Surf Longer/Better with these 4 Pillars
Surf Better and longer with more longevity with these 4 pillars.
Surfing is a thrilling sport that demands physical strength, balance, and coordination, often in dynamic and unpredictable conditions. As a physical therapist and passionate surer, I emphasize the importance of injury prevention exercises tailored specifically for surfers. There are 4 critical components to ensure surfers have a long span enjoying their craft at the highest level. Excellent shoulder mobility, scapular strengthen, core stability, and hip mobility.
Having excellent shoulder mobility is necessary for the demands of paddling. If you are lacking shoulder mobility, the repetition of paddling will cause compensations in your shoulder, neck, or even low back leading to pain and dysfunction. I first make sure I have excellent shoulder internal rotation, and the secondly lat flexibility to I can reach overhead with no compensation in my low back.
https://youtube.com/shorts/UH4d2rDvVCY?si=QtvlZznz-1dQwY6N
https://youtube.com/shorts/RspLOSx26LY?si=IUjwf3RtrZPiqx3v
Strengthening the muscles around the shoulders blades, such as Prone Ts, Ys are excellent for helping with paddle endurance while taking pressure of your neck. However these have to be done very precisely and correctly to make sure you’re not compensating with your neck muscles.
https://youtube.com/shorts/1KHLlJbqWWo?si=hPofm-tYu6BYnQRw
Core stability is imperative for reducing the pressure on your low back during surfing. I recommend starting with an exercise called “dead bugs” to make sure your back is flat while reaching overhead to mimic the demands of surfing while getting out of lumbar extension.
https://youtube.com/shorts/g13rvb31nTs?si=UapHfVLHAViB4PMw
Finally, making sure you have adequate hip internal and external rotation are necessary for high level surfing where you are turning your whole body on a fixed board. Having great mobility here can allow you to turn better while minimizing the pressure on your knees. I recommend the hip airplane because it allows you to get more range of motion and also working on controlling with your hip stabilizers.
https://youtube.com/shorts/l2qTyQKBzeU?si=jkygwEJdWgeP-IBq
By integrating these injury prevention exercises into their training regimen, surfers can enjoy their time in the water with confidence, knowing that they have taken proactive steps to protect their bodies and prolong their surfing careers.
Train BJJ longer/better with these 3 simple exercises
Train BJJ longer and better with 3 simple exercises
As a Physical Therapist and Brazilian Jiujitsu Black belt, I understand the demands placed on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes and the importance of injury prevention in their training regimen. Jiu-Jitsu involves complex movements that require strength, flexibility, and agility, making it crucial for athletes to prioritize exercises that enhance these aspects while minimizing the risk of injury. Incorporating exercises that target core stability, scapular strengthening, and hip mobility can improve overall balance and control during grappling exchanges, reducing the likelihood of strains or sprains.
It's essential for Jiu-Jitsu athletes to approach their training holistically, incorporating both physical conditioning and injury prevention strategies to ensure longevity in their sport and optimize their performance on the mats. By investing time in targeted exercises under the guidance of a knowledgeable physical therapist, athletes can mitigate the risk of injury and continue to excel in their practice of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Here are 3 injury prevention exercises to start on your Brazilian Jiujitsu Journey. Always remember to train sensibly, tap early to submissions, and get adequate rest between sessions.
1: Deadbugs with Swiss ball
Very good for helping you before more effective in the guard and take pressure off your back and hips
https://youtube.com/shorts/g13rvb31nTs?si=eieKjUcepLXG3ndV
2: Hip Posterior glide
Helps you get more hip mobility to have a more effective guard and put less strain on your back in knee during scrambles
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LZcBtaj8xKw
3: Face pulls:
Helps you get scapular stability to make arm drags more effective, harder for your posture to get broken down, and take pressure of your neck
Run longer/faster and with less pain
Want to run faster/longer and with less pain? Train this muscle!
If you’re an avid runner, you know that your legs can take a beating. The miles of impact can add up. Although running is a skill we’ve been doing for thousands of years, aspects of our modern lifestyle have made it hard for us to develop the fine stabilizing muscles needed for efficient running. In the realm of running, the focus often falls on the legs—strengthening the calves, quads, and hamstrings. However, one critical muscle often overlooked is the glutes. From a physical therapy standpoint, prioritizing glute strength is paramount for runners seeking to improve performance and prevent injury. The gluteal muscles play a pivotal role in stabilizing the pelvis and controlling hip movements during running. Any weakness in the glutes can lead to biomechanical imbalances down the chain causing compensation to the knees, ankles, and low back. This weakness can contributes to issues such as IT band syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and even lower back pain.
By incorporating targeted glute strengthening exercises into their training regimen, runners can enhance their hip stability, stride efficiency, and overall running mechanics. If you have more muscles working as a team, this not only reduces the risk of overuse injuries but also lets you run faster and longer. So, whether you're a seasoned marathoner or a novice jogger, don't overlook the importance of glute strength in your training routine.
If you are unsure if you have a glute weakness in your running, it’s best to go see your physical therapist for a running analysis. However if you want to get a head start here are some of my favorite glute strengthening exercises.
https://youtube.com/shorts/08en9Adlz7I?si=5qfKlOGbr99rI2_Q
Do you have flat feet?
Have you been told you have “flat feet”? Let’s discuss if this can be fixed and what to do?
You may have been told you have flat feet. But did you know some people’s flat feet are “fixed” and others are “flexible” meaning they can be improved with muscular strengthening. It’s a pretty easy test to determine. If you cross your arms and twist side to side and your aches lift it’s a pretty good chance your “flat feet” is flexible and can be improved.
If that is the case, then we need to determine what muscles do we need to work on to improve the foot posture. For instance, the muscle imbalance can be coming from the foot and ankle muscles or it can actually be coming from the hip. If your glutes are weak or inactive, then it will force your knees to roll inward and as a result your arch will “collapse” and your foot will appear to be flat.
The good news is once you identify the root cause you can easily work on it and improve it so you can run, dance, or do whatever sport activity you enjoy more.
How to pick you physical therapist?
Having a good physical therapist is a game changer? How do you know if you are picking the right one? Here are some things to consider.
Having a good physical therapist in your corner can change your life, but the field is really new and not all physical therapists are the same. Even the requirements to become a physical therapist in the United States has changed a lot in my lifetime.
For instance, not a lot of people know that some physical therapists have a bachelor degree and some have a doctorate degree. Some do additional training after graduate school (if they went), and some work immediately.
Here are a few different things to consider when selecting your physical therapist.
Level of training- Did they just finish school and go straight into the field or decided to residency? Unlike MDs, residency is optional for physical therapists and very few choose to do it. For instance, I chose to do one and less than 10% of my classmates in graduate school did it with me. It makes a big difference if you do one because if you complete one you can be a specialist.
Insurance- Sometimes a PT not accepting your insurance, or even taking insurance to begin with may not be a bad thing. Cash based clinics (no insurance) often means you get more time with the therapist and may get better results in less time.
Niche- Different clinicians have different niches. For instance, a lot of my clients are stunt performers and martial artists because I happen to be one too. I understand their needs and it makes it easier to treat them. Finding a PT that understands your needs is very helpful to getting great care.
There are few more reasons I outline in this video. Check it out and let me know if there are any other questions I can help you with regards to picking a physical therapist so you can improve your health and performance.
Master this exercise to live longer
Being able to do this exercise is associated with a longer life. Let’s break it down!
Squat! This exercise although super simple is very popular because quite frankly it’s very important and targets a lot of key muscles. Why is it important, well because if you try to lift something heavy off the ground (which we all need to do) without bending your knees, there is a good chance your going to hurt yourself. If you want to sit down into a chair, get off the toilet, or travel guess what? You’re going to need to do a squat. In fact, A 2014 study found that being able to get up and off the floor with as little support as possible was a predictor of mortality. Those who need less assistance from different parts of their body on average lived longer. In Eastern countries like China and Japan, they on average show much less prevalence of Hip osteoarthritis. Now we don’t know exactly why but one prevailing theory is that it’s because in those countries they squat very low as part of their day to day life.
So how do we build a good squat. First we need to make sure we have enough mobility, specifically in our knees, hips and ankles. If you don’t have the mobility you may still be able to squat low but you might compensating with rounding your low back and that overtime can lead to some pain.
Secondly we need to make sure we are turning on the right muscles. Are we activating our quads, glutes, and abs. A lot of people have a hard time with last two and there are a lot great exercises that can help you get there if you are struggling with that.
Third, we need to make sure we are strong enough. And in my opinion, just being able to get up and down isn’t enough because over time we will get weaker and we want to set ourselves up for success in the future, so let’s get a higher baseline now.
Lastly, if we have all those building blocks we just want to do it with good form. We should always lead with our hips because they are the strongest part of the body. If you are unsure, hire a physical therapies or coach to look at it for you!
Let’s squat to feel better, look better, do more, and for our loved ones so they don’t need to help us get up as we get older.
Dudda M, Kim YJ, Zhang Y, Nevitt MC, Xu L, Niu J, Goggins J, Doherty M, Felson DT. Morphologic differences between the hips of Chinese women and white women: could they account for the ethnic difference in the prevalence of hip osteoarthritis? Arthritis Rheum. 2011 Oct;63(10):2992-9. doi: 10.1002/art.30472. PMID: 21647861; PMCID: PMC3178680.
How to treat low back pain?
Low back pain affects so many people and can be quite debilitating. However a thorough assessment should give us the answers on how to treat it.
In order to treat low back pain, we first need to see if there are any red flags or dangerous signs. Usually by asking some questions and running some tests, we can determine if we need to follow up with a medical doctor for more tests or are we safe for physical therapy.
After that we want to categorize our patients based on how they present. The American physical therapy association has four classification categories. A manipulation category, a stabilization category, a directional preference category, progressive exercises and fitness activities for chronic back pain
Classifying our patients in the correct category allows us to treat them properly so they get better results faster.