• Video Library
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Functional Training // Injury Rehabilitation // Running Analysis

  • Contact Me

Menu

  • Home
  • Programs and Services
  • About
  • Reviews
  • Blog
  • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,552 other followers

  • Search

  • Blog Categories

  • Whats New?

    • 4 Exercise Variations to Strengthen Your Hip Flexors
    • The Secret Behind Injury Prevention: Can You Run Your Next Race Pain-Free?
    • ‘In the Spotlight’ with Claudette Watson
    • 4 Things Every Runner Should Do in the Offseason
    • How to Progress the Side Plank for Better Core & Hip Strength
  • Like me on Facebook

    Like me on Facebook

Browsing Tags active release

What I learned in 2014…

January 5, 2015 · by Garrett McLaughlin

6a00d8345194a469e2019b03496da5970cAs 2014 comes to a close and 2015 kicks into gear, I like to reflect back and think about what big changes I have made in the past year, what have I learned that has improved the quality of my service, and what things I can still do better on. Below is a list of the biggest things that impacted me in 2014.

  1. I love foam rolling, but is it good in every situation?

foam-roller-full-roundedFoam rolling from an evidence-based standpoint has significant benefits and yields improvements in performance, quality of soft-tissue, and allows for greater range of motion. With that be said, does all soft-tissue benefit from foam rolling? The body varies greatly from area to area with some muscles resting directly over bones, while others are sandwiched between several muscles. Many of the problems people are facing when they have pain or lack range of motion is not just in one specific muscle, but because the muscles that are in contact with others are gliding properly on top of one another. Will crushing them together while foam rolling improve this problem? Doubtful.

2.   Muscle stiffness vs. muscle tightness

This has been something I have always known to be true, but have often fell victim to stretching when a client feels “tight.” Tightness is an adjective used to describe achey, restricted, stiff and, immobile muscles and joints. But before stretching a joint you need to realize whether there is a lack of motion at that specific muscle, or is it just stiff from increased tone. The solution to these two issues are quite different. The stiff muscle will benefit more greatly from foam rolling and a deeper look at surrounding muscles to determine if they are firing properly. Tight muscles are the ones you want to address with foam rolling, static stretching, and mobility drills. To continue to stretch a stiff muscle is often exacerbating the problem.

3.    Active Release Techniques (ART) is a great supplement to traditional rehabilitation and exercise therapy.

active-release-technique-therapy-seattle-34-404x256The addition of ART has improved my outcomes significantly. Athletic Trainers are generally pretty good with exercise prescription, evaluating injuries, and returning athletes and people back to sport and activity. But, addressing soft-tissue dysfunction was always a missing link. It is amazing at how many issues in soft-tissue can be directly palpated and improved in as little as seconds. Over the past year, I’ve had people who were on the brink of surgery, and others who had the worst numbness and tingling into their leg recover and walk out being symptom-free. People often need some type of hands-on component. Do I think ART alone is the best treatment for soft-tissue injury? No. I’ve seen some injuries improve better with graston and IASTM, while ART has been better for others. But, addressing the soft-tissue is a must and when left out often decreases the effectiveness of the treatment.

4.    If you don’t say something, no one knows.

I’ve been a low key, “keep stuff to myself” person my entire life. When there’s a problem and you don’t talk about it, it’s no ones fault but your own. Speak up!

5.    Social media and technology are great, but sometimes it’s the in-person relationship that provides the most value.

ÀüAs I work on growing my business, aside from the actual sessions themselves, I realize that it’s mainly technology driven. Website design, blogging, facebook, twitter, and email, all are ways I build my brand and try to grow business. The last few months I have switched it up and did things the old fashioned way. I just walked into sporting goods stores, music stores, and met with several doctors and healthcare professionals. The value of face-to-face communication can’t be overstated. Sometimes it takes the in person connection to really develop true relationships.

6.    Everyone should work on jumping and landing.

There are several exercises that people label as, “athletes only.” In my opinion, good function and training is just that, good training. Jumping and landing are foundations of human movement and need to be developed properly. I don’t think athletes alone need these things, because they promote proper mechanics and also help prevent injury when form is correct.

7.    To increase range of motion, static stretching should be done when cold for best results.

This may be a surprise to many people who have always been told to stretch only when you are warmed up. But, those that always stretch after they are warm are probably the people still stretching day in and day out. Properties of muscle viscoelasticity depend on temperature. The warmer a muscle is, the more elastic it becomes. The colder or closer to normal resting temperature will yield more plastic changes when deformed. This means the muscle-tendon unit elongates and stays in that position as opposed to resorting back to its shortened length. Yes, your chance of injury is greater, but when done properly this method will produce safe and effective results.

8.     Be the change you want to see.

Sometimes things suck and it makes you miserable. It takes a lot to realize that instead of figuring out and fixing the problem, you yourself are compounding it. If something needs to be changed, change it.

9.     Kids need to move more.

6a0120a62a802d970c01538e80cab1970b-800wiThis is something that is known everywhere. But, everyday as I drive around the neighborhood I don’t see nearly as many kids outside playing anymore. Sports are great, but it’s that unstructured play that helps develop the necessary motor skills early in life. The skills we used to gain by jumping fences, climbing trees, throwing rocks, and just being kids. I work with a lot of kids in our sports performance program that are pretty good young athletes, but they lack the basic foundations which would allow them to be great. Most of these kids are single sport athletes as well. All you parents, I recommend you make your kids go outside and play, and get them involved in several different sports growing up to develop an all around athlete.

10.     Good is not good, it’s actually bad.

I had a very motivating talk with a client of mine who shared some great insight and lit a fire under me. In reality, a lot of people in life and in their profession are good. It’s those that are outstanding that make an impact and are noticed. Everyday since then I have thought about this quote, “Good is not good when better is expected.” – Vin Scully

Curious about how my thoughts changed from last year? Here’s my What I Learned in 2013 article. Thanks for reading! Feel free to send some things that have impacted YOU in 2014. It’s important for us to reflect on what we learned, what caused us to change, when we were wrong, how we could’ve handled situations better, and any other way that truly allows growth to occur. Goodluck in 2015!

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

What’s Next After Physical Therapy?

December 16, 2014 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Ever since I switched over into the fitness industry I learned that most people are pretty messed up. It’s astonishing really how many people are in pain, move poorly, or both. Typically following an injury, people do a great job seeing a doctor, progressing through PT, and then they are discharged back into the world hoping that they can jump right into what they were doing before. Unfortunately, I am seeing a bigger divide from where they are to where they want to be. This increases their chance of re-injury and leaves people feeling confused as to why they aren’t doing what they love.

Nowadays, our healthcare system is changing rapidly and it isn’t always in the favor of the patient. Certain procedures and imaging are covered by insurance, PT is being discontinued before people are ready, and providers aren’t making as much for there services as they should. This ultimately leaves the patient at a disservice because they are not getting the top quality care they deserve. In cases like these when patients have been discharged from PT, and released into this scary, fast moving world, it is essential to find someone who has their best interest in mind in terms of their health & wellness.

The next step is finding that right person, which can be even more difficult. The fitness industry is full of weekend certifications from corrective exercise specialists to cancer exercise specialists to fitness nutrition specialists. In my opinion, to be called a specialist you must devote a little more time than some weekend course and pass a multiple choice exam. That is why I feel patients recently discharged from PT will benefit greatly from the knowledge and skills of Certified Athletic Trainers (ATC). An ATCs background and 4-year education prepares them for careers in the healthcare field at locations such as: sports medicine clinics, doctors offices, all levels of athletics, and industrial workplaces. But, it’s common to find a few in fitness settings such as health clubs, private personal training facilities, and sports performance centers. In addition to their education, many specialize in other orthopedic areas, such as soft-tissue manual therapy, massage, therapeutic exercise, aquatic therapy, and much more.

Athletic Trainers are trained in orthopedic evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation, emergency care, corrective & prophylactic taping, and on-site athletic game/practice coverage. In essence, they speak the lingo of your Physical Therapist and can provide the most seamless continuum of care after being discharged.

If you or a friend are looking for top quality post-physical therapy fitness programming in the Nashville area, contact me for more details.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ATC

Improving Posture: It Takes More Than Just Exercise

May 28, 2014 · by Garrett McLaughlin
| Article written on May 28th, 2014 at 12:00pm | Follow Garrett on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram |

The decline in posture is growing by the year. It shouldn’t be any surprise, look at all of the things we do on a daily basis: we sit on the couch, we sit at a desk, we drive to work, we check our e-mail and surf the web, and we go to the gym and work our chest, shoulders, and arms. That right there is the perfect recipe for poor posture and future injury, if left uncorrected.

Janda’s upper crossed syndrome is the perfect explanation of what soft-tissue changes occur at the upper extremity as we age and as a result of our lifestyle (see picture below). Plain and simple, the chest and upper trapezius become overactive/tight, and the deep neck flexors and lower scapular muscles become inhibited/lengthened.

1381651_orig

Exercise is a common prescription for correcting these postural changes. It does make sense to a degree, but strengthening or activating muscles is only half of the solution. The overactive/tight muscles must also be effectively lengthened. In chronic situations, finding a solution takes more than just these two strategies alone.

One thing to realize is that chronic muscle tightness actually changes the state of the affected muscles. Not only are they tight, but often lacking the necessary oxygen and blood flow, which creates fibrosis. That is why a more well rounded approach, including Active Release Techniques (ART), is needed to address the function, texture, and tightness of these tissues to allow for full restoration of length.

In contrast, ART alone won’t be a fix by itself. Once the quality of a tissue is improved, it is up to the brain to register the changes made with treatment. Unfortunately, I find many therapists still solely treat without any other interventions.

For example, let’s say the mouse on your computer stops working. Once you remove the broken mouse and attach a new mouse to the USB port, the computer screen usually has a pop up which tells you that new hardware has been detected. Plugging the mouse into the port tells the computer there’s something new with one of it’s components. This is important.

Too often, therapists perform manual therapy without then moving the affected area through it’s range of motion or challenging it in some way to fully register these changes. That is why a combined approach of soft-tissue work, stretching, and movement can create maximum benefits while improving posture.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Page 2 of 2 « Previous 1 2
  • Hours & Info

    Operating Inside of Motiv8 Fitness
    6319 Haggerty Road
    West Bloomfield, MI 48322
    (734) 604-4197
    By Appointment Only
  • Follow me on Facebook

    Follow me on Facebook
  • Powered by WordPress.com.
  • Connect with us:
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Cancel