This one is for those dealing with foot pain, calf pain, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, or maybe your running/sprint form needs a ground-up makeover. Whether it's pain or performance issues residing in the lower body, if the foot isn't working properly, the hip can't do its job properly.Most people get too nervous about pronation of the fo...
Achilles Tendinopathy Treatment
Contrary to what has been preached for years, it is now known that interventions such as rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medications and electrical stimulation will not solve the problem of tendinopathy. The application of these interventions was based upon the assumption that inflammation within connective tissue or joints was created by repetitive m...
Chiropractors - More than "Back Doctors"
"I thought chiropractors only treated backs." This is one of the most common statements we hear in our office. Considering chiropractic is rooted in the treatment of the spine and that the majority of chiropractors treat spine-related conditions, this line of thinking is naturally expected. However, at Gallagher Performance we do things differently...
Stretching Won't Solve Your Tight Muscles
What you need to know: Many healthcare providers and trainers poorly understand why someone 'feels tight'. Dealing with muscle tightness is not as simple as just stretching.
Why Muscles Become Tight
The human body is designed to move and movement requires varying amounts of stability and motion. When movement occurs, patterns of stability and motion can occur in efficient or inefficient ways. As structures accommodate movement, the load placed on everything from joints to muscles and tendons to nerves changes and these changes can produce symptoms. In the process of wanting to avoid symptoms, the body will often develop compensation patterns. A common result of this compensation process is the feeling of being 'tight' or 'tension'. This tension serves a protective role, thus it is referred to as protective tension.
The development of protective tension and the reason behind its presentation is one of the least understood mechanisms in musculoskeletal care. The body is smart enough to constantly monitor loads and prevent excessive load of any given structure to ultimately help prevent injury. If you are feeling 'tight', there is a reason and your body is sending you a signal. However, many people will ignore this signal until more pressing issues develop, such as pain. So how does one handle a muscle that 'feels tight'? Unfortunately, the solution is not as simple as just stretching. Stretching often provides temporary relief because of underlying joint dysfunction, stability and/or mobility deficits, or muscular weaknesses that need addressed.
Trigger Points: A Good Thing in a Poorly Functioning System
"Trigger points are a good thing in a poorly functioning system." - Brett Winchester, DC One of my favorite quotes I've heard. Period.Identification and treatment of muscular trigger points is often a common therapeutic intervention of physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, and other physical medicine providers. There's an en...
Drop the Confusion, Athletes Need Consistency for Efficiency
What you need to know: Neural efficiency is the key to becoming a better athlete, this is known as athletic mastery.Mastery requires time, intelligent programming, hard work, and dedication to consistency. Consistency Matters The primary goal of any athletic and strength development program should be neural efficiency. Fact of the matter is t...
The Functional Approach in Rehab & Sports Therapy
FUNCTION IS AS REAL AS ANATOMY The way our body functions is as real as our anatomy. There are some that like to act or state that "function" or "functional training" are fitness industry buzz words. They make light of the concept. And rightly so, as most of what is labeled as "functional training" has very little to do w...
Pain-Free Training Is A Myth
There seems to be a growing number of programs and trainers touting how they offer ‘pain-free training’ and that anything less than what they offer is simply inferior by design.
Any intelligent trainer, coach, or therapist will acknowledge the value of proper training to ensure no serious orthopedic issues develop. No one wants their clients becoming pain patients. Proper training is multi-faceted from proper form to proper exercise selection to proper volume and loading parameters. These are a given. These are essential to ensuring we minimize injury risk and improve tissue resilience.
However the reality is if you are going to push your body to new levels of performance, you are going to feel it. It’s going to be uncomfortable. It’s going to hurt at times. If you aren’t looking to better yourself, why are you even training in the first place? Essentially at the heart of training is pushing your body to a place it’s never been before. There aren’t many people out there who have pushed their bodies in training who haven’t ended up ‘feeling it’ in the form of soreness, physical discomfort, and yes - at times - pain.
By all means, yes, we shouldn’t train recklessly. We should be practical and intelligent in our execution of a training plan. But we also shouldn’t be alarmed and fear we are doing something terribly wrong when we deal with discomfort, aches and pains. It comes with the territory of pushing our bodies to new levels of fitness or performance. This is why recovery methods and seeking out qualified professional care from sports/rehab chiropractors, massage therapists, and physical therapists can do wonders for helping our bodies better manage the stress of training. ——
No one wants to be in pain, but push yourself hard enough for long enough, you’ll feel it. We need to understand better pain education, how to be more realistic with training expectations, and how to manage the stress of our bodies to avoid serious pain or orthopedic problems.
For more related reading:
https://gallagherperformance.com/the-site-of-pain-is-rarely-the-source-of-pain/
https://gallagherperformance.com/15-minutes-of-exercise-or-8-hours-of-pain/
https://gallagherperformance.com/groin-pain-rehabilitation/
https://gallagherperformance.com/pain-indicates-a-health-problem-not-a-fitness-problem/
Single-Leg Hip Thrust Technique Fix
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmkt-yv3JZ0[/embed]
Nothing beats properly performed squats, deadlifts, lunges, and RDLs for glutes that not only look great but work even better. Proper glute function is critical to hip extension that is prevalent in every day life (walking, sit to stand, hip hinge, lifting) as well as sport (running, sprinting, throwing, jumping, skating) Problem is most people don’t perform the big exercises well and therefore resort to ways to “activate” or better “isolate” glute function. This is why hip thrusts exist. They have their place when used with a plan and purpose. The single leg hip thrust is an advanced progression that is often performed incorrectly. The biggest mistake being the unleveling of the hips that can occur during the movement. By using the external cue of a tennis ball, we can promote better technique that results in improved muscular coordination of the glutes and core. This translates into more efficient movement mechanics, not only in this exercise, but in life and sport as well. Hopefully the video explains the set-up and execution well enough for you to give it a try.
For more related reading:
https://gallagherperformance.com/resetting-bodys-function-post-injury/
https://gallagherperformance.com/dns-solves-pain-improves-performance/
https://gallagherperformance.com/the-essentials-of-hamstring-rehab/
https://gallagherperformance.com/the-best-exercise/