AARON SWANSON
  • what i do
  • learn
  • contact
Browse: Home / Pelvis / Sacroiliac

The Deep Squat (Part 2 – In the Clinic, In the Gym, How to Train it)

By dr on August 1, 2014

Part I went over the benefits and disadvantages of the deep squat.  In Part II, I will describe how I approach the squat in different settings and how I train it.  Contrary to Part I, which was a collection of the current research and physiological facts about the squat, Part II is mostly empirical evidence and professional opinion. Continue reading “The Deep Squat (Part 2 – In the Clinic, In the Gym, How to Train it)”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged Hip, Knee, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac | 3 Responses

Everything is Moving Proximally

By dr on February 4, 2014

In the past 10-20 years there has been a trend towards stabilizing the proximal joint.  Everything seems to be going more and more proximally.  And this is a good thing!  It is providing us with better outcomes and quicker pain free rehabilitation.

If you look at the knee joint you can see the progress.  We’ve gone from isolated patella mobs and VMO strengthening to hip strengthening.  And now we are going even further up the chain and looking at lumbo-pelvic complex.

The same thing is happening with the shoulder.  We’ve gone from isolated thera band ER/IR to scapula stabiliztion.  And now we are going even further and looking at the thoracic spine and ribs.

And if we go just 1 step further at both joints we end up where it all began in the first place…the core. Continue reading “Everything is Moving Proximally”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged assessment, Core, Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac, Prevention / Recovery, Shoulder | Leave a response

23 Things I Learned From McKenzie Part A

By dr on December 1, 2013

I have been following Erson Religioso, a PT and blogger, for quite some time now.  He has repeatedly (no pun intended) discussed the effectiveness of Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy (The McKenzie Method or MDT).  He’s a very knowledgable clinician and runs his social media with integrity.  Over the years he has provided a great deal of clinically applicable information and I have seen results in my practice using some of his methods.

I decided I had to check out MDT first hand and learn about their method.  This past July I took McKenzie Part A – The Lumbar Spine with Dave Oliver. Continue reading “23 Things I Learned From McKenzie Part A”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged assessment, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac, Review | 2 Responses

Lumbar Extension Dysfunction

By dr on August 1, 2013

Low back pain is one of the most common injuries we see.  Traditionally you always hear a lot of information regarding excessive lumbar flexion.  And with the amount of information readily available in our society, many patients already know this as well.  This has caused some therapists and patients to walk around terrified that the next time they bend over their L5-S1 disc will splatter against the wall behind them.  But what about the other direction?  What about the potential problems in extension patterns?

We’ve concerned ourselves so much about “blowing out a disc” with flexion that we’ve completely overlooked extension problems. Continue reading “Lumbar Extension Dysfunction”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged assessment, Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac, Prevention / Recovery | 1 Response

Quadruped

By dr on June 1, 2013

The quadruped position is a very important developmental posture.  From this posture we learn to crawl and transition to half-kneeling (which then transitions into standing).  Through this posture we develop core, shoulder, and hip stability, learn reciprocal UE/LE motion, and begin to control our spine through our weight-bearing extremities.  The quadruped position has many details that are often lost or forgotten when training.  Mastering these subtleties and progressing within the edge of your ability will lead to a great effect on your stability. Continue reading “Quadruped”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged assessment, Cervical / Neck, Core, Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac, Prevention / Recovery, Shoulder | Leave a response

Hip Hinge

By dr on May 3, 2013

The hip hinge is a basic movement pattern that everyone must have.  When people have atrophy of this movement pattern they end up compensating in all sorts of ways (trendenlenberg, dynamic valgus, knee dominant movements, lumbar flexion).  This leads to decreased performance and increased risk for injury. Continue reading “Hip Hinge”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged assessment, Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac | Leave a response

Breathing – Part II – Indications, Assessment, & Intervention

By dr on March 4, 2013

Part I of this series dealt with breathing anatomy and mechanics.  Knowledge and understanding of the anatomy and mechanics of breathing is essential for a proper assessment and intervention.  This post will expand on the previous post and go over some indications, assessment, and intervention for breathing. Continue reading “Breathing – Part II – Indications, Assessment, & Intervention”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged Core, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac | Leave a response

Breathing – Part I – Anatomy & Mechanics

By dr on February 1, 2013

The average person takes about 21,000 breaths a day.  This makes it one of the 3 biggest aspects of our patients life that we can have a profound effect on (other 2: posture & walking).

This post will discuss the holistic effects of breathing, anatomy, and the important cascade of events for proper breathing and inner core stabilization. Continue reading “Breathing – Part I – Anatomy & Mechanics”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged Biomechanics, Core, Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac, Prevention / Recovery, Shoulder | Leave a response

Basic Hip Strengthening

By dr on September 1, 2012

Chubbs was right.  It’s all in the hips!

Hip strength is extremely important for your musculoskeletal health.  The hip muscles are connected from your pelvis to your femur.  This connection means they will not only have an influence on your hips, but also effect your back and your knees.  In other words, your hips help stabilize and translate forces from your legs to your trunk and vice versa.  In addition to this anatomical/biomechanical relationship, our society has a very high prevalence of back and knee pain.  So maybe instead of another “core” program or a new squat technique we really just need some hip strengthening.  This post will discuss the importance of hip muscles, the effects of hip strength, and how to start strengthening them.

Continue reading “Basic Hip Strengthening”

Posted in Patients | Tagged Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac, Prevention / Recovery | Leave a response

Why You Should Use the Half-Kneeling Position

By dr on May 12, 2012

The half-kneeling position is a great way to assess and treat your patients hip and core stability.  While it seems like an easy exercise, it has many subtleties that can make or break the position.  Having a greater understanding of the half-kneeling position will help ensure that your patient achieves the maximal benefit. Continue reading “Why You Should Use the Half-Kneeling Position”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged assessment, Core, Hip, Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac | Leave a response

Force Coupling for the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip-Complex

By dr on November 30, 2011

Force Closure

Force closure is a biomechanical myofascial system that helps to produce a “self-locking” mechanism for joints.  It occurs when contraction of the muscles/fascia that cross a joint results in increased stability of the joint.  This external dynamic myofascial force can increase stability by producing a closed pack articular position (increased congruency), generating segmental stiffness, and increasing compression perpendicular to the joint. Continue reading “Force Coupling for the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip-Complex”

Posted in Professionals | Tagged Lumbar, Pelvis / Sacroiliac | Leave a response

Articles for:

  • Professionals
  • Patients

Get help with

  • other good stuff
  • diet
  • social & communication
  • training
  • psychology
  • general healthcare
  • Clinical
  • Breathing
  • Nervous System
  • Links
  • stretching
  • Cervical / Neck
  • Footwear
  • Knee
  • Core
  • Foot/Ankle
  • Shoulder
  • Pelvis / Sacroiliac
  • Review
  • Hip
  • Lumbar
  • Biomechanics
  • Prevention / Recovery
  • assessment
  • The Hits

Search

What I do

Aaron works with individuals to help them rehab from injuries and achieve their physical goals.

Get in touch

Email Aaron

Phone: 865-414-0572

twitter twitter instagram

History

Aaron's life-long passion for athletics lead him to study Exercise Science and Athletic Training at the University of Tennessee before obtaining his Doctorate of Physical Therapy at NYU.