Brian Schiff’s Blog

Well, I just finished day two of the 2nd IYCA Youth Summit.  I attended last year as well.  Each year I took away some new info, reinforcement about what I am currently doing along with motivation to become a better coach.  Yet, the best part of attending these live events is building relationships. 

I have met so many incredible coaches and people.  Whether having breakfast with the likes of Kwame Brown and Carlo Alvarez or chatting with Dave Jack and Chris Mohr, I am reminded that greatness is not about ego or self seeking.  Rather, greatness comes from giving, humility and most importantly “doing the right things” for our clients.

What does this look like in my fitness and sports performance business?  Well, it involves the following:

• Putting 100% of my passion into products, training and consulting
• Assessing the needs, abilities and goals of my clients
• Constantly re-assessing to “tweak” programming and exercise prescription
• Being willing to admit when you are wrong or change the way you do or see things when it is in the best interests of the client
• Continually learning and striving to get better each day
• Delivering results through sound evidenced based training (knowing “why” I do what I do)
• Being honest and dedicated to improving the lives of my clients

So, you may be asking why I am telling you all this.  I have a simple answer.  I want you to trust me and look to me as a credible expert when it comes to corrective exercise, rehab and sports performance.  I also want to assure you it really is the proper application of knowledge that defines success with exercise.  It is an exact science.

The types of exercise, reps, sets and such really do matter.  See what one client recently said about my shoulder rehab program:

I began using your exercises immediately.  In just 6 days I have seen significant change.  I have been able to use my hamd/arm again to wash my hair, close my car door, reach for items and just stop holding it up and against my body.  Today I had a weekly massage (she was formerly a PT) and she was amazed at my progress.  I feel there is hope again.  I know the book cost a fee, but I still want to say thank you for creating an exercise plan that does not include torture.

Wow, torture is never good, right?  Exercise should never be painful – just effective.  If you have not seen significant positive change within 30 days, this should raise a red flag.  So, beware of ultra hype and too good to be true claims, yet understand that you should see some measurable results in a reasonable time frame.  I will always stand behind my programs and products. 

With that said, I will be revealing a series of specific exercises I use with my clients over the next month.  In these posts, I will show you the exercise, explain the applications and reveal the training tools I use to make them work.  The posts will give you real exercises you can use to fix muscular imbalances, improve strength and maximize physical health and performance.  Most importantly, you can rest assured I remain 100% committed to doing things the “right way.” 

I am sure you or someone you know has suffered with or been affected by a frozen shoulder at some point.  Known in the medical world as adhesive capsulitis, this condition can be downright miserable for folks.

Who gets it?  It is often brought on after injury or a period of immobilization (e.g. arm in a sling after surgery or dislocation).  However, it also comes on insidiously too.  Statistics indicate it more commonly affects women and those with diabetes are at more risk for getting it in both arms.

Some feel it may ultimately be an autoimmune reaction that triggers it.  So, what is it exactly?  Well, in plain terms your shoulder joint has folds of connective tissue we refer to as a joint capsule.  In frozen shoulder cases, the capsule becomes shortened and inflamed making arm movement painful and limited at best. 

There are three distinct phases:

1. Freezing
2. Frozen
3. Thawing

These phases may progress over the course of months or in some cases last as long as 2-3 years to resolve.  In time, the condition will correct itself. 

Symptoms may include:

• Stiffness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Pain along the shoulder or down into the arm
• Certain movements more restricted than others
• Progressive worsening of motion and decreasing pain

No one wants to suffer with this for any prolonged period of time.  So, how do you accelerate the healing process?  You must move the shoulder daily within your available range of motion.  But doing the right exercise is critical.

In addition, I believe having an experienced therapist do joint mobilizations is critical in loosening up the capsule provided it is done within pain tolerance of the patient and followed up by appropriate stretching.  For those without insurance or looking to avoid the grueling stretching some docs and PT’s advocate, I recommend looking at my home therapy guide.

Want more info?  Visit www.frozenshouldertherapy.com for success stories and more details on my proven home remedy.  You can also click on the image below:

In addition, I think you can complement rehab with a tool like the Rotater to help restore mobility.  I have trialed this product myself and I really like the ease of use and control the patient has with the stretching intensity.  For more details, click on the image below:

Today I have some exciting news to share.  I have recently partnered with OpenSky to make some of my very favorite training and rehab tools available online to you as well.  Essentially, at OpenSky I am able to send my readers to my own personal supply shop. 

In this shop, I will be showcasing products I believe in and use in my daily practice to help my clients achieve peak health and fitness.  For now, I only have three products in my shop, so you are essentially only getting a “sneak peek” as I quickly pull the curtains back for you.

In a few weeks, I will have a grand opening of sorts with many more products to offer.  So, what’s in the shop and how does it relate to me?  Well, today, I wanted to briefly discuss the importance of using a rolling device to facilitate myofascial (soft tissue) release.  Many of you know I run and train runners and athletes of all sports.  One of the most common issues I see (especially in runners) is problems or pain related to trigger points or soft tissue tightness.

How do I solve this?  When I injured my soleus training for the half marathon last fall, I used a roller to resolve pain and tightness before and after each run.  Using a self roller such as the Tiger Tail is very effective in resolving these trigger points and areas of tightness.  You will not be able to enjoy maximal strength and power production in your workouts if these trigger points are interfering or limiting you because of persistent pain.

You would like to think stretching alone would rid you of such issues, but this is just not the case.  Once you effectively relieve the trigger points, the muscle balance is restored and you can get back to 100% again.  So if you or someone you know always complains of tightness or soreness in one calf, hamstring, IT band, etc., this may be just the answer. 

The best part the Tiger Tail is that it is very affordable and easily transportable if you are on the go.  You control the pressure and location of the release.  In just 5-10 minutes you will be on your way to feeling much better.

Be sure to check it out today at my store by clicking here or on one of the images above.  I look forward to sharing more of my favorite training tools in the near future.

Whether you are lay person, trainer or therapist reading this blog, I try to keep you up to date on science, training and my interpretation/application of exercise based upon the research and practical application in my practice.

Today, I want to touch on an article just published in the Journal of American Sports Medicine.  It was based on a  study conducted by Tim Tyler et al in New York.  They set out to determine what effect decreasing GIRD (aka glenohumeral internal rotation deficit) and posterior shoulder tightness had on reducing symptoms associated with internal shoulder impingement.

For those unfamiliar with GIRD, it basically looks at total shoulder motion side to side but focuses on deficits in internal rotation.  Throwers often lack internal rotation on their dominant arms and exhibit excessive external range of motion for cocking and ball velocity.  We tend to call this acquired laxity.  Pitchers tend to have higher GIRD as well.  Keep in mind total shoulder motion is critical as well.  So, you cannot assume one will have problems just becasue there is decreased internal rotation.

You may see similar GIRD and psterior shoulder tightness patterns in other overhead athletes (swimmers, tennis players, volleyball players, etc.)  This particular study looked at the effect on 11 men and 11 women who received manual mobilization by a PT combined with ER ROM, posterior shoulder stretches and scapular strengthening.

They studied all 22 subjects (range of symptoms from 1 to 24 months) and then compared data on the patients with and without symptom resolution.  In effect the study revealed that posterior shoulder tightness was significantly improved in 12 of the subjects that had complete resolution of symptoms (more so than in the 10 who did not).  In addition, changes in GIRD did not seek to impact the results.

What is the take away from this study?  In a nutshell, if you have symptoms related to internal impingement, you should be doing posterior shoulder stretches.  So, what are the best ones to do?  There was a recent article in the NSCA Strength and Conditioning Journal (December 2009) that laid out some effective stretches (two of which I will show you in the video).  Also, you should note that this pattern of tightness is common in weight lifters.

I have included a short video clip with 3 effective stretches that easily can be done at home.  The stretches are as follows:

1. Standing cross chest shoulder pull (across the chest) – this is a basic stretch I start most clients with who are experiencing pain.  The drawback is that the scapula is not stabilized (or fixed) so you do not isolate the posterior shoulder effectively.  However, it tends to be more comfortable for many early on and you will still get some benefit.  When you are ready, it can be done against a wall to fix the scapula.
2. Side lying cross chest shoulder pull – this would be equivalent to doing stretch number 1 against a wall.  The floor acts to stabilize the scapula and then you pull the arm up and hold.
3. The sleeper stretch – go easy with this one as pushing too hard may actually increase inflammation in my experience.  You may also vary the angle of the upper arm to hit different portions of the joint capsule.  For example, you may elect to stretch at 90, 70 and 45 degrees.

I advocate holding each stretch for 20-30 seconds and repeating 2-3 times daily.  If you are in therapy, the stretching should be done following the joint mobilization by your therapist.   Click the video below to see the stretches.

Well, I have an update on player x.  She saw my preferred soccer/knee orthopedist in town on Wednesday.  He examined her and read the comments I gave to her mother as well.  In summary, he agreed with me that she had patello-femoral pain/inflammation.

He also told the mother she had just gone back to soccer too quickly and never fully regained her quad strength.  He told her if she continued to work around the deficit, she would likely suffer another injury.  This is often the case.  So, at this point the plan of action is to take a one month hiatus from soccer and do formal rehab three times per week.

While this process will be much slower and less active for player x, it probably will be for the best in the long run.  In the short term, she may suffer some loss of fitness, but she needs to focus on strengthening right now.  I will keep you updated on her progress as time goes by.  She will likely return to me for conditioning to transition her safely back to full soccer once therapy winds down.