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

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 A Joint-By-Joint Approach to Training Mike Boyle MA, ATC In a recent conversation about the effect of training on the body, Cook produced one of the most lucid thought processes I have ever heard. Gray and I were discussing the findings of the Functional Movement Screen (www.functionalmovement.com), the needs of the different joints of the body, and how the function of the joints relates to training. One of the beauties of the Functional Movement Screen is that the screen allows us to distinguish between issues of stability and those of mobility. Cook's thoughts were simple and led me to realize that the future of training may be a joint-by-joint approach rather than a movement-based approach. . . . keep reading The Janda Approach Phil Page, MS, PT, ATC, CSCS and Clare Frank, PT, MS, OCS A great article reviewing the work of Vladamir Janda, specifically describing the upper and lower crossed syndromes and his approach to treatment. A man definitely ahead of his time. . . . keep reading Functional Movement Screen Introduction Gray Cook PT and Lee Burton ATC My introduction to the FMS came about 3 years ago at a Perform Better Summit and my career has been changed for the better since. I was lucky enough to run into Gray at the airport after the event and pick his brain a bit more on the subject. I always thought of myself as a "big picture" guy but after talking to him I realized I had only really scratched the surface. Check out the article and you'll see what I mean. There will definitely be more to come on the FMS! Joe Heiler . . . keep reading More

Sahrmann Course - October 2008 (Charlie's notes Part II) Charlie Weingroff Shirley Sahrmann's intro course was held a few weeks ago in NJ, and Charlie Weingroff was nice enough to transcribe some of his notes plus add a little commentary of his own. Unfortunately, I was shut out! Should have registered sooner, but here is the next best thing. If you have not yet read Sahrmann's book, "Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes", you should. . . . keep reading FREE CHARITY THANKSGIVING BOOTCAMP - Lamour Training Systems For any of you in the Greensboro NC area, just a heads up. Jimmy Lamour and his wife are putting on a charity bootcamp Thursday, Nov 22. Jimmy is a great guy, and freak of nature athlete (that's a compliment). You may learn a few things and have a great time while supporting a worthy cause. . . . keep reading Sahrmann Course - October 2008 (Charlie's Notes) Charlie Weingroff Shirley Sahrmann's intro course was held a few weeks ago in NJ, and Charlie Weingroff was nice enough to transcribe some of his notes plus add a little commentary of his own. Unfortunately, I was shut out! Should have registered sooner, but here is the next best thing. If you have not yet read Sahrmann's book, "Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes", you should. . . . keep reading Shoulder Impingement - Part 2 Eric Cressey MA, CSCS In last week's article, I went into some detail on why I really didn't like the catch-all term "impingement." This week, I'm going to talk about the different kinds of impingement: external and internal. External impingement, also known as outlet impingement, is the one we hear about the most. Here, we're dealing with compression of the rotator cuff -- usually the supraspinatus, and over time, the infraspinatus (and biceps tendon) -- by the undersurface of the acromion. This happens a lot more with ordinary weekend warriors and very common in lifters -- and is definitely more prevalent in older populations. . . . keep reading Shoulder Impingement - Part 1 Eric Cressey MA, CSCS Impingement….Yes, We Get It. Roughly 10-15 times per week, I get emails from folks who claim that they have shoulder "impingement." Honestly, I roll my eyes the second I read these emails. Don't get me wrong: I'm not making light of their pain. It's just that it drives me crazy when doctors throw this blanket statement out there. I will be completely and 100% clear with the following statement: Impingement is a physiological norm. Everyone -- regardless of age, activity level, sport of choice, acromion type, gender, you name it -- has it. . . . keep reading Understanding Sports Hernia Part 2 Michael Boyle MA, ATC A big key in prevention of any injury is to use appropriate screening techniques. For screening athletes I am a proponent of Gray Cook's Functional Movement Screen ( www.functionalmovement.com) The FMS is a seven part screen designed to predict risk of injury and should be done in it's entirety on every athlete at least once. Of particular interest in the sports hernia area is the FMS- Hurdle Step (a test of the hip flexion pattern). An impaired hip flexion pattern usually demonstrates a lateral shift of the pelvis when attempting to flex the hip. This would indicate an impaired hip flexion pattern. In the impaired hip flexion pattern it is theorized that the deep flexors (psoas and iliacus) are weak or inhibited. This forces the athlete to use quadratus lumborum to hip hike to create the illusion of hip flexion. In essence, lateral flexion of the pelvis on the spine raises the hip. Cook advocates not focusing on individual muscles but rather on fixing the pattern. To fix the pattern we have adopted a "top down" approach to attempt to recruit the deep hip flexors. . . . keep reading Understanding Sports Hernia May Mean Understanding Adduction Michael Boyle MA, ATC Last year I wrote a piece called Understanding and Training Hip Flexion (StrengthCoach.com). The idea was to take a look at muscles of the hip and how these muscles function from a slightly different perspective. This process led me to continue to study the hip and how we look at this critical area. One of the things I pride myself on is continuing to try to learn. Fortunately or unfortunately I feel like the more I learn the more I realize I don't know. An area that has become of increasing interest to me, and to many others in the fields of performance enhancement and physical therapy, is the area of sports hernia. It seems like every week another athlete is having surgery for a 'sports hernia". . . . keep reading The Chop and Lift Part IV - Chop for Power Gray Cook PT, OCS, CSCS Power is the seamless combination of speed and strength (work divided by time). Strength is the combination of stability and force production. Hopefully you can see how working on the chop and lift have provided a base of stability and force production. Consistent training with the chop and lift exercises will create three dimensional functional strength gains. These gains can be converted to power by learning to move in a fast and fluid manner across your body. Let me review for a minute the evolution of the chop and lift program for you. First I introduced the chop and lift with the cable bar which provided a solid base of core stability and symmetry (article 1). The leverage provided by the cable bar helped identify problems between the left and right movement patterns in tall kneeling and half kneeling positions. . . . keep reading Dave Carrier Interview Part 2 Dave Carrier has been the Head Athletic Trainer for the Michigan State University Hockey team for the past 25 years. Dave has extensive training in the osteopathic approach to manual therapy and treatment of hockey injuries. In part 2 of the interview, Dave discusses common hockey injuries, his approach to rehabilitation, and prevention. . . . keep reading Chop and Lift Part III Gray Cook PT, OCS, CSCS In the last article I discussed the split arm chop and lift. Hopefully you have practiced this move and have observed the benefits of three dimensional strength training. Knowing this exercise has given you more than a killer upper body workout and posture reinforcer, it has given you body knowledge on these cross body moves. It has given you great hip and core stability and improved your balance. It has reduced asymmetry and reinforced posture. . . . keep reading More