Holistic Corrective Exercise For Fitness Professionals

I’ve been fortunate to have learned a great deal in my years working in a number of physical rehabilitation clinics as well as with injured athletes and recreational sports and fitness enthusiasts.

Along the way I’ve had some amazing mentors who taught me so much when it comes to rehabbing various injuries.

And, the biggest reason why I’ve been able to help them overcome their injuries and get back to a pain-free active lifestyle is simply because I identified and addressed the causes of the injuries rather than just dealing with the symptoms.

The area where you feel pain is often a symptom but it’s not the actual cause of your pain.

For example, lower back pain is rarely caused by the low back itself. It’s often the result of muscle imbalances that force the low back to take the brunt of the stress which causes pain.

In the video below I answer a question from someone suffering from years of intense neck, shoulder and arm pain. He’s tried various neck and shoulder rehabilitation methods and treatments but nothing seems to be working

There’s 5 shoulder rehab exercise tips I cover that most doctors and therapists are NOT aware of:

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I just answered a question from someone suffering from a combination of shoulder, neck, lower back pain and TMJ.

This is an interesting case in the way her pain patterns have manifested on the same side of her body.

But, I have to warn you…

…This video is unlike ANY of the others I’ve done before.

I’ve always addressed what makes the most sense to fitness professionals and fitness enthusiasts–the PHYSICAL issues like corrective exercises, conditioning exercises, strengthening exercise and stretches.

However I have never mentioned the other contributing causes to so many pain patterns…

…EMOTIONS

If you’re wondering what UFO spaceship abducted me and scrambled my brain worse than a 3-egg omelet at ‘Lenny’s’ watch the video and I’ll explain exactly what I mean.

You’ll also discover:

–>The link between shoulder, neck and low back pain

–>How emotions can trigger shoulder pain

–>The most common blockage that leads to shoulder and neck pain

–>Why physical exercise may not be enough to eliminate pain and what else to look for

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I recently received a question on shoulder rehabilitation exercise tips for shoulder impingement.

In a previous video I demonstrated how to improve shoulder mobility in minutes so in this one I focused on some topics that most rehabilitation exercises for the shoulder fail to properly address.

In the video below you’ll learn:

–How to identify 2 common types of shoulder injuries so you’ll know which to address

–The biggest mistake with pulling exercises in rehab and gym settings

–The most common mistakes physical rehabilitation programs make with shoulder rehabilitation exercises

–The dangers of rotator cuff strengthening exercises used in most physical rehab programs

–3 ranges needed to properly condition the shoulder

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I just got an e-mail from a runner who’s been suffering from lower back pain for the last 15 years.

His rehabilitation program isn’t helping much and he asked if I could help him out.

So, I shot a video revealing 3 hidden lower back pain causes that are commonly missed in physical rehabilitation programs and some tips to help eliminate them.

Here’s the main topics I share in the video:

• Why anterior pelvic tilt is not always caused by a tight psoas or tight quadriceps

• Why stretching tight muscles is not the answer

• How stress can lead to psoas weakness and poor running performance

• The 1 ‘thing’ that can cause weakness of the psoas in runners (and it’s not the musculoskeletal system)

• How most physical rehabilitation exercises often make lower back pain worse rather than better

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When people hear the word, “muscle imbalance“, they think “tight muscle” so let me stretch it.

This is kind of right, you need to stretch it but why does the muscle imbalance come back after you stretch it?

Because there is much more to eliminating muscle imbalances permanently than just stretching tight muscles.

That is mistake #1 when it comes to muscle imbalances.

Let me go through a few more that you or your clients might be making.

#2 – Not Looking at Fascia

We all know someone that has plantar fasciitis.

There is a good chance what they have been given to address their plantar fasciitis is stretches.

Many times this will provide temporary relief but the pain comes back.  The reason why, is people try to address plantar fasciitis like it is a muscle issue even though it is fascia issue.

This is one example but there are numerous other examples in the hamstrings, biceps and IT band.

In order to address muscle imbalances, you need to address fascia in the body like it is fascia and not muscle.

#3 – Not Taking Breathing Serious

Only focusing on breathing out during exertion and breathing in during relaxation phases of exercise are important to keep a steady blood pressure in clients but breathing is so much more than that.

Proper breathing assists in spinal extension and flexion and helps pump cerebrospinal fluid up to the brain and back down through the (central) spinal canal.

Proper breathing is also needed to properly stabilize the spine and trunk during functional movements which helps to reduce the likelihood of injuries to the lower back or extremities.

Most people do not breathe properly and as a result overuse the muscles of the chest and neck which leads to chronic neck pain and stiffness, decreased blood supply to the brain, headaches and other more serious problems.

Proper breathing needs to be integrated into core exercises in order to relax the diaphragm, the accessory muscles of the chest and neck.

It needs to be integrated into dynamic exercises in order to assist in movement efficiency and proper movement patterns.

Breathing also needs to be incorporated into stretching and self massage in order to get the maximum benefit from the stretch or self massage plus relax surrounding muscles and fascia.

#4 – Core Training Is More Than Just Abdominal Training

Over the last 13 years, core training has evolved tremendously.  With more research being done on the continuum of core training when it relates to clients that are rehabilitating an injury, improving fitness results or maximizing performance goal.

Core training has become synonymous with abdominal training. And, abdominal training has become narrowly focused on crunches and other non-functional movements that lead to poor posture, decreased core stability, muscle imbalances and injuries.

The core is the body’s center of gravity and origin of movement made up of approximately 35 muscles that attach to the spine and/or pelvis.

In order to achieve optimum core function it is vital to identify which core muscles are imbalanced and employ a targeted program to address these muscles and integrate them within functional movements.

There area a lot more examples of mistakes exercise enthusiasts and health & fitness professionals make when it comes to muscle imbalances but I think you get the point from just these four examples.

What are some other mistakes you’ve noticed when it comes to addressing muscle imbalances?

Leave me a comment below.

Next time you come across a tight muscle, remember, there is more to just stretch it out in order to get rid of it for good.

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I recently received a question on my YouTube channel asking my thoughts on squatting and deadlifting with lower back pain and kyphotic posture.

This person mentioned their physiotherapist had advised against all squatting saying that the pressure of the bar would promote kyphosis and that deadlifting was out because it would increase lordosis of the lumbar spine.

This reminded me of my own experience with lower back pain.

About 10 years ago I was working for a physical therapy clinic and at the time I was dealing with a nagging bout of lower back pain.

After trying several unsuccessful ways to get rid of the pain I asked the head therapist if he could have a look at me.

This therapist LOVED using the ol’ pull-the-leg-technique for patients with low back pain.

If you’re unfamiliar with this it’s when one leg appears shorter than the other due to rotation of the pelvis and the therapist basically uses a quick, sharp pull at the lower leg on the short side to ‘lengthen the leg’ so it’s even with the other.

I remember this therapist was once working on a patient in a private room and all was quiet in the clinic until a giant scream was heard.

Turns out he was using this technique but the patient had no idea what was coming and it completely freaked her out.

So, after looking me over he determined my left leg was shorter than my right and he did his favorite technique and pulled my leg quickly and VOILA!

Both legs were even length again.

I have to admit it felt funny walking since I had become accustomed to being uneven.

Then he laid the news on me…

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One of the biggest factors contributing to muscular imbalances is a lack of thoracic spine mobilization.

This can happen for several reasons and one of the most common is sedentary jobs and lifestyles which can have a HUGELY negative impact on mobility of the spine particularly in rotation.

Thoracic spinal rotation is a requirement for so many movements and a lack of mobility often results in injuries to the spine, lower back muscles, hips, knees and the list goes on…

…There are techniques that can help improve mobility of the thoracic spine like foam rolling, stretching, massage therapy, and manual joint mobilizations performed by a chiropractor or physical therapist.

However, while these techniques can help they are often short-lived unless new motor programming is used to help your client teach their body how to actively mobilize their spine during functional activities.

In the video below I reveal 1 highly effective exercise to instantly improve thoracic spine mobility

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Nearly 5 years ago I was working at a private personal training studio.  The owner was a guy who really enjoyed training clients and helping them reach their fat loss and fitness goals.

He was good at getting results with his clients as long as they fit the ‘apparently healthy’ category.

The thing is that for some reason we got a LOT of clients who wanted to either lose weight, build muscle or improve sports performance but weren’t reaching their goals because nagging injuries were getting in their way.

If you or anyone you know has dealt with one of these injuries before then you know how annoying it is when you can’t figure out why it’s there, what caused it or how to get rid of the damned thing.

Then one day I was in the office catching up on updating some programs for my clients while the owner was training one of his clients.

The client was a rather petite female in her early 50′s who wanted to lose some body fat so she could fit in the bikini she bought for her summer vacation which was a few weeks away.

She was so excited about this trip and really wanted to look her best.

And all was quiet in the studio until I heard a sound so loud I almost dropped my pen.

This did NOT sound good so I made my way down the hallway to the training room in the back of the studio. As I got closer I could hear the sound getting louder ‘OUCH!’

It was coming from the owner’s client who was obviously in pain and I wanted to know why (call me nosey but hey that’s just me

When I peeked into the training room it took me about 3 seconds to see why she was in pain.

The owner had her on the floor doing superman’s…

…Now you might be wondering what’s wrong with doing Superman’s?

Normally nothing except for the fact that his client suffered from chronic lower back pain.

Now, here’s where the real problem was…

…The owner thought that her problem was due to weak lower back muscles and he figured doing Superman’s would help strengthen her lower back.

And, as she was finishing the exercise she asked him ‘Is this supposed to hurt?‘

To which he replied with a grin from ear to ear ‘Yep! Your back is weak.’

Now, I’m not a physical therapist or doctor but the one thing I realized having worked with her during a few sessions when the owner needed me to cover for him was that the last thing she needed was to strengthen her lower back muscles.

Her problem wasn’t that her lower back was weak but quite the opposite.

It was actually strong and that was the problem.

See, her lower back had developed its’ strength as a way of compensating because her abdominals and hips were extremely weak. In other words, she had muscle imbalances that needed to be addressed.

Unfortunately, after that episode she left the studio never to return.

So, what’s my point to all of this?

It’s simply that the owner could have avoided losing a client (he’s lucky she didn’t file a lawsuit) if he understood the nature of her injury which was muscular imbalances.

But, despite having over 20 years of experience and multiple certifications to his credit what he did not have was a system for identifying and addressing muscle imbalances.

Had he developed a system he would have been able to understand the cause of his client’s injury and how to select the most effective exercises to help her recover from it.

Unfortunately, when it comes to addressing muscle imbalances many fitness professionals are stretching tight muscles and strengthening weak muscles without seeing their clients improve much.

It’s even more frustrating when you send a client off to their doctor and they can’t figure out what’s going on either.

To gain some insight on addressing muscle imbalances I recently interviewed Rick Kaselj.

Rick is a kinesiologist and personal trainer in Canada who specializes in teaching fitness professionals and his clients the FASTEST exercise methods to recover from injuries.

I’ve known Rick for several years and every time I get the chance to talk to him he never ceases to amaze me with his knowledge of injury rehabilitation.

So, I thought I’d pick his brain again to see what he could tell me about addressing muscle imbalances for upper body injuries.

And, he had plenty to say about:

• The biggest muscle imbalance issue in the upper body

• How to assess muscle imbalances in the upper body

• What people can do about muscle imbalances in their upper body

• A huge trend that is happening with clients in the gym

• How poor breathing can lead to muscle stress and pain

• Great example of integrating breathing with exercise

And, lot’s more…

Click Here To Listen To The Interview

(if you want to download the interview just right click your mouse and click ‘save link as’ to your desktop)

If you’re anything like me then you’ll stop at nothing when it comes to learning the fastest injury recovery methods.

If this describes you then you might want to take a look at this.

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Does this guy need to stretch his hamstrings?

What if he has chronic low back pain?

Does that change your answer?

As you already know tight hamstrings can not only make you or your clients look the hunch back of notre dame but can also contribute to lower back pain.

But does that mean hamstring stretches will help relieve lower back pain?

The answer may just lie in identifying the person’s physical profile…

…I’ve discovered that people fit into 1 of 2 types and identifying their physical profile is the KEY as to whether or not hamstring stretches will help or make an existing low back problem worse.

In the video I share the 2 profile types, a simple way to identify which one you or your clients are and which profile hamstring stretches might help and which one they might hurt.

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One of the BIGGEST contributors to shoulder problems is poor mobility resulting from muscular imbalances.

One of the most common muscular imbalances of the shoulder exists when there’s dominance of the levator scapulae and upper trapezius along with inhibition of the middle and lower trapezius.

A tight levator scapulae elevates the scapula causing the humerus to butt up against the acromion leading to shoulder impingement and rotator cuff injuries.

A tight levator scapulae can also create tension along the cervical spine and decrease the space of the intervertebral foramina which can cause irritation of the passing nerves.

If left unaddressed the natural upward rotation of the scapula is thrown off during overhead movements and over time can cause pain and dysfunction to the neck and shoulder.

The mid and lower trapezius which assist with the upper traps in upward scapular rotation become weak or inhibited.

So, the goal to re-establish proper upward rotation of the scapula is to engage the mid and lower traps.

In the video below I show you a highly effective exercise with a unique twist to help improve upward rotation of the scapula in just minutes.

Once you’ve got healthy shoulder mobility restored you can incorporate other shoulder exercises. Here are 3 shoulder rehabilitation exercise tips to consider before beginning a shoulder rehab conditioning program.

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