Course Notes: Cantrell’s Impingement and Instability, 2015 Edition

Third Time’s a Charm  A trip home and hearing Mike Cantrell preach the good PRI word? I was sold. Impingement and Instability is one of those courses that I could take yearly and still get so many gems. In fact, I probably will end up taking it yearly—it’s that good. I took I&I last year with Cantrell (and the year before that with James), and the IFAST rendition was a completely different course. Cantrell provided the most PRI clinical applications I have seen at any course, which is why he continues to be one of my favorite people to learn from. Basically, if you haven’t learned from Mike yet, I pity you. Get to it! I have way too many gems in my notes to discuss, so here are a few big takeaways.

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Course Notes: PRI Impingement and Instability – Cantrell Edition

A Quick Trip Home  I made my first trip back to my roots since moving out west to watch Mike Cantrell’s version of one of my favorite courses: Impingement and Instability. Yes, if you are wondering, my family does hate me for not being able to visit them. Mike absolutely killed all of the various topics we covered, and his ability to coach some of the advanced PRI activities is second to none. I had a blast learning from him. I won’t go over all the nitty gritty like I did here, but here were some of my favorite concepts that we covered. Learn on. The I&I Conundrum  Impingement occurs due to the human system’s conflicting demands. We face a battle between instability and stability. Flexion allows for movement variability, which is desirable in the human system. Variable movement reduces threat perception. However, system flexion leads to increased instability and the risk of falling forward. To combat this risk, impingement may occur by compensatory extension. Extension begets joint and system stability, yet system variability is minimized. Increased stability is desirable when under threat, but not for long term. The “goal” then, would be to build control within flexed instability so the system can stay variable; to remain upright without extension. As Charlie Weingroff would say, we want “control within the presence of change.” That is alternating and reciprocal movement. That doesn’t mean you have to do silly little PRI exercises for the rest of your life. PRI activities are simply neuromuscular training

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