“Putting on the brakes:” The key to scapular stabilization

“PUTTING ON THE BRAKES:” THE KEY TO SCAPULAR STABILIZATION As you probably have seen from perusing this site, we are big fans of giving you tools for you to do things on your own. The “prone series” is an excellent group of exercises to perform. Ideal candidates for these exercises are overhead athletes (swimming, tennis, [...]

Is there a difference in shoulder exercises for female athletes?

SHOULDER EXERCISES AND THE FEMALE ATHLETE: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? I was asked recently (and this isn’t the first time!) about shoulder exercises and strengthening for the female overhead athlete and if they should be different than males. Great question. Our anatomy is the same (well, except for that one part!) and the muscles work [...]

Therapeutic Ultrasound for the Shoulder: Is there evidence?

THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND IN THE TREATMENT OF SHOULDER CONDITIONS: IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE?  Perhaps one of the most grossly overused and potentially misrepresented modalities used on patients is ultrasound.  Unfortunately, many of my PT colleagues use this a ton and the chiropractic community abuses it as well.  Little evidence supports its use.  The FDA has approved [...]

What to do about shoulder pain when weight lifting.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT SHOULDER PAIN WHEN WEIGHT LIFTING  I have a good friend of mine who is in pretty good shape and has a long history of regular exercise.  Not a meathead by any means, just a guy that likes to workout regularly and stay in shape.  He said recently that he was having [...]

Ever had pain turning the steering wheel or tucking in your shirt?

PAIN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL AND PAIN TUCKING IN MY SHIRT…TWO RECENT COMPLAINTS  I recently got asked these two questions over the phone by people.  These are always tricky questions to answer because there are several things that it could be.  First of all with the steering, more than likely the rotator cuff is jamming [...]

Colt McCoy injury in the BCS National Championship Game

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE INJURY TO COLT MCCOY IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME  It’s in the DNA of athletic trainers that when they see an injury on TV they have an inherent need to diagnose it.  I am certainly guilty of that.  First of all, let me say that I really felt [...]

Early Studies on the function of the shoulder joint

NOW THIS IS “OLD SCHOOL” – EARLY STUDY ON THE FUNCTION OF THE SHOULDER JOINT  Much like the comparative anatomy stuff, I love history.  I find it interesting and enlightening to read old anatomy texts and journals to see what the forefathers in medicine did and how our field has evolved.  I read a book [...]

Slap Tears: What are they and what to do?

So I realized that I have missed mentioning a key injury in the shoulder, particularly in overhead athletes. Interestingly, we’ve only known about what this injury actually is since the early 80’s. SLAP stands for Superior Labrum Anterior-Posterior. You may recall (if you’ve read my other posts) that the shoulder is like a golf ball [...]

Interesting rotator cuff study, hot off the press!!

One of the more hotly contested topics in orthopedics is whether or not to repair a rotator cuff tear in the older population. Some people manage just fine without having a repair. It is generally accepted that with each passing decade of life, repair of the rotator cuff becomes increasingly difficult. Furthermore, many studies have [...]

To repair or not to repair the rotator cuff?

To repair or not to repair:  Case study on a rotator cuff tear in an elderly male  I recently had a case where an elderly gentleman (late 60’s, early 70’s) had a confirmed rotator cuff tear on MRI but managed just fine with physical therapy.  This man tore his cuff while fly fishing.  He tripped [...]

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