Mobility Exercise of the Week: Palmar Fascia Soft Tissue Work

Written on February 1, 2012 at 7:45 am, by Eric Cressey

Anyone who has ever broken or burned a finger will tell you that you just don’t appreciate how much you use your hands until you don’t have access to one for a bit.  Obviously, you partially lose your ability to do things – but what many folks might not appreciate is that you also lose some of your ability to sense things, as the hands contain a tremendously amount of sensory receptors relative to the rest of the body.  In fact, the tiny folds in our skin on the fingertips that comprise the fingertip are there because they increase the surface area of the hands – which allows us to get more sensory receptors where we need them.  Cool stuff, huh?

Why then, do we not give the hands any love when it comes to soft tissue work?  We’ll foam roll our hip flexors, lats, and other large muscle groups (which are certainly valuable), but we’ll ignore one of the most sensory-rich parts of our body – and one that is constantly active (and overused, in some cases) throughout the day.  We grip, type, and flip people the bird – but we never really pay attention to soft tissue quality in this region…until today, that is.

If you look at the structure of the hand, you’ll see that it has a large fascial, the palmar aponeurosis (we’ll call it the palmar fascia to keep things simple).  This structure has an intimate relationship with the muscles/tendons and ligaments of the hand, and serves as a link between the forearm and fingers.

Based on the size alone, you can see that it has plantar-fascia-caliber importance even if it isn’t weight bearing.  You see, of the five muscles that attach via the common flexor tendon on the medial epicondyle at the elbow, four cross the wrist joint and palmar fascia on the way to the hand, where they work to flex and abduct or adduct the wrist, and flex the fingers.

Loads of people have tendinopathies going on up on the medial elbow (Golfer’s Elbow), but they only work on this spot (called a zone of convergence).  Meanwhile, the soft tissue quality might be just as bad further down at the wrist and hand, adding tension on an already over-burdended common flexor tendon.  Think about it this way: if you had a pulled hamstring up by your glutes, would you only work to improve tissue quality at that spot, or would you work all the way down to the posterior knee to make sure that you’d improved some of the poor tissue quality further down as well?

Below, massage therapist and Cressey Performance coach Chris Howard talks you through two different ways to work out the kinks in the palmar fascia and surrounding regions, but keep in mind that it’ll always be more effective to have a qualified manual therapist do the job – and that’s certainly someone you should see if you have any symptoms whatsoever.

We’ve found that quite a few of our pitchers comment on how the ball seems to come out of their hand easier after this work.  Usually, they’re the guys who have the most stiffness along the forearm, particularly into wrist extension and supination.

Give it a shot at your desk at work and see how it feels.

Note: Chris’ video here is a sample of what comes in his Innovative Soft Tissue Strategies contribution to Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.

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The Best of 2011: Stuff that was Fun to Write/Video

Written on January 2, 2012 at 7:14 am, by Eric Cressey

Today, I’ll wrap up my “Best of 2011″ series by highlighting the pieces that I enjoyed creating.  Check them out:

1. 11 Years, 11 Lessons, 100 Pounds – This T-Nation article recapped my long journey in the strength and conditioning world to get to where I am.  It was definitely one of my most popular articles of all time at T-Nation.

2. The Fitness Business Blueprint - This product was a blast to create because I think it filled a gaping hole in the market.  Until we launched it, nobody had created a fitness business product that didn’t just discuss how to grow a business, but also how to improve as a trainer/coach.  I had a blast collaborating with Pat Rigsby and Mike Robertson on it.

3. What I Learned in 2010 – I enjoy writing these articles every year, because they serve as a great opportunity to revisit some of the most valuable lessons from the previous year.  And, as the saying goes, the best way to master something is to teach it to others.

4. Strength and Conditioning Program Success: The Little Things Matter – This was a fun blog to write, as I did so right around the time when several of our athletes were recognized for some awesome achievements.  It gave me a chance to reflect on why they were successful – and why many other folks aren’t.  There will be some valuable takeaways for you, regardless of your athletic or fitness goals.

5. Oblique Strains in Baseball: 2011 Update – I’d written about oblique strains in the past, but they continue to be the big fat white elephant in the corner that is being ignored in the context of baseball development.  Hopefully this article got some people to start paying attention to the fact that it’s just the fallout of a lot of things that are wrong with the current approaches being employed with respect to baseball strength and conditioning.

6. The IYCA High School Strength and Conditioning Coach Certification – I was fortunate to be a contributor on this awesome resource that will hopefully change the tide of how high school athletes are trained.  Based on the feedback we’ve received thus far, it’s already helped tremendously in this regard.

7. Strength Training Program Success: How Dr. P did at 47 What He Couldn’t Do at 20 or 30 – This blog (and accompanying video) were awesome because our entire gym got involved on this goal – and were there to see our good friend accomplish it.

8. The Everything Elbow In-Service – This was an in-service I filmed for our staff this summer to prepare them for all the elbow issues that may come through our doors.  It lasted 32 minutes, and sold far better than I would have imagined – and led to a lot of requests for us to continue filming staff in-services and making them available for sale.

9. Strength and Conditioning Programs: Think the Opposite – This has a few tips about a counterintuitive way to achieve success in training and in business.

10. Hip Pain in Athletes: The Origin of Femoroacetabular Impingement – FAI is becoming more and more common (especially in young athletes), and in this blog, I talk about some of the reasons why.

That wraps up our “Best of 2011″ series.  Thank you very much for your support of EricCressey.com in 2011; I’m looking forward to making 2012 even more memorable!

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Experience Doesn’t Come Easily When It Comes to Strength and Conditioning Programs

Written on October 19, 2011 at 8:00 am, by Eric Cressey

As I sat down to write this blog, I recalled a quote I heard some time ago, but only with a quick Google search did I discover that it came from Pete Seeger:

“Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.”

Seeger might be in his 90s and done singing, this quote definitely still resounds – and will continue to do so – in the field of strength and conditioning, even if that wasn’t his intention.

I think one of the reasons it gets us thinking so much is that there really isn’t a lot of fine print to read; the strength and conditioning field is still in its infancy, especially since there was very little research in this area before the 1980s.  And, just when we think we learn something and publish it in the textbook, we discover that it’s completely false (the lactic acid debacle was a great example).   Moreover, we’re dealing with constantly changing demographics; as examples, obesity is rising dramatically, and early youth sports specialization is destroying kids’ bodies and fundamentally changing the way that they develop (examples here and here).

So, it’s hard to learn how to do things the right way (or at least head in that direction) when the information wasn’t available – and the population to which it applies is constantly changing.  It’s like trying to change the tire on a moving car – and doing so without having instructions on how to use the jack in the first place.

Moreover, even when the information is out there, we appreciate that no two people respond to the same stimulus in the same way – and my experiences with baseball players with elbow pain serves as a great example.  I’ve seen dozens of post Tommy John surgery athletes in my career.  Some start throwing before the three-month mark, and others aren’t throwing until six months post-op.  Everyone heals differently – and even once they get back to throwing, every guy is unique.  Some have more shoulder stiffness than elbow stiffness after the long layoff, where it might be vice versa for other guys.  Additionally, many post ulnar nerve transposition pitchers have a lot of elbow stiffness when they return to throwing at 6-12 weeks post-op, while others have absolutely zero complications with their return-to-throwing progression.

If the game is changing, and we never really knew what the game was in the first place – and each person is unique, what do we do?

The only thing we can do is draw on personal experience and the lessons that it’s provided to us.

To that end, if you’re an up-and-comer in the field, you have to look at continuing education as a multi-pronged approach.  You’ve got to read the textbooks and stay on top of the most up-to-date research, but you also have to be “in the trenches” to test-drive concepts and see how they work.

If you’re not in the industry – but want to make sure that you’re getting the best possible strength and conditioning programs – you need to seek out expert advice from someone who has “been there, done that.”  Honestly would you want to be on the table for a surgeon’s first surgery? I know I wouldn’t.

A final option, at the very least, is to educate yourself fully on how to write your own workout routines. That’s one reason why I created two free webinars for you: The #1 Reason You Are Not Making Progress and How to Create a Real Strength and Conditioning Program.

You can check them both out HERE at absolutely no charge.  I’d just ask that you help spread the word with a Facebook “like” or comment or “Tweet” if you enjoyed what you saw.

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What an Elbow Alone Can Tell You About Strength and Conditioning Program Design

Written on October 6, 2011 at 6:48 am, by Eric Cressey

On Tuesday, we had our first ever “Night with the Pros” at Cressey Performance.  At the event, 15 of the professional baseball players who train at Cressey Performance in the off-season sat in on a roundtable, answering questions about their careers, long-term developmental approach, college recruiting processes, weekly routines during the season, and a host of other topics.   Marlins closer Steve Cishek discussed how he dealt with pressure as a rookie; Indians pitcher Corey Kluber explained why he wound up selecting a smaller D1 program over the baseball “powerhouses;” Royals reliever Tim Collins threw a live bullpen for the crowd and talked about his rise to the big leagues against all odds, and New Balance Baseball was there to provide some sweet prizes and showcase some of their great products.

Even with 15 players on the panel, no two stories were alike; everyone has had a different path to success.  Accordingly, when it came time to do my live demonstration, I wanted to emphasize the unique nature of every arm – and how a quick elbow assessment can provide quite a bit of information about what you need to do for a whole-body strength and conditioning program.  More than anything, for a bit of “shock value,” I used the elbow of one of our pro guys who came to use following a Tommy John surgery where he didn’t get all his extension back during his rehabilitation.  In speaking with a few of the young attendees the following day, seeing a 25-degree elbow flexion contracture with a “zipper” scar along the medial side was a big eye opener that they needed to be serious about arm care.

We can use the Beighton scale to assess for both generalized congenital laxity and specific laxity at a joint.  The screen consists of five tests, four of which are unilateral:

1. Elbow hyperextension > 10° (left and right sides)
2. Knee hyperextension > 10° (left and right sides)
3. Flex the thumb to contact with the forearm (left and right sides)
4. Extend the pinky to >90° angle with the rest of the hand (left and right sides)
5. Place both palms flat on the floor without flexing the knees

So, at the end of the day, you can score up to nine points on the screen if you are ultra-lax.  This would be something you’d certainly find more often in women than in men, and the incidence of laxity is going to be higher in sports like swimming, baseball, gymnastics, and tennis (that can benefit from increased range of motion) than it is in football, hockey, etc; it’s just natural selection at work, to some degree.

That said, I mentioned earlier that the elbow assessment alone – which, in my eyes, is the quickest and easiest of the bunch – can tell you a ton about what your priorities are going to be when writing a strength and conditioning program.  There are really four scenarios that I come across on a weekly basis.  For the record, describing joint end-feel in the rehabilitation community is much more elaborate (and specific to each joint) than I make it out in these examples; I just want them to be user-friendly for the lay population.  I’ll describe the first scenario, Elbow Hyperextension, in today’s piece, and come back tomorrow to cover the rest.

Usually, elbow hyperextension has a very soft or “empty” end-feel – as if the forearm could just pop off if it was pulled into further hyperextension.  When I see this, I know that there is a very good chance that this individual will have a high Beighton score and I won’t have to do much (if any) stretching for him whatsoever – especially in the upper body (you can expect to see upwards ot 200° of total motion at the shoulders, too).  Of course, I’ll follow up with additional specific and general screens to determine whether this hypermobility characterizes the elbow, upper extremity, or entire body.

Generally, these individuals need more stabilization exercises – so a hearty dose of strength training is in order. Unfortunately, many people like to stick to what they are good at doing, so it’s not uncommon at all to see folks with raging congenital laxity going to yoga class after yoga class, wondering why their backs still hurt.  It’s simply because they’re taking an unstable body into end-ranges of motion over and over again.  I think specific yoga exercises have outstanding benefits for specific people, but those with congenital laxity need to approach them with caution.  And, certainly, trying to turn young gymnasts into human pretzels probably isn’t a great idea for long-term health; for every Olympian, there are 10,000 kids with stress fractures in their spines.

That said, if you have someone who presents with a high Beighton score, but still doesn’t move well, there are four likely scenarios, in my opinion.

First, and most obviously, there can be an injury that doesn’t become symptomatic until they weight bear.  Refer out if that is the case.

Second, they can be “grossly” unstable and simply need familiarization and strengthening in the movements you’re teaching them.  Just because someone is lax enough to be put in the bottom position of a lunge doesn’t mean that they’ll have adequate joint stabilization to hold that position.  As I’ve written previously, you need adequate stiffness at adjacent joints to allow each joint to move optimally.

Third, they can have breathing issues (those who live in anterior pelvic tilt and rib flair are examples) or soft tissue restrictions (not as likely, but it does happen).  These issues might not present with a Beighton score alone, because people can “fake” joint ROM in a passive sense when they are relaxed enough.  As an example, I’ve seen folks with outstanding abduction range-of-motion who are fibrotic soft tissue messes where the adductors insert on the pubis.  I’ll always go to breathing and soft tissue work well before I go to stretching with these folks.

Fourth, I’ve seen quite a few folks with hypermobility everywhere except their ankles.  It could be because we have absolutely destroyed feet and ankles over the years with high-top sneakers, high-heel shoes, and ankle taping.   It could also be protective spasming from a previous ankle sprain that wasn’t rehabilitated properly.  Or, it could be that folks have shifted their center of gravity so far forward (due to the aforementioned postural distortions) that they simply can’t shut off their plantarflexors.  So, it’s up to you to determine if things are short (measure passive dorsiflexion or do a wall ankle mobility test) or stiff (provide a counterbalance – such as a goblet squat – to see if dorsiflexion increases).

As I mentioned earlier, this is just one of four scenarios that I commonly see when I first look at an elbow.  Be sure to check out Part 2, where I introduce the other three and outline the implications of your findings on strength and conditioning program design.

In the meantime, for more information on assessing and managing the elbow, I’d encourage you to check out the Everything Elbow In-Service.  In this 32-minute in-service, I cover everything from functional anatomy, to injuries, to injury mechanisms, to strength training program modifications.  There are valuable lessons for both those in the baseball world as well as those who don’t have any interest in baseball.  It’s affordably priced at just $12.99 – and half of all proceeds go to charity.

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Learn “Everything Elbow” and Support a Great Charity

Written on July 14, 2011 at 8:43 am, by Eric Cressey

Every Wednesday morning at Cressey Performance, we have a staff in-service.  It’s an awesome chance for our staff and interns to exchange ideas, introduce new topics, standardize coaching cues, and explain strength and conditioning program design strategies.  Yesterday, I presented on the elbow – and we decided to video it, as not all our staff members could be there.

Not to toot my own horn, but it came out really well.  The elbow is right in my “wheelhouse,” so when I get going on it, things seem to just roll off my tongue.  The end result was a 32-minute in-service where I didn’t use any notes, but covered everything from functional anatomy, to injuries, to injury mechanisms, to strength training program modifications.  There are valuable lessons for both those in the baseball world as well as those who don’t have any interest in baseball.  With that in mind, I decided to put it up for sale today, as I feel strongly that the elbow is a topic that doesn’t receive a lot of attention in spite of its importance.

It just so happens that this week is the all-star break, and Cressey Performance athlete Kevin Youkilis just played in his third all-star game – and I thought I’d tie in this “mini” product launch with that them.

You see, several years ago, Kevin founded a charity, Youk’s Kids, that does some tremendous things for children in need. It supports at-risk youth at the Italian Home for Children located in Jamaica Plain, critically ill children at Josh Cares in Kevin’s hometown of Cincinnati, as well as Youk’s Kids own Athletes for Heroes program.  Athletes for Heroes supports the unmet needs of children who have had a parent killed or severely injured in the line of duty.  Youk’s Kids mission is to create a community of support, increase awareness, and advocate for the health and well-being of children in need throughout Red Sox Nation and beyond.

Given that the launch is somewhat spontaneous and coincides with Youk’s all-star selection – and because this is an awesome charity I’m always thrilled to support – it seemed only fitting to release this elbow in-service with a charitable emphasis.

With that in mind, half of all proceeds from sales of this mini-seminar will go directly to Youk’s Kids.  You’ll be able to immediately access and view the seminar online following your purchase, and in the process, you’ll learn a ton about a commonly overlooked joint while helping out an awesome charity in its efforts to support kids in need.

Click here to purchase Everything Elbow for just $12.99 on our 100% Secure Server.

Stuff You Should Read: 3/17/11

Written on March 17, 2011 at 6:17 am, by Eric Cressey

Here are some links I’d encourage you to check out this week:

Understanding Elbow Pain – Part 3: Pitching Injuries – With recent (medial) elbow injuries to Adam Wainwright and Andrew Bailey – and the fact that the high school baseball season starts next week here in Massachusetts – this article is a timely read because it talks about the causes of elbow injuries in throwing, and how those injuries may be different for a young pitcher than an adult pitcher.  The follow-up article (Part 4), Protecting Pitchers, is an important subsequent read, too.

Case Study: Anterior Knee Pain in a High School Runner – My buddy Shon Grosse, a physical therapist in Colmar, PA, just got his blog off the ground and will be doing some case study presentations.  What I love about Shon is that he’s not just a skilled physical therapist, but also an informed consumer when it comes to everything from strength and conditioning, to track and field, to martial arts.  You’ll see this reflected in his treatment strategies.  This will make for a great regular read for up-and-coming physical therapists.

An Interview with Bret Contreras – Dean Somerset interviewed Bret on his blog, and as it typically the case, Bret really overdelivered on content.  That man can write!

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Does a Normal Elbow Really Exist?

Written on February 9, 2011 at 8:36 am, by Eric Cressey

I’ve written quite a bit in the past about how diagnostic imaging (x-rays, MRIs, etc) doesn’t always tell the entire story, and that incidental findings are very common.  This applies to the lower back, shoulders, and knees (and surely several other joints).  The scary thing, though, is that we see these crazy structural abnormalities not just in adults, but in kids, too.  Last month, I highlighted research that showed that 64% of 14-15 year-old athletes have structural abnormalities in their knees – even without the presence of symptoms.  Just a month later, newer research is showing that the knee isn’t the only hinge joint affected; young throwers’ elbows are usually a structural mess as well.  In an American Journal of Sports Medicine study of 23 uninjured, asymptomatic high school pitchers (average age of 16), researchers found the following:

Three participants (13%) had no abnormalities. Fifteen individuals (65%) had asymmetrical anterior band ulnar collateral ligament thickening, including 4 individuals who also had mild sublime tubercle/anteromedial facet edema. Fourteen participants (61%) had posteromedial subchondral sclerosis of the ulnotrochlear articulation, including 8 (35%) with a posteromedial ulnotrochlear osteophyte, and 4 (17%) with mild posteromedial ulnotrochlear chondromalacia. Ten individuals (43%) had multiple abnormal findings in the throwing elbow.

For me, the 35% with the osteophytes (and chondromalacia) are the biggest concern.  Thickening of the ulnar collateral ligament isn’t surprising at all, but marked osseous (bone) abnormalities is a big concern.

Also, as a brief, but important aside, this study was done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota – which isn’t exactly the hotbed of baseball activity that you get down in the South.  Recent research also shows that players in Southern (warm weather) climates have decreased shoulder internal rotation range of motion and external rotation strength compared to their Northern (cold weather) climate counterparts. In other words, I’ll be money that the numbers reported in this study are nothing compared to the young pitchers who are constantly abused year-round in the South.

The next time you think to yourself that all young athletes – especially throwers – can be managed the same, think again.  Every body is unique – and that’s why I’m so adamant about the importance of assessing young athletes. It’s one reason why I filmed the Everything Elbow in-service, which would be a great thing to watch if you’re someone who manages pitchers.

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Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Get Strong: Eric Cressey’s Best Articles of 2010

Written on December 31, 2010 at 4:46 am, by Eric Cressey

Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better – This was obviously my biggest project of 2010.  I actually began writing the strength and conditioning programs and filming the exercise demonstration videos in 2009, and put all the “guinea pigs” through the four-month program beginning in February.  When they completed it as the start of the summer rolled around, I made some modifications based on their feedback and then got cracking on writing up all the tag along resources.  Finally, in September, Show and Go was ready to roll.  So, in effect, it took 10-11 months to take this product from start to finish – a lot of hard work, to say the least.  My reward has been well worth it, though, as the feedback has been awesome.  Thanks so much to everyone who has picked up a copy.

Optimal Shoulder Performance – This was a seminar that Mike Reinold and I filmed in November of 2009, and our goal was to create a resource that brought together concepts from both the shoulder rehabilitation and shoulder performance training fields to effectively bridge the gap for those looking to prevent and/or treat shoulder pain.  In the process, I learned a lot from Mike, and I think that together, we brought rehabilitation specialists and fitness professionals closer to being on the same page.

Why President Obama Throws Like a Girl – A lot of people took this as a political commentary, but to be honest, it was really just me talking about the concept of retroversion as it applies to a throwing shoulder – with a little humor thrown in, of course!

Overbearing Dads and Kids Who Throw Cheddar – This one was remarkably easy to write because I’ve received a lot of emails from overbearing Dads asking about increasing throwing velocity in their kids.

What I Learned in 2009 – I wrote this article for T-Nation back at the beginning of the year, and always enjoy these yearly pieces.  In fact, I’m working on my 2010 one for them now!

What a Stressed Out Bride Can Teach You About Training Success – I wrote this less than a month out from my wedding, so you could say that I had a good frame of reference.

Baseball Showcases: A Great Way to Waste Money and Get Injured – In case the title didn’t tip you off, I’m not much of a fan of baseball showcases.

Cueing: Just One Piece of Semi-Private Training Success – Part 1 and Part 2 - These articles were featured at fitbusinessinsider.com.  I enjoy writing about not only the training side of things, but some of the things we’ve done well to build up our business.

Three Years of Cressey Performance: The Right Reasons and the Right Way – This might have been the top post of the year, in my eyes. My job is very cool.

How to Attack Continuing Education in the Fitness Industry – Here’s another fitness business post.

Want to Be a Personal Trainer or Strength Coach?  Start Here. – And another!

The Skinny on Strasburg’s Injury – I hate to make blog content out of someone else’s misfortune, but it was a good opportunity to make some points that I think are very valid to the discussion of not only Stephen Strasburg’s elbow injury, but a lot of the pitching injuries we see in youth baseball.

Surely, there are many more to list, but I don’t want this to run too long!  Have a safe and happy new year, and keep an eye out for the first content of 2011, which is coming very soon!

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Weight Training for Baseball: Featured Articles

Written on December 29, 2010 at 7:24 am, by Eric Cressey

I really enjoy writing multi-part features here at EricCressey.com because it really affords me more time to dig deep into a topic of interest to both my readers and me.  In many ways, it’s like writing a book.  Here were three noteworthy features I published in 2010:

Understanding Elbow Pain - Whether you were a baseball pitcher trying to prevent a Tommy John surgery or recreational weightlifter with “tennis elbow,” this series had something for you.

Part 1: Functional Anatomy
Part 2: Pathology
Part 3: Throwing Injuries
Part 4: Protecting Pitchers
Part 5: The Truth About Tennis Elbow
Part 6: Elbow Pain in Lifters

Strategies for Correcting Bad Posture – This series was published more recently, and was extremely well received.  It’s a combination of both quick programming tips and long-term modifications you can use to eliminate poor posture.

Strategies for Correcting Bad Posture: Part 1
Strategies for Correcting Bad Posture: Part 2
Strategies for Correcting Bad Posture: Part 3
Strategies for Correcting Bad Posture: Part 4

A New Paradigm for Performance Testing – This two-part feature was actually an interview with Bioletic founder, Dr. Rick Cohen.  In it, we discuss the importance of testing athletes for deficiencies and strategically correcting them.  We’ve begun to use Bioletics more and more with our athletes, and I highly recommend their thorough and forward thinking services.

A New Paradigm for Performance Testing: Part 1
A New Paradigm for Performance Testing: Part 2

I already have a few series planned for 2011, so keep an eye out for them!  In the meantime, we have two more “Best of 2010″ features in store before Friday at midnight.

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Random Tuesday Thoughts: 7/27/10

Written on July 27, 2010 at 6:00 am, by Eric Cressey

1. I haven’t done a “Random Friday Thoughts” blog in a while, so in the spirit of randomness, I thought I’d throw you a curveball and kick off the week with some Tuesday random thoughts.

2. Last week, I booked two plane tickets to Halifax, Nova Scotia for my fiancee and I.  She’s a bridesmaid in a wedding up there in a few weeks, so I’ll be making the trip as well.  As part of being what amounts to a “third wheel” for the weekend (the only people I know other than Anna in the entire wedding are the bride and groom), I’ll have quite a bit of downtime while in the area.  Any readers out there have any suggestions for what to do in Halifax?  It’s not hockey season, and I don’t drink Molson, so I’m at a bit of a loss…

Also, just out of curiosity, when did one have to sell off all his/her internal organs in order to afford a flight to Halifax?  Roundtrip airfare was over $1,500, and Air Canada followed up with an email that said, “We also mandate that you name your first child after us.”

3. I wrote a guest blog for Men’s Health last week; check it out: A Quick Fix for Stiff Shoulders.

4. Also on the writing note, I’ve written a few guest chapters lately.  The first was a strength and conditioning chapter for an upcoming pitching book for young baseball players and their parents.  The second (which is still a work in progress) is a chapter for a new IYCA project.  So far, it’s coming along really well – and I’m really honored to be on-board for this with a group of really talented guys who are trying to do something very special.

5. Tonight (Tuesday), Boston Red Sox Head Athletic Trainer (and Optimal Shoulder Performance co-creator) Mike Reinold is hosting a free webinar: “What’s New for 2010.”  Click here for more information.

6. Speaking of Mike, he had a great post last week about Epicondylitis and Cervical Radiculopathy.  It’s a great adjunct to my “Understanding Elbow Pain” series from back in May.  If you missed it, here’s a link to the sixth (final) installment (and you can link back to the previous five).

7. I realized the other day that there is one big thing I’ve always considered in our training programs for pitchers, but failed to mention on this blog: they need both open- and closed-chain hip mobility, as the right and left hips must rotate independently of one another during the stride to the plate. Here’s a good example:

You can see that Beckett is just short of stride foot contact here – which means that he’s at just about maximal hip external rotation on the lead leg…in open chain motion.  The femur is rotating on the acetabulum.

Meanwhile, he’s riding out his trailing leg…in closed chain motion.  The acetabulum is rotating on the femur.

As such, adequate mobility training for pitchers should include a combination of both open- and closed-chain drills, although I’d say that the majority should be closed-chain.

8. Today’s Mike Robertson’s birthday; head over to RobertsonTrainingSystems.com and show him a little love.

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