CategoriesCore Strengthening Hip & Pelvic Stability

Best Exercises To Improve Hip & Pelvic Stability When You Are In Pain

Over the years I have discussed the importance of improving glute strength and maintaining hip mobility in a number of articles, for hip stiffness is attributed to many of the common injuries seen in the lower limbs, and also the back. The best exercises to do this are always the standing functional movements however they can be too difficult and even cause more problems in the beginning of a rehabilitation program. Especially if there is severe pain or weakness. This is where you need a set of exercises to begin with that can help to improve the lack of stability and weakness without aggravating the existing problem. Resting is not good solution for this will exacerbate any existing weaknesses and create more stiffness. Clicking or clunking sounds in the hip, osteoarthritis, and weakness are a sure sign your hip is unstable and needs a corrective strategy using stability and strength exercises. Treatments that focus only on releasing stiff muscles or trying to use NSAID’s or cortisone injections to reduce inflammation will do very little to restore stability to the hip and pelvic region. Finding a way to start with simple strength exercises that have a gradual progression is the secret to getting more stability of the hip and pelvis. In this article, I will show you some great exercises to use in the early stages and how to gradually progress to more effective functional movements without creating more problems.

CategoriesBig toe Foot Stability Plantar Fasciitis

Step By Step Process For Getting Rid Of Plantar Fasciitis For Good

Anyone who has had that real burning feeling in their heel or underneath their foot knows all about Plantar Fasciitis. It can be a very annoying and painful chronic injury that can affect daily life and limit you from playing sports and simply just walking around. Most solutions involve stretches and massage with a spikey ball to relieve the pain and maybe some calf raises. While this may be effective at managing the pain, they are merely just treating your symptoms and will not actually deal with why you got this problem in the first place. In this article I will show you some of the simple steps we have proven to work with not just plantar fasciitis, but also with other leg injuries and feet stability problems. It is important to follow the process I have laid out this article and not skip steps in order for the body to be fully prepared for each progression.

CategoriesKnee Pain

Stop Treating Symptoms Of Knee Pain & Address These Four Factors

When the body is challenged with a movement it will do anything it can to find the path of least resistance and most importantly avoid pain. The site of pain is very rarely the cause of the pain, it is merely the effect of a problem created somewhere else in the body. Vladimir Janda a pioneer in the development of postural correction and movement assessment states, that “these two anatomical systems cannot be separated functionally”. Therefore, the term “sensorimotor system” is used to define the functional system of human movement. In addition, changes within one part of the system will be reflected by compensations or adaptations elsewhere within the system because of the body’s attempt at trying to maintain optimal homeostasis. Nowhere in the body is this more accurately seen than with the knee. In this article, I will explain what the most common culprits of knee pain are so you can either prevent future injury or be able to address the source of the problem if you already have a knee problem.

CategoriesCycling Knee Pain

Is Cycling Good For Getting Rid Of Knee Pain?

Cycling can be a great way to help rebuild strength into your legs if you have knee pain but it must be used in combination with other methods. Cycling is in fact a key part of the early stages of an ACL rehabilitation program after surgery and many elite cyclists like former Australian professional Simon Gerrans who started cycling after a serious knee injury. However, it is not the real solution to your problem and in some cases cycling can even be the reason you have knee pain! In this article, I will discuss the value of using cycling for treating knee pain and how it can be a great tool if used wisely.

CategoriesBulging Disc Piriformis Syndrome Sciatica

Sciatic Nerve Pain – Is It A Bulging Disc Or Is It Piriformis Syndrome?

This is a question I am often confronted with in our rehabilitation program as we see so many clients who have been misdiagnosed and consequently mistreated. Many back-related injuries and chronic pain conditions share many symptoms that are very similar, and in the case of piriformis syndrome and a bulging disc, the similarities in symptoms and pain are very close. However these two injuries are very different, and the approach to treating will have some key elements that are significantly different. The common theme both injuries do share is that the hip is the source of the trouble mostly caused by postural imbalance and movement dysfunction. To quote Dr. Evan Osar in his book about Common Hip & Shoulder Dysfunction – “Osteoarthritis, more accurately described as a degenerative joint disease, is just one manifestation of poor movement strategies, it is not simply a process of getting old.” And like Dr. Osar I have found in over 20 years of working with all ages, and many different injuries, that those who improved stability and movement had less injury, less pain, and could not only prevent problems but correct them once the right program was adopted. In this article, we hope to share some of those secrets, and help you get rid of your pain for good.

CategoriesGlute Strengthening Hamstrings Hip Mobility

Are Your Hamstrings Tight Or Are They Compensating For Other Muscles?

Of all the muscles to get a bad rap and always to blame for creating trouble, the hamstring muscles would be right up there alongside the upper traps as the public enemy number one. Watch anyone who plays sports do their stretching routine and you are guaranteed to see the hamstrings get a real workout, or participate in a Yoga class to see how many hamstring stretches you will have to complete and it seems like everyone must be short and tight in this muscle group. Now while this may seem like a good idea, what you will find in this article is that many people who are cranking excessive mobility into this area are in fact creating a huge potential problem at joints like the knee, and even the lower back. It is ironic for many people are doing the stretch in the belief it is going to prevent these injuries. We will also discuss the strategies that are used to strengthen the hamstrings, in particular with sports where hamstring tears are common, and show you that it is not the hamstring that is the problem. The hamstring muscles really are very misunderstood, and when you appreciate how they actually function you will become much smarter with how you approach your training.

CategoriesBarbell Hip Thrust Glute Strengthening

5 Reasons Why You Should Use The Barbell Hip Thrust To Strengthen The Glutes

There has been many times that I have been proven wrong or I have completely changed my mind about a health and fitness concept over the past 17 years as a trainer. The value of the barbell hip thrust is one of those instances where I originally thought little of this as an exercise and saw it more as a gimmick or an exercise for those who were not skilled enough to do deadlifts, squats, and single leg exercises. However, in recent times and I have suffered several health setbacks that forced me to change my training program and exercise selection that led me to experiment with this exercise. Much to my pleasant surprise I uncovered some hidden gems with the hip thrust that I never fully appreciated previously. In this article, I will share with you what these secrets are and how you can use this to great benefit in your own training.

CategoriesAchilles injury Knee Pain Piriformis Syndrome Running Injuries

Strength Training For Runners Is Critical If You Want To Stay Injury Free

The worst thing that can every happen to a keen distance runner is suffering with a chronic injury like plantar fasciitis, ITB friction syndrome, or patella-femoral knee pain that hangs around for months or even years. The typical approach to use rest, anti-inflammatory medication, a massage or even some therapy may help to calm the injury down but the minute you go back to running all the pain comes rushing back to the way it was. This is something that could easily be prevented if a carefully designed strength training program is used in combination with your running training. Having been a very keen distance runner for a long time myself, I am very aware of all the injuries associated, and experienced first hand some of these annoying and painful injuries in my time. I was able to get on top of these quickly and over time learned that the secret was using strength training techniques to improve gait and working on my running technique. I found the perfect combination of strength training, stability training, postural retraining, movement skills and more efficient running technique that allowed me to reach my peak when I was in my late 30’s. If only I had been told this many years earlier who knows what I would have been able to achieve. I have since used the same methods for assessing hundreds of runners and sporting athletes to overcome some of the most annoying and chronic injuries preventing them from enjoying their running or sport. In this article, I am going to show you these secrets and also what I have found to be the common traits so you can prevent them from stopping you in your tracks.

CategoriesBig toe Foot Stability

How The BIG TOE Influences Your Functional Stability

The big toe is a very underestimated joint in providing us with the stability and strength for movement. I would be the first to tell you that I was ignorant to this for a very long time, even considering I know exactly what happens if you injure your big toe as I have broken mine before. It left me on crutches for several weeks and unable to walk or run correctly for months. It was not this however that led me to appreciate foot stability a lot more, it was more to do with my frustration at not being able to help some people with walking difficulty. Back in 2015 I started working with several tricky cases of people who had severe walking impairments from car accidents, disease, and spinal injury. Working closely with these clients several times per week our typical training was helping a lot but not providing the improvement I really wanted. I knew I was missing something and I could see that in every case there was huge problems at the feet, even though none of these people had pain at the feet. I have covered the role of Foot Stability before but today I want to share more insight into the big toe specifically for as you will soon see there is a correlation between big toe dysfunction and injury elsewhere in the body

CategoriesClamshell Glute Strengthening

How Good Is The Clamshell Exercise For Strengthening Gluteus Medius?

The side lying clamshell exercise is one of the most prescribed exercises for people with weak glutes. Clamshells are a favourite exercise of most physical therapists and featured in nearly every group class as the best way to strengthen your gluteus medius muscle. While the clamshell is intended to have good activation of the gluteal muscles there are several problems this exercise can create in the hip and pelvic region, and in some cases can even make the glutes weaker! In this article, I will explain how to use this exercise correctly and ensure you avoid the common mistakes many people make.