The "Rack" Position

The rack position is a way of holding a barbell in the front of their shoulders in a way that minimizes the stress and energy demands on the body.  It looks something like this:

You have to admit that's an awesome 'stache!

The problem is that if you go into your local Crossfit box, you will see a majority of the members in there do not have the ability to adequately get into that position.  How would you know if you're one of them?  Well if during exercises like front squats, clean and jerks, or thrusters and you notice yourself having wrist pain, you might be one of them.  Sometimes also people that get into the rack position notice that the barbell is actually choking their throat, so therefore there isn't enough space to comfortably rest in that position.

What I've noticed is that there are several main reasons for this.

1)  Limited thoracic spine extension - The is the most common one.  Especially if the bar is choking you out when you get in this position.  Your head, neck and upper back can't go back far enough so there's not enough space for the bar.  Extension is the same thing as 'leaning back' with the upper back.



2)  Limited flexibility of the elbow or wrists - Typically you know if you fall into this category.  An old injury that didn't heal well would most likely be to blame.  Be careful though, just because you feel tension at your elbow as you try to get into the rack position does not mean that you have elbow problems.  It could still be a thoracic spine problem, you just feel added stress and stretch at the elbow because of the upper back's inflexibility.

Ulnar Nerve self tension test

3)  A peripheral Nerve Entrapment of the Ulnar nerve at the elbow - The ulnar nerve (the funny bone) get's almost fully tensioned (pulled tight) in the rack position.  It's close to the orthopedic test we have for entrapment of the ulnar nerve.  The orthopedic test looks like this.  You would feel pain on the inside of your elbow.









Now what do you do if you fall into these category?

1) Thoracic Spine foam rolling techniques - I've gone over this several times in posts in the past.  If you don't know what I'm referring to, go back into the archives section on the bottom of this page.  Make sure you rolling out the spine BEFORE the workout as opposed to afterward.  You need that increased flexibility for your workout.

2)  Try stretching your wrists and your elbows.  Either in two ways, static holding (hold for 30 seconds) or in mobilizations (constant motion to ever end range of motion).  Both will be helpful

3) Get yourself checked out by a sports chiropractor or manual therapist.  There are certain techniques to improving flexibility in a joint or muscle that you just can't reproduce at home.  If you are unable to at least improve your rack position with the foam roller or quality coaching I'd recommend you get yourself checked out.

If you are in the Boca Raton area and would like to get yourself checked out, don't hesitate to sign up for your own exam on the right hand side of the page, or by contacting me at drscotthoar@gmail.com.  Happy racking!!! To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com

Shin splints

Shin splints.....every runner has heard of them.  This is a very common condition. It occurs when there is an overuse injury of the muscles of front of the shin.

There are two kinds: one is just to the outside of the shin bone, one is just to the inside.

What causes it? Typically one of 4 things. It's probably an alignment issue of the lower body stemming from an inflexibility in the foot, ankle, knee or hip. Sometimes it's a stability problem of the arch of the  foot as well.  Flexibility in the joints of your lower extremity serve as the shock absorbers to your lower body. When you have muscle or joint restrictions in the foot, ankle, knee or hip you will add more stress to the lower legs.  Shin splints occur because the two possible muscles involved (tibial is anterior or posterior) are the smallest, thinnest muscles of the lower leg aka the weakest link.

How can you tell if you are at risk for this problem? 4 ways. This will be fun to do on your own

Hip flexibility: can you bend over and touch your toes?(without bending your knees)

Knee flexibility: can you easily pull your knee up to make contact with your butt and easily lock out the knee?

 Ankle flexibility: this ones tricky. Kneel on one knee with the front foot about  one fists distance from the wall. Can you lean forward and touch your knee to the wall (just slightly to the outside of the foot) without your heel coming off he ground?

 Toe flexibility: while standing press your toe into the ground and lift your heel up as high as possible. What angle does the foot make in relation to the toe? If its less than 70-90 degrees than you have a problem.

To improve your flexibility you can do joint mobilizations.

Mobilizations that are just like the assessments.  Rock back and forth into the end range of motion with the particular joint that your trying to affect. Don't hold it too long, then you'll be stretching a muscle.  Joint mobilizations are more effective to making the difference than muscle stretching is.

If you already have shin splints I recommend getting an evaluation with your local sports medicine professional. Be careful, if you let the problem go too long it could turn into a stress fracture which is a pain in the neck to get rid of.  Feel free to schedule an appointment in my office in Boca Raton by dialing us at 561.997.8898 or emailing me directly at drscotthoar@gmail.com.  To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com

Foam Rolling

Have you ever used a foam roller?

Using a foam roller is the next best thing one can do short of seeing a manual sports therapist.  It's very common that runner's use foam roller when trying to self-treat iliotibial band syndrome.  However, there are way more uses then that.  In our office we very commonly use foam rolling as a way to increase the flexibility in our patient's upper back, to minimize the stress on the neck, shoulder and low back.

Having said that this past week I was lucky enough to have a pro, Dr. Nicole Trombetto, a trainer/therapist at RAW Fitness in Boca Raton, FL, who is a MELT Method Certified practitioner (a self-care therapy system) to show me some things about the method.  The method utilizes unique foam rollers and roller balls to help to decrease pain and tension within the soft tissues of the body.  I had no idea how much one can utilize foam rollers and roller balls to treat literally the whole body.  She took me through a class that made my feet feel much looser, and my hands feeling much better, which is always a good thing for a manual therapist such as myself.

Here's a great way to use the foam roller to keep neck, shoulder and low back pain away:

If you have any questions on using the foam roller or if you'd like to get help with any of your ailments please dial my office at 561.997.8898 or email me at drscotthoar@gmail.com. To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com

Should You Reconsider Running?

Reasons You Might Want to Reconsider Running:

if you feel like this when running, there's good news!

1.  More likely to get injured - with the repetition of running without much diversion (like other exercise forms) in your movements, you end up highly stressing certain areas of your body.  Remember the old rule 'if you don't use it you lose it"?  Well running only uses a small amount of the available range of motion of the hips, shoulder, knees and ankles.  It is not a complete exercise form and should not be relied upon as the only exercise form that one gets.  I see more pure runners in my sports medicine injury practice than I do crossfitters.

which thigh would you rather have?

2.  Less muscle, more fat - After about 20-30 minutes of exercise your body uses up the available sugars to provide energy for your exercise, afterward you end up using a good portion of your own muscle mass as energy for your exercise.  Have you ever seen someone that isn't fat but they don't have any muscle definition whatsoever?  They might be an endurance athlete that only relies on one exercise form to stay in shape.  Therefore they're not fat, but they don't really look good.

3.  Your body adapts and conserves energy - This is what the body does, it adapts.  That's why we're all still here.  That's why I was born in Buffalo, NY and used to think that type of weather (cold and snowy) was normal and that the south Florida climate I'm in now was crazy.  And now I'm shivering when I'm up there and comfortable down here.  The longer you do any process the more the body will become efficient (meaning burning less calories and lower your metabolism). 

4.  It takes too long - what? It does....You can burn more fat effectively in a 4 minute tabata interval.

Having said all of this, running is not a bad thing.  If you are passionate about running and it leaves you feeling happy and healthy, then by all means you should continue running.  Now if you don't actually enjoy running, what I recommend you do is to try alternate options as far as your healthy and wellness. Options like crossfit, the orange theory, boot camps, High intensity interval training, yoga, pilates, triathlons, etc.  There are so many options out there and I recommend you try them all.  If you don't like running...then don't do it!

 As always feel free to tell me what you'd like me to write about and if you'd like to schedule your own appointment dial my office at 561.997.8898.  To check out more visit www.Mobility-4Life.com