Besides exercise, never knew there were so many things you could do on a bike....

2. Dorsiflexion Stretch with the Shuttle MiniPress

For Shuttle MiniPress owners who would like to incorporate dorsiflexion into your training, here are some simple pointers:

• Sit with legs extended straight out in front and feet together.
• Secure one foot to the Foot Plate with the velcro strap.
• Bring toes toward body as much as possible for five seconds (dorsiflexion)
• Repeat movements and five-second holds for 10 reps

Tips: Do not bend knees - spread toes apart in dorsiflexion - maintain upright seated position - move only ankles during stretch

3. How to Get More Referrals

Photo by: Keith Allison

Regardless of how you feel about the New York Giants or the New England Patriots, any physical therapist worth their salt would find the most riveting news surrounding this year's Super Bowl to be the following exchange....

News Reporter: "Tom Brady, you're about to play in the biggest game this world has ever known, what are you going to do now?"

Tom Brady: "Um, I think I'll refer a friend to my physical therapist." 

In all the hype leading up to the Super Bowl, Patriot quarterback Tom Brady, took the time to talk about referring his physical therapist to hockey star, Sydney Crosby. And if that weren't enough, Brady stated that "if it wasn't for my [physical therapist], I don't think I'd be sitting here right now."

Most physical therapists would think at least a few seconds about deep sixing their mom to get such a referral.

Just imagine what it would be like to have somebody of that caliber, that notoriety, that power endorse your therapy services!

Well, we can't all have a celebrity recommend us to their friends on national TV, but we can work to create a practice that is worthy of such referrals. And how Tom Brady came to refer his physical therapist can be very instructive.

Alex Guerrero was the physical therapist from Utah that Brady referred to Crosby. Guerrero was instrumental in helping Brady make a speedy recovery from his ACL/MCL tear back in 2009. In an excerpt from a Boston Globe article, note how that therapy was described:

[Brady] also did plenty of core work. And he continued with an innovative shoulder program that he and Guerrero devised, something that’s off the board enough that Guerrero politely declined to describe it. What he would say was that Brady’s diligence with that work is a big reason the quarterback says he no longer gets the arm soreness he did earlier in his career.

To Guerrero, Brady’s ability to sustain the kind of hit Albert Haynesworth laid on him in the preseason – crumpling the quarterback under 350 pounds – was proof positive that the quarterback’s hard work was paying off. If he’d just worried about rehabbing his knee, the result might’ve been uglier. Because he worked his shoulder and core, it wasn’t.

What Guerrero called “the transformation’’ came in Week 4, when the Ravens visited Foxborough, and Brady completed 66 percent of his passes for 258 yards, a touchdown, and no picks.

“His confidence with his body was back, you could see it,’’ Guerrero said. “He’s totally confident with the program, how the knee feels, how his arm feels, how he’s going to feel after the game.”

Best-selling author and marketing guru, Seth Godin, states that if you want customers to make positive "remarks" about your service to their friends, then you have to be "remarkable". You have to be "worthy" enough for people to talk about you - to be willing to recommend you to a friend. You can't expect to get referrals if you're just offering standard physical therapy services to patients. 

Helping Tom Brady achieve a quick recovery was certainly remarkable. But note how Guerrero did more than just rehab Brady's knee. It was part of a more comprehensive approach. In fact, the therapy was unique enough that Guerrero wouldn't even divulge it - referring to it discretely as "the program". His therapy was unique, it was special, it was distinctive. And, it was proprietary.

Now, do you think Guerrero is practicing some kind of physical therapy that noboby has ever heard of?

No.

If nobody's ever heard of it... then we probably would have heard about it by now. Obviously, Tom Brady's talking about it - and with a little investigative journalism we could probably find out exactly what this therapist is doing.

But that's not the point!

You don't have to copy what Guerrero is doing. Your therapy approach does not have to be truly revolutionary. In other words, you don't have to be the only physical therapist on God's green earth that offers such therapy. It can be something that is unique to you, formulated in a unique way, perhaps with a unique focus or a different way of doing things.

The fact that you have a therapy approach that gets good results and is unique in some way makes it worth talking about. And people like to talk about things that are new and different - things that are remarkable.

Well, give them something to talk about - be remarkable! 

4. "I don't feel a day over 80...."

Great!!!

Now I'll have the kids - and grandma - fighting over the video games.

5. An Exercise Sequence for Progression in Balance Training

Noticed in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research where a study was conducted looking at An Exercise Sequence for Progression in Balance Training. They found that "balance performance decreased in response to an increased level of task difficulty introduced by narrowing the base of support and by limiting the use of sensory information."

Whether working with athletes or geriatrics, owners of the Shuttle Balance have found the same progression useful: bilateral, tandem, and unilateral stances (base of support) and eyes open and eyes closed (sensory information).

Of course, one thing the research did not incorporate was something that makes balance increasingly more challenging (and infinitely more fun for the practitioner):

Perturbation!!!

1. For those who missed the "Mile High Miracle" this past week....

2. What is it with ankle instability?

Photo by: Foxtongue

It was a delightful morning....

I was peacefully immersing myself in a quiet pool of intellectual discovery - soaking up the vagaries of how a famous basketball player overcomes chronic ankle instability - when somebody threw a live wire in the water in the form of a tweet:

Cold, wet, and covered in only a thin layer of protective skull, my mind stood there naked and in shock, racing as to how to respond.

My article had been filled with kindly words such as "ankle sprain", "fix the problem", and "avoid further injury". Now, I had research hurled at me with word daggers like "neuromuscular control", "supination", and "peroneal activation". While I may rub shoulders, legs, and lower backs with PT's, ATC's, and S&C coaches on a daily basis, this fact is very clear: I am not a lower extremity rocket scientist!

How was I to respond to @TherapyGirl5, a goddess (one who enjoys a measure of omniscience/omnipotence in a particular field and should be followed rather than worshipped) in the Twitterverse?

I turned to a power beyond my own... our Shuttle owners. 

Here is how the Shuttle products can help with ankle instability:

Advanced proprioceptive exercises on the Shuttle Balance 

@JeffCubos - another Twitter god whom one should reverence, er... follow!

Unilateral jumping onto Shuttle Balance and jumping off to proprioceptive disk

Thanks everyone!

3. Neither injury, nor heart attack, nor death shall keep a runner from their appointed run:

How to prevent and treat every runner’s nemesis

What is the second most common injury among runners?

MARATHONS: 1 cardiac arrest per 184,000 runners and 1 death per 259,000 runners

4. How to improve cervical stabilization using feed-forward perturbation 

THIS WEEK'S WILD, WEIRD, AND WONDERFUL....

1. This is a great PSA! Learn the simple steps to CPR... and you'll never hear "Stayin' Alive" the same way again.

2. Dr. Matthew Matava describes his responsibilities as the Head Team Physician for the St. Louis Rams. (And, if you look real close, you'll spot our Shuttle Balance around the 15 and 32 sec. mark - sweeeet!)

3. Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD writes a great article on Winter Nutrition: How to Fuel for Cold Weather Exercise. If you plan on running or skiing this winter, this is a good read. 

4. The New York Times set part of the world abuzz with their recent article: For Neck Pain, Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs. But before everybody goes ga-ga, Dr. Jeff Cubos takes a objective approach recommending that we atleast "be a little more responsible when drinking the kool-aid". Hooray for calm, cool, and collected - good stuff, Jeff!

Photo by: Fokkets 

5. Move Forward just published a Physical Therapist’s Guide to Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear - a very thorough treatment of all things ACL (and well worth your review). Here, Kent Bond of Impact Physical Therapy shows how he uses his Shuttle Balance to treat the ACL patient.

6. Travel back in time with photographs.... Check out this interesting picture website called Dear Photograph!

7. A recent study showed that hip replacement patients can benefit from physical therapy-assisted training and strengthening of the hip - both before and after replacement surgery. Here, Dr. Kate Mangione of Arcadia University demonstrates how to use the Shuttle MiniPress to strengthen the hips. 

8. Finally, since we need all the motivation we can muster to stick with our New Year's Resolutions for at least a few more days, we thought we better share something to inspire you.

Shuttle Systems wishes you a glorious weekend!

1. Are the animals just humoring us humans?

2. Doctors seem to be giving the wrong prescription when it comes to our aching joints. Sounds like we should be taking that miracle drug called exercise instead.

Photo by: Sailor Coruscant

3. Becoming an Ironman has to be one of life's greatest challenges. Doing it with a fractured pelvis... well, that’s inspiring!

4. A few weeks back, we shared with you Mark McKown's "Twenty Series" workout for the upper body using the Shuttle MVP. Below, he teaches his Twenty Series for the lower body - complete with dynamic warm-up, stretching, eccentric strengthening, and explosive plyometrics.

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5. One of the best compound exercises out there is the humble chin-up. Charles Poliquin teaches you twelve ways to do it better.

6. Research shows that Tai Chi can help visually impaired geriatrics improve their balance. We like to help all sorts of people improve their balance; and, while nobody has yet tried Tai Chi on our Shuttle Balance, they have done quite nicely performing yoga.

1. Sometimes I can't fathom the time, the patience, the talent, the beauty....

2. Here it is, the single greatest thing you can do for your health.

3. A recent study looked at the effects of neuromuscular training on the gait patterns of ACL-deficient men and women. Basically, they wanted to see the effect of perturbation training on ACL-injured athletes. Interesting study... so, I thought I'd share how you can incorporate perturbation training using the Shuttle Balance.

(Kenji Carp PT, OCS, ATC is a certified vestibular therapist and does extensive work using the Shuttle Balance. He is the founder of Cooperative Performance and Rehabilitation in Eugene, Oregon.)

4. Two supplements that every endurance athlete should know about.

Photo by: Christian Jansky

5. If you don't know Alex McKechnie, you probably ought to get to know him. He's the athletic trainer who rebuilt Shaquille O'Neal's body (using the Shuttle MVP, we might add). Mr. McKechnie is now the Director of Sports Science for the NBA's Toronto Raptors. He's a man to watch - and to learn from....

6. The Baylor Bears men’s basketball team is undefeated and currently ranked sixth in the nation. Charlie Melton is their Director of Athletic Performance. Here, Charlie demonstrates how he uses the Shuttle MVP as a part of his De Bench Warm-up series.

7. Bill Foran is the Miami Heat's Strength & Conditioning coach. Eric Foran was an SEC medalist and member of the two-time national championship University of Florida track team.  As father and son, they founded Foran Strength & Conditioning. Here, they demonstrate how to field test for athletic power.

1. What you're about to see is called a murmuration. Nature is awesome... is it not? 

2. Movember is the month when men all over the world grow moustaches to raise money and awareness for men's health. Our very own Marketing Media guy, Kris Aguero, is in hot pursuit of the ultimate stache. You can join his team! 

3. Happy Seven Billionth Birthday to the world... my, how you've changed!

4. If you can't join 'em, beat 'em! That'll give you some respect. Here are nine female athletes who competed against men.

5. This is the "magnum opus" of the ACL injury. It's not the most professionally done, but it does show you some actual ACL injuries starting around the 2:00 mark. It also provides plenty of motivation for those going through ACL rehab. Plus, it shows our very own Shuttle MiniPress at the the 6:02 mark... sweeeet!

6. Dr. Robert Donatelli helped PGA player Fred Funk increase his hitting power. Interestingly enough, he did it using the Shuttle Balance to improve Funk's proprioception and dynamic visual acuity.  

7. The folks at San Jose State University provide a nice, expansive explanation of what the study of kinesiology entails. 

8. A runner's guide to the best protein consumption practices. Eating protein right will definitely put a spring in your step.

9. Coaching anything at the professional level is hard. You don't have the luxury of pointing fingers. Others do... and sometimes those fingers will point to you as the scapegoat. Just ask Dave Page, former Strength and Conditioning coach for the Boston Red Sox. 

about PGA player Fred Funk increasing his hitting power with the help of Dr. Robert Donatelli and our Shuttle Balance. You wouldn't have known it was the Balance because the article said Mr. Funk's training involved him standing barefoot on a "metal platform, suspended by four chains" while trying to maintain his balance.

I was intrigued by the article because it described improving power - in this case increasing a golfer's driving distance - through non-conventional methods. Most people would assume increased power derives from an athlete's increase in strength. However, the article described how Dr. Donatelli's training of Funk focused on "balance and flexibility". The article spoke of "sharpening Funk's proprioceptors--sensors in joints, muscles, and ligaments that feed the brain information about body movements, a sort of muscle sense." Having worked with Donatelli (Bob) for the past several years, I was intrigued enough that I decided to give him a call.

And I'm glad I did....

Bob said the article really didn't get to the heart of how he was able to increase Funk's hitting power.  You see, Fred Funk used to be a Golden Gloves boxer. Consequently, as is common with all fighters, he got his fair share of hits to the head.

The challenges Funk faced were more vestibular in nature. If Bob was to help Funk improve his hitting power, he needed to help him improve not only his balance, but also his ability to see the ball - and see it while his head and body were in motion. We're not talking static vision here. Glasses won't solve the problem. We're talking about an athlete's dynamic visual acuity.

Dad Had It Right

The old adage of "keep your eye on the ball" is correct. But, more specifically, the challenge is to see the ball while your body is in motion, and to have the balance and stabilization so in that "final gaze" - that moment when club head meets ball - you can see the ball in ever greater detail. 

When a baseball player hits a mammoth home run, we say, "He got all of that!" The statement is literally true - and slow motion videography bears it out. Regardless of the sport, hitting for power means hitting the ball in exactly the right spot - the sweet spot. A millimeter up or down on the bat can be the difference between a home run and a pop-up or ground out.  

So, Bob went to work on improving Funk's balance and his vestibular ocular reflex. Using the Shuttle Balance, he helped Funk stabilize himself throughout the motion of his golf swing... similar to what Bob did with a baseball player in the following video: 

When an athlete can maintain proper balance throughout their swing motion, while controlling the instability of the Shuttle Balance, then, when they step up to the tee on a stable playing surface, they feel like they're on "the Rock of Gibralter".

Bob was able to help Funk not only improve his overall balance, but also increase his dynamic visual acuity. Funk was seeing the ball - and seeing much more of it at "final gaze". After a week of balance training, Funk's club speed jumped from 106 mph to approximately 113. That translates out to roughly 10 yards of extra ball flight.   

Can you do the same? Well, you'll believe it when you "see" it. 

1. For the next week or two, we're going to talk about the game of basketball. And to tip things off, we thought we'd share the greatest basketball story ever told....

2. Look at this babe's perfect squat technique:

3. The divided brain explained... and with a lovely British accent. 

4. Only a short distance from the brain is your neck and spine. And if you have a patient that has experienced a neck/cervical injury, you can recreate the circumstances surrounding that injury using the Shuttle Balance. This will help your patient's body to reestablish and develop neuromuscular responses to recover and prevent injury again.

(Kenji Carp, owner of Cooperative Performance & Rehabilitation, is a great therapist. A vestibular therapy specialist, Kenji teaches various continuing education courses all over the country. And, when he's not traveling or helping his patients get back to perfect health, he actually finds time to play around on our machines. We've captured him on video teaching about our Shuttle Balance, Shuttle Recovery, and Shuttle MiniPress. Thank you Kenji!)

5. The Tyranny of the Fathers: How we become sports fans....

Photo by: shawnzrossi

6. Are you an awkward runner? We certainly hope not. But if you suffer from any of the maladies demonstrated in the video below - please - see a physical therapist for a gait analysis IMMEDIATELY!

7. Bob Medina, strength and conditioning coach for the Portland Trailblazers, takes guard Steve Blake through some basic pre-game warm-ups on the Shuttle Balance.

(Our Shuttle MVP has been with the Portland Trailblazers since 1998. Our Shuttle Balance has been there since 2007. Steve Blake was traded in 2010. We appreciate the Trailblazers loyalty.)

8. Since we're in the final days of celebrating National Physical Therapy Month, we couldn't resist sharing this: How to Vacuum Like a Physical Therapist. 

(Of course, if you really want to prevent injury during vacuuming, just have your kids do it....) 

Despite all the talk...

about NBA negotiations, bargaining sessions and mediation. Despite all the money... the multi-million dollar contracts and the billionaire owners. Despite all the press about a possible delayed pro season - perhaps even a cancelled one.

There are still those of us that love the game of basketball.

We love to watch it. We love to play it. And, of course, there are plenty of us who make our living supporting in one way or another the sport of basketball. Whether that's a physical therapist helping a weekend warrior get over an ankle sprain, an athletic trainer rehabbing a star point guard, or a strength and conditioning coach improving a team's overall explosiveness. All of us are impacted by the game of basketball. 

Shuttle Systems also has a vested interest in the game. Our Shuttle MVP, Shuttle 2000-1, and Shuttle Balance all play a role at the high school, collegiate,and professional level.

So, over the next couple weeks, we're going to talk about basketball - everything from rehabbing ACL’s to increasing your vertical jump. We invite you to share any thoughts, insights, protocols, and practices that guide your work with basketball. And you're welcome to join the basketball conversation in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or follow the conversation on Twitter.

And to tip things off, we thought we'd share with you a basketball love story....

As we mentioned before, a lot of us love the game of basketball. Unfortunately, some would love to play the game but never get their chance. This is a story about a boy who had a passion for the game.

But, he was autistic.

This boy never got his chance to play... until the final game of the season. That's when a miracle occurred....  

1. OK... watch the runner hurdle the defender in slow mo below. THEN, watch the second video - same play, live from a different angle - and notice how the defender not only is left grasping for air, but he also lays out his teammate in the process. Sweeeeet! 

2. Think nothing of that vertigo dizziness... you're just having a paranormal psychic experience

 

3. "Shooting the Duck" on the Shuttle Balance is hard enough... now they're doing it with high heels.

(It all started when a patient from Broadway Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation in Portland, Oregon said she could "Shoot the Duck" on the Shuttle Balance. And danged if she didn’t do it! Well, I guess the competitive folks at Washougal Sport & Spine Physical Therapy in Washougal, WA weren't to be outdone. Chloe Scott, Office Manager and Personal Trainer, demonstrates how it's done in a more formal style - with heels.)

4. Discus throwers get dizzy. Hammer throwers don't. Go figure... These guys did.

 

6. Amazing what high speed photography and a little classical music can do to calm a trembling stomach....

7. In honor of National Physical Therapy Month, we give you Steve Tippett's "State of our Union" address. He's not exactly the President, but he does play the bass guitar.... (we thought that was pretty cool).