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....) 

1. "You know, a lot of those scratches will buff right out...."

2. Which college has the healthiest student body? See if your alma mater is in tip top shape....

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Photo by: Laffy4k

3. Occupy Wall Street has inspired us to have a little protest of our own. We’re Anti-Gravity!

4. The Head Athletic Trainer for the Jacksonville Jaguars tells why mud runs are the best way to build fitness. 

5. This video will teach you why Chad Ochocinco provides a bigger target than an elephant, and why Jerry Rice doesn't have "soft hands" - he's got great fingers! 

6. With all the fervor surrounding concussions, this article got my attention. Everybody was in place, all responded promptly and professionally... but they were still too late.

Photo by: Schlusselbein2007

7. Star quarterback goes down with a knee injury. Fights his way back in rehab - doctors, coaches, trainers supporting him all the way. He finally gets back in the game, scores his first touchdown, walks off the field and gives his orthopedist a big hug. Now there's a man who has it priorities straight!

Photo by: JustinBoyd1

8. Research says to avoid ankle re-injury, you gotta strengthen the hips and knees. Here's how you can do that using the Shuttle 2000-1 and a wobble board. 

9. In honor of Physical Therapy Month, some PT Assistants got together a flash mob... doing a little Myotome and Dermatome dance.

Our OccupyGlacier event was a dud....

Even though some of Glacier, Washington’s two hundred and eleven people might consider themselves radical, we ain't got no banks and we ain't got no billionaires. What we do have is some pretty wet and cold weather. So, nobody's into loitering for any length of time.

But watching TV, you see all these people sitting around painting cool signs like we used to do in kindergarten. Then, they walk around yelling a bunch like we never got to do in kindergarten!

These guys are really speaking out against things. We understand they're anti-rich, anti-establishment, anti-capitalism.

Well...  in our company we're not exactly against capitalism (cuz we practice it all the time, and one of these days we're gonna get it right....). We kind of like the establishment cause they buy our machines and use them to help our wounded warriors recover from their injuries. And, while nobody in our company claims to want to be a billionaire, nobody seems to be dead-set against getting rich either.

We still want to be in on the fun though. We want to take a stand against something....

The Case Against Gravity

Lately, we've been noticing all these cool products that have something against gravity. There's the awesome Alter-G treadmill. It's like running with half your body inside a balloon. And, just yesterday I saw this really funky anti-gravity body suit that was developed by cosmonauts. It's helping cerebral palsy patients make rapid improvements in their physical therapy.

The interesting thing about each of these products is they have a space background. Well, Shuttle Systems also has a background in space. Our 2000-1, MVP, and Recovery all had their genesis in the famed "space race" of the 1960's (a time also noted for its marching people and homemade signs).

Back in the Sixties, Gary Graham, the founder of Shuttle Systems, was a rocket scientist who developed a way for astronauts to maintain their heart and muscle strength during the weightlessness of space. That way, when the astronauts re-entered the earth's atmosphere, they came back looking like humans - not some helpless blob of... well... you can imagine....

It was years later that Gary resurrected his space prototype and that became our Shuttle machine. Our machines allow an injured person to lie down, taking away the effects of gravity, and rehab their injury with less-than-bodyweight. 

So, we've got a thing against gravity!

But Our Rebellion Doesn't End There

You can do all that anti-gravity stuff with our machines. You can rehab the injured. Your humongous athletes can do plyos while preserving their joints. But, just like the marching people with the signs, we've also got a beef with the status quo.

Yeah, we like it when an injured person recovers and gets back to normal... but who's ever content with normal? It's the next level that everyone's searching for!

So, our machines also use elasticord resistance. That enables you to take somebody from less-than-bodyweight, all the way up to multiple times bodyweight. Think of it as meta-gravity (sorry, just made that up). We think it makes for a very versatile machine.

Here, let me demonstrate the versatility in a true-to-life example.... 

Gators and the MVP

The University of Florida football team has three Shuttle MVP Elites in their Griffin-Oakley Strength & Conditioning complex. A few years back, we were visiting with Mickey Marotti, Director of Strength and Conditioning, and we asked him how he uses the Shuttle MVP. He said that while his players may emerge from a game uninjured, their bodies have taken quite a beating. So, what can a coach do to provide his players with a workout in between games. Is he gonna make them do squats?

No!

Marotti gets them on the MVP. That way they can get a workout without killing themselves. Again, it's that whole anti-gravity, less-than-bodyweight, easy-on-the-joints thing.

And, when we asked Marotti if he needed anything, he responded that he could use some heavier resistance cords. He told us that in the off-season their quarterback, Tim Tebow, was loading up all the bands on the MVP - and jumping. He was doing a plyometrics workout using 387 pounds of resistance.

That takes a freeking stud! Tim Tebow is a freeking stud!!

We sent Florida some bigger elasticords....

Photo by: Rubendn

True story! 

So. there you have it. We don't like gravity and we don't like the status quo... and we build our machines to overcome both!

Now, where's my magic marker and some cardboard....

1. Inspiring....

2. VIDEO: Kneeling externally rotated leg press on Shuttle MVP

(Eric Foran is the son of the Miami Heat's Strength & Conditioning coach, Bill Foran. Together they own Foran Strength & Conditioning. I was impressed when I saw Eric's video - mainly because I've never seen anybody do a kneeling externally rotated leg press on our MVP. Good stuff! You can learn a lot from these guys... and you can follow them on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Their ForanSC.com website is coming soon!)

3. VIDEO: One of the biggest mistakes athletes make when they stretch.

(Alan and Alicia Tyson own Architech Sports & Physical Therapy in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of things that impresses me about Architech is their dedication to the female athlete. Their Female Athlete Sports Summit is next week... and they even have a separate Facebook page devoted specifically to the female athlete. They have two of our Shuttle MVP’s and you can follow them on their website, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. )

4. VIDEO: I have it on nameless authority that the New England Patriots' star receiver Wes Welker uses a Shuttle... but you’ll never guess which one.

 

5. PHOTO: Just look at the stress on the metatarsophalangeal joint... oh, the humanity! 

Photo by: The Art and Science of Kinesiology

6. The Untold Story of Gatorade

7. VIDEO: We were featured on the nightly news... and they only got one thing horribly, horribly wrong.

8. VIDEO: Scientific test of speed, agility, musculature, and power of world's greatest soccer player. 

9. Straight Talk on Vertigo

(Kenji Carp is a sharp guy. He knows his stuff and can talk about it in an eloquent manner. That's why you'll find him leading a variety of continuing education courses throughout the year. Kenji owns Cooperative Performance & Rehabilitation in Eugene, Oregon. The guy's so busy, you won't have much luck catching him on social media. But, you can see his stellar work in a variety of videos he has done with the Shuttle Balance, Recovery, and MiniPress.)

Here at Shuttle, we take a certain amount of pride in our equipment that helps athletes get back in the game after an injury. We also get excited when our machines are used to take an athlete's performance to the next level. But, we don't seem to say too much about what our equipment can do for the older set - our senior population.

Well, we'd like to talk about helping the geriatric population - whether that's through fall prevention, stroke recovery, total knee rehab, hip strengthening, or simply developing six pack abs (yes, you can do that on a Shuttle, but we don't necessarily consider it our sweet spot).

In the coming weeks, we invite you to come along and see how you can use your Shuttle to help your senior population. And we'd love it if you'd join in the conversation, as well. Just follow us on Facebook and on Twitter (look for the #StrongSeniors hashtag) or comment below!

Go Seniors!!

Donn Dimond is the owner and director of The KOR Physical Therapy in Portland, Oregon. Donn's worked with a variety of high school, collegiate and professional baseball players. He's authored two books; The Bare Minimum: Baseball - Essential Training for the Baseball Athlete and The Bare Minimum: Donatelli Shoulder Method. Donn lectures nationally to Physical Therapists on how to assess and treat patients with shoulder injuries and on baseball performance and rehabilitation.

Enjoy the read!

1. You've developed a real expertise in baseball training. Yet, in younger days you played football. What prompted you to focus professionally on baseball?

Well, I have always been interested in sports from an injury reduction and rehabilitation standpoint and was lucky enough to mentor under Dr. Bob Donatelli, who taught me a lot in regards to working with the overhead athlete. Once I had the clinical foundation, I started to realize that there was a HUGE need in baseball for the right kind of interventions and rehabilitation. I continued to seek out information in regards to working with the baseball athlete and truly understanding the biomechanics of pitching. This led to trust from the baseball community which led to more information and it has just kind of snowballed from there. 

2. How do you work with baseball players at The KOR?

When a baseball player comes here to The KOR, they first undergo a very comprehensive evaluation. The evaluation includes a look at mobility of their strength and mobility of their upper body, trunk, and hip as well as their neurodynamics and balance. Secondly, we take high speed video of their mechanics and analyze it for any red flags. After the inital evaluation, we have a pretty comprehensive analysis as to why they are having pain and most importantly what the true causes are that need to be addressed.Some common things we work on with our baseball players is glenohumeral and scapular rotator strength, moblization of the shoulder and hips, dynamic balance training for the lower extremities (the Shuttle Balance is very helpful for this), and working with their coaches to help reduce any red flags. 

Shameless Shuttle Balance plug
(but it's Donn's fault, not ours)

3. Baseball being a "non-contact" sport - how does that change the training?

It doesn't really. The baseball athlete still needs the appropriate strength, mobility, and control as a "contact" athlete. In fact, with a pitcher, sometimes there is more force that is placed through the pitchers body than a "contact" athlete. 

4. There's an on-going debate about static stretching vs. dynamic warm-ups. What stretching recommendations do you have for baseball players? 

I tend to be more of a fan of the focused dynamic stretching or warm-up. I haven't come across any research that shows static stretching decreases the risk of injury. In  fact, if done too aggressively it may increase the risk of injury. The only static stretch that I recommend is for the posterior capsule of their throwing shoulder. I usually tell my baseball athletes to jog first, do some dynamic warm up, do a little sprinting, some band work to warm up the upper body, some single leg balance activities, a posterior capsule stretch, a neurodynamic mobilization, and finally some position specific drills

Photo by: peasap

5. What prompted you to write your book Bare Minimum Baseball? 

I saw a need for a concise and evidence based book for baseball conditioning that is geared towards increasing performance AND decreasing the risk of injury. 

6. In the book's introduction, you prescribe Bare Minimum and Secondary exercises. You state that the reason you differentiate those is you've found that "the more exercises an athlete is asked to do, the more likely he won't do any of them." A tad cynical or just being realistic?  

I guess a little of both. Over the course of the last 13 years, I have noticed that the more exercises I give a patient or client the less chance I have of them actually doing it. Some of my pro baseball players come back each off season with a binder filled with all the workouts that they need to do. Usually they don't do any of them, it just gets to be overwhelming. I figured that if I could give them a program that really just focused on "The Bare Minimum" that they may actually do it and get a postive result. 

7. You separate your Bare Minimum exercises into three categories: 1) Hip strengthening; 2) Trunk strengthening; and 3) Upper Body strengthening. Why those three and how do you differentiate between Hip and Trunk?

The hip, trunk, and upper body are the bare essentials that need to be worked on. The hips are where the force is generated, the trunk links the forces from the hips to the upper body, and the upper body needs to be strong enough to transfer the force to the ball without allowing an injury to the shoulder or elbow. I actually didn't truly understand the difference between the hip and trunk until working with Bob. 

8. Who are some of the players you are working with at The KOR right now?

Most of my players are with their teams now, but let me share a story of a baseball player that has had right elbow issues on and off for the last couple of years. This particular client pitches for a Midwest MLB baseball organization and he has had pain in his elbow after throwing for the last 3 years. When I saw him intially, 3 years ago, we worked mainly on his shoudler mobility and strength. This helped but not completely. After having access to my high video system, I noticed that his dynamic balance was off and his trunk rotation was kicking in too early in the pitching cycle. His hips were also very, very tight. So I mobilized his hips and worked on his dynamic balance and after three weeks his mechanics looked almost perfect. He has been pitching for the last month and has had no pain and his ball speed has jumped 3-4 MPH. 

9. Who do you admire most in baseball?

The pitchers who keep their heads down and just keep working it, all the way from the minors up to the bigs. Most people think it is all glamour playing professional baseball, but for most it isn't. It is a long road for a pitcher and you just have to admire those that keep following their passion day in and day out.  

Photo by: allygirl520

10. And finally, who do you pick to win the World Series?

I'm from the Chicago area orginally, so I gotta go with the Cubs. But if they don't do it, then I'm picking the Phillies. You gotta love great pitching. 

The Chicago Cubs have owned a Shuttle since 1992 and the Phillies since 2001. Donn, we like your choice either way - thanks for spending some time with us!

Hey, baseball and Facebook fans - we're giving away Donn's book The Bare Minimum: Baseball.
Check back with our Facebook Fan page in the next few days to find out how you can win! 

But they didn't tell us everything. So, we wanted to share with you some of the great people, places and things we discovered in New Orleans at the APTA Combined Sections meeting. Here's our quick list of what we'd highly recommend in the Big Easy:

People

Dragon Master Showcase: These guys were incredible athletes, performers, and comedians! Expect to walk away from the show a little light on cash (the only way they can live to perform another day is through donations). But they are well worth it! You can catch 'em on Decatur Street - take a seat on the steps facing St. Louis Cathedral.  

Symphony in Glass: This guy only comes out at night - creating hauntingly beautiful music complete with a light show. We caught his act on the square surrounding the St. Louis Cathedral on a Sunday night.

Places

Le Pavilion Hotel: One of the swankiest hotels you'll find in New Orleans, but they ain't pretentious. Every night at 10 o'clock, they offer a free Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich bar - complete with hot chocolate and REAL whipped cream. It all started back in 1988 when room service made a PB&J sandwich for one of their guests who was feeling homesick (can I get a collective ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!).

Photo by: Scott S.

d.b.a. Jazz Bar: Located just outside the French Quarter on 618 Frenchmen Street in historic Faubourg Marigny, d.b.a. is one of the best blues clubs in town - featuring some of the city's finest talent. We agree!

FOOD!!!!!!!!!

Cafe du Monde: One thing you gotta do in New Orleans is experience a beignet (pronounced Ben-yay!) It's a French fritter (some would call it a square doughnut with no hole). Oh, and it's usually hidden under an inch of powdered sugar (don't cough!). The Cafe is located at 800 Decatur Street near the St. Louis Cathedral.This is a must-see-and-eat! 

Cochon Restaurant: Stumbled onto this place with the help and recommendation of Yelp for Android. Located within walking distance of the tradeshow pavilion (930 Tchoupitoulas St.). We dined on fried alligator (tastes like chicken) and ribs (tastes like heaven). The ribs came in a special barbecue sauce sporting sweet pickles. Make sure your waiter brings you a continual supply of freshly made rolls with your meal.

Who Won The Shuttle Balance?

When we weren't galavanting all over New Orleans, we spent our time helping the good people of Tulane Medical Center get their cadre of Shuttle 2000-1 machines into fine running order - thanks Judith (and go Green Wave)! Our good friends, Mike Studer and Brady Whetton, at Northwest Rehabilitation Associates made their presentation at Combined Sections on Increasing the Dosage and now are famous celebrities.

Finally, we wanted to thank all the lovely people who stopped by our booth, hopped on the Shuttle Balance and promptly lost their balance. It was great fun and everybody who tried it was entered to win a brand new Shuttle Balance Professional.

Sadly, therecan only be one winner - and that puts a lot of pressure on us. So, to properly shirk that responsibility, we asked French chef, Julia Child, to select the Shuttle Balance winner.

Congatulations Hallie Lenker! Hallie just graduated from Arcadia University last week! She doesn't have a job yet - but she does have a brand new Shuttle Balance Professional. She should probably take it to her next interview. Yes, the Balance is a very versatile piece of equipment.

You Can Still Win A Balance

If you didn't win the Balance - don't despair! You can join us on Facebook where we're giving away a new Shuttle Balance Sport to a lucky winner when we reach 300 fans.

Also, join our Shuttle Insider for the latest tips, techniques, news and events surrounding your Shuttle product.

Oh, and hey! We're heading back to New Orleans in June - for another tradeshow. We've shared some of our favorites - now, you need to share yours. In the comments below, please share with us your favorite people, places, and foods in the Big Easy. 

What started out as a simple presentation at the just-completed ATPA Combined Sections meeting in New Orleans has now gotten way out of hand!

Mike Studer, owner of Northwest Rehabilitation Associates, was recently named 2011 Clinician of the Year by the APTA Neurology Section - and we don't think enough people know about it. So, at Shuttle, we're shattering the silence. No more of this quiet anonymity.

No, no, NO! Mike's a physical therapy stud now! He deserves to be called out!

There ain't gonna be anymore of this, "Oh, he was such a nice man, kind of quiet, never bothered anybody, just went about his therapy" stuff. No, Mike is doing great things - and HE'S NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT ANYMORE!

And we're not gonna go easy on his associate, either. Brady Whetten is now a full-fledged celebrity. When not running marathons with a skeleton, he's out publishing articles. His latest was featured in Gerinotes: Physical Therapists as the Pharmacists of Exercise.

Well, you guys, gone are the days of quiet obscurity. Shuttle Systems is calling you out - BIG TIME!

And all we can say is, "We knew you when....." Oh, and here's what they were doing when we knew them when.

Congrats Mike, Brady, and NRA - it couldn't have happened to nicer people!

Mike Studer, PT, MHS, NCS and Brady Whetten, DPT of Northwest Rehabilitation Associates, Inc. will be featured presenters at the upcoming APTA Combined Sections Meeting in New Orleans. Their topic:

Intensity and Dosage in Geriatric Physical Therapy 

Their stated goal with this presentation is to "begin a conversation about dosage in PT. Increasing intensity and challenging patients to a level that will induce improvement in balance, strength, endurance and gait speed."

We caught up with Mike and Brady at their clinic in Salem, Oregon and had them demonstrate some of the different ways they are using dosage with their stroke and hip patients:

Mike Struder on Stroke Exercises

Brady Whetten on Hip Stability

Hip: Quadruped Position

Hip: Extensions 

How are you challenging your patients to induce improvement? Please share with us some of your ideas in the comments.

The Farmers Almanac predicts cold weather is a comin'. "Numbingly cold temperatures" are expected for a good portion of the US. But they're claiming precipitation will be at or below average.

Never fear skiers, they also predict major snowfall and possible blizzard conditions for certain parts of the country at least sometime during the winter.

That's the problem with snow - you never know exactly when it's going to hit. So, skiers have to be ready to go at a moment's notice. To get skiers in the mood - and the shape needed to attack the slopes at any given time - we created this homely little video. Watch it carefully.... and keep in mind that if you want to get the most out of your Shuttle Ski experience, you gotta wear stylish short shorts and exercise to marching music from the former Soviet Union.

Enjoy!

Oh, and to keep the skiers upright and balanced, we are giving away our new Shuttle Balance Sport. One lucky individual will win our latest product innovation - but you gotta go to our Shuttle Facebook page and "like" us

This will take you there!