Some great core exercises, good resource links, and a questionable newspaper article regarding concussions

Here are some items that I came across recently that I thought may be of interest to you: The standard Pallof press (or cable press) is probably one of my favorite exercises. Well, Nick Tumminello has taken this exercise and added to it. He has taken the traditional exercise and added a frontal plane component [...]

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Have you gotten on the train yet?

I have long had an interest in body’s myofascial system and have pursued continuing education on this subject. I often use myofascial release techniques as part of my treatment programming. One book that helps to lay out the body’s myofascial system and puts it on a “shelf that everyone can reach” is Anatomy Trains by [...]

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Concussion Management Changes in Michigan High School Sports

As both an Athletic Trainer and a sports official, I was very pleased to see some of the changes that the state of Michigan is implementing regarding concussion management. Here is a link to a news article covering this story. Here is a link to Michigan’s protocol for handling players with concussions. In the past, [...]

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Does Post Exercise Massage Improve Blood Flow and Reduce Lactic Acid?

There was a recent study in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise that discussed the effect of post-exercise massage on blow flow and lactic acid removal. You can see the abstract here. There is additional coverage here. Here was one of the key premises of the study: “More to the point, [...]

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Athletes may want to listen to the ATC afterall

There is a presentation in the Supplement to the Journal of Athletic Training entitled Anterior Compartment Syndrome and Tibial Stress Fracture in a Lacrosse Goalie. This is a case study that: 1)underlines the use of injury prevention techniques to help reduce injury potential, and 2)highlights an unique cause of anterior compartment syndrome, which is generally [...]

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Apophyseal Avulsions at the Pelvis in the Teenage Athlete

The weekend before Memorial Day weekend, I helped to cover a soccer tournament. We have a good group of folks that work together and it is fun to work with a group of athletic trainers in the athletic setting. Usually the event is rather – well, uneventful. Not so this last go around. Unfortunately the [...]

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Does the method of compression when applying ice have any relationship to tissue cooling?

A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog post reviewing a study that compared crushed ice, cubed ice, and wetted ice and their effect on tissue cooling. The conclusion of the study was that wetted ice was the most effective in providing both surface temperature and tissue cooling. So, if the goal was [...]

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Transverse Abdominus Activation: A comparison between healthy subjects and those with a history of low back pain

Transverse abdominus has been associated with low back pain and exercises to activate TrA are commonly given to those with back pain. In this particular study in the Supplement of the Journal of Athletic Training, the researchers wanted to see if there was any difference in TrA activation using two selected exercises between healthy and [...]

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Does it really matter how fast you move the transducer during ultrasound treatment?

The 2010 Supplement to the Journal of Athletic Training has a vast number of abstracts contained within. Today I want to discuss the abstract entitled The Effects of Ultrasound Transducer Velocity on Intramuscular Tissue Temperature Across a Treatment Site. Ultrasound is a commonly used, yet maligned modality. As a result, it is important to have [...]

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The collision course of youth sports and injury

Our youth athletes are on a collision course to injury due to overuse and ongoing sports schedules. Our culture is so fixated on the more is better mentality that we’ve become blinded to the consequences of the never ending sports season. Here are just a few examples that point toward this growing problem: Last weekend as I was [...]

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