As you know, last month’s Injury of the Month was tennis elbow.

It has been a few weeks and I am starting to get feedback on the program.  One person has been having issues with their tennis elbow pain and the program has made it worse.  She has asked me if I could help.  We have been emailing back and forth.  Here are some clips from our email conversation.

“I think my pain has increased a bit so I’m cutting back in intensity but I’m hoping that if I keep at it, it will eventually go away. Bursitis in my shoulder really flared up after starting the program. Not sure if it is related but that is the only thing different that I was doing.”

This brings up a number of points to remember about injuries.  They apply to tennis elbow but to all injuries when you are using exercise to help them recover.

4 Key Things to Remember when Exercising for an Injury

• Intensity – How aggressively you do the exercises has an effect on your injury recovery.  I always suggest to be conservative when staring an exercise program for an injury.  Go easy and light.  See how things feel after the exercises, a few hours after the exercises and the next day.  You should feel like you have done something but your symptoms should not increase.
• Resistance – Once again, the resistance you use will determine the stress put on the injured area.  We want to stress the injury but not irritate it.  It is a fine balance.  Once again, start off light and see how it feels.
• Cumulative Stress – If you are doing exercises for an injured area, you are adding more stress to that area.  If you do not decrease or eliminate other things you are doing that add stress to the injury, this will lead to more irritation and pain.  Make sure to look at things that are putting stress on your injured area and decrease or eliminate them.
• Pain Techniques – Do the pain techniques in the evening.  Doing the ice, stretching and self massage are most effective before you go to bed or a few hours before you go to bed.  It relaxes the tissues and then the tissues get a chance to heal while you are sleeping.
• Nutrition – Staying hydrated, properly fueled and focusing on inflammation lowering food is important as well.  This will help you in your injury recovery.

Now let’s get to the shoulder bursitis.

I am not sure what the cause is of the shoulder bursitis (inflammation of the bursa in the shoulder).  I would focus on shoulder position, rotator cuff exercises and scapular stabilization exercises.

When it come to tennis elbow pain exercises leading to shoulder pain, I cover this in the video presentation of Tennis Elbow Pain Solution but also Stasinopoulos 2011 says it well:

“If the affected arm is not supported, our experience has
shown that patients complain of pain in other anatomical
areas distant from elbow joint, such as the shoulder, neck,
and scapula.”

I would suggest you do the tennis elbow pain exercises with your arms supported.  You can look at the exercise descriptions and videos for Exercises 9b and 10b in the program.

“Regarding my bursitis – I took a break this past weekend from exercise and the tennis elbow program and it seemed to be less painful.

I am doing mostly stage 2 exercises but am sticking with a modification of scapular exercises #6.”

It has only been a week or two since you have got the program. You might not be ready for stage 2 exercises.

If you are getting elbow pain from the exercises, look in the exercise descriptions and I give you ideas of what you can do if you get pain from the exercises.  Here are a few things to remember:

• Conditioning – If you are getting elbow pain from doing the exercises, do exercise #3 for two to three weeks.  This will help work on the conditioning of your elbow muscles.  By being in stage 2 so early, you are getting pain because of the points that I covered at the top of this article.
• Posture – Look at your posture when you are doing the exercise. Make sure it is ideal which is ear-shoulder-hip in a straight line.  Being out of alignment puts greater stress on the shoulder.
• Technique – If an exercise is irritating, go back and make sure you are doing the exercise correctly.  Look at the exercise description and watch the video of the exercise.

“My left elbow and left shoulder are super tight. When I do the tennis elbow program my arm feels worse. Should I work on my shoulder first? Should I stop? Would be happy to have your feedback!”

Follow what I wrote above.

What caused what:  What I have seen in many people is a shoulder injury leads to your tennis elbow pain.

I know you have the Shoulder Pain Solved program of mine.  Make sure to the pain techniques that I talk about in that program for your shoulder but remember the key points that I talked about above.  They are very applicable to all injuries.

“Does my tennis elbow cause my shoulder pain or does my shoulder pain cause my tennis elbow? Is it possible to work on both at the same time or should I focus on one first and then the other? If so, which should I focus on first? Which program would be most helpful – tennis elbow, shoulder, scapula?”

From my experience, one injury often times leads to others.

I feel you can do both but follow what I said above in the article.

If what I said above does not help, go get your diagnosis confirmed by a qualified health professional and have them rule out that there is something else going on.  Then take the programs to someone that can help you with the program.  You can go to a fitness professional that focuses on injuries or another health professional.  The key thing is that they will spend the time with you to go through the exercises.

Remember the points that I said above.

These would be your priorities:

• Work on your scapular stabilizing exercises as this will provide stability for your shoulder and decrease the stress on your elbow.
• Work on improving your posture as this will decrease the stress on your shoulder and elbow.
• Work on the pain techniques in order to relax the muscles around the shoulder and elbows.
• Work on strengthening the shoulder and elbow as per the Shoulder Pain Solved and Tennis Elbow Pain Solution program.

Thank you for your question Chris, all the best.

Rick Kaselj, MS

.

I get a lot of email.

Well who doesn’t.

I was digging through it and here were a few of the things that came in this week.

If you have emailed me a question, I am working on getting back to you and I will post some of them on the blog.

- rick

“Whole New Perspective”

“With Muscle Imbalances Revealed, I have learned to look at the way the body moves in a whole new perspective and learned some new great assessment tools.

I now have a greater understanding of how the body moves.”

Kristyn Mastroianni

Certified Personal Trainer

Coventry, CT

“I Will Use What I Learned for My Own Body First”

“I will use what I learned for my own body first and also share pointers and exercises with my class participants.

From Muscle Imbalances Revealed I have learned how much imbalance of muscles affect the function of the body, self care techniques for the shoulder and the fascia information was new and helpful.”

“Stop with All the Email”

“Stop with all the email.

 

I can’t keep up.

 

You keep sending me great articles, interviews and videos.  

 

Thanks for sharing such great information.  Keep the emails coming .”

 

Brenda Morgan

“Filled in A Lot of Knowledge Gaps”

“I’ve had scoliosis since age 11 and this is the first course/manual I’ve seen devoted specifically to scoliosis specific exercises.

Effective Exercises for Scoliosis filled in a lot of knowledge gaps about correct exercise prescription for scoliosis.”

Karen Plansinis

Dietician, Strength Coach and Personal Trainer

Kittanning, PA

“I Never Completely Understood the Shoulder Joint Until I Took This Course”

“I work with many seniors who have rotator cuff problems.

I found Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises provided a very good understanding regarding which exercises target certain muscle groups.

Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises was very thorough – I learned a lot. I never completely understood the shoulder joint until I took this course.”

Martha Andebon

Occupational Therapist / Registered Nurse

El Paso, Texas

 ”I had Tears Running Down My Face”

“Dear Rick,

Thank you so much for sharing your son’s dance moves with us. I had tears running down my face. How wonderful to be so uninhibited and full of joy.

I was laughing at you laughing.”

Brenda Champagne- Locken

If you missed the video, here it is again:

“I Turn to Rick for Injury Anaswers”

“I meet Rick 2 years ago at a fitness seminar.

I admired his passion and knowledge for helping people with injuries.

As a trainer my goal is to help people maximize their health and fitness.

Once in a while I get a client who gets a nagging injury. When this happens I turn to Rick and he has the answers that help my clients get back to maximizing their health and fitness.

If you want to get maximize your exercise plan and spend less time on the mend.

Check out Ricks injury prevention or rehab tips!”

Brian Stecker
Master trainer
Vancouver, Washington
BoomerFitness.com

“To find a Wealth of Knowledge like thins You Usually Have to got to a Fitness Conference”

“If you want to be like a fraction of the greats in this industry and separate yourself from the joe personal trainers. I highly recommend you buy Muscle Imbalances Revealed.

To find a wealth of knowledge like this you usually have to go to a fitness conference somewhere and for a owner/operator like myself this cuts down costs to a minimum because you can watch and learn on your computer!”

Scott Bisbee ACE-PT
Owner/Operator
Bisbee’s Fitness Experience Inc
www.bisbeefitness.com

“Stop Showing Me the Poppy Uppy Thingy!”

“Stop showing me the poppy uppy thingy!

It just won’t go away.

- Anonymous

Rick’s Answer – The Pop-up is a way of giving new people to my website, a piece of my best stuff.

It just takes 1 second to close the pop-up.  Just hit the “X” in the top right hand corner.  I show you here:

For some people there is no “x” to click.  You can try to refresh your web browser or view the page in a different web browser.

“Easily Digestible Product Based Around Current Evidence”

“Hi Rick

Thanks for the Tennis Elbow Pain Solution (TEPS), as always you’ve delivered an easily digestible product based around current evidence.”

Regards

Simon Tydd

Physical Therapist

Simon Tydd Physiotherapy

Tamworth NSW
Australia

“Impressed with the Wealth of Information Provided”

“Hi Rick, I have viewed the video presentation for the UTG for Cancer Survivors and can honestly say that I am impressed with the wealth of information provided.

Being a cancer survivor of 40 years this summer I can relate to many of the points made by the presenter. I’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt – as they say! This program definitely affords a personal trainer the opportunity to better understand how a person with cancer would like to be treated and how to put together a suitable exercise program for his/her cancer client.

Also, the information on cancer, types of treatment, side effects, etc., are all very helpful in helping the trainer to better understand and prepare for the cancer client.

Again, great program!”

Kevin Garnier

Personal Trainer

Pasadena Fitness

Pasadena, NL, Canada

Thank you for all the kind words and negative ones.  If you ever want to get a hold of me, just email me at support(at)exercisesforinjuries.com .

Talk to you soon.

I know when I talk about core stability, some people will roll their eyes.

There is always a discussion in the fitness world on what the core is and if we should be focusing in on it.

Well when it comes to injuries, I focus on the core.

It is looking like core stability is playing more of a role when it comes to injuries.

I know in previous Injuries of the Month (patellofemoral pain syndrome, sacroiliac joint pain and piriformis syndrome), core stability has been a component of the exercise program that I have recommended.

I wanted to highlight some research that talked about injuries and core stability.

What They Looked At

They looked at 80 female and 60 male intercollegiate basketball and track athletes.

This was very interesting. They measured core stability by testing:

• Isometric hip abduction strength
• Isometric hip external rotation strength
• Back extensor endurance (modified Beiring-Sorensen test)
• Quadratus lumborum endurance (side bridge test)

Interesting Points in the Introduction

• Decrease in lumbo-pelvic (or core) stability has shown an increase in lower extremity injuries, especially in females
• The injuries that females are at greater risk for are: anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures, patellofemoral pain syndrome, iliotibial band friction syndrome, and stress fratures (femoral, pubic, tibial, and metatarsal).

What They Found

These were the main results from the study:

• Males produced greater hip abduction, hip external rotation and quadratus lumborum measures
• Athletes who did not sustain an injury were significantly stronger in hip abduction and external rotation
• Hip external rotation strength was the only useful predictor of injury status

Rick’s Comments

Often times when we focus on working on the core we think of crunches or bridge variations. It is interesting how this research expands on things further and looks at core function in different planes of movement and different movements. I like the fact that it highlights the importance of looking at hip abduction and hip external rotation strength. Many times this is not mentioned or covered in an exercise program.

Here is an exercise that I give to work on hip movement and strength:

A few comments on the exercise.  The exercise can be used for:

• Educating the movement of hip movement from the rest of the body.
• A dynamic stretching of the hip rotators.
• A body weight active hip rotator exercise.

The directions given and the cueing can change the function of the exercise.

Where to get more information – Leetun DT, Ireland ML, Willson JD, Ballantyne BT, Davis IM. (2004). Core stability measures as risk factors for lower extremity injury in athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Jun;36(6):926-34.

If you are looking for exercises to strengthen the external rotators of the hip, these are what I use:

Easy and Effective Exercises for Tennis Elbow

I am working on this month’s Injury of the Month. It is Tennis Elbow.

I was doing my research on the injury and came across this article, which was interesting. It talks about isometrics for an injury and really highlights the new trend in exercise rehabilitation.

What They Looked At

They wanted to see if isometric exercises were as effective as medication for pain relief in those with lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow).

They had two groups:

• Group 1 – Were shown the exercise and then they did it at home
• Group 2 – Began the exercise after 4 weeks of medication

Interesting Points in the Introduction

• An increase in symptoms from exercise will decrease the compliance rate to the exercise program
• Performing the exercises too aggressively can increase the risk of irritation or injury
• The above two points are obvious but nice to see them highlighted in an article

Tennis Elbow Exercise Performed

The researchers only gave one exercise.  Here are the details of the exercise:

• The subjects did the exercise in a sitting or standing position with the arms flexed to just below shoulder height.  Then the wrists were moved in a slow controlled manner into extension with the fingers relaxed. The focus was on moving the middle finger towards the elbow in order to target extensor carpi radialis brevis.
• The exercise was performed without pain and in a controlled manner.
• Four sets of 50 repetitions with each repetition being held for 10 seconds, done daily.

What they Found

• After one month, group 1 had a greater decrease in their pain levels compared to group 2
• At 3, 6 and 12 month follow up there was no difference between the groups
• Those that did not feel any benefit from the exercise program after one month were referred on to shock wave therapy

Rick’s Comment

Interesting to see the benefits of isometric strengthening on an injury, specifically with lateral epicondylitis. Isometric exercises are not exciting but effective when it is comes to an injury and the safest of the three types of contractions.

A lot of the research out there focuses on eccentric exercises for tennis elbow. This article highlighted the benefits of an isometric exercise which is less stressful on an injured area.

The number of repetitions was a surprise to me. Over a day performing 200 repetitions or about 33 minutes of exercise sounds like a lot. This is a trend that is occurring in exercise rehabilitation. The standard used to be 1 set of 10 repetition but this is fading away and does not correlate well with what many people do during the day (number of movement cycles performed in a day). Performing low load (isometrics) more frequently transfers more over to what one does on a daily basis and assists in recovery.

Just so you know, the tennis elbow exercise program will be coming out at the end of the month.

Where to get more details – Park JY, Park HK, Choi JH, Moon ES, Kim BS, Kim WS, Oh KS. (2011). Prospective evaluation of the effectiveness of a home-based program of isometric strengthening exercises: 12-month follow-up. Clin Orthop Surg. 2010 Sep;2(3):173-8. Epub 2010 Aug 3.

That is it for another edition of the research review.  I hope this helps you out when it comes to core stability and injuries, plus a great little tennis elbow exercise.

Rick Kaselj, MS

I got an email from a reader who was looking for some ankle sprain exercises.

Hi Rick,

I am wondering if you have any ideas for a calf exercise for a person with an ankle injury. They are non- weight bearing and have very little ROM in the ankle (a few degrees of flex/ext). The Dr. would like him to continue strengthening the leg, in particular the gastrocs, however pain levels are quite high.

Any suggestions?

Thanks! I have really enjoyed your updates and the muscle imbalances revealed.

Nat

I have one exercise for Nat.

It focuses on range of motion in the ankle and working the gastroc at a low level.

Here it is:

Ankle Sprain Exercise

==>  Ankle Sprain Exercise in Supine

Ankle Sprain Exercise in Sitting

==>  Ankle Sprain Exercise in Sitting

Ankle Sprain Exercise on the Floor

==>  Ankle Sprain Exercise on the Floor

Ankle Sprain Exercise on the Wall

==>  Ankle Sprain Exercise on the Wall

I will put up some more ankle sprain exercises soon.

Rick Kaselj, MS

Read the rest of this entry »

It was a great weekend teaching Exercise Rehabilitation of the Lower Body.

Thank you to everyone that attended.

It was great to have so many personal trainers, group fitness instructors and Kinesiologists attend the courses.

Once again, I had great feedback from everyone that attended:

“A good hands on course with a lot of examples for exercises for the rehab client.  You can start using your knowledge right with your clients.”

Stefanie Rogge

“I have really enjoyed the courses I have taken over the weekend.  I found them very interesting and informative.  I feel the information will give me great tools to utilize in my training programs.”

Shea Sargent

“Rick is a very good speaker.  Very knowledgeable, easy to understand, describes the material in a manner that anyone can understand.  I find his courses to be excellent in quality.”

Deana Critchley

“Rick is friendly and easy to approach about course material.”

Pablo Chang

“I recommend the courses offered by Rick to all fitness professionals for optimal rehabilitation of clients.”

Fez Moussavi-zadeh

“If personal trainers want to be more informed, take these courses to get great practical info.”

O.M

Thank you for everyone that attended.  I had a great time teaching and sharing the information with you.

From reading the evaluations, I can see I did the key things that fitness professionals are looking for in a course:

• Great exercises
• Everything was touched on
• Informative
• Course was beneficial
• Learning the right exercises for each injury
• The course moved smoothly
• The course was very balanced
• Course was not intimidating
• Hands-on course
• Lots of great exercises
• Interactive

If you missed out on the Exercise Rehabilitation of the Lower Body courses, I will be teaching them again in May 2012. Details should be up on the blog very soon.

The next set of courses that I am teaching is coming up in October 2011 and it is the core stability weekend.

Hope to see you at the course.

Take care and have a great day!

Rick Kaselj, MS

I have finalized a presentation in Burnaby for later this month.

It is for the Fitness Blitz 28.

There I am along with the other presenters on the flyer:

Here is the description of my session:

Head to Toe Core Fusion Class

Description:

When we think of “Core”, we often think of the back, but this is only one of the core areas of the body. As a fitness professional, it is important to address all three core areas in the body. In this hands-on session, weightroom instructors and personal trainers will provide a progressive list of exercises that address all three core ares. You will leave this session with a good understanding of all the core areas of the body and a practical list of exercises that you can use with older adults to young, fit clients.

Objectives:

• Discover the three core ares of the body that need to be addresses in order to prevent injuries, improve fitness results, improve health and overcome injuries.
• Use common exercise tools found in the fitness center to progress and challenge the core areas of the body
• Try out a progressive list of exercises that are safe and challenging for all fitness levels

About the Presenter:

Rick Kaselj, MS, BSc, PK, CEP, CPT, CES

Rick Kaselj is a personal trainer who focuses on designing exercise programs for clients recovering from injuries. He shares his tips, tricks and exercises with thousands of fitness professionals from around the world through his books, courses, presentation and his active blog. Rick recently completed his Masters of Science degree focusing on corrective exercise and therapeutic exercise for the rotator cuff. To learn more about Rick, visit his blog and receive your $299 fitness education gift – http://www.ExercisesForInjuries.com

To download the flyer for the Fitness Blitz 28, CLICK HERE.

If you have fitness education event that you need a presenter for, make sure to think of me.  I am working on finalizing some in Surrey.

To see what other fitness education courses that I have coming up, CLICK HERE.

Rick Kaselj, MS

This past weekend, I was in Orange County, California at Fitness Business Summit.

At the conference there were well over 400 fitness professionals from around the world, learning how to improve their fitness business.

I really didn’t know what to expect from the weekend but I wanted to share a few things that happened.

#1 – The Power in Giving

I work hard to keep updating my blog and sending out information on exercises and injuries.

It is amazing to hear from people that read my emails and blog about how much it has helped them and their clients.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and feedback.  It just motivates me to give more.

#2 – Are You Rick?

I still feel weird when people recognize me and ask to take a photo with me.

The above photo is with Alex from Florida.

It is nice that I have been able to help so many fitness professionals and then have them help their clients when it relates to exercises and injuries.

I am so happy when I hear that something they read on the blog or in one of my products helped them or their clients.

#3 – The Best Part of a Conference

The best part of the conference was meeting so many of the fitness professionals that were there.

It was great to meet fitness professionals for the first time and reconnect with so many from all over the world.

It is incredible to hear the different work that fitness professionals are doing to help clients reach their goals.  I was talking to one fitness professional Saturday night who is helping army vets recover from head injuries in Colorado – very cool.

#4 – Loosen Up and Be More of Who You Are

This guy did a great presentation on letting your personality out:

The guy in the photo is Elliott Hulse.  I could not find the video of him dressed up as the Incredible Hulk but it is great.

During his presentation he talked about letting your personality come out.  I know, I have got some feedback on being a little dry when it comes to presenting.  I need to work on relaxing and letting a little more of who I am come out. Thanks, Elliott, for that reminder.  (Sorry, no plans on dressing up as the Incredible Hulk.)

#5 Even Fitness Professionals Have Injuries

When fitness professionals hear that my focus is injuries, they always share their injury story with me.

I enjoy hearing them and am happy to help.

The injuries that I chatted about on the weekend were patellofemoral pain syndrome, lower back pain, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, knee pain and concussions.

#6 Something That May Have Help Me Be a Better Basketball Player

I ran into my friend, Alex Marako, while out in Cali and we got talking about basketball ball handling.  I think if I knew this tip, it probably would have helped me be a better basketball player.

I know there is so much more I can say but maybe I will leave that for another post.

Take care.

Rick Kaselj, MS

Yesterday, I headed to the big city (Vancouver) and did an in-service for the personal trainers that are part of the personal training department at the Arbutus Club.

The week before was a private in-service in Richmond and this week it was Vancouver.  It has been a lot of fun doing these small and personal in-services.

I just got another invitation from the City of Burnaby to share some of my tips, tricks and exercises to their group fitness instructors, weight room instructors and personal trainers.  I am looking forward to hearing what they would like me to share.

If you would like me to come out to your fitness facility to share some information on exercises and injuries, just send an email to support(at)exercisesforinjuries.com .

While I was out in Vancouver, I had done a video for you after my in-service at the Arbutus Club.  I thought I had the camera on the right setting for video recording but I guess I just took a picture of myself.

Here is the goofy photo:

I had done the video on a foot issue that one of the trainers had and what she can do about it.  I will re-do the video and get it to you next week.

Now lets get to a question that came up during the in-service.

One of the trainers asked:

What do you do when your client just wants to work on their 6 pack?

#1 – Education on 6-Pack and the Core

Start off with education on the 6-pack and the importance of the core as a whole.

I know this can be tough.  With many of our clients, it is hard to change 20 year old beliefs.  Change needs to start somewhere and you can do your best to get it moving.

Rectus abdominis (6 pack) is important for a healthy body, but equally important are all parts of the core.

Take some time to educate on what the 6 pack is, what the core is and how they work individually and together.

I go through this in detail in the Core Stability of the Rehab Client (Focus on the post injury client) and Core Stability of the Back (Focus on the fit and healthy client) courses.

#2 – Muscle Balance and Imbalances

The world will not end and the client will not break if they do some 6 pack or abdominal training but we want to balance out the body by working out all parts of the core.

Focusing on one part of the core will lead to muscle imbalances which will lead to pain, injury, decreased fitness results and poor performance.

#3 – Plane of Movement Core Training

When it comes to training the core, I look at training the core in three planes of movements for the healthy and fit client.

Sagittal Plane (Forward and Back Movement)

If your client wants to work 6 pack with traditional abs exercises, that is fine but I want to balance things out by working the opposite direction of the sagittal plane.

I would get them to work on the lumbar extensors (lower back).  For example, I would get them to do Superman’s and back extension exercises to neutral.

Therefore we have balanced out the sagittal plane and we have countered the forward bending (flexion) movement that has been done with the abs exercises.

Frontal Plane (Side to Side Movements)

I would follow up the sagittal plane movements with frontal plane movements (side-to-side movement).

One of the exercises that I like are side planks.

Transverse Plane (Rotation Movements)

Lastly, I would move to transverse plane movements (rotation).

One exercise that I like is moving from a side plank to a front plank.

Sum It All Up

It is always a difficult balance between providing what your client wants, preventing injury and future benefit.

If your client does the 3 sets of exercises above, they will feel their core and get a better burn than if they just did crunches.

Rick Kaselj, MS

P.S. – If you want more resources on abdominal training, core training and back injuries, here are some for you.

Live Courses that Will Interest You:

• Exercise Rehabilitation of the Lower Back

• Core Stability for the Rehab Client

Some Core Products that May Help:

• Core Stability for the Rehab Client DVD course

• Core Stability of the Back

That is it.

Have a great day.

Lets talk about trigger points today.

I want to share with you a tool that I use for my trigger points and for self myofascial release (SMR) while I am traveling.

Quick Traveling Tool for Trigger Points

In the video, I am coming to you from Orlando, Florida.

I share with you in the video:

1. A tool that I travel with.
2. Why I am a huge fan of foam rollers.
3. Why a 1 foot foam roller is useless to travel with.
4. Something a foam roller can’t do, but helps.

Sitting on the plane for hours does not help the body out.  So it is nice to land and take a few minutes in the hotel room to relax. I find if I roll out for a minute are two, it makes the stretching more effective.

Take 128 seconds to watch the video on:

==>  Travel Tool for Trigger Points

If you are looking for a trigger point course, make sure to check out the upcoming course on the topic in April.

Muscle Imbalances Revealed Review

Muscle Imbalances Revealed 2.0 has been out for 4 months and the kind words about the program keep coming in.

I just got another great review for MIR2.

“Product Muscle Imbalances Revealed by Rick Kaselj is complete and is an important tool in my repertoire of works in practice. It is easy to use and understand. The various presentations allow us to touch a wide variety of muscle imbalances that may apply to both a general sports population. Its content will be definitely very helpful to me to optimize the training of my clients.”

Xavier Roy
Montreal, Quebec
Performance Specialist

Xavier did a detailed review of the MIR2 resource.  To read the full review from Xavier, click here.

The cool thing was Xavier’s review was all in French.  I am from Western Canada and did learn French in grade school but it has been some time since I have had to use it.  I used an online translator to help me translate things.

Thank you for the kind words, Xavier!

Helping People with Shoulder Pain

As you know, I am very passionate about helping people with their shoulder injuries and pain.  It is great to hear when those with shoulder pain follow my Scapular Stabilization Exercise Program and get the results they are looking for.

“I used Scapular Stabilization Exercise Program on myself and it was very helpful. My right serratus anterior is a lot bigger than my left, probably because I kept training while I had problems with my supraspinatus.  My right scapula used to move really bad, I would feel a tingle around the medial border when I would abduct my arm. I used the program and no more tingling anymore. My right shoulder complex still isnt 100%, but it’s a lot better.”

Thanks again,
Nick Mudaliar

Few Kind Words for the Exercise Rehabilitation Courses

I have a little break from courses but here are a few kind words from a Pilates instructor who attended my Exercise Rehabilitation of the Lower Back and Shoulder.

If you are looking for upcoming courses:

==>  Upcoming Fitness Education Courses

That is it.

If you have any feedback, positive or negative, make sure to send it to me at support(at)exercisesforinjuries.com .

Take care.

Rick Kaselj, MS

Balance Training for the Rehab Client

DESCRIPTION:

OBJECTIVES:

I received another email asking how to start teaching fitness education courses.

I think that this is the third one I have received.

I am guessing it is a sign that I need to do a blog post on it.

So let’s give this a go.

Where it All Started

Way back in 1997, I graduated from university.  I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University.

While I was working in a physical therapy clinic, I realized that I had not learned much about practical skills while in school.  I learned quite a lot about anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, etc.  But I did not learn much like this: you have this injury or problem, so do this exercise.

I learned a lot about the exercise side of things on the job, from the physical therapists I worked with, from other Kinesiologists, and from my own research.

My boss at the time saw all of the work that I was doing and asked if I wanted to do an in-service for the physical therapy clinic.

I said, “Sure” and gave it a go.

I worked on a presentation about exercises with the stability ball for clients with injuries.

I was worried about presenting in front of all the physical therapists. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to answer their questions.  I worried if they would like what I had to present.  I worried if they would care about what I had to present.

My worries were wasted, as the in-service went well and was well recieved by all.

I found that I really enjoyed the research, turning the research into practice, and the teaching side of things.

Since I already had the first presentation done, I contacted the university I graduated from and asked if they would like me to present a two-hour course to the Kinesiology students at Simon Fraser University.

The university like the idea and so did the students.  We set aside an evening and I presented the same course that I had presented at the physical therapy clinic.

The students had fun.  I had fun.  I really enjoyed presenting and wanted to find out how I could do more.

That led to all of my courses and then to the creation of Exercises For Injuries.

I think now I have 14 main courses with a focus on exercises and injuries.  I can’t remember how many courses I have taught and how many fitness professionals have attended, but I still look forward to each presentation that I do.

It’s funny to look back at the two pictures above.  In the one at the very top, you can see me demonstrating some of the exercises to the students.  In the one just above this, you can see me chatting about the shoulder.  Even way back then, I was excited about the shoulder.

Let me share some tips with you on how to get started teaching fitness education courses.

#1 – What Is Your Specialization?

You need to focus on something.  As you know, mine is exercises and injuries.  There was a time that I lost focus and started doing all kinds of fitness education courses.  Doing everything will end up spreading you too thin and makes it difficult for people to know what you are best in.

You need to find out what your specialization is.

You can do this by:

1. Looking at the clients that you love working with.
2. Figuring out what aspect of fitness excites you most.
3. Deciding what part of fitness you want to be the leader in.

After you have done this, it will be easier for you to determine who you can approach to help out.

#2 – Do Some In-services

Now that you have your specialization, you can ask some fitness centres, physical therapy clinics, or recreation centres if they would be interested in an in-service on your specialization.

Let’s say you love dumbbell training.  You like thinking of different and unique ways to use dumbbells to exercise with.  You find most people use dumbells for boring bodybuilding exercises but you have developed ways that you can use dumbbells that are exciting, fun, unique, different, and which lead to faster results.

You can approach a fitness centre and ask if you could talk to the person in charge of staff education.  When you meet him or her, introduce yourself, let them know your specialization, share your idea with them, and ask if you could do a free in-service for their staff one evening.  Most fitness centre managers are always looking for fun and exciting things for their staff  – especially if it does not cost them anything.

Yes, at the start, you will have to do things for free or for a small honorarium.

Doing a few in-services at no charge will give you practice on presenting, will give you a chance to test things out, and will allow you to get feedback from people so that you can improve.

If I were to do it over again, this is how I would start.

From this point, you can have your own weekend courses or present at conferences.

Let me know if you want me to talk about the next step in presenting fitness education courses.

Rick Kaselj, MS

P.S. – If you want to check out the fitness education courses that I present:

==>  Fitness Education Courses

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Exercise Rehabilitation of the Ankle and Foot

DESCRIPTION:

OBJECTIVES:

I know these days we all get lost surfing the internet.

A site I visit, and visit to often, is Pub Med.

Pub Med is a site that is full of the latest and oldest research.  I always go to take a look at what is new when it comes to exercise and injuries.

I know, kind of strange.

One injury I have been seeing more of is tendinosis.

Just last week I got an email from a fitness professional that does group fitness classes that has had 5 months worth of Achilles tendinitis issues from all the step classes she has been doing.  My guess, it is Achilles tendinosis.

So, I will call the increase in tendinosis as Prediction #7 in Exercise Rehabilitation 2011.

Tendinitis versus Tendinosis

The first step is to define what tendinitis is and tendinosis is.

Better yet, I found a table that describes it much better than I could.

Read the rest of this entry »

How Can Hip Injuries Be the New Injury of Choice?

Hip Fractures are on the Rise

Hip Pain and the Lower Back

Read the rest of this entry »

These prediction things are fun, but I do believe that this is where things are going.

I had a friend comment on my Facebook wall earlier this week that talked about the stupid trainer; plus I remember 3 blog posts in 2010 where bloggers talked about the stupid personal trainer.

In 2011, we will see the further end of the stupid trainer.

I am not sure what it is in health and fitness, but personal trainers being treated as the bottom of the barrel, or the weakest link in the system, seems to be common place.

Knowledge is on the Rise

I have been teaching fitness education courses since 1999.

Way back in the day, I would see many personal trainers with just their certification.

Yes, those online or two day certifications.

Now it is becoming more and more of a rarity.

More people with advanced university education, like a Kinesiology, Human Kinetics, or Physical Education degree, are entering into personal training.

This is a good thing overall but a degree is not everything, it is a nice start.

A Degree Does Not Mean You Are a Smart Personal Trainer

I remember training a new personal trainer and asked where his biceps was and he pointed to his quadriceps.

Yes, the trainer had a degree.

Just like with every profession, you get the full spectrum of people.

Some people lead the profession, some follow the profession, some are lost in the profession, and some should go into management.

I think a degree gives you a very solid foundation to build on your personal training career but what is more important is constantly learning, improving your skills, and gathering experience.  This can be done with or without a degree.  Some of the personal trainers I look up to in my area do not have a degree.  They have a passion to specialize in an area, and they have learned everything they can in this area.

Read the rest of this entry »

Box of Books Sale

I was cleaning out my basement yesterday.

Yes, I know, a very fitting thing to do on Boxing Day.

I was cleaning it out because we have decided to take on the basement.

With our second child, my office has been bumped out of one the bedrooms and into the basement.

So we will work on building an office for me in the basement for 2011.

While I was digging in things, I came across of box of my books.

The books in the box are:

Since I am clearing out the basement so we can start working on the basement, the box of books has to go.

It would be a huge waste if I just chucked them into recycling.

Each of the books regularly sells for:

• $26.73 (including taxes and shipping) if you live in Canada or the USA
• $36.46 (including taxes and shipping) if you live outside of Canada or the USA

If you are interested in the books, I will sell them to you less than my cost to get them printed.

I am selling each of them for:

• $9.95 (including tax and shipping) if you live in Canada or the USA
• $19.95 (including tax and shipping) if you live outside of Canada or the USA

Plus if you order them, I will send you the digital copy of the book as well so you can have it on your computer for reference.

So this is the deal

1) If you would like to order one or more of the books from the “box of books”:

SOLD OUT if you live in Canada or the USA

SOLD OUT if you live outside of Canada or the USA

2) In the Comments/Special Delivery Instructions, let me know which of the books you would like.

3) I will put the books in the mail by the end of the week.

4) I will send you the digital version of the books that you ordered by early next week.

5) This is how long it should take to get to you after it has been mailed:

• Canada – 3 to 5 business days
• USA – 7 to 10 business days
• International – 10 to 20 business days

6) The books in the box will be this price until Friday. After that, that is it.

Thanks for helping me out.

Rick Kaselj, MS

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Injury-Free Running

DESCRIPTION:
Within a year, 65% of runners will be injured to a point where they will need to reduce their training. This 7-hour session will allow participants to develop an understanding of the mechanics involved in running, how to assess the runner, training and recovery techniques and dynamic warm-up exercises. In addition, exercise rehabilitation of common running injuries like IT band syndrome, hip flexor tightness, plantar fasciitis and shin splints will be covered. This course is designed for fitness and rehabilitation professionals that would like learn how to train their clients to run injury-free. Join Ironman finisher and outdoor adventurer, Rick Kaselj, as he helps to keep you and your running clients injury-free.

OBJECTIVES:

• The mechanics of running
• How to assess runners
• Run training and recovery techniques
• Dynamic warm-up exercises will be discussed and demonstrated
• Exercise programs for IT band syndrome, hip flexor tightness, plantar fasciitis and shin splints

Please note: During the class we will perform running and joint assessments. It is important to wear clothing that allows for an accurate running assessment and joint assessment. Please wear shorts or biking shorts, and a t-shirt or sports top along with running shoes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Prediction #1:

Exercise Rehabilitation on the Rise

In 2011, we will see more and more people with injuries heading to fitness professionals for help.

Experts in Exercise Rehabilitation

Consumers will be looking for people that are experts in exercise rehabilitation.

They will look for, and demand that, the fitness professional knows their injury, understands what their injury is, knows what to do about it and can help them over come it.

If you do not know, they will move onto the next fitness professionals.

If you do know what to do with injuries, it will lead to a long term client.

You will be able to help them overcome their injury and things will progress to you helping them with other health and fitness goals – like weight loss, fat loss, increase energy, increase strength, training for a dream and increasing flexibility.

Exercises Rehabilitation is the Answer

Read the rest of this entry »

17 Strategies to Getting Medical Referrals Using Social Media

DESCRIPTION:

Online meeting places and community sites are often thought of as places to put goofy pictures that your friends can see. But nowadays, the use of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, forums and blogs can be an effective and inexpensive way to increase your profile, helping you build relationships with your clients and making it easier for potential clients to find you and see how you can help them with their injuries.  In this idea packed video presentation, the fitness professionals will get an action list of how they can use social media to get more exercise rehabilitation clients.

OBJECTIVES:

I was trying to think about what to write about today.

At first I did not know what to write, but as I reflected on the week before the ideas started coming in.

Last Weekend with Mike Robertson

The feedback from last weekend has been incredible.

My and Mike’s Facebook pages were plastered with all kinds of kind words from people that attended.

I do enjoy bringing the best to Vancouver to help trainers, coaches, and therapists learn from the best.

Mike Robertson is one of the best.

If you missed out on last weekend, here is a clip from it:

The Next Big Name

After hosting Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson for 2010, people have been asking about who I am going to bring next.

It is Justin Price.

He will be coming to Vancouver in March 2011.

Even Mike Robertson Had a Good Time in Vancouver

Since I know how it is to be a presenter and host courses, I do all I can to make it easy for people that I host to present fitness education courses.

I did the best I could with Mike as well, and it sounds like it turned out well.

Mike did a very kind review of his weekend teaching in Vancouver, CLICK HERE to read it.

So Many Thank You’s

I think my family are the only ones that know how much time I put into blogging, doing videos, and Facebook.

It is great to hear that it is helping people.

Please do keep letting me know what you would like me to write on and help with.

More Kind Words

With the end of the year coming, I have been marking Muscle Imbalances Revealed exams like crazy.

Trainers, coaches, and therapists have been trying to get in their CECs and CEUs before the end of the year.

This is what a few people have said about Muscle Imbalances Revealed:

“Great review about the lower extremity from many perspectives and how it all ties together.  It was great to learn different assessment and treatment techniques to use.”

Martha Andrews, PT, MA, MPT, CSCS, CPT

Physical therapist, exercise physiologist, Personal Trainer

Lansing, MI, USA

“I will use Muscle Imbalances Revealed to rehabilitate my clients to full functional capacity.  MIR has helped me look at the causes and not the symptoms, a holistic approach.”

Christina Holmes

Practicing Kinesiologist

Surrey, BC, Canada

I think that is it for this week.

Until next week.

Have a great weekend getting ready for Christmas.

Take care.

Rick Kaselj, MS

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