Training trunk stability and control is a critical goal with low back pain treatment. Traditional exercises like curl-ups, bird-dogs, and side bridges are a great starting point. But developing strength and control of trunk rotation is also an important (but often overlooked) component of back pain rehabilitation. So in this article I will review a simple […]
Cervical Rotation Exercise Progressions
Muscle imbalances are a common cause of neck pain. As such, clinicians need simple and effective tests to assess movement and muscle balance in the cervical spine. And they need to know what to do when dysfunction in uncovered. That has been the topic of this three part article series. Neck flexion and neck extension […]
Deep Neck Flexor Exercises
Abnormal posture and muscle imbalances are widely regarded as primary sources of neck pain. This three part series will discuss assessment and corrective exercise recommendations for some of the most common muscle imbalances and movement faults affecting the cervical spine. In this first article we will discuss the cervical flexors. Subsequent articles will cover the extensor and […]
Advanced Bird Dog Exercises
The classic Bird Dog exercises are invaluable in the early stages of back pain rehabilitation. But there’s a problem. Many of these classic exercises are not challenging enough to be useful in the later stages of treatment. The basics are simply too basic. One solution is to use the Bird Dog only with more deconditioned […]
Training the Hip Hinge
Excessive lumbar flexion is widely recognized as a common mechanism of lower back injury. As such, minimizing spine flexion in an attempt to reduce tissue stress is a primary objective in the treatment of many back pain patients. And this needs to be done as early as possible in the treatment process. However, most of […]