February 5th, 2009
Posted by chris @ 11:28 am | No Comments
Raymond James Stadium
Ann & I are back from the Super Bowl, feeling bittersweet but proud of the Cardinals & our team of docs & therapists that kept the team in shape for the big game & throughout the season!
We had Kelly from our office, Russian Sports Therapist extraordinaire, Brian Popiel, naturopath doing IVs, Jimmy Yuan, doing ART, acupuncture, Graston & chiropractic & Derek Price, chiropractor. What a team!!!
January 18th, 2009
Posted by chris @ 1:26 pm | No Comments
Ann with Tim Hightower
Early yesterday I worked with Darnell Docket & Karlos Dansby of the Arizona Cardinals & my wife Ann saw Tim Hightower & JJ Arrington. We’ve been seeing starters of the Cardinals all season (in fact, more like the past 12 years) but the past few weeks have taken on a special feeling…like…we’re in the NFC Championship game for the first time in franchise history!!
After the Eagles flew in Friday night, Brian Dawkins gave us a call. He wanted to come in for a “tune-up” & saw Ann while I saw Brian Westbrook & the 2nd receiver Avant. Of course we made sure all the Cardinals were gone before they came in.
We’ve been hit hard from the media & press…they want to know if we’re taking sides (see link: Philly news & The New York Times). The fact is, Annie & I have worked with Donovan & his Eagles since he was a rookie (10 years) & Ann has been saying all along that she would work with him until he got the elusive ring.
Yet I think that our dedication to the Cardinals throughout the season also shows that actions speaks louder than words & that we are also committed to them.
The thing is, all of our major league athlete clients know that we do not have an exclusive contract with anybody & that we are running a business. Acknowledging that, Larry Fitzgerald still threatened to “kidnap Ann” so that the Eagles wouldn’t get a chance to experience her magical work!
For me, my heart is with the Cardinals but I’m going to say “may the best bird win!”. Go Cardinals!!!
January 4th, 2009
Posted by chris @ 5:22 pm | No Comments
This stretch is found in the book “Stretch to Win” by Ann & Chris Frederick on page 128. It targets the large extrinsic muscles & fascia around the low back & sacrum as well as the smaller intrinsics called the rotatores & multifidi.
It is recommended that you do the previous 4 stretches posted here (the “Core 4″) before you do this stretch if your low back is particularly tight, stiff or sore.
To get the best results, we recommend never to hold your stretches but rather keep slowly moving by exhaling on the stretch & inhaling on the release.
January 4th, 2009
Posted by chris @ 5:03 pm | No Comments
After working with key starters of the Cardinals every season since since 1997, Ann & I are so proud of them clinching the NFC West Division title & for getting off to a great playoff start beating the Falcons yesterday!!!
Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Antrel Rolle & Tim Hightower all made TDs & are all clients of Stretch to Win. We are committed to working with them any day, any hour to speed post-game recovery & to keep them optimal as they progress through the playoffs.
Everyone around here thinks it will be Cardinals vs Eagles for the Championship. That will be interesting for us since we have been to the Super Bowl & Championships with the Eagles in the past. Oh well…that’s football!
December 18th, 2008
Posted by chris @ 2:25 am | No Comments
We want to congratulate 5 of our clients for all the hard work, sweat and blood that will take them to the Pro Bowl in 2009! Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Sean Morey have all demonstrated to the fans why they deserve this honor & 2 more clients of ours–Darnell Dockett (Pro Bowler 2008) & Karlos Dansby–were named alternates.
Each week starters of the AZ Cardinals come to see us to get stretched, massaged, joints manipulated, electrolytes & supplement formulas administered by IV so that they recover faster & maintain an optimal level of performance.
Stretch program #3 was the Glutes & from that stretch we transition to the quadratus lumborum (or QL) & the lattissimus dorsi (or Latt). This stretch is found in the book “Stretch to Win” by Ann & Chris Frederick on page 126.
The QL is a short, square muscle that connects to the last 2 ribs & to the crest of the pelvis. It is often an undiscovered source of low back pain & is many times also responsible for a shortened leg if tight & contracted.
The Latts are the only shoulder muscle that attaches to your back & is often ignored in low back rehab despite its anatomical importance. Including it in stretches for the hip & back provide the link to the upper body that is crucial for a complete Core 4 program of stretches.
November 23rd, 2008
Posted by chris @ 11:50 am | No Comments
Na'il Diggs linebacker Carolina Panthers
[Please see video #1 Introduction in previous post before viewing this & all other videos]
People who sit all day–commuting & at work–get tight hip flexors. In a layperson’s nutshell, tight hip flexors reciprocally inhibit optimal function of the glutes. When the glutes are inhibited then the hamstrings functionally act as secondary glutes thereby eventually resulting in chronic hamstring strain and tightness.
The piriformis & the 5 deep external rotators of the hip are forced to take on the extra workload of the hip & become super tight from strain & scar tissue formation. This scenario can lead to back pain, hip pain, knee pain &/or foot/ankle pain.
Stretching the gluteus medius, piriformis & hip rotators optimally requires you to move along multiple angles as they are anatomically shaped like a fan & the bones of the hip are shaped like a ball & socket universal joint.
November 10th, 2008
Posted by chris @ 12:37 am | No Comments
This is the first two in a series of video programs that we have & will produce exclusively for our readers.
These videos are in a beta test format–informal, raw, honest–so please send us your feedback so that we can improve on what YOU want. After this post, the videos will be coming out every Sunday starting November 23rd with video #3 “The Glutes”.
For those who have purchased our book, Stretch to Win, we will provide you videos that will follow the photo programs that are in our book. Finally you or your clients will now have videos to make sure that you are doing the stretch programs in our book correctly!
If you have not purchased our book, you will have no problem following the video programs but check out the book link at www.StretchToWin.com if you want to have the details that will not be covered in the videos.
IMPORTANT: Before viewing the videos take note that they are for information purposes only & are not intended to instruct you. Therefore by viewing these and forthcoming videos you are agreeing that if you perform any of the movements you are doing so at your own risk & you take full responsibility for your actions. Consequently, we assume absolutely no responsibility or liability for your actions resulting in pain or injury of any kind. If you do not agree with this waiver of liability then do not perform the movements depicted in this blog or on video. Thanks.
The videos are a little too long to post here so please go to these links to view them & enjoy:
November 9th, 2008
Posted by chris @ 3:04 am | No Comments
We had the honor to have NASCAR vet Bobby Labonte grace our clinic last week to get stretched before qualifying to race tomorrow at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).
This was our first NASCAR “athlete” coming in to see if Fascial Stretch Therapy or FST could help his “game”. Since we had no clues, Bobby explained to us what kind of conditions he faces among which are more than 115 degree temps in the car for 4 hours and body water loss of an average of 7 lbs after a race!!
He said that many racers, himself included lose a tremendous amount of electrolytes resulting in a visible salt layer displayed on his racing suit. This is a big problem with racers and causes muscle cramps if the right electrolyte delivery system is not put into place. Bobby has an electric pump in his car that automatically supplies him with a pre-determined amount of electroytes right into his mouth during the race!
What we learned from the assisted stretch session is that race car drivers have a nervous system similar to cornerbacks in football–high in the “fast twitch” category–and a challenge for the practitioner to accurately and effectively manipulate the myofascia if you do not have years of experience “conditioning” the nervous system.
Nervous System Conditioning™ is a term that I have come up with that describes the preparation necessary for the Central & Peripheral Nervous System before assisted stretching commences. In the near future I will write a post on this if there is interest from readers.
Anyway Bobby said that he got a lot of benefits from his assisted stretch session and advice on electrolytes and we wish him the best of luck at the races!!
![[Model: Na'il Diggs, linebacker Carolina Panthers]](http://www.stretchtowin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/hk-stw-photo-shoot-1066-best-21.jpg "hk-stw-photo-shoot-1066-best-21")
