I recently became aware of Stuart McGill's "Big 3" exercises. McGill is a professor and researcher in Canada who is influential in spine health and function. His "Big 3" exercises can be seen by clicking on the link above.
Last week I was asked by a client, "Why perform CARs (Controlled Articulated Rotations) with my shoulders?" There had been a few physical therapists who had told her that moving into full endrange would be bad for her, but my first thought was 'How could learning to control our extreme limits of motion be bad?' Why wouldn't you...
Medial Knee Drift (MKD) is the technical term for when you can't control your knee position during any portion of a squat or step-down exercise. This is probably one of the most common mistakes I see in the gym, even in athletes with trainers coaching them! Usually it's caused by weakness in the hip, which decreases control of the femur...
If you have ever been told that you have a shoulder problem based on the position of your shoulder blade, or scapula, you might be able to rest a bit easier tonight. In a study published online today, researchers from VCU and USC tested the Scapula Diskinesis Test (SDT) to see if a positive result was indicative of...
When we think about our spine we often overlook the fact that the bodies of the vertebrae - the thick circular parts that actually provide support - are in the middle of our trunk instead of just on the back side. Picture a cylinder with a solid tube running down the middle, and thats the general 3D layout of...
Watch the video to Learn how to do the Lumbrical stretch. Fun Fact: Did you know that there arent any muscles in your fingers, only tendons? So when you do the stretch correctly, you will feel the pulling in your hand, on either side of the long bone corresponding to the finger you are stretching.
Without even getting into the exorbitant cost burden of unneccessary tests, here's a few reasons why getting an MRI could make you worse.
I've noticed a trend with patients and people that I meet when they talk about back pain vs. other injuries. Whenever a physician or other healthcare provider has given a diagnosis regarding a back issue, that person talks about the issue in the present tense - FOREVER!! "I have a herniated disc" (It's been 2 years) or "I have sciatica"...
The squat is one of the most fundamental movements a human being can perform. But I get asked constantly by patients if its OK to do squats, and I usually hear them say "someone told me it was bad for my (insert body part here)." 'Who is this someone, and how do they know so much about squats?' I always...
Using a smart phone or a computer all day can add a lot of extra strain to your neck. On top of being the place that most people hold their stress, this can add to the incidence of neck pain and discomfort, or could be a problem waiting to happen. This "forward head" position causes to overstretching of...