Category: All Things Rehab

Infrasternal & Infrapubic Angles, and Improving Movement & Breathing Strategies

Want to learn about breathing? How it impacts movement? What are my thoughts are on the FMS? You’ll learn that and more on The Gamut of Peformance Podcast that I was recently featured on. A great podcast hosted by my boi Juan Perez, who you’ll definitely want to check out. Click below to give it a listen, and check out some of the links that we discussed as well. GPP Episode 26: Zac Cupples- Infrasternal/ Infrapubic Angle, and Improving Movement & Breathing Strategies Here is a link on things asymmetrical infrasternal angle-related Here is some stuff on the infrapubic angle Learn about the infrasternal angle here Here is some stuff on narrow infrasternal angles Here is a good overview on breathing mechanics Here is a legendary infrasternal angle post by my boi and mentee, Mike Kay

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Shoulder Abduction, Chiropractic Adjustments, and Ending Passive Care – Movement Debrief Episode 66

Movement Debrief Episode 66 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: How does one go about improving shoulder abduction? What are my thoughts on adjustments or manipulations? Could adjustments potentially create laxity over time? When could these techniques prove useful? How do I get patients out of the “I need to be fixed” mindset? How do I encourage patients to buy in to an active approach to their recovery? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: Portland, OR on November 10-11  December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC (early bird ends November 11th) February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ (early bird ends January 4th) SIGN UP FOR THE REVOLUTION featuring myself, Pat Davidson, and Seth Oberst February 9th-10th in Boston. MA If you want to learn about all the things thorax-wise that I talked about, go here Spinal Manipulation Institute If you’d like an older rendition on chiropractic adjustments, then check it out here. The Mechanisms of Manual Therapy in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Comprehensive Model Unraveling the Mechanisms of Manual Therapy: Modeling an Approach.

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Cervical Retraction, Neutral Spine, and Lateralization – Movement Debrief Episode 65

Movement Debrief Episode 65 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: What is my opinion on cervical retraction to fix forward head posture? Why does someone assume a forward head or military posture? How do these postures impact airway? How ought we address head posture? What is my opinion on neutral spine during lifting? What is lateralization within the human body? Which direction are humans lateralized? What can be done to manage lateralization? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th  Portland, OR on November 10-11  December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC (early bird ends November 11th) February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ (early bird ends January 4th) SIGN UP FOR THE REVOLUTION featuring myself, Pat Davidson, and Seth Oberst February 9th-10th in Boston. MA Kinematics of the human mandible for different head postures. Here is the ribcage pumphandle mechanics debrief Here is the rectus abdominis debrief The lumbar and sacrum movement pattern during the back squat exercise. Bill Hartman Here is some information on the right hand rule of physics

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Rectus Abdominis, My Movement Limitations, and Stability – Movement Debrief Episode 64

Movement Debrief Episode 64 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: Case study on lower back pain differential diagnosis What is the action of the rectus abdominis? Why is feeling rectus not desirable during breathwork? What muscles should you feel during breathwork? What movement limitations do I have? What measures have I taken to try and improve these limitations? What activities do I use to try and improve those movement limitations? What measures do I plan on taking in the future to improve my health? Our all of our movements and postures governed by stability? If not, what? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th  Portland, OR on November 10-11  December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC (early bird ends November 11th) February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ (early bird ends January 4th) SIGN UP FOR THE REVOLUTION featuring myself, Pat Davidson, and Seth Oberst February 8th-9th in Boston. MA Building a Success on a Foundation of Failures by Daddy-O Pops Bill Hartman Here is the pump handle debrief Here is

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Physical Therapy Faux Pas: 5 Fixable Blunders Clinicians and Coaches Make

Faux Pas: (Noun) An embarrassing or tactless act or remark.¹   I’m not the greatest physical therapist. I make mistakes, some people don’t get better, some people get worse. Yet despite my flaws, I’ve done all that I can to minimize as many avoidable errors as possible. Errors that can put maladaptive beliefs into a client’s mind. Errors that can hinder progress. Sadly, I see many people make these avoidable errors. And I’m not talking therapists only. I’m talking coaches, doctors, chiropractors, everyone. While we can all agree that clinical errors are expected and unavoidable, many problems can be fixed simply by changing the way we think and communicate with clients. Better communication will lead to greater success for the client one, and better collaboration to those seeking to help said client. Here are some faux pas to avoid, and solutions to these problems.

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Breathing, Thoracic Spine, and When it’s Safe to Load – Movement Debrief Episode 63

Movement Debrief Episode 63 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: How should the ribcage move during normal respiratory mechanics? How should the abdominal wall expand during normal respiratory mechanics? How should breathing during variability-based activities be coached? What are normal compensatory thoracic spine presentations with narrow and wide infrasternal angles? How can someone present with different thoracic spine orientations despite these “normal” strategies? What can you do to improve thoracic spine mobility in these cases? Is it safe to load compensatory movement strategies? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th  Portland, OR on November 10-11  December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC (early bird ends November 11th) February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ (early bird ends January 4th) Want to get a handout that explains normal respiratory mechanics? Click here, you’ll see pictures of the ribcage mechanics I mentioned Here is a link to the infrasternal angle debriefs Here is a link to the pumphandle debrief. Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages

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Lessons from a Cadaver Dissection

Y’all Wanna See a Dead Body? I remember my first cadaver dissection way back in undergrad. My first time seeing what the body “actually” looked like, not a two-dimensional representation. Exploring the human body via dissection left an indelible mark on my anatomical understanding. There is something incredibly salient about holding a human heart that the donors so graciously provided. It took my understanding to another level. I had a few other times in undergrad and PT school where I was able to study cadavers, but that was 8 years ago. My lens has changed. My biases have been altered. My appreciation for the human body and relationships is different. In PT school, dissection time is basically 75% fat removal, 20% separating structures, and 5% appreciating. Especially considering the primary objective is rote anatomical memorization for the test, you don’t get to take time and stop and smell the formaldehyde. You do what you gotta do to get that degree, fam. This dissection I got to participate in was hosted by University of St. Augustine. Without the pressures of PT school and better anatomical knowledge, the experience was worthwhile. A breath of fresh…well you know what I mean. It didn’t hurt that anatomical genius Daddy-O Pops Bill Hartman was in the heezy. We had pretty much free reign on these cadavers, which allowed see so many cool things, reinforce many ideas, and develop greater understanding of how to apply anatomy to our advantage. Realize that this post is horrendously biased.

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September 2018 Links and Review

Every week, my newsletter subscribers get links to some of the goodies that I’ve come across on the internets. Here were the goodies that my peeps got their learn on in September. If you want to get a copy of my weekend learning goodies every Friday, fill out the form below.  That way you can brag to all your friends about the cool things you’ve learned over the weekend. [yikes-mailchimp form=”1″ submit=”Hell yes I want weekend learning goodies every Friday!”]

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Ribcage Pump Handle, Hip Rotation, and Compliance – Movement Debrief Episode 62

Movement Debrief Episode 62 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: What are pump handle mechanics at the ribcage? How do pump handle mechanics impact thorax mobility? What treatment would you use to restore pump handle mechanics? What hip rotation limitations would you expect with various infrapubic angles? How would you treat hip rotation deficits? When a client says “it’s not hard for me anymore, why do I need to keep doing it?” how would I respond? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Check out Human Matrix promo video below Below are some testimonials for the class Want to sign up? Click on the following locations below: Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th (early bird ends September 30th) Portland, OR on November 10-11 (early bird ends September 30th) December 8th-9th, Charleston, SC February 2nd-3rd, 2019, New Providence, NJ Want to get a handout that explains normal respiratory mechanics? Click here You can learn about infrasternal angles here, here, here, here, here, and of course, here (protip – go in the order of here’s) Below is a move I like to restore pump handle mechanics Hip Extension debrief Below is a move I like to restore hip

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Next Level Lower Body: Pelvis Mechanics and Single Leg Exercise

Want to develop a comprehensive approach to restoring movement to help someone in pain? An approach that allows you to enhance your client’s movement repertoire so there are multiple ways to help them reach their fitness goals? My seminar, Human Matrix: The Code for Maximal Health and Performance, can help you attain these very goals. I will teach you how by providing you a comprehensive assessment to pinpoint your client’s movement limitations, practical exercise application to aid in restoring movement deficiency, and learn how to coach loaded movements to build client fitness and resiliency. Below are two snippets of the seminar. In the first snippet, we discuss compensatory pelvis mechanics. Understanding these mechanics can allow you to better appreciate how lower body movement limitations can develop, and what to do about them (note, you may want to check out normal mechanics here before going all abnormal). In the second video, we discuss single leg loading variations. Executing these movements to perfection build up what was gained in the compensatory mechanics section. If you would like to attend a seminar and dive further, look no further then the links below. October 27th-28th – Kansas City, MO (Early bird ends September 30th!) November 10th-11th – Portland, OR (Early bird ends September 30th!) December 8th-9th – Charleston, SC February 2nd-3rd – New Providence, NJ Otherwise, enjoy the videos! Compensatory Pelvis Mechanics Single Leg Exercises

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Reaching, TMJ and Neck, and Pooch Belly – Movement Debrief Episode 61

Movement Debrief Episode 61 is in the books. Below is a copy of the video for your viewing pleasure, and audio if you can’t stand looking at me. Here is the set list: What is the difference between reaching for posterior thorax expansion and trunk rotation? Can you explain neck and TMJ limitations? What activities do I like for cervicocranial limitations? How does variability loss in the thorax and pelvic affect belly fat distribution? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook or Instagram. They air every Wednesday at 7pm CST. Enjoy! and the audio version…                  Here were the links I mentioned: Sign up for the Human Matrix in Kansas City, KS on October 27-28th here Sign-up for the Human Matrix in Portland, OR on November 10-11 here Read here to learn more about Human Matrix Bill Hartman Below is the cervical spine moving into flexion and extension in an MRI. You can see how as the head extends, the airway opens, and as it closes, it flexes. Here is a link of sphenobasilar movement in relation to the OA joint. Here is a link to several of the cranial strain and malocclusion articles. You’ll want the ones by James and Strokon Retrospective Study of Cranial Strain Pattern Prevalence in a Healthy Population Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages of content, a free acute:chronic workload calculator, basketball conditioning program, podcasts, and weekend

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Treating Back and Hip Pain with Breathing – Live Case Study

Ever have someone who hurts multiple areas, and you are unsure where to start? What if I told you that if you have a systematic approach, these people can be helped in a much easier manner than you’d think. But what if your assessment isn’t where you want it to be? Sounds like a problem, fam. Until now. Today you’ll see me assess a woman with back and hip pain, and I go through my entire assessment, outline my thought process throughout, and show how I coach this woman out of compensatory activities within her exercises. All of these are skills that I will be teaching the fam who are attending Human Matrix: The Code for Maximal Health and Performance. If you want to attend, there are still some sign-ups available for my courses this year: Seattle, WA – September 15-16 Kansas City, MO – October 27-28 Portland, OR – November 10-11 Some of the cool things you will learn in this case study include Why hip rotation is not an immediate decision-maker for exercises How to assess joint laxity so clients don’t fool your assessment Why is the infrasternal angle important for treatment selection How to cue clients out of compensation to enhance exercise effectiveness Why we should we see immediate changes after exercise selection My favorite manual technique for improving narrow infrasternal angles, which can enhance your client’s overall mobility How does the infrasternal angle relate to the infrapubic angle and more Enjoy the video and selected notes

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