spine – ZacCupples.com

February 23, 2020 Zac Cupples

Is Spinal Flexion Bad? – Movement Debrief Episode 110

Movement Debrief Episode 110 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 setlist: Is spinal hyperextension useful for weightlifting? How do I balance the need for extension during these moves? Is there a risk of disc injuries with spinal flexion? Are spine sparing exercises necessary to reduce trauma throughout the day? Do we want to minimize spinal movement? How should we move to encourage healthy spines? Are crunches safe? Do they help with abdominal development? Is it safe for someone with back surgery to perform spinal flexion?

January 1, 2020 Zac Cupples

Top 10 Debriefs of 2019

At the end of each year, I like to see what you beautiful…sexy…outstanding people liked. What the fam….recognized (fam). I decided to add a few extra little diddy’s this year. First, we will start off with debriefs. The little podcast/vlog that could. As I try to keep the debrief filled with variety, there didn’t seem to be any common themes; just good topics. Check out your favorite debriefs below, and thank you again for an amazing 2019!

December 12, 2019 Zac Cupples

Asymmetries, Foot Position, and Educating Practitioners – Movement Debrief Episode 105

Movement Debrief Episode 105 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 it more important to correct axial skeleton imbalances or side to side asymmetries? Should we do bilateral lifts to challenge the weak side to “keep up”, or should we perform single sided activities to even things out? How important is foot positioning during resets? What are some strategies to drive calcaneal inversion or eversion? How do you communicate more specific treatment goals with other practitioners who aren’t familiar with your model?

September 22, 2019 Zac Cupples

Movement and Breathing Fundamentals

Choosing movements that are best for a client requires knowledge of basic biomechanics. That includes the biomechanics of respiration. Yet oftentimes developing the biomechanical knowledge base can be incredibly challenging. It’s easy to get lost in terminology and being able to classify what you see. Let me help you solve this problem. For those of you who haven’t attended Human Matrix: The Code for Maximal Health and Performance, part of the pre-course material involves developing the terminology and knowledge base. I wanted to share this material with you. In Human Matrix: Foundations, you will learn biomechanical principles that will help you make better movement-based decisions for you patients and clients. Having the fundamentals down will allow you to appreciate movement differently, and improve you ability to classify various movements. This course includes the following subject areas: Terminology – planes of motion Physiological movements Movements of the scapula Movement of the hip Ribcage respiratory mechanics Spinal respiratory mechanics Pelvis respiratory mechanics Scapular respiratory mechanics Unsure if you got the material, that’s why I had my guy Levi Kirkpatrick create some amazing quizzes to test your capabilities. Application is the best way to learn, and we’ve provided that for you. Here is one of the videos featured in this course: The best part? It’s 100% free to you, the fam, to sign up. If you’d like to check out this course, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. You’ll get an email with access to this course, 5

May 30, 2019 Zac Cupples

Mandibular Retrusion, GIRD, and Distance Assessment – Movement Debrief Episode 85

Movement Debrief Episode 85 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 of mandibular in relation to the head and spine? What could be a negative consequence of the retruded mandible? What treatment strategies would you use to improve it? What is GIRD? Does my hierarchy for improving movement change with someone who has GIRD? How would you improve GIRD? How do I perform an assessment with a distance client?

May 1, 2019 Zac Cupples

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?

November 8, 2018 Zac Cupples

Hip Separation, Spinal Extension, and Too Much Serratus? Movement Debrief Episode 67

Movement Debrief Episode 67 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 hip separation? Why is hip separation necessary? How does one go about coaching hip separation? Do I teach clients to extend the spine? What is the role of serratus anterior? Can we have too much serratus anterior? What do we need for a good relationship between the scapula and the thorax? If you want to watch these live, add me on Facebook . 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 Bill Hartman Lucy Hendricks Hip Extension Debrief Below is the wall stride technique Below is a picture of serratus anterior from a superior view 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”]

June 25, 2018 Zac Cupples

Breathing Mechanics 101 Preview

Below is a preview of a talk I gave in Costa Rica all about ribcage and respiratory mechanics. It’s a bit of a sneak preview for my upcoming seminar, The Human Matrix. Go ahead and give the talk a watch. If you want to see the full 80 minute talk, sign up for my newsletter below. If you really want to learn how to apply these concepts to help your patients and clients reach their goals, sign up for The Human Matrix Seminars below. Enjoy! (Warning, there are just a couple swear words here and there, no F-bombs though. It was a bro retreat, please be understanding) [yikes-mailchimp form=”1″ title=”1″ submit=”Yes! I want to listen to the full 80 minute talk!”] 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 Photo Credits Mike T. Nelson

December 26, 2013 Zac Cupples

The Post Wonderful Time of the Year: Top Posts of 2013

The Best…Around Time is fun when you are having flies. It seems like just yesterday that I started up this blog, and I am excited and humbled by the response I have gotten. Hearing praise from my audience keeps me hungry to learn and educate more. I am always curious to see which pages you enjoyed, and which were not so enjoyable; as it helps me tailor my writing a little bit more. And I’d have to say, I have a bunch of readers who like the nervous system 🙂 I am not sure what the next year will bring in terms of content, as I think the first year anyone starts a blog it is more about the writing process and finding your voice. Regardless of what is written, I hope to spread information that I think will benefit those of you who read my stuff. The more I can help you, the better off all our patients and clients will be. So without further ado, let’s review which posts were the top dogs for this year (and some of my favorite pics of course). 10. Lessons from a Student: The Interaction This was probably one of my favorite posts to write this year, as I think this area is sooooooo under-discussed. Expect to be hearing more on patient interaction from me in the future. 9) Clinical Neurodynamics Chapter 1: General Neurodynamics Shacklock was an excellent technical read. In this post we lay out some nervous system basics, and

September 30, 2013 Zac Cupples

Chapter 11: Lumbar Spine

This is a Chapter 11 summary of “Clinical Neurodynamics” by Michael Shacklock. Physical Exam The slump is the big dog for assessing lumbar spine complaints. Deciphering which movements evoke the patient’s symptoms can tell you a lot about the nervous system’s dysfunction: Neck flexion increases symptoms – Cephalid sliding dysfunction. Knee extension/dorsiflexion increases symptoms – Cauded sliding dysfunction. Both neck flexion and knee extension increase symptoms – Tension dysfunction. The straight leg raise is another important test that can help determine the nervous system’s state. Treatment The treatment parallels similar tactics as previous body areas. For reduced closing dysfunctions We start level 1 with static openers, progress to dynamic openers, then work to close. For opening dysfunctions, we progress toward further opening/contralateral lateral flexion. Neural Dysfunctions We treat these mechanisms based on which dysfunction is present. For cephalid sliding dysfunctions, we approach with distal to proximal progressions; and for caudad sliding dysfunction, we work proximal to distal Tension dysfunctions are started with off-loading mvoements towards tensioners Complex Dysfunctions Sometimes you can have interface dysfunctions that simultaneously have contradictory neurodynamic dysfunction. There are several instances of the case. Reduced closing with distal sliding dysfunction – Treat by combining closing maneuvers while perform active knee extension. Reduced closing with proximal sliding dysfunction – Address by closing maneuver with neck flexion. Reduced closing with tension dysfunction – This is treated with adding closing components to tensioners Reduced opening with distal sliding dysfunction – Here we add a dynamic opener along with leg movements. Reduced

September 20, 2013 Zac Cupples

Chapter 9: Cervical Spine

This is a Chapter 9 summary of “Clinical Neurodynamics” by Michael Shacklock. Physical Exam The key tests you will want to perform include: Slump test. MNT 1. You can tier your testing based on one’s dysfunctions, such as opening or closing, as well as using sensitizers for less severe problems. Reduced Closing Dysfunction Level 1a – Static opener to increase space and decrease pressure in the intervertebral foramen. In the picture below, we would open the right side by combining flexion, contralateral sidebend, and contralateral rotation. Level 1b to 2b Reduced Opening Dysfunctions For these impairments, they are treated just the same as closing dysfunctions. The major difference is rationale. In closing dysfunction, the goal is to reduce stress on the nervous system. With opening dysfunctions, however, we are trying to improve the opening pattern. Static openers will generally not be used because these treatments could potentially provoke symptoms. Neural Dysfunction The gentlest technique is the two-ended slider, in which an ipsilateral lateral glide and elbow extension are performed. For tension dysfunctions, we go through the following progression:

Tag: spine