I have got a lot of great feedback from my last post on knee pain, knee injuries and ACL injuries.

If you missed it, you can check it out here.

Overview of Knee Pain

The knee is the largest joint in the human body. In the most recent report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the knee is also one of the most commonly injured joints. Each year, more than 5.5 million orthopaedic visits are made due to knee injuries. The joint’s high susceptibility to injuries is mainly attributed to its intrinsic anatomical structure and its function during weight-bearing. Moreover, because of the increasing problem of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, knee injuries are one of the leading causes of disability in modern society.

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Exercise Rehabilitation of the Elbow & Wrist

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Hey, it is Friday, lets ramble.

Well, let me ramble.

More Rambles about Facebook

It is very cool to get comments like this on my Facebook account:

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I just got the latest issue of BCAK Kinnected magazine.

There were a lot of great articles in it and they also were kind enough to publish one of mine on abdominal hallowing and hamstring injuries.

I don’t know why I keep typing hallowing, it should be hollowing.

Since it has been printed in the magazine, I am now able to share it with you.

It is one of those research summaries that I have done a number of times and fitness professionals have liked them.

Lower Abdominal Hollowing During Prone Hip Extension May Prevent Hamstring Injuries

What is the Big Deal?

Details of the Study

Exercise Rehabilitation of the Neck

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Exercise Rehabilitation of the Lower Back

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Exercise Rehabilitation of the Shoulder

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“Nearly 6 million people a year visit their doctor for shoulder pain, strains, dislocations or other shoulder related problems”

In the Exercise Rehabilitation of the Shoulder course, functional anatomy of the shoulder joint will be reviewed. In addition, common shoulder injuries (frozen shoulder, shoulder impingement, rotator cuff tear and shoulder instability) will be discussed, and rehabilitative principles and exercises for each will be presented.

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Foundations of Upper Body Conditioning

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Here is another edition of Rick’s Rambles.

This has been fun to do.

You can see one of my past ones, here.

Have a look at this one, it is my 3rd ramble but 151st blog post.

Fun on Facebook

I am big into Facbook.

A lot of times when I am bored, I will go on Facbook to see what others are doing.

I am also adding a lot more stuff on injuries and exercises over there.

I try to put up a quote of the day and an article that I have read that day.  A lot of people are getting a lot of benefit from all the stuff I am putting up.

If you are looking for some more stuff on exercises and injuries, make sure to visit my Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/Rick.Kaselj

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ACL Injuries in Females

Over the last decade, torn and ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in female athletes have increased at an alarming rate.

5 Intrinsic factors that Lead to ACL Injuries in Females

I was contacted by a fellow fitness professional, John Izzo.

He asked me to review his new DVD on lunging.

It is always great to give a fellow fitness professional feedback on one of their products.

I know how much time goes into researching and developing them.

Since he sent me one of his DVDs, I sent him my Core Stability for the Rehab Client DVD set.

John was nice enough to review it and had some nice words to say about it:

“Rick Kaselj is a great exercise physiologist from Canada and a great presenter. His 3-disc DVD set Core Stability for the Rehab Client is a fantastic resource for trainers that work with anyone demonstrating postural deficiencies and post rehabilitative status.” – John Izzo

You can check out what else he had to say by clicking here.

Now to a review of John’s lunge DVD.

Initial Thoughts on Lunging to Improved Performance

I didn’t know what to expect from this DVD.

To be honest, I was not too excited about watching a video on lunging. I wondered how much more could I learn about the lunge and will this DVD give me any more information to help my clients.

To my surprise I learned a lot!

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When I was down at the NFBA conference in Seattle, Washington.  I swung by Kirkland, Washington to visit my friend Belton Lubas and Rommel Acada.  They both attended a fitness education course that I had hosted a few years back in New Westminster, BC, Canada.

Since then I have ran into Belton in Orlando, Florida.  We did an interview there as well, you can check it out here: exercise rehabilitation interview .

I have know Belton for two years.  It seems like every time I see him, he interviews me.  While visiting his facility, we did another video interview.

Interview with Me by Belton Lubas of Element 5 Fitness

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On Tuesday, the Muscle Imbalances Revealed will officially go on sale at 9 am EST at the one-time grand opening sale, but…

Today’s your one and only chance to win a copies of “Muscle Imbalances Revealed”.

“Why Muscle Imbalances Revealed would be the perfect resource to finally help you with your clients with injuries, fitness plateaus and prevent injuries?”

It has been a bit of a crazy week.

I have been in Orange County at a Fitness Conference.  It was a little more than a fitness conference, it was a fitness mastermind group.

After the fitness mastermind in Los Angles, I was off to Seattle for a fitness business conference.  The people presenting were Tom Plummer and Bill Parisi.

Just Marked Her Rotator Cuff exam

The great thing about the scoliosis and rotator cuff manuals that I have written, I have been able to help people with these injuries and fitness professionals better understand these injuries.  These manuals have helped people around the world.  I just sent off a scoliosis manual to Seol, Korea.  How cool is that.

Here are a few kind words from a fitness professional in Calgary, Alberta, Canada had to say about the Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises.

“Thanks Rick!  Always great to read your manuals though – I find them very thorough and I really like the progression that you write them in – anatomy, purpose of exercising, etc.”

Fiona Yeoman
Wellness trainer, Kinesiologist
Talisman Centre, Calgary

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What Exercise is Ideal for Clients with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome due to Muscle Imbalances

Approximately 60% of athletes have patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) sometime in their life, and a long line of research has shown that PFPS is primarily caused by muscle imbalances in the vastus medialis oblique (VMO) and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles.

Highlights of the Study

Other Amazing Stats about Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

These random thoughts things have been fun.

I don’t think anyone reads them but I enjoy sharing and writing.

Hip Replacement

I got an email from a Kinesiologist in Regina, Saskatchewan who specializes in training clients with hip and knee replacement.

She had taken the Core Stability of the Hip webinar and is using the concepts and exercises with her hip and knee replacement clients.

If you are looking at increasing your understanding, confidence and getting some exercises for clients with hip and knee replacements, I would recommend Jody Kennett.

Jody Kennett, is a fitness professional that has a specialization working with clients with hip and knee replacements.

She will be presenting her The Joint Replacement Client: Pre & Post-op Exercise Guidelines on November 6 in New Westminster, BC.

I have taken the course twice and I highly recommend the it.

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Muscle Tightness: Overactive Fatigue vs. Dysfunctional Stiffness – Part 2

Here is part 2 of Dean Sommerset’s blog post for you.

If you missed what he talked about in part 1, CLICK HERE.

As the wheel loses that stability, it becomes “out of true” and winds up warping and not working too well.

What Happens First when Your Back Hurts

So if my hamstrings were tight to make up for my low back, stretching them without stabilizing my back would actually make the problem worse. Normally, when something happens to make my back start to hurt, the first thing that happens is that my glutes and hamstrings tighten up almost immediately. The first thing I do is start to do some light core activation work and spinal stabilization work, and magically my hamstrings feel better!!

What to do if the Muscle is Stiff Due to Disuse?

If the muscles are stiff from disuse, This could be considered a pathological condition as the muscle has undergone degenerative changes to its’ structure, as well as to the fascial envelope around each fibre. The best thing is not simply static stretching to gain length, but a series of active stretches to engage that muscle and the ones around it. This helps to reset the neuromechanical transmitters to lower the tone of the muscle and allow it to re-gain its’ strength and ability to contract and relax properly. This is the type of tight muscle that should be stretched.

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I was talking about that project coming up.

Another person involved in Kevin Yates.

Here is a clip from Kevin’s webinar lower body assessment for muscle imbalances:

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Exercises for Shoulder Impingement

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The shoulder is one of the most injured joints in the body.  One of the most common injuries to the shoulder is shoulder impingement.  A key component in the recovery from shoulder impingement is exercise.  The role of exercise for shoulder impingement is key in helping speed up recovery, decreases pain, improving movement, increasing strength and creating stability around the shoulder joint.  The focus of the Exercises for Shoulder Impingement webinar will be exercise program design and exercises for a client that has shoulder impingement.

What you will learn during the webinar:

- A 12 week shoulder impingement exercise program that you can use right away with you shoulder impingement clients
- The exercises to DO and NOT do when training a client recovering from shoulder impingement
- Essential components of an exercise rehabilitation program when training a client recovering from shoulder impingement
- Recommended and research backed exercises when training a client recovering from shoulder impingement
- Key structures involved in shoulder impingement

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What Makes Up the Lower Back?

It is difficult to fully understand a lumbar spinal fusion without briefly discussing the normal anatomy of the spine. The vertebral or spinal column consists of 33 bones called vertebrae. Each are that stacked on top each other to for them spine. The spine, which extends from the base of skull to the pelvis, has four regions: the cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine and the sacrum. Between each vertebra are the flat and circular plates of cartilage called the interverbral discs. Intervetebral discs maintain the integrity and continuity of the spine by holding one vertebra to the next. It acts as an effective cushion that absorbs shock and pressure placed by the everyday movements of the back. This disc also makes bending and head rotations possible.

The lumbar spine makes up the lower back, extending from the lumbar curve down to the sacrum. Among the four regions of the spine, the lumbar region endures the greatest stress. Carrying the entire body weight, this region is supported by the five thickest and sturdiest of all vertebrae of the spinal column. It has also been determined that the intervertebral discs between two adjacent lumbar vertebrae are the thickest. Attaching to the lumbar vertebra are some of the largest stabilizing muscles of the lower back, which include the lumbar erector spinae, psoas and quadratus lumborum. Because the greatest amount of work and stress are placed against this region of the spine, the lumbar spine is most susceptible to injuries and structural alterations.

How Common is Spinal Fusion Surgery?

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