Manual Therapy

Does manual therapy have a place? Manual therapy is one of the more polarizing topics in the movement world, and no doubt you might wonder if this modality is efficacious for improving pain and/or movement. The evidence on manual therapy in isolation is mixed, but perhaps the modality itself is not the problem. Perhaps the problem is not having a model that can explain the utility of manual therapy, when to use it, and why. With a decision-making model, manual therapy is something that can most definitely fit within the interventions you like. Ready to see how manual therapy can be best applied for your supreme clientele? Then check out Movement Debrief Episode 139 below!

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Squatting, Breathing, and Sleeping

What does squatting, breathing, and sleeping all have in common? The answer is airway management. In order to squat well, you have to manipulate your spine in a manner that maximizes vertical pelvic displacement. In order to manipulate spinal position, airflow into the upper back is one factor that can change the way you squat. Breathing is also of utmost importance for sleep. Consider the negative effects of sleep apnea. What if there were activities that could improve both of these areas? In my eyes, these activities center around maximizing breathing mechanics and are the centerpiece discussion in an episode of the Portal PT podcast I was featured in. Check out the setlist below. 1:30 Zac’s Story 6:00 Zac’s Experience with Bill Hartman 12:30 When / Why Did Zac Jump Down The Breathing Biomechanic Rabbit Hole 18:00 Stacking, Diaphragms, Biomechanics, Movement Variability 22:30 Where’s The Breathing Research? Clinical Practice Guidelines 31:00 Squat vs. Hinge 36:30 Pain, Manual Therapy, Blood Flow, and Movement Variability 44:00 Myofunctional Therapy, Upper Airway Resistance, and Sleep 47:00 Zac’s Patient and Their Changes 49:00 Oxygen Advantage & Mouth Taping While Sleeping, Exercise Endurance, Resting Heart Rate 54:00 Dreaming, Sleep Studies, and Quality of Sleep 57:00 Improving Nasal Breathing and Changes in Facial Structure and Musculature 59:00 Proactive Care in Children 1:00:00 What is The Worst Fitness Advice Zac Has Ever Received 1:05:00 What Was Zac’s First Exercise Experience and Was it Good or Bad? 1:07:00 What’s Zac’s Number One Source For Research and Education Info If

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Breathing for Beginners, Manual Therapy, and Tongue Posture – Movement Debrief Episode 88

Movement Debrief Episode 88 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 would you teach someone to coach breathing if the infrasternal angle cannot be measured? How could a manual therapist apply the principles that I teach? What areas should a manual therapist prioritize based on assessment? How is tongue posture affected by spinal/pelvic posture?

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Seth Oberst’s Stress, Movement, and Pain Course Review

Do you work with people who are stressed? Dumb question, right? Who isn’t stressed today? In fact, stress levels are probably at an all time high, and if you’ve read Robert Sapolsky’s work, is likely responsible for most of the conditions and maladies we face today. The question we must ask though is what role a movement professional has in helping someone mitigate stress? After attending Seth Oberst’s Stress, Pain, and Movement seminar, I think we now have an answer. Now I’ve taken a lot of courses in my day, and much of what I learned is the same poop, repackaged as different poop. That’s not to say that new perspectives aren’t useful, but most are looking at the same thing. Seth’s is the first class that I’ve been to in a hot minute where I had that feeling of “whoa, now this is different.” His approach looks at the struggles our patients and clients deal with through a very unique lens. To me, this course is the gold standard for learning just how problematic stress is for our patients, and what to do about it. Not only will you get an incredibly in-depth look at stress, autonomics, the nervous system, pain, and so much more, but you’ll learn some excellent methods to aid your clients in mitigating stress. I cannot recommend learning from Seth highly enough. If you want to attend, you can sign up here. While I won’t go into the great detail that Seth does on the brain,

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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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Infrapubic Angle, Manual Ribcage Work, and Graded Exposure – Movement Debrief Episode 60

Movement Debrief Episode 60 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 relationship between the infrasternal and infrapubic angles? What are some key muscles to consider in the various infrapubic angle presentations? What movement strategies should be focused on to restore infrapubic angle variability? Is there value in manual ribcage work to increase expansion? What type of techniques do I use to improve ribcage expansion? What is graded exposure? What is my opinion on graded exposure? Do people in persistent pain have to push through pain during movement? 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 Seattle, WA on September 15-16th here 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 Three-dimensional Movements of the sacroiliac Joint: a systematic review of the Literature and assessment of clinical utility Sacroiliac joint motion in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disorders Hip extension debrief Bill Hartman Shoulder rotation debrief Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages of content, a

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Upper Body Unstable Surface, Achilles Tendinopathy, and Manual Therapy – Movement Debrief Episode 44

Movement Debrief Episode 44 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: Is there a place for upper body unstable surface training? Can it be justified since we cannot justify lower body unstable surface training? What are some good treatments for Achilles Tendinopathy? What are my thoughts on manual therapy? What do I think about recent manual therapy trends? Is there a place for manual therapy? 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: I couldn’t find a picture of the dome, but this article talks about it. The vestibular platform Shoulder Packing Tim Gabbett Deep friction massage to treat tendinopathy: a systematic review of a classic treatment in the face of a new paradigm of understanding. Achilles and Patellar Tendinopathy Loading Programmes Joel Jamieson Ultimate MMA Conditioning Lateral heel wedges Re-evaluating Manual Therapy Manual Therapy Musings Three-Dimensional Mathematical Model for Deformation of Human Fasciae in Manual Therapy The Mechanisms of Manual Therapy in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Comprehensive Model Manipulation and mobilization for treating chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.   Here’s a signup for my newsletter to get nearly 3 hours and 50 pages of content, a free acute:chronic workload calculator, basketball

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Hip Laxity, Agility, and Smashing Tissues – Movement Debrief Episode 34

Movement Debrief Episode 34 is in the books. Here is a copy of the video and audio for your listening pleasure. Here is the set list: How does we consider a hip relatively lax? Can one be lax and “stuck” into a hip? How do we treat hip laxity? What is agility? How does one become more agile? What drills best develop agility? Can agility be taught? How to prevent a patient or client from falling in love with you What does treating flexible athletes (gymnasts, acrobats) look like? How do I treat a sports hernia? Is “smashing tissues” a useful part of a program? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube. They air every Wednesday at 7:30pm CST. Enjoy!                    Here were the links I mentioned: Infrasternal Angles Effect of changes in pelvic tilt on range of motion to impingement and radiographic parameters of acetabular morphologic characteristics. Lessons from a Student: The Interaction Three-dimensional mathematical model for deformation of human fasciae in manual therapy. The Mechanisms of Manual Therapy in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pain: A Comprehensive Model 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 learning goodies: [yikes-mailchimp form=”1″ submit=”Get learning goodies and more”]     Hip Laxity Agility Preventing Clients from Falling in Love with You Smashing Tissues

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Impingement, Trusting Your Assessment, Noncompliance, and the Off-Switch – Movement Debrief Episode 15

If you are beyond sad that you missed last night’s Movement Debrief, number 15, I got your back. This time both audio and video are available #growing up. Here’s what we talked about: What impingement is How to treat impingement at any joint When do local inputs matter? Trusting your assessment process When to go beyond your assessment process Why context matters Making the most of noncompliant people Dealing with bad situations The importance of having an “off switch” If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube. They air every Wednesday at 8:30pm CST. Enjoy.   Here were some of the links I mentioned in this Debrief. The 3 Biggest Basketball Conditioning Mistakes Practical Basketball Conditioning How to Treat Pain with Sitting – A Case Study Neurocoffee Impingement Manual Therapy Trusting Your Assessment Noncompliance The Off-Switch    

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Movement Debrief Episode 1: Meet the Patient at Their Story

A Live Movement Video Series Hey party people. I recently started doing some live feeds on the interwebz. You can check me out on Facebook and Youtube if you want to see me live. Otherwise, I thought I’d share with the very first episode of “Movement Debrief.” Here we dive into the following topics: The importance of reflection Using similar language to the patient. De-threatening that language Restoring sagittal plane control A case for manual therapy Enjoy!

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The Ultimate Guide to Treating Ankle Sprains

A Humdinger No Doubt Ankle sprains. Such a bugger to deal with. Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries seen in basketball. The cutting, jumping, contact, fatigue, and poor footwear certainly don’t help matters. Damn near almost every game someone tweaks an ankle. Treating ankle sprains in-game provides quite a different perspective. Rarely in the clinic do we work with someone immediately post-injury. Instead, we deal with the cumulative effects of delayed treatment: acquired impairments, altered movement strategies, and reduced fitness. The pressure is lower and the pace is slower. You shed that mindset with the game on the line. You must do all in your power to get that player back on the court tonight, expediting the return process to the nth degree. I had a problem. Figuring out the most efficient way to treat an ankle sprain was needed to help our team succeed. I searched the literature, therapeutic outskirts, and tinkered in order to devise an effective protocol. The result? We had 12 ankle sprains this past season. After performing the protocol, eight were able to return and finish out the game. Out of the remaining four, three returned to full play in two days. The last guy? He was released two days after his last game. It’s a tough business. The best part was we had no re-sprains. An impressive feat considering the 80% recurrence rate¹.    Caveats aside, treating acute injuries with an aggressive mindset can be immensely effective. Here’s how.

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