The Quadratus Lumborum (QL) muscles, a common source of lower back pain, are located on either side of the lumbar spine. While they are situated at the lower back between the pelvis and the lowest...
Injury Prevention and Treatment
Health and fitness articles to help personal trainers employ injury prevention and treatment approaches.
Hiking Rim-to-Rim in a Single Day: Conquering the Grand Canyon
With the new year getting into full swing at gyms across the country, personal trainers may hear from clients who have set their sights on potentially arduous challenges in 2022. Hiking through the...
Terminal Thoughts for Fit Feet
Our two feet are, by definition, the terminals of our legs. As much of our quality of life depends on mobility, proactive foot care and "shank's mare" (one's own legs!) fitness is a trainer's prime...
Recovery 101 for New Personal Trainers
Effective recovery strategies can significantly impact your personal training clients' progress and overall satisfaction with their training program. Your clients rely on you as a coach to propel...
Alternative Lower Back Squat Exercises to Try: Give the Low Back a Break
Do you or your personal training clients love training heavy back squats for strength, but feel the need to give the low back a break? Do you know how to make exercise programming adjustments for...
Activities of Daily Life and Posture: What Personal Trainers Need to Know
How much does our personal training clients' posture truly affect back pain? And what do activities of daily life (ADLs) have to do with it? What is Good Posture? Posture refers to the delicate...
Dorsalgia: Back Pain and the Personal Training Client
Personal trainers are bound to address back pain complaints or conditions when working with adult clients. Back problems affect a considerable number of adults each year, ranking as the second most common complaint to physicians. Nearly 16 million adults — 8% — experience persistent or chronic back pain, curtailing many everyday activities. Over 2 million adults suffer permanent pain/disability. As the sixth most expensive medical condition in the United States, direct and indirect back-related healthcare costs can run over $12 billion per year.
Dorsalgia, one of the most common skeletal muscle syndromes, refers to pain in the upper back and includes sciatic pain, but excludes discomfort relating to scoliosis or lordosis. This painful condition often develops with age, particularly affecting those with a variety of comorbid conditions.
How Personal Trainers Can Handle Injured Clients Return to Exercise
As trainers, a lot of our work involves doing all we can to prevent injuries from occurring. Unfortunately, injuries still happen both under our watch and in our clients personal lives, so we are...
Training Load, Injury, and Athletic Performance: Mastering the Trifecta
When training an athlete toward peak/competitive performance whether post-rehabilitation or from current ability, training load must exceed capacity. With carefully planned increases in load, the...
Stability Training: Load vs Platform
Balance and stability can be considered the foundations of fitness. Our best programs consist of proper progressions, from a long-term design perspective, and for each individual session. Stable...