Most Popular Articles on this site

Andy Barker PT
Many adductor isolated exercises use either isometric contractions and/or static based positions. I like the use of this exercise to try to generate adductor muscle work within a lateral lunge movement. Both the lateral lunge itself will hit the adductors and adding the plate by the inside of the foot adds to this load....keep reading

Robert Panariello MS, PT, ATC, CSCS
The rehabilitation and athletic performance training of the post-operative knee athlete requires a structured and organized plan to ensure optimal success. This "plan" often includes progressions or "goals" that the athlete must achieve prior to progressing to the next "level" of their rehabilitation/performance training. Until the athlete regains total confidence in their post-op knee, these program guideline progressions, necessary for optimal rehabilitation and athletic performance training, will be difficult to achieve....keep reading

Jeff Cubos
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend The Running Clinic's "New Trends in the Prevention of Running Injuries" course in Vancouver, BC. This was one of those courses that I had been meaning to get to for a number of years but truthfully, my ignorance led me to believe that it wasn't a priority since I was already working directly in track and field. However, after the impressive lecture by Blaise Dubois and Jean-Francois Esculier at the 2013 RCCSS(C) conference, I knew that it was finally time for me to pull the trigger....keep reading

These workouts are designed for the general population who you are just introducing into training. These workouts help build strength, capacity, and movement awareness....keep reading

Andy Barker PT
I have always been a big fan of the reverse plank as an abdominal exercise. More recently I have modified the exercise to incorporate lower limb movement to both increase the difficulty of the exercise but mainly to incorporate posterior knee stability. When the contralateral leg is lifted from the floor the leg in contact has to work extremely hard to stabilise the knee....keep reading

Andy Barker PT
Have found this exercise is a great alternative and a great way of controlling the hip hinge during the single leg Romanian deadlift. Some find the progression from bilateral to single leg RDL exercise difficult, using this alternative can be a good transition....keep reading

Andy Barker PT
I can't take credit for this one as borrowed it from Chris Black, strength and conditioning coach at the Leeds Rhinos. Had a play with it and think it's a great exercise to promote hamstring eccentric strengthening through range. With this exercise you have to eccentrically control both knee extension and hip extension thus the hamstrings are working hard over two joints. Compare this with a traditional Nordic style exercise whereby the hip stays static whilst the hamstrings control increasing knee extension as the body falls forwards....keep reading

Michael Boyle
"The Most Important Operation You May Ever Have." This is a Michael Boyle classic. It took some digging but I found it. With all the talk on here about looking at the hips to address everything from knees to backs to shoulders, I figured this would be perfect....keep reading

I was able to attend "Blood Flow Restriction Training" by Owens Recovery Science at Armstrong University. Without a doubt, this was one of the best and most exciting courses I've attended in a long time....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
This is one of my favorite exercises to address motor control of the scapula and shoulder while incorporating thoracic rotation and breathing. However, this can be a challenging exercise to teach so I wanted to show some of the steps I take to guarantee the arm bar is successful (and safe) when we get there....keep reading

Here is a great video of a Thoracic Opening Thrust Manipulation Technique from MedBridge Education. I frequently use a similar version of this manipulation so thought it would be a good one to show. As I've mentioned previously, I've partnered with MedBridge offering a significantly reduced membership to their site. In addition to lots of great online courses, they also have a library of over 100 manual therapy techniques....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
This summer I'm training all the athletes at one of the local high schools, some days up to 160 kids over a 3 hour period. It's definitely not easy to run around teaching that many kids to deadlift appropriately, but one of the tricks I've learned is that a wall can teach the technique for you (and often in much less time than I could verbally cue someone into it)....keep reading

Stabilization exercises have been a focus and mainstay of many therapeutic and performance training programs in the past decade, but is it warranted?...keep reading

The is a case study of a powerlifter I recently treated for chronic bilateral hip pain when squatting....keep reading

Andy Barker PT
MWM's are used extensively at the hip to improve ROM. I have had relative success with such techniques at the hip, particularly aiming at improving internal rotation. In a few cases the more static based techniques can't clear all anterior hip pain/impingement. Using the technique below however, has often been very successful at improving ROM in more difficult presentations. This is particulary so for those encountering symptoms with combined internal rotation/flexion....keep reading

Chris Nentarz PT, CSCS, NASM-PES, NSTI
Chris talks about the TRX Sports Medicine course - pillars of the TRX system, influences on the course, and how it can advance your practice and training. He also talks about the new Rip Trainer and how it's a unique way to challenge stability and train rotation. Toss in a couple case studies showing how to use the TRX system, a few kinesiotaping questions, and you have a can't miss interview....keep reading

Andy Barker PT
I've had a couple of real stubborn posterior ankle impingement injuries recently and had struggled to relieve posterior joint line pain. I'd usually use a combination of MWM with movement and ankle mobility rehab for such pathology. However, these two cases I couldn't shift. I'm not a big user of Maitland mobilisations and use them very irregular, but this particular treatment technique was of great use. It instantly cleared patient symptoms in both cases to which I was then able to reinforce using rehab....keep reading

Charlie Weingroff
So after the last several months, where I obviously haven't been writing very much, there is a theme of questions in regards to some of the things many of us are doing in terms of Developmental Kinesiology. It's a big catch phrase. It's a huge part of what I do. I would echo Lewit's suggestion and one that Clare Frank threw at me almost 5 years ago, that Developmental Kinesiology explains why everything we do works. I think this is true. But whether it's grounded in FMS, DNS, the 4×4 Matrix, breathing, rolling, crawling, etc., etc., all of these pieces track back to the same principles....keep reading

In this interview, Dr. Arnold talks about how he has adopted Functional Movement Systems and the TPI system, how he creates and team and uses these systems as he works with elite level athletes in multiple sports. Dr. Arnold also shares some of his ideas on how certain sports movements could influence your thought process when it comes to corrective exercise and how performance could be tied to FMS scores....keep reading

Andy Barker PT
This treatment technique comes from Gary Ward's Anatomy in Motion (AiM). Within his model of work he uses wedges for the following reasons:...keep reading