– August Hits –
1) Does your patient suffer from VOMIT? It is one of the fastest growing pathologies in our society. Make sure you are aware of this terrible problem and educate your patients.
2) I’m not going to stop drinking it, but here’s some good information.
3) “Our study demonstrated no benefit for intramuscular PRP injections, as compared with placebo injections, in patients with acute hamstring injuries”
4) “The creation of gross spinal movement occurs via the summation of small segmental movements across larger spinal sections.” – “the deepest tissues across any articulations of the body are the first to be engaged during movement and thus provides the most specific, and up to date feedback information to the CNS regarding the ongoing assessment of movement outcome. These small muscles/muscle fibers thus act to monitor tension in the connective tissue elements encasing the spine.” -Andreo Spina on the Functional Anatomy of the Spine
5) Top 11 Bodyweight Exercises from GMB – Squat, Frogger, Monkey, Cartwheel, Pull-Up, Bear, Push-Up, Hollow Body Hold, Scales, L-Sit, Handstand – #GetAwkward
6) “When did cardio do absolutely nothing except set me back? When I spent a lot of time in the middle zone of 70-90% of max heart rate; it’s no man’s land! The take-home lesson is that if you want to be strong and powerful, make your low-intensity work “lower” and your high-intensity work “higher.” – Eric Cressey shares his 5 biggest mistakes with powerlifting.
7) Erson’s 5’s : 5 Ways to Get to Cervical End-Range, 5 Exercises for TMD & Headaches, 5 Breathing Cues
8) More evidence for the importance of proximal stability to reduce distal injuries.
9) Increasing the lever arm on the plank exercise results in better abdominal muscle activation compared to traditional or posterior tilt plank.
10) What do you do with those hyper-mobile athletes that score high on the beighton laxity scale? Make them powerlift! Danny Matta has a nice article on the importance of tension and stability in these athletes.
11) Interesting perspective on the PRI experience from a physical therapist that practices PRI – Zac Cupples 1, 2, 3.
12) Jesse Awenes shares some of his favorite glute exercises. I hadn’t heard of the Prone Figure 4 Lift. Makes sense.
13) Great 2 minute video from the Gait Guys on Flexor Dominance of the brain (and therefore body).
14) Kathy Dooley goes over power breathing. “Why not open the mouth in inhalation? Depressing the jaw locks the hyoid, preventing its movement to allow for a more patent airway. Also, if you’re tensing the suprahyoid muscles for breathing, then that is tension you could be using elsewhere.”
15) Erson’s thoughts on cortical smudging – “My explanation for why treatments like IASTM or joint mobilizations work is that they are a novel, non-threatening stimulus that helps “redefine” the smudged limb“.”
16) How to fix our healthcare system and save $2 million (a must read if you’re a PT).
17) Should we be deep squatting? And if so, how do you train it?
18) Sleep has become very popular in the past few years. Here are 2 of the better sleep articles I’ve read lately (1, 2). “if you get 6 hours of sleep per night for two weeks straight, your mental and physical performance declines to the same level as if you had stayed awake for 48 hours straight”
19) This is an interesting read on the overhead shoulder position by Derrick Blanton. Take home message – maybe Arnold was right…Internally Rotate Up, Externally Rotate Down.
20) 2 ways to teach the nervous system how to use new motion.
21) Great Neuroscience Nugget on Oxytocin. “Possible roles of the hormone in dorsal horn processing, as part of the endogenous “pain” control system and also refer to the large literature suggesting that enhanced oxytocin levels may decrease pain via improving mood, decreasing stress, enhancing calmness and lowering cortisol levels.”
22) Close your mouth (but not all the way). Seth Oberst goes over Jaw Positioning for optimal performance. “Clearly there’s a relationship between the upper cervical spine and the jaw – some would argue that the axis of rotation at the TMJ is actually at the C1-C2 joint.” – “Not having the basics of jaw positioning (including the tongue) just won’t cut it and will lead to alterations in the nervous system, spinal control, and power generation. ”
23) “Endurance offers you a wider time slot to learn your lifts and perfect your technique while managing fatigue.” –Gray Cook
24) New study on the effect of compression – “The use of a lower limb compression garment improved subjective perceptions of recovery; however, there was neither a significant improvement in muscular strength nor a significant attenuation in markers of exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation.”
25) One of the best running articles I’ve read in a while. John Foster tactfully breaks down Pose-like running methods with solid research and empirical evidence – “Accentuating early knee drive is the easiest way I have found to achieve early gluteal activation and is fundamental to the inform running method .”
26) “Overall, our data suggest that the large size of the GMAX reflects its multifaceted role during rapid and powerful movements rather than as a specific adaptation for a single submaximal task such as endurance running.”
27) This is how a great clinician treats Frozen Shoulder. It’s great to see someone clearly describe an example of how they treat a specific pathology.
28) Interesting anatomy read from David Butler – “The pupil is a part of an integrated defence detection and response system as the organism works out “what is going on”.” – “looking into someone’s eyes evokes a healthy oxytocin release for both of you.” – “Myodural bridges are connections between the cervical dura mater and the cervical extensor muscles.”
29) “Currently, coaches are rushing to find various methods of monitoring their athletes within the training environment (IE, GPS, HR, Force Plates, etc); however, one critical aspect that may often get overlooked is the athlete’s life stress.” -Patrick Ward
30) People You Should Know – Sir Charles Sherrington may be the most influential neurophysiologists of all time. Seriously, the guy coined the terms proprioception, neuron, and synapse! His concepts are still widely used today. But he’s not just the reciprocal inhibition guy. He laid down the foundations for modern human physiology with his theory that the nervous system is the integrative coordinator of various inputs of the body through neural synapses (not just isolated “reflex arcs”). In 1906 he published the Principia of neurology, The Integrative Action of the Nervous System. In this body of work he described three main sensory organs (exteroceptive, interoceptive, proprioceptive) and their influence on the body. Movement professionals owe a great deal to this man and his work.
31) Top 3 Tweets of the Month
- Anthony Donskov @Donskovsc – Consistently training to failure is a failure in training.
- Erwan Le Corre @Erwan_Le_Corre – Technique is not the replacement of strength. Technique is the most efficient use of it.
- Seth Oberst @SethOberstDPT – Take pride in being a great generalist before becoming a specialist
32) Why go to Six-Flags Theme Park when you have a gym membership?
They say the most important part of a beginner’s exercise program is to make it enjoyable…
