Most Popular Articles on this site

I had an awesome conversation with Dr. Andreo Spina today in which we talked about a number of topics including manual therapy, influencing the nervous system for 'useful flexibility', the importance of loading tissues for injury prevention, and more. He pointed me to this blog post and video from Jeff Cubos (another frequent contributor here) as a great way to introduce some of the topics he will be covering in his upcoming interview......keep reading

Dry Needling is gaining a lot of popularity in rehab and performance. The evidence behind this is continually evolving, and much controversy still remains. This article will discuss some of the potential mechanisms at play with this modality....keep reading

Joe Heiler
The single leg deadlift progressions here are the weighted versions we covered during the Athletes' Performance Mentorship Program. I also threw in the killer SL deadlift + Row just for fun....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT
This case study involves a college football player with a shoulder injury due to heavy lifting. Treatment involved a combination of manual therapy, the SFMA as the movement assessment, and finally adding PRI correctives and 'tweaks' to traditional SFMA exercises. This webinar will also focus on returning to strength training utilizing many of these same principles....keep reading

John D'Amico MSPT, ATC, TPI Med Pro Level 3
Over the past few years I have become interested in accessing the nervous system through manual therapy and exercise as a means to attaining better mobility in my middle-aged to senior golf fitness clients. Recently, on a hunch, I began using a modification of the neuro-developmental cross crawl pattern movement as a window to greater mobility. This idea came to me after using the pattern in standing to improve braided walking technique in older golfers. What follows is not peer-reviewed research, but merely food for thought....keep reading

Robert A. Panariello MS, PT, ATC, CSCS
The advances of Athletic Performance Training Techniques utilized by the Performance Professionals of today have resulted in bigger, stronger, and faster athletes when compared to those of decades past. This increase in athletic performance also presents the athlete with the risk of bodily injury, including the knee joint, during both performance training and athletic competition....keep reading

In our teleseminar interview with Al Vermeil and Rob Panariello, Al mentioned a stability test he used with his athletes to determine readiness for speed training. Al sent the video over so be sure to check it out. I should mention during the interview that Al gave credit to Mark Comerford for the idea....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
I recently reviewed the new Functional Movement Systems DVD with Gray Cook, Lee Burton, and Alywn Cosgrove. I always enjoy kicking back and just listening to these guys talk and see what 'pearls' I can pick out. With the FMS well established now, it's easy to see that they are putting a lot of effort into making sure that trainers, coaches, and clinicians are getting the most mileage out of it. Not only that, but also using it in ways that would set you apart from the rest of the industry. In this review, I'm going to hit on the bigger points of the three lectures, but with a major emphasis on how they are recommending to use the FMS to assist with programming....keep reading

Joe Heiler
A few weeks ago I did a similar piece on the single leg squat but using the opposite leg to reach in multiple directions. This time I'm going to show how you can use single leg squat so challenge core stability....keep reading

David O'Sullivan PT
David just sent me this great video 'case study' showing one of his rugby guys rehabbing post knee surgery along with a short article giving a bit of the background. Lots of great ideas for therapists and trainers working with this population (well, maybe you don't see professional rugby players on a daily basis but you know what I mean). Would love to see more of these if anyone else would be interested. Thanks David!...keep reading

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

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
I just got back from teaching a Graston Technique course in Glen Mills, PA (big thanks to member Cam McCormack for setting that up), and at the end of the course we did a functional evaluation, using the SFMA, of a golf pro with neck pain. I wanted to write this up for the clinicians participating that day to better follow my thought process especially since many of them haven't been formally exposed to the SFMA. I also realized I don't think I've ever posted a case study on a patient with neck pain so it will be a little different perspective perhaps for many of you on the site as well.....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
In this week's article on 'lessons I've learned' I want to talk about the misconception of tight hamstrings. Over the past 5 or 6 years I've heard more and more folks talk about the hamstrings being more 'high tone' than actually shortened. I know there are others out there but the FMS/SFMA guys and Shirley Sahrman have been big influences on me so I want to give them credit for introducing the idea to me. I remember when Kyle Kiesel first said that hamstring length was the primary limitation of the MS flexion pattern maybe 10% of the time. That number blew me away....keep reading

In this interview Paul expands on the information he presented in his previous webinar: Dynamic Shoulder Stabilization - building a shoulder of 'elastic steel' . Paul will discuss arm bar variations and their benefits, variations on the carries, following the neurodevelopmental progression and 4x4 matrix to determine proper exercise sequence, and an update on upper body Y test research....keep reading

Nothing like watching one of the best in the business work his magic! Dr. Liebenson combines the best of DNS, McKenzie, McGill, and others to address mechanical low back pain with sciatic symptoms in the first video, and to address a lack of thoracic mobility affecting core stability and shoulder mobility in video #2. Enjoy!...keep reading

Day 1 and 2 notes on the evaluation of the Integrated Spinal Stabilization System as part of the Level 1 Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) course taught by Clare Frank and Lucie Ujcova from the Prague School of Rehabilitation....keep reading

One of the big tents of Sports Rehab Expert is to recognize the importance of multiple systems within the human body. Understanding each of these systems individually, and then recognize how they interact and how we can apply it through concepts in rehab or strength and conditioning....keep reading

Load is everything to the tendon! It is the language that it speaks. Whatever happens in the tendon always in some way involves load. We know that tendon is sensitive to load, this means that when you load it the cells sense this load and produce biochemical that lead to changes in the tendon.......keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
Shoulder Taps in a push-up position are a great advanced corrective exercise to address the Trunk Stability Push-Up of the Functional Movement Screen. I've also seen it double as a Rotary Stability correction although there may be 'softer' core strategies that are more effective....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
Part I in a series of articles on getting athletes back into the weight room after injury, keeping them healthy once they're there, and watching their performance skyrocket....keep reading