When Breathing Exercises FAIL | Case Study

If breathing exercises don’t change symptoms, what’s next? Although exercises I teach do WONDERS for symptom relief, you don’t always get the incredible results that people show on social media. Sometimes the results are mild. Sometimes you even FAIL. This case study I’m about to show you is an example of that. Here, you’ll see that I get pretty solid changes on the table, but symptoms are minimally impacted. What do you do then? Watch the video and read the case report below to learn.

Read More

How to Maximize Movement and Performance for Young Athletes

Strength and conditioning for young football players is a bit, oh how do I put it…. Outdated When you take young kids who are just starting to figure out their bodies and start benching, squatting, deadlifting, and cleaning with reckless abandon, problems often ensue. Let’s face it, when’s the last time you saw a pretty back squat come from a freshmen in high school? Perhaps this area needs a shift in focus. There is an incredible amount of research showing that beginners can get fitness improvements with just about anything, so why not teach kids to master movement fundamentals? Why go for the bazooka when a handgun will work just fine. This topic is one of many that we discussed on the QB Docs Podcast. Below is the list of topics we covered: We know that starting strength and conditioning at an early age is a myth. What should kids start out doing at an early age? Where does breathing fit into performance? Is breathing a learned skill?How do I know if I’m limited in my breathing ability? How does breathing affect mobility? In what ways? Why is this important for athletes? What does hyperinflation mean for performance of the athlete? What are the specific implications for a rotational athlete such as a QB? For the high school athlete out there that is struggling with some basic movement skills,what would your advice be for him/her? Do we really have to perfect the bodyweight squat before we load the movement? The

Read More

October 2019 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 October. 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!”]

Read More

Rib Rotation, Shoulder Issues, and Biomedical Education – Movement Debrief Episode 98

Movement Debrief Episode 98 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 does rib external and internal rotation look like? How do I approach improving shoulder mechanics? Any current training considerations for shoulder issues? Why do medical providers often educate in a manner that induces fear-avoidance and fragility? How, as movement professionals, can we deal with these issues?

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read More