Top Posts of 2014

Looking back at our content over the past year has been fun. All three of us have developed professionally. We have graduated from residency programs, Chris and I are pursuing fellowships in manual therapy, and we have launched our premium page! Our content is becoming more diverse and more advanced with each post. Here is a quick review at the top 5 posts (ranked by Facebook likes and comments) over the 2014 year. In no particular order 

5) Exercise Protocols: Why They Work often Work and Why We Must be Careful
In general, many patients fall into typical pattern with similar impairments. Knowing the common patterns may allow you to speed up the process, but if you ignore the exceptions, you will fail to make progress. Always Test, Treat, Re-test! 

4) Are You Hamstring Dominant?
As I have grown as a clinician, I have recognized the importance of motor control more and more. Testing for hamstring or lumbar dominance over the gluteals is very important. Do not be fooled by strong gluts in the low back pain population. After assessing the glut max, retest for hamstring dominance to ensure they are not over-activating the hamstrings. Dominance patterns are extremely common.

3) Plantar Fasciosis or Lateral Plantar Nerve Pain
As our clinical skills have improved, so has our differential diagnosis. Assessing for nerve pain in the presence of common musculoskeletal conditions has become part of every one of my examinations. In all patients that present with plantar fasciosis, you must check the lateral plantar nerve as well! 

2) ATFL Sprain or Neural Tension?
No surprise here! Just as I stated you must assess the lateral plantar nerve in plantar fasciosis, it is equally important to assess the intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerve in lateral ankle sprains. Read this post to learn more about the IDC nerve and how to test for neural tension. 

1) Repeated Motions Exam: Why you Should be Using It.
Many of Chris' recent posts have included repeated motions. In school they are often overlooked and misunderstood. Clinically, they can be difficult to assess your accuracy because the position is pain provoking. Do not let these factors stop you from learning about and using repeated motions. Read this post to get you started!

Thank you to all of our readers. We enjoy writing for you and learning from you with your comments and feedback. 

Jim Heafner  

---