For the latest podcast, we're excited to welcome Dr. Christopher Camp, team doctor for the Minnesota Twins and orthopedic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Camp goes into great detail on the classification, management, trends, and prevention of baseball injuries. Additionally, he speaks to the complexities of various surgeries we see in overhead throwing athletes, and discusses where further innovation is needed to better manage these players.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Marc Pro. Head towww.MarcPro.comand enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.
You can follow Dr. Camp on Twitter at @ChrisCampMD.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by Marc Pro, a cutting-edge EMS device that uses patented technology to create non-fatiguing muscle activation. Muscle activation with Marc Pro facilitates each stage of the body’s natural recovery process- similar to active recovery, but without the extra effort and muscle fatigue. Athletes can use it for as long as they need to ensure a more full and quick recovery in between training or games. With its portability and ease of use, players can use Marc Pro while traveling between games or while relaxing at home. Players and trainers from every MLB team - including over 200 pro pitchers - use Marc Pro. Put Marc Pro to the test for yourself and use promo code CRESSEY at checkout at www.MarcPro.com for an exclusive discount on your order.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We're excited to welcome renowned physical therapist, coach, author, and presenter, Dr. Kelly Starrett, to the latest podcast as we kick off a series of podcasts with a sports medicine focus. Kelly shares some awesome insights related to universal performance principles, recovery strategies, "upstream" initiatives, and long-term athletic development.
A special thanks to this show's sponsor, Marc Pro. Head towww.MarcPro.comand enter the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive an exclusive discount on your order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by Marc Pro, a cutting-edge EMS device that uses patented technology to create non-fatiguing muscle activation. Muscle activation with Marc Pro facilitates each stage of the body’s natural recovery process- similar to active recovery, but without the extra effort and muscle fatigue. Athletes can use it for as long as they need to ensure a more full and quick recovery in between training or games. With its portability and ease of use, players can use Marc Pro while traveling between games or while relaxing at home. Players and trainers from every MLB team - including over 200 pro pitchers - use Marc Pro. Put Marc Pro to the test for yourself and use promo code CRESSEY at checkout at www.MarcPro.com for an exclusive discount on your order.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We're excited to welcome Dr. Chris Ahmad, team doctor for the New York Yankees, to this week's podcast. Dr. Ahmad goes into great detail on the throwing elbow with respect to anatomy, diagnostic challenges, surgical complexities, non-operative strategies, and biological interventions. He also touches on important lessons for players, parents, and coaches who want to avoid youth baseball injuries.
What makes the anatomy and function of the elbow so complex, specifically in throwing athletes
What the biggest mistakes are both surgically and diagnostically with respect to the elbow
Why injuries of the elbow aren’t as binary as partial and full tears and how professionals can better evaluate and understand the health of elbows in throwing populations
How UCL calcification and injury at a young age impacts the health of baseball players as they grow and advance in their career
What makes a Tommy John surgery successful from a surgical perspective
How Tommy John surgery has evolved since it was first performed in 1974
What the clinical implications are for Dr. Ahmad to perform an ulnar nerve transposition during UCL reconstruction surgery
What variables surgeons must consider when deciding where to take a tendon graft from for UCL reconstruction
How Dr. Ahmad manipulates grafts to ensure an elbow is strong and sturdy for his patients post-surgery
What key things Ahmad discusses with his patients as they begin their road to recovery post-surgery
What key benchmarks Dr. Ahmad looks for patients to progress to through the Tommy John rehab process
Why there isn’t a true standard timeline for athletes to return to performing in games after UCL reconstruction
Why Dr. Ahmad is an advocate for biological interventions such as PRP injections and the use of stem cells to manage elbow injuries, and what benefits these methodologies offer beyond throwing injuries
Where the future of biological treatments is headed, and what the drawbacks and dangers of using these powerful methods can be
Where Dr. Ahmad sees the need for more research to be done in the prevention, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and recovery of arm injuries
Why Dr. Ahmad has worked to create a registry with Major League Baseball to collect data on injured professional ball players and how this resource will be used to find answers to questions in the field without setting up a formal study
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 20 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
We're excited to welcome Gary Reinl, Director of National Accounts and Professional Athletic Teams for Marc Pro, to this week's podcast. Gary delves into one of the most controversial topics in sports medicine history: icing.
How Gary become involved in the realm of sports medicine in 1973
How Gary became passionate about the science and practice of recovery
Where the belief in icing for recovery began, and how did it became so accepted in the sports medicine community
Where the RICE protocol (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) originated
What the research says about the use of ice for recovery and the traditional RICE method
How Gary formulated his simple and organized system for healing damaged tissue away from the common belief in ice and the RICE protocol
Why tissue preservation, tissue regeneration, and angiogenesis are the primary goals when promoting recovery of damaged tissue
Why evacuating waste and clearing congestion is important for creating healthy tissue
What physiological mechanisms electrical stimulation takes advantage of to push waste out of damaged areas via the lymphatic system
How low intensity muscular contractions decongest damaged tissues, avoid the unnecessary killing of healthy tissue, restore circulation, and promote tissue regeneration
What benefits e-stim has beyond the recovery of damaged tissue
Why sports medicine professionals and the general population often confuse inflammation with degeneration
How can individuals maximize the effectiveness of Marc Pro and other e-stim units through pad placement and overall set-up during treatment
Where would Gary like to see the Marc Pro used more in the sports medicine world
You can follow Gary on Twitter at @TheAntiIceMan and email him at gary@marcpro.com. Be sure to check out his book, Iced!, and take advantage of the great offer on Marc Pro for podcast listeners by heading to www.MarcPro.com and entering the coupon code CRESSEY at checkout to receive 10% off on your order.
Sponsor Reminder
This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. It’s an all-in-one superfood supplement with 75 whole-food sourced ingredients designed to support your body’s nutrition needs across 5 critical areas of health: 1) energy, 2) immunity, 3) gut health, 4) hormonal support, and 5) healthy aging. Head to www.AthleticGreens.com/cressey and claim my special offer today - 20 FREE travel packs (valued at $79) - with your first purchase. I use this product daily myself and highly recommend it to our athletes as well. I'd encourage you to give it a shot, too - especially with this great offer.
Podcast Feedback
If you like what you hear, we'd be thrilled if you'd consider subscribing to the podcast and leaving us an iTunes review. You can do so HERE.
And, we welcome your suggestions for future guests and questions. Just email elitebaseballpodcast@gmail.com.
Thank you for your continued support!
Sign-up Today for our FREE Baseball Newsletter and Receive Instant Access to a 47-minute Presentation from Eric Cressey on Individualizing the Management of Overhead Athletes!
Recently, during my weekly Instagram Q&A, I received this question:
"Have you ever dealt with valgus extension overload syndrome and how?"
My initial response was, "Absolutely - and with every single overhead throwing athlete I've ever encountered."
You see, "valgus extension overload" simply described the two most common injury mechanisms in throwers. Your elbow can get hurt at lay-back (max shoulder external rotation) or full elbow extension. This terminology doesn't describe a specific tissue pathology, nor an underlying movement competency that is insufficient and therefore allowing an individual to become symptomatic. To me, it's a completely incomplete "diagnosis." Let's dig deeper.
You have medical diagnoses and movement diagnoses. Both are important.
A medical diagnosis might be a rotator cuff tear, MCL sprain, or tibial fracture. These deviations speak directly to the damaged tissue and relate the severity of this structural change.
A movement diagnosis (popularized by physical therapist Shirley Sahrmann) might be scapular downward rotation syndrome, femoral anterior glide syndrome, or lumbar extension-rotation syndrome. These diagnoses speak to the deviation from normal movement that’s observed.
At times, both types of diagnoses are bastardized.
On the medical side, examples would include “shoulder impingement,” “shin splints,” and “valgus-extension overload.” All of these flawed medical diagnoses speak to a region of the body, but not a specific structure.
On the movement side, examples would be vague things like “weak posterior chain,” “scapular dyskinesis,” or “poor stability.” They don’t speak to the specific movement competencies that need to be improved.
I'm all for simplifying things as much as possible. However, diagnosis is an area where oversimplifying is completely inappropriate. Diagnosis is what establishes the road map for the journey you're about to begin - so make sure to eliminate any guesswork in this regard, whether it's on the medical or movement side of things.
Perhaps nowhere in the sports medicine world is the movement vs. medical diagnosis discussion more of a consideration than in the discussion of thoracic outlet syndrome, a challenging "diagnosis of exclusion." I recently released a course discussing this complex topic, and I'd strongly encourage you to check it out if you'd like to take a deep dive into upper extremity functional anatomy. You can learn more HERE.
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One of my biggest pet peeves is when all anterior shoulder pain is given a "blanket diagnosis" of biceps tendonitis. With that in mind, today, I've got a webinar excerpt from my Sturdy Shoulder Solutions resource (which is on sale for $40 off using coupon code APRIL22 right now) that delves into the topic in greater detail. Check it out:
For more information, check out www.SturdyShoulders.com. And, don't forget to enter coupon code APRIL22 to save $40 through Sunday at midnight!
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The shoulder girdle is a complex series of joints unified by subtle movements in perfect timing. If you need proof, just check out this slide from my popular, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions.
This study looked at the difference between the empty can and full can in terms of both muscular recruitment and actual movement in folks with symptomatic impingement vs. healthy controls. Not surprisingly, the empty can exercise hurt more. Just looking at this picture hurts my shoulder (and my shirt is wildly fitting).
To me, though, that's not the most significant takeaway from these study results. Rather, take a look at some of the numbers included in their findings: 1-3 degrees (joint movement) and 1-4% (muscular activation). These are subtle, subtle quantifiable differences between those in pain and those who are pain free - and most of them really can't be perceived "on the fly."
What does this mean for how you assess, program, and coach?
First, from an evaluation standpoint, we have to truly understand what quality movement should look and feel like. If you can't truly define "normal," then how can you ever truly appreciate "abnormal?"
Second, not all exercises are created equal (as we learned from the empty vs. full can discussion).
Third, in coaching, we have to constantly solicit feedback from our athletes on where they feel exercises.
These are all key principles on which I focus in my resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions. You can learn more at www.SturdyShoulders.com.
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I'm super excited to announce the release of my new resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions, which will be on sale for $50 off through Sunday. This product has been years in the making, and it includes over six hours of cutting edge assessment, coaching, and programming strategies. You can learn more at the following link:
How Posture Impacts Pain and Performance (Webinar)
Important Upper Extremity Functional Anatomy Considerations (Webinar)
The Proximal-to-Distal Principle (Webinar)
Nuances of the Neck (Webinar)
Rethinking the Thoracic Spine (Webinar)
Making Sense of Serratus Anterior (Webinar)
Is Upper Trapezius the Devil? (Lab)
The Myth of Normal Range of Motion (Lab)
Rethinking the Thoracic Spine (Lab)
Making Sense of Serratus Anterior (Lab)
Good Exercises Gone Bad (Lab)
The Myth of Balancing Pushes and Pulls (Lab)
It's a great fit for personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, sports coaches, and rehabilitation specialists. Additionally, many fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the focus on individualizing programming recommendations and technique coaching strategies.
In particular, it’s a tremendous fit for anyone who has previously been exposed to our Optimal Shoulder Performance and Functional Stability Training products. Sturdy Shoulder Solutions serves as an up-to-date companion to the educational material covered in those previous offerings.
You'll get instant online access to this digital-only product after purchase. Just head to http://www.SturdyShoulders.com to pick it up.
With this week's sale on my Thoracic Outlet Syndrome course, I thought I'd highlight a really common trigger point in throwers. Look no further than subclavius. It’s stuck right between the clavicle (collarbone) and first rib (highlighted in red here).
In normal posture, the clavicle should have a slight upslope. In many throwers who sit in scapular depression, downward rotation, and/or anterior tilt, the clavicle is pulled down even more, as the collarbone interacts with the shoulder blade at the acromioclavicular joint. Wherever the scapula goes, the collarbone goes.
Here’s the problem: with overhead motion, the clavicle actually needs to rotate up as well – and a short, dense, fibrotic subclavius will restrict that movement.
Making matters worse, the subclavius works with the often hypertonic scalenes to elevate the first rib – so this muscle gets smashed from the bottom while it’s already bunched up from the top. And don’t forget that there are important nerve and vascular structures that course between these two bones as well, so subclavius is an anatomical structure that can’t be ignored anytime a thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis is considered.
From a referral standpoint, trigger points in subclavius can lead to symptoms in the anterior shoulder, biceps muscle belly, and lateral forearm all the way down to the thumb side of the hand. It’s also not uncommon to see the clavicular angle increase (upslope) after good manual therapy on subclavius in someone with a low shoulder.
In short, don’t overlook this muscle just because you’ve never heard of it or it’s really small. Taking care of it can be a game changer, whether it's with quality manual therapy, self-myofascial release on the Acumobility Ball, or a combination of the two.
Also, if you're looking to learn more about how I assess, coach, and program at the shoulder, I'd encourage you to check out my popular resource, Sturdy Shoulder Solutions. I dig in deep on functional anatomy of the upper extremity on a number of fronts in this resource; you can learn more at www.SturdyShoulders.com.
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To wrap up my “Best of 2017″ series, I’ll highlight the top product reviews I did at this site in the last year. Here they are:
1. Complete Sports Conditioning - This resource from Mike Boyle is top notch, and he does a great job of simplifying complex topics for up-and-coming strength and conditioning coaches. Since it was the most popular product I reviewed this year, I reached out to Mike to see if he'd be up for running a quick promo sale for my readers, and he kindly agreed. From now through January 3, you can get $100 off on the resource. No coupon code is needed; just head HERE.
2. American Sports Medicine Institute Injuries in Baseball Course - Mike Reinold compiled this great list of webinars from accomplished surgeons and rehabilitation specialists to create an excellent sports medicine resource for those in the baseball world.
3. L2 Fitness Summit Video Series - Dean Somerset and Dr. Mike Israetel released this video of a one-day seminar back in November, Dean offers a nice glimpse into some assessment components that go beyond typical movement screens, and Mike's presentation on hypertrophy mechanisms and strategies was insightful as well. These are some seemingly minimally-related topics, but they did a good job of pulling everything together.
Also in 2017, the Cressey Sports Performance team released CSP Innovations. This resource highlighted a collection of different topics from the CSP staff, so there's something for everyone at a price much cheaper than attending a seminar.
We're back to the regular EricCressey.com content this week. Thanks for all your support in 2017!
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