flexion – ZacCupples.com

February 14, 2021 Zac Cupples

Limited Shoulder Motion, Where Should I Start?

You have someone who is limited with several different shoulder mobility measures, which should you tackle first? Find out in this post.

September 12, 2020 Zac Cupples

Shoulder Flexion Troubleshooting

Can’t get overhead? Let’s figure out how! If you can raise your arm fully overhead WITHOUT compensating, don’t read any further! But if you are like most of us, reaching overhead probably draws its fair share of LOLZZZ. Yet raising your arm overhead is HELLA important for things like lifting weights, moving your neck freely, and even rotation through the ribcage. So if ya ain’t got it, you might want to work on it! That’s why I put out this debrief for you that dives into mechanics, what directions to reach and clarifies any confusion that may surround arm elevation biomechanics. Let’s channel our inner Josh Groban and raise you up (your arm that is).

June 7, 2020 Zac Cupples

What is the Best Posture?

Ever argue with someone about good posture? Are you ready to tell them it’s all bullshit? We are meant to move, so the best posture is one that is constantly changing. In fact, research shows movement variability, the changes we unconsciously make within movements, is a marker of health and reduced injury. How beefed up would your posture knowledge be if you knew… What “good” posture actually is? Can you really be “stuck in extension?” What “stacking” is and why it’s essential to movement? What are the best cues to change someone’s posture? Well those are just a few of the many things you’ll learn in today’s video interview I did on Phillipe Gervais’ Youtube channel. It’s time to finally silence those posture junkies. Time to have that difficult conversation with your mom (cue childhood trauma of mom telling me to sit up straight). Time to take your movement knowledge to the next level! Watch the video below and prepare to deep dive! Photo credit: Steve Leggat

December 27, 2018 Zac Cupples

Sitting Posture, Hypermobility, and Fear-Avoidance – Movement Debrief Episode 72

Movement Debrief Episode 72 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: Does sitting slouch = extended? Why do people appear flexed when they sit? What is going on when someone sits slouched? How should I work with someone who has a hypermobility syndrome? What is Ehlers Danlos? Are isometrics a worthy starting place? What about unstable surface training? What is fear-avoidance? How do I go about using education to reduce fear avoidance? What other tactics do I use to mitigate fear avoidance?

November 1, 2018 Zac Cupples

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.

August 20, 2018 Zac Cupples

Learn Normal Respiratory Mechanics from the Human Matrix Manual

Do you… Have patients who hurt multiple areas and are unsure where to start? Have training clients who can’t perform the exercises you want to despite extensive coaching? Want to maximize your client’s movement capabilities better than ever before? Want to know why incorporating breathing into your skillset is exceedingly important? Then welcome to Human Matrix: The Code for Maximizing Health and Performance. A course where you will develop a thorough understanding of how to systemically view and affect movement. By entering the Matrix and affecting movement systemically, building up your client’s movement repertoire from the ground up better than ever before. What you’ll learn when you Enter the Human Matrix How to build a sound movement foundation to increase the exercise variations your clients and patients will be able to do. How to assess your client’s movement capabilities to make precise decisions for improving pain and movement quality. How to normalize range of motion of the entire body to both reduce pain and improve how your clients move with fewer exercises than you have ever needed before. How to effectively coach squatting, deadlifting, pushing, pulling, and more to build the fitness and resiliency of your clients. Course Outline Here is the schedule of this two day seminar: Day 1 9:30-10:30am: Model and Theory 10:45am-12:30pm: Axial Skeleton, Respiration, and Thorax Variability 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch 1:30pm-3:00pm: Thorax Variability 3:15pm-4:45pm: Pelvic Variability 5-6:30pm: Systemic Variability Day 2 8:30am-10am: Systemic variability 10:15am-12:30pm: Power Establishment – Mastering fundamental movement patterns 12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch 1:30pm-3:30pm: Power Establishment

July 8, 2013 Zac Cupples

Movement Chapter 8: SFMA Assessment Breakout Descriptions and Flowcharts

This is a chapter 8 summary of the book “Movement” by Gray Cook. What to Look For The SFMA breakouts are utilized to determine if one’s movement deficiencies have a mobility or stability origin. There are further possibilities in each of these categories. It Could Be a Mobility Problem There are two subsets of mobility problems that include tissue extensibility dysfunction (TED) and joint mobility dysfunction (JMD). From here, we can break it down even further in each subset. Here are some potential TEDs Active/passive muscle insufficiency Limited neurodynamics (they said neural tension; come on Gray!) Fascial tension Muscle shortening Hypertrophy Trigger points Scarring/fibrosis And here are some potential JMDs Osteoarthritis/arthrosis Single-joint muscle spasm/guarding Fusion Subluxation Adhesive capsulitis Dislocation It could be a Stability Problem These issues are also known as stability or motor control dysfunction (SMCD). Most conventional therapies would treat these complaints by strengthening the stabilizers, but this is problematic. When something works reflexively, how can we train something volitionally and expect changes? To train these muscles we must focus on proprioceptive and timing-based training. There are several examples of SMCD problems. Motor control dysfunction. High threshold strategy. Local muscle dysfunction/asymmetry. Mechanical breathing dysfunction. Prime mover or global muscle compensation behavior or asymmetry. Poor static stability, alignment, postural control, asymmetry, and structural integrity. Poor dynamic stability, alignment, postural control, asymmetry, and structural integrity. Relatedness Mobility and stability can influence one another. If I were to lose mobility at one segment, motor control can be distorted at nearby segments.

April 22, 2013 Zac Cupples

The Sensitive Nervous System Chapter XI: Neurodynamic Testing for the Spine and Lower Limb

This is a summary of Chapter XI of “The Sensitive Nervous System” by David Butler. Intro For today’s chapter, I have decided that the best way to learn these tests is to show you. I will write in any pertinent details you need for a good test performance. The Straight Leg Raise (SLR) SLR hacks. Add sensitizers (dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, etc) to determine nervous system involvement. Add cervical flexion or visual input to enhance responses. Be mindful of symptoms before and after pain responses. If this test is positive post-operation, it will likely be inflammatory in nature. You can preload the system further with cervical flexion or sidebending the trunk away from the test side. Here are some other ways to perform the SLR with sensitizers first. (I apologize for the way the camera shot in advance). For tibial nerve-bias. For fibular nerve bias. For sural nerve bias. Passive Neck Flexion (PNF) Here is how to perform the test. PNF Hacks. Add SLR to further bias the test. Be mindful of Lhermitte’s sign, which is an electric shock down the arms or spine. This is a must-refer sign as there is potential spinal cord damage. Slump Test Here is how to perform the slump. Slump Knee Bend In the book itself, Butler uses the prone knee bend as his base test. However, NOI does not teach this motion as much and now favors the slump knee bend. This movement allows for much more differentiation to be had. And the saphenous nerve