Most Popular Articles on this site

This is a follow up to the very first episode we had discussing how to start incorporating PRI based activities into warmups and training programs. This episode covers a little more in depth what PRI tests we use most commonly. We also talk about the PRI motto "reposition, retrain, restore." And how do we get the athletes to a point where they reach an acceptable level of asymmetry....keep reading

These videos are a result of a conversation that Kyle Kiesel and I had about a year ago in which he asked me if I had seen this: correct cervical flexion then go back and re-check the toe touch and it should improve. I'll admit I had never thought of it so of course I went back to the clinic and started playing with it. The problem I have in the clinic is there is never enough time to grab another PT to video the treatment, or I don't think about it until after the fact. So anyway, at the recent internship in Evansville, we made time to see if we could get fellow instructor Mike Lehr to touch his toes....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
The hurdle step from the Functional Movement Screen has been a difficult test for most athletes to get a '3'. I've been searching for a 'protocol' so to speak to improve this movement pattern in my athletes and patients, and feel like I've come up with a good plan here....keep reading

The popliteus is one of those muscles that can wreak havoc when not functioning properly so addressing dysfunction here can alleviate pain, improve ROM and gait, and quickly make you look like a genius. Thanks to Patrick Ward who shot a video of some of his manual techniques to address the popliteus, plus I added a few videos on retraining the muscle. If you're really a nerd like myself, I've also linked to a great article that goes in-depth on the anatomy and function of the muscle....keep reading

Dr. Phillip Snell D.C.
Lateral elbow pain (lateral epicondylitis, AKA tennis elbow, radial nerve entrapment syndromes) is a frequent presentation in our clinic March-May as folks who started a weight routine for a New Year's resolution begin to 'crash and burn' as poor form leads to tissue failure in the extensor tendons for the wrist. Common current wisdom is that the putative cause of pain is related to the commonly observed granulation tissue associated with the 'mobile wad of 3' extensor tendons. Co-morbidity we frequently see in clinic may include entrapment neuropathies and Miller and Reinus, in 2010 provided a nice review of those. While this is interesting from a structural perspective and helps to inform manual therapies addressing this condition, it is not the thrust of this article. Let's examine lateral elbow pain from a functional point of view....keep reading

Dr. Phillip Snell
Last week I posted an Exercise of the Week segment from Phillip, and he has just written up a follow up shoulder pain case study on his blog. I'm linking to it so you can see how he incorporates Stecco's fascial manipulation, DNS stabilization, Janda's functional testing, and the SFMA to address functional limitations....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
This is my current thought process/flow sheet when it comes to treatment options for the MS Flexion pattern of the SFMA. You'll notice the mobility corrections are fairly vague as I think you can use any number of different techniques to address the areas listed. I've also updated the corrective exercises I would consider based on where they would fall in the neurodevelopemental sequence and 4x4 matrix rather than what I'm trying to 'fix'. I will say I've somewhat abandoned many of my old stand-by's as I've found better options for the reasons listed in last week's article: Lessons Learned - Part II...keep reading

The Active Straight Leg Raise (ASLR) with Core Activation is a correction from both the FMS and SFMA that really demonstrates the idea that without proper core stabilization and timing, we will see wh...keep reading

Bill Hartman PT, CSCS
Strongman training has become more popular and more prominent in many strength and conditioning programs at all levels of training. At IFAST, we use Farmer's Walks and Suitcase Carries in programs for a full spectrum of clients from our athletes to even our fat loss clients. While we may utilize them for their potential in improving overall strength or as conditioning, many times we'll use them as corrective exercises....keep reading

Joe Heiler
The lumbar locked/quadruped on elbows position is a great place to quickly treat the thoracic spine if active and/or passive ranges are dysfunctional with the breakouts. Couple quick manual techniques and you can open the athlete up quite quickly, or use it as a corrective exercise/warm-up....keep reading

Today I want to dive deeper into an activity which I feel needs to be considered more often. Closed Chain Hip Rotation, In particular we are talking about hip internal rotation. External rotation or abduction tends to be the common closed chain exercise of choice with various different types of side planks....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
This has been brought up a couple different times now, most recently by Michael Mullin in his interview on skiing, and by Wil Fleming discussing ankle mobility with Olympic Weightlifting. I posted a video from Michael last week showing one way of self-mobilizing the talus to improve ankle dorsiflexion so be sure to check that out. Here are a couple of other techniques you could use with your athletes and patients....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT
In part 2 of this series I'm going to highlight a number of our jumping progressions from box jumps to single leg drills as well as how we work on arm speed to improve explosiveness. My kids have been bugging me to get in on these videos so big thanks to them for demonstrating the various drills....keep reading

Joe Heiler
We've talked a lot lately about the DNS system and PRI, and one of the main concepts is improving postural alignment to allow for improved diaphragmatic function and with that improved function of the core and extremities. I recently read a great article by Mike Robertson (which I'll be posting soon) and how he addresses this on the strength and conditioning side of things. This week, I shot a couple quick videos to show how I address postural alignment in the clinic with my shoulder mobility/stability corrective exercises....keep reading

Charlie Weingroff DPT, ATC, CSCS
Here is another great article from Charlie on foot/ankle positioning in tall and half kneeling. I think he's dead on with this one plus some great points I hadn't considered....keep reading

Mike Reinold PT, DPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS
Scapula exercises are very common and usually a needed component to any rehabilitation or corrective exercise program. Like anything else, there seems to be a few commonly accepted themes related to scapular exercises that many people take for hard fast rules. No program is right everyone! Here are 3 myths of scapular exercises that I thought would good to discuss....keep reading

You need to be able to hip hinge in order to deadlift effectively or even perform simple life tasks. If you cannot hip hinge effectively, either: You will squat a deadlift or place yourself at increased risk for injury....keep reading

Patient was diagnosed with left Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI) with bony growths and a torn hip labrum. Mike was recommended to have surgery to fix his abnormal orthopedic findings after failed attempts at out-patient physical therapy. Patient's goals are to return to a consistent and non-painful training program for health as well as preparation for occupational demands and selection testing for a specialized law enforcement team next year....keep reading

Carson Boddicker
In this month's webinar, Carson does a great job discussing the anatomy of the foot and ankle, the mechanics up and down the kinetic chain with pronation, the influence of the sensorimotor system on the foot and core, barefoot running, and more......keep reading