the upper and lower body rolling patterns in the SFMA case study and in one of the posts about the 'Secrets of Primitive Movement Patterns. Here are the videos. All credit to Gray, Lee, Kyle, and Phil (aka the FMS and SFMA guys) . . . keep reading Functional Training: Missing the Point Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS - Total Performance Training Center Something that I'm getting really sick of is the over-use, over-hype, and absolute MIS-use of the term "functional" training. These days, you see trainers literally making up exercises under the guise of being part of the "functional training movement." They think that anything involving multiple planes of motions, a balance component, or unilateral limb use is automatically "functional." . . . keep reading More