– Fatigue – High Heels – Motor Learning – Mobility – Threshold – Strengthening – Parachute – Protocols – Armbar – Neuro –
1) I think exercise programs like crossfit and P-90X are great. They get more people moving and interested in their health. And in today’s society, decreasing the amount of sedentary people is very important. However, when exercises are performed past failure a ton of things go wrong. A new study showed there is a deterioration of lower extremity biomechanics when fatigue hits. This causes a dangerous cascade of events: compensations, inefficient movement, substitution movement patterns, and an increased risk for injury. While many of us already know this, many of our patients don’t. Educate them.
2) Infographics are a great way to educate patients. We sent this high heel infographic out in our monthly email.
3) Here’s a nice review on motor learning from the MovNat concept by Jaime Guined.
4) More research supporting the mobility before stability concept – Impaired ankle DF ROM leads to poor balance.
5) In the past couple years I’ve been hearing about the importance of low vs high-threshold strategies. However, I could never find anything that fully described this concept. So I decided to try to create a post that put it all in one place. This is something we should have learned in PT school.
6) Proof that the hip is a ball and socket joint.
7) “If you think strength training is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.” This is a hilarious article from Bret Contreras.
8) One of the downsides of research is that it breeds “that guy”. The guy that pessimistically challenges everything through a lens of EBP because he’s too afraid to try new things. This stalls our profession and even worse, it prolonges patient care because they’re only receiving what’s in peer-reviewed articles instead of what simply works best for that specific individual. Next time you encounter “this guy”, point them towards this article and tell them to sign up for it.
9) University of Deleware Protocols. Check them out and see if you can improve your post-op plan of care.
10) I’ve been using this exercise with a lot of shoulder patients. It causes reflexive stabilization of the glenohumeral joint, dynamic scapula stabilization, and core integration. Plus, the bottoms-up kettlebell position causes the patient to grip harder, which leads to increased RTC activation.
11) University of Texas has an incredible site reviewing neuroscience. Here’s a few of many gems:
“One of the major principles of the motor system is that motor control requires sensory input to accurately plan and execute movements.”
“The adaptiveness of spinal reflexes can change depending on the behavioral context; sometimes the gain (strength) or even the sign (extension vs. flexion) of a reflex must be changed in order to make the resulting movement adaptive. The descending pathways are responsible for controlling these variables.”
“Unconscious processes allow higher-order brain areas to concern themselves with broad desires and goals, rather than low-level implementations of movements.”
“The motor system must constantly produce postural adjustments in order to compensate for changes in the body’s center of mass as we move our limbs, head, and torso. Without these automatic adjustments, the simple act of reaching for a cup would cause us to fall, as the body’s center of mass shifts to a location in front of the body axis.”
