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.

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I took an hour off to head into the coffee shop and look at some journals.

I am sitting here, listening to Christmas music and checking out what is new in the journal world.

Here we go with the first article.

Do the Buns in a Pitcher Affect the Shoulder?

What They Looked At

They looked at the relationship of how the movement of the pelvis and torso (trunk) affected the shoulder in high school pitchers during the pitching movement.

Cool Points

I like reading the discussion of a research paper as there are always really cool things in there, like this:

- the trunk leads to 50% of the kinetic energy and force produced during throwing

What They Found

They found that the rate of torso rotation strongly related with the shoulders.

Baseball pitchers may exhibit a decreased ability in controlling torso rotation which increases the risk of shoulder injuries.

They feel high school pitchers, when performing their strength training, should focus on creating a strong core, including gluteus maximus, in an attempt to control the rate of torso rotation.

Take Home Message

I think the above results can translate over to others, even if you are not a high school baseball player.

Torso Rotation – Working on torso rotation is important for all.  Doing exercises that work concentrically, eccentrically and isometically is very important to prevent shoulder and lower back injuries.  You can do this with plank variations.

Gluteus Maximus Work – It is important to do gluteus maximus work in your exercise program.  It has to be more than just squats and deadlifts.  Single leg work is more transferable to real life when it comes to gluteus maximus.

Where to get more info – Oliver GD, Keeley DW. (2010). Pelvis and torso kinematics and their relationship to shoulder kinematics in high-school baseball pitchers. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Dec;24(12):3241-6.

I go through some of the gluteus exercises I use in The Most Effective Gluteus Maximus Exercises :

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I came across this video from Ryan Murdock.

Ryan is a bodyweight coach.

In his video he does a lot great exercises for the wrist.

Rick Kaselj, MS.

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In September, I had three great presentations at the BCRPA Fitness Conference.

The feedback was amazing.

BCRPA Fitness Conference Presentation on Shoulder Injuries and Exercises:

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I have been doing research this week.

A colleague, Brenda Adams, emailed me and asked if I had any reference on what muscle is being used during the bench press.

I know what muscle works, but I did not know if what I knew was right; so I hit the books.

I found the answer but also some information on grip and bench press; plus which is better  – machines or free weights – when it comes to the bench press.

Enjoy!

What Muscles Are Working during Different Bench Presses?

What They Looked at

This experiment investigated the effects of varying bench inclination and hand spacing on the EMG activity of five muscles acting at the shoulder joint.

What They Did

Six male weight trainers performed bench presses under four conditions of trunk inclination and two of hand spacing at 80% of their predetermined maximum.

What They Found

- The sternocostal head of the pectoralis major was more active during the press from a horizontal bench than from a decline bench.

- The clavicular head of the pectoralis major was no more active during the incline bench press than during the horizontal one, but it was less active during the decline bench press.

- The clavicular head of the pectoralis major was more active with a narrow hand spacing.

- Anterior deltoid activity tended to increase as trunk inclination increased.

- The long head of the triceps brachii was more active during the decline and flat bench presses than the other two conditions, and was also more active with a narrow hand spacing.

- Latissimus dorsi exhibited low activity in all conditions.

Where to get more information – Barnett C. (1995). Effects of variations of the bench press exercise on the EMG activity of five shoulder muscles. 1995 Nov;9(4):10-14. (Yes, it is an oldie but a goodie.  Let me know if you have something more recent.)

If the research above interested you, make sure to get my free seminar that I did on exercise and shoulder injuries, you can get it here.

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Another research update.

I am so glad I take the time to do this.

There is all kinds of great stuff that comes out every week.

The Problem with Overtraining Your Abs

The article focused on those performing Olympic lifts but they did bring up some interesting points that can be carried over to injured client.

In order to hold a load over head you need good stability in the flexors and extensors of the trunk plus good deceleration of the flexors of the truck.  Not being able to do so increases your risk of injury and decreases you ability to hold a load overhead.  This is important for the athlete but also the general public.  Overhead movements are essential for all and have been avoided of late in the fitness industry due to the perceived risk of injury.  I make sure I do a least one over head pressing movement with my clients but if your client can’t do a proper overhead weighted movement make sure to look at their trunk flexors and extensors.

Many times truck flexion (abdominals) exercises are done on a daily basis while lower back exercises maybe done 2 to 3 times a week.  This leads to muscle imbalances in the flexion and extension muscles of the trunk.  This imbalance could lead to an alteration in the tilt in the pelvis which had an effect on latissiums dorsi which an increase the risk of injury in the shoulder.

The writers provided a sample exercise program to train the trunk flexors and extensors.  The exercises were lever abdominals, medicine ball seated twists, bridge with arms lifted, marching bridge with arms lifted, dumbbell farmer’s walk, supine weighted extended hold, hyperextensions with arms out straight , hyperextension to row with
weight (medicine ball or plate), hyperextension with weight (plate or medicine ball), and barbell over head circle walks.

I wrote a little report on core training that may interest you.  Here you go:

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I just finished off my review of last weeks journals.  I have chatted about what I do in a previous post.  I talk about it in my 6 Must Read Journals for Exercise and Injuries .

I came across two articles that are great and will be helpful when it comes to neck pain, shoulder pain, scapular stabilization and poor posture.

Lets get to the two articles.

Can Head Posture Affects Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain and Scapular Muscles?

In this research they assessed the effects of forward head posture in a sitting position on the activity of the scapular upward rotators during loaded isometric shoulder flexion in the sagittal plane.

Three Keys I Got Out of This Articles:

#1 – With forward head posture there increase in EMG (muscle activity) activity in the upper trapezius and lower trapezius and a decrease EMG activity in the serratus anterior during loaded isometric shoulder flexion.

#2 – Forward head posture may contribute to neck and shoulder pain during loaded shoulder flexion in sitting.  This can be an issue for all of us.  Poor head posture could be lead to neck pain and shoulder pain when driving, working and being at our computers.

#3 – Neutral head position is advantageous in reducing upper and lower trapezius activity and enhancing serratus anterior activity as compared with forward head posture during loaded shoulder flexion

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I got  a guest post for you.

It is from Ben Greenfield.  I have been reading his stuff for some time and I asked him to send me a blog post.

I liked it and I know you will as well.  It talks about inflammation which is a huge issue in recovery from injuries, enjoy.

How To Recover Like Wolverine From X-Men

By Ben Greenfield, MS – Author of The Bulletproof Knee & Run With No Pain

Let’s make just one giant assumption and assume that you know all about Wolverine from X-Men.

You know he possesses animal-keen senses.

You know he competes like a super-human weapon.

You know he has retracting bone claws made from space-age metal.

And, perhaps, most importantly, you know he possesses a special healing factor that allows him to quickly recover from virtually any wound, disease or toxin.

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One of the presenters of Muscle Imbalances Revealed, Eric Beard, just finished up this great video:

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Exercise Rehabilitation of the Elbow & Wrist

DESCRIPTION:

OBJECTIVES:

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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