Most Popular Articles on this site

Continuing on with my weekly Gray Cook Functional Movement Systems videos here, but this week I'm borrowing one from 'FMS Unplugged' that discusses the technique behind the original Brettzel and the Brettzel 2.0. I hadn't really considered it this way before but Gray shows how the original Brettzel addresses the anterior chain and the Brettzel 2.0 hits the posterior chain, and how we're always looking for asymmetries not only side to side but front to back....keep reading

Eric Cressey
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the deadlift. It's a great strength exercise for the posterior chain with excellent carryover to real life -- whether we're talking about athletics or picking up bags of groceries. It's among the best muscle mass builders of all time because it involves a ton of muscle in the posterior chain, upper back, and forearms. It's a tremendous corrective exercise; I'm not sure that I have an exercise I like more for correcting bad posture, as this one movement can provide the stiffness needed to minimize anterior pelvic tilt and thoracic kyphosis. These benefits, of course, are contingent on the fact that one can perform the deadlift correctly to make it safe. And, sadly, the frequency of what I'd consider "safe" deadlifts has diminished greatly as our generation has spent more and more time a) at computers, b) in high-top sneakers with big heel lifts, and c) watering down beginner fitness programs...keep reading

Patrick Ward MS, LMT, CSCS
Instead of an exercise of the week I'm going to go with Patrick's 'soft tissue technique of the week'. Patrick does a great job demonstrating and explaining his technique for the deep cervical flexor group on his patient, Carson Boddicker. Maybe Carson pulled a muscle doing all those interviews for the upcoming Sports Rehab Expert podcast :)...keep reading

Patrick Ward MS, CSCS, LMT
I made the 2 hour trip from Portland down to Stanford University for Assessing Movement: A Contrast in Approaches & Future Directions. The course was set up to be a dialogue and debate between Dr. Stuart McGill and Gray Cook. The event was put on by Craig Liebenson with support from the Stanford Sports Medicine Department. Laree Draper of On Target Publications was there to capture the event for a DVD release at a later date....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT
Earlier this week I posted an article on treating the infraspinatous and teres minor as well as discussing the trigger point referral patterns. The video featured in this post shows how I treat the posterior rotator cuff with Graston Technique statically and dynamically, as well as treating with a manual pin and stretch technique....keep reading

If you have not tried 'bottoms up' work with a kettlebell yet you've been missing out. The extra stability requirements and focus it takes to perform some of the traditional movements is so valuable in both the rehab and performance environments. This week I'm going to share two of my favorite moves guaranteed to make even your biggest, strongest athletes feel muscles they didn't even know they had....keep reading

This week our featured interview is with Phil Plisky, DPT, DSc, ATC, CSCS from ProRehab, PC in Evansville, IN. We discussed the FMS, Y-balance test, injury risk factors, and new research being implemented in a number of populations. Charlie Weingroff discussed with us the importance of the cervical spine in core strengthening and why the giraffe has the strongest core in the Animal Kingdom. Patrick Ward detailed his assessment and treatment of the skin during manual therapy sessions. Finally, Joe Heiler came on to discuss the nuances of the SFMA extension patterns, rolling, and, of course, what to expect at Sports Rehab Expert in the coming weeks....keep reading

Joe Heiler
Here are the videos to accompany the PDF (can only get the still shots on PDF)....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
The side sit bridge is a great body weight move designed to maximize shoulder girdle stability, and can also be an early step in teaching the Turkish Get-Up. There are a couple progressions from this that I'll cover in the video......keep reading

Michael M. Reinold, PT, DPT, ATC, CSCS
Here continues to be great debate over the most appropriate rehabilitation progression following rotator cuff repair. Although our surgical techniques have gradually progressed from full open repairs, to smaller mini-open repairs, to the current standard all-arthroscopic repairs, many clinicians continue to utilize the same rehabilitation guidelines from past invasive procedures....keep reading

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS
When I first started this site I wrote an e-book titled "10 Secrets in 10 years" which at the time contained ten of my favorite methods/techniques/philosophies/etc. in my 10 years as a PT. Well it's been another 5 years and a lot of reading, writing, courses, and interviews later so I figured it was time to undertake a new project. I want to go back through the 5 years of SportsRehabExpert.com and review some of the biggest topics we've discussed on the site, although this is in no particular order. Eventually I plan on putting this together in e-book form (not text book form so these will be short and sweet), but for now my goal is to write one new piece per week plus link back to pertinent articles and interviews. Hope you enjoy it.....keep reading

Eric Cressey
In Part I of this series, we outlined several crucial prerequisites to understanding the nature of lower back pain. In this installment, I've got a few more thoughts in this regard, and then we'll get to work on strategies for preventing these problems in the first place, and working around them once they're in place. You don't need me to tell you that back pain -- any chink in your armor, for that matter -- will prevent you from making progress in the gym....keep reading

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

Phil Plisky PT, DSc, OCS, ATC, CSCS
In the past, I've discussed the importance of having a patient or athlete demonstrate that he has basic motor control competency and capacity in the closed kinetic chain. That way there are more data points to indicate that there is a solid foundation for sport specific skills. Now I will focus on selecting tests that can be used for the upper quarter. Please note, I used upper quarter versus upper extremity intentionally given the vital connection of the upper limb to the thorax....keep reading

This week's exercises show progressions of the single leg stance with core activation exercise. These are great for teaching stance leg stability and stepping leg mobility on a stable pelvis....keep reading

Eric Cressey
Here is the medicine ball article in its entirety. Explains a little more about the videos up on his interview page. Great stuff from Eric as always....keep reading

How stride frequency plays an important role in keeping your runners healthy...keep reading

This month's research review comes from the July 2014 edition of the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. Shoulder pain is second only to low back pain in overall incidence now. Two of the main theories behind shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS) according to previous research studies cited by the authors:...keep reading