Dr Chad Waterbury PT - Powerful Mobility Corrective Exercises for Better Performance and Joint Health

Some well-meaning personal trainers are fond of telling each other, If youre not assessing, youre guessing. The challenge, of course, is figuring out what to assess. Even the most knowledgeable physical therapists and clinicians dont agree on the answer.

Some experts believe that more emphasis should be put on a patients historyprevious injuries, job demands, exercise routines, etc. Others will spend more time on the individuals psychological state. Could that chronic stiffness on the left side of her neck and shoulder come from the fear of being hit by an abusive spouse, who just happens to be right handed? And some sports doctors will say they need to perform a long list of special tests for each joint, analyzing ligament integrity, muscle activation, and bony clearance, for starters.

These mixed messages filter down to personal trainers, who increasingly feel pressure to assess everything, even when they dont have the knowledge or skills to decipher all the information they accumulate. One consequence is a growing reliance on foam rolling and specialized stretches, which may be unnecessary and could even make a clients problem worse.

Fortunately, theres a lot you can do with corrective exercise to keep your clients moving safely and often, while leaving the more complicated tests to physical therapists, orthopedists, and, in some cases, psychiatrists.