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The ultimate guide to improving ankle dorsiflexion with a combined approach of self-myofascial exercises, stretching, and ankle mobility exercises
Shoulder instability is a common injury encountered in physical therapy. But there are many different types of shoulder instability.
Would you treat a high school baseball player that feels like their shoulder is loose when throwing the same as a 35 year old that fell on ice onto an outstretched arm and dislocated their shoulder? They’re both “shoulder instability,” right?
There exists a wide range of symptomatic shoulder instabilities from subtle recurrent subluxations to traumatic dislocations. Nonoperative rehabilitation is commonly utilized for shoulder instability to regain previous functional activities through specific strengthening exercises, dynamic stabilization drills, neuromuscular training, proprioception drills, scapular muscle strengthening program and a gradual return to their desired activities.
But to truly understand how to successfully treat shoulder instability, there are several key factors that you must consider.
Physical therapy can span a wide spectrum, ranging from injury rehabilitation, to injury prevention, and even performance enhancement. To truly help people get the most out of their bodies, we need to focus on all three of those. But many of us don’t, and if you’re one of them, I think you may be really missing the boat. It’s not enough to simply try to restore someone to their previous baseline. That’s “traditional” physical therapy if you ask me. Performance physical therapy not only restores function, but also works on optimizing and enhancing performance. That’s the key difference to me.
Shoulder impingement is a really broad term that is used too often. It has become such a commonly used junk term, such as “patellofemoral pain.”
Unfortunately, the use of such a broad term as a diagnosis is not helpful to determine the treatment process. There is no magical “shoulder impingement protocol” that you can pull out of your notebook and apply to a specific person.
I wish it were that simple.
To make the treatment process for shoulder impingement a little more simple, there are 3 things that I typically consider to classify and differentiate shoulder impingement.
While recent research is showing similar results between physical therapy and surgery for a meniscus tear, there are still certain patients that would benefit from surgery. Not every patient, or meniscus tear, is the same. Here’s what we know about who will respond best from surgery, or physical therapy after a meniscus tear.
The latest Inner Circle webinar recording on 5 Keys to Returning to Sport After a Knee Surgery is now available.
Subacromial decompression surgery is a very common procedure performed for people with shoulder pain. The procedure is often recommended for people with “impingement syndrome” and was originally theorized to open up the subacromial space and help reduce biomechanical impingement. But recent research has challenged the effectiveness of the procedure, and even the diagnosis of “subacromial impingement” itself.
I’m really excited to be launching my brand new course for rehabilitation and fitness professionals looking to help people restore, optimize, and enhance performance. It’s my Introduction to Performance Therapy Training course. And you know what the best part is??? It’s absolutely FREE! I want to help. When we started our facility at Champion PT and Performance, one of our biggest goals was to develop a simple system for our physical therapists and strength coaches to help people move and perform better. My Introduction to Performance Therapy and Training program will teach you our 4-step system at Champion to assure you have everything you need to start helping people move and perform better.
I help people feel better, move better, and perform better. I want to help you learn to do the same.
