“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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

What to do about young athletes who are multi-sport athletes?

WHAT TO DO ABOUT YOUNG ATHLETES WHO ARE MULTI-SPORT ATHLETES  It’s amazing to me how we have year round sports being played.  Young athletes are playing their sport in season and then either jump to another sport or begin “off season” camps or travel teams.  There truly is no off season anymore.  Because there is [...]

What is the difference between Laxity vs. Instability?

LAXITY VERSUS INSTABILITY: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? I was at a course recently and an attendee asked a question about shoulder instability versus laxity. You may have heard those terms before and they are used interchangeably quite often incorrectly. Unfortunately, the answer to the question wasn’t properly addressed. So, I figured I would try and [...]

Next Page »