This Keeps You TENSE (NO ONE Talks About It)

🤔 Ever feel like your face is flexing harder than a bodybuilder in a mirror? Or that your jaw is grinding, but not in the David Goggins ultra-marathon way? If facial tension, jaw pain, or sleep issues are stealing your smile, it’s time for a game-changer. Dive into the magic of Myofunctional Therapy – it’s like a spa day, but for your face. 🧖‍♂️ Learn 5 simple moves that can transform your craniofacial health and have you grinning like you just found the last pack of toilet paper in a pandemic. Ready to relax that face and reclaim your comfort? Click to unravel the secrets! 🚀

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5 Exercises That Fix It All

Unlock your movement potential with these five fundamental exercises designed to enhance mobility and reduce pain. From the Calcaneal Traction Roll to the Wall Squat with Low Reach, these simple yet effective moves are the building blocks to a more mobile and pain-free life. Each exercise is explained in detail, complete with step-by-step instructions and common mistakes to avoid. Master these basics before moving on to more complex exercises, and experience the difference in your mobility journey.

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3 Exercises That Fix 90% of Problems

THIS is why you’re so darn stiff Ever wake up feeling like a stiff robot (not the cool dancing kind)? Or deal with aches and pains impacting life? Know what’s frustrating? If it’s not pain from trauma or serious pathology, rarely do we know what causes pain. What do we do then? If we don’t know, it’s hard to figure out how to improve our movement and comfort. But I got your back (even if it’s not low back pain). I’m about to reveal one culprit responsible for 90% of the pain and movement issues seen out there. You won’t just get the cause either, but the solution.

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Neck Pain Stretches DON’T WORK (but this does)

The real reason your neck hurts If your neck ever hurts when… – You exercise – Work on the computer for too long – Taking deep breaths THIS POST is for you! Because the reason why your neck hurts is NOT that you have to stretch it. No. Instead, it could be because of one thing you are doing all throughout the day. The best part? This thing is TOTALLY under your control! What is it? Read the blog and watch the video below to learn about it!

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Tight Upper Trap – The Hidden Cause That Stretching Won’t Fix

The real reason your traps are tight The upper trap, the muscle along the sides of your neck, is a common cause of neck pain and tension. Most people try to fix this tension by stretching their necks. But I hate to break it to you… Stretching doesn’t work That’s because the upper trap is NOT tight for the reasons you’d think it was. In this post, I’ll give you the REAL reason the upper trap gets tight, and what you can do about it. Check it out below.

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Best Neck Position During Exercise

Hint: It’s not up, down, or packed Most exercise form posts and videos focus everywhere EXCEPT the neck. Yet neck position profoundly influences what the rest of your body will do. So where should your neck be while you lift? Like on a deadlift, squat, or press? I’m answering that for you today. If you want to protect ya neck as the Wutang said, then you definitely have to check this out. Read the post, watch the video, and listen to the podcast to learn all about it!

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Cervical Radiculopathy, Lower Body Elevation, and Shortcomings of My Approach – Movement Debrief Episode 82

Movement Debrief Episode 82 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 some key assessments for cervical radiculopathy? What is my treatment hierarchy for cervical radiculopathy? Why have I been elevating the lower body on many exercises? Why is inversion a useful move for improving mobility? What are some of the weaknesses in my current approach? What areas to I struggle in? What am I doing to improve upon those areas?

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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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Clinical Practice Guidelines, Periodizing Sessions, and Muscle Imbalances – Movement Debrief Episode 33

Movement Debrief Episode 33 is in the books. Here is a copy of the video and audio for your listening pleasure. Here is the set list: Do I use clinical practice guidelines and treatment-based classification system for managing patients? How much time do I devote to developing specific qualities in a typical physical therapy session? Where are muscle imbalances prioritized on my program design? Is there validity in testing specific muscles based on work/sport specific demands? 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: Clinical Practice Guidelines Neck Pain Treatment-Based Classification System Treatment-Based Classification System for Low Back Pain: Revision and Update Practical Pain Education How to Design a Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program Thoughts on Manual Muscle Testing Rocketbook 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”]   Clinical Practice Guidelines Periodizing Sessions Muscle Imbalances

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August 2017 in 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 from this past August. 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!”] Biggest Lesson of the Month You must first take care of yourself in all aspects of life before you can adequately take care of others. That includes personally, professionally, health, finances, everything. While I have done well in certain areas, I have lagged in others. This imbalance is one reason why I opted to take a job in a rural location. It has helped me strike a balance in many areas, and has eliminated potential distractions that could deter me from achieving that balance. Cryptic? Somewhat. But I think about those times that I’ve been sleep deprived and lost patience with my clients. My lack of taking care of myself in that instance limited my capability to take care of others. Are you taking care of yourself? Quote of the Month The only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren’t is willingness to work very, very hard. ~Unknown I saw the above quote when I was staying at a hotel before hiking Capitol Reef. The

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Kinesiotape, Managing Performance Teams, and More – Movement Debrief Episode 14

Movement Debrief Episode 14 happened yesterday, and it was a good ol’ fashioned reader Q&A. Here’s what we talked about: Evidence (or lack thereof) for taping in general How I incorporate taping into my practice What the keys are to having a successful performance team The keys to being a successful leader If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook, Instagram, or sometimes Twitter. 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 Effects of Patellar Taping on Brain Activity During Knee Joint Proprioception Tests Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systematic Review of the Effect of Taping Techniques on Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Effect of kinesiology taping on pain in individuals with musculoskeletal injuries: systematic review and meta-analysis. Dynamic Tape Leukotape Kinesiotape Managing Performance Teams

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How to Fix Neck Pain After Lifting – A Live Treatment

While in the Hamptons, my main man Cody Benz started developing some neck trouble. We thought it might be helpful for y’all to see what I would do to help a cat like him. Here you will see me go through an entire treatment session with Cody, while I do my best to explain every decision I make. A major kudos to Daddy-o Pops Bill Hartman for asking some great questions throughout the treatment. Instead of the typical transcript I provide for these longer videos, I decided to write this up similarly to my neck pain with sitting case study format. I reflected on this case while editing the video, so you’ll see some added thoughts I had while you read through. I would recommend watching the video and reading the case study to get the most out of the material. Enjoy watching the session.

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