COURSE: Barbell Rehab Method
Consistent physical activity and exercise is too important for our overall health and well-being to come to a halt if we experience soreness, pain, or injury.
On September 16-17, 2023 I attended Barbell Rehab Method workshop in Winnipeg, Manitoba by Dr. Miles Nicholas (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) held at GoodLife Fitness. This course detailed the pain and injuries that people experience as they age and the importance of developing an enjoyable, sustainable, and repeatable training program for long term success.
At STRIVE we are fortunate to work alongside clinicians that share the same belief of the importance of Strength Training and developing all the qualities related to health and fitness including overall movement ability and conditioning.
Unfortunately only approximately 37% of Canadians exercise for 30-59 minutes every day and we know that exercise is a leading contributing factor to help in the reduction and management of cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction (type 2 diabetes), cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s), as well as pain management.
The Barbell Rehab course provided a four-step framework to continue training around painful movements while managing and monitoring the painful symptoms. Barbell Rehab went into extensive detail on allostatic load being a contributing factor to pain and providing two options; either the individual reduces the stress being applied to the body, or the individual develops increased physical qualities (strength and conditioning as an example) to be able to handle more stress.
“All Stress impacts your training; job dissatisfaction, limited tissue tolerance, poor work capacity, lack of social support and more.
We can either reduce the stress, increase your ability to handle it, or both!”
A goal for training at Strive has always been to improve our clients overall preparedness to do a task. Car engines are often used as a good example. Your car may have the capability of 400 horsepower, which means that when you’re on the Perimeter highway going 100km/h your engine is only using 1/4 of its power. If your horsepower was only 200, you would be using 50%, and your engine would burnout much quicker. The same is true for our bodies and if we can improve our physical abilities to high levels, our daily tasks and enjoyable pursuits will become much easier to do more often. Barbell Rehab highlighted this by a diagram explaining the “Envelope of Function” (Dye 2005) in which they describe that when we are hurt (if we go back to our car example) it may bring our horsepower down to 200. Which means if we want to continue training at a 1/4 we can bring our speed down to 50km/h (stay in the city) and by continuing in a sustainable range, we are able to provide the stimulus for our bodies to regrow and improve.
At Strive we have always carried the belief of “do no harm”. We believe that exercises should not hurt the individual, and if exercises cause issues we are able to lateralize or regress to find the best solution. Overtime as the body desensitizes and improves in strength we can revisit a movement that has caused issues and see if we can progress forward.
The Barbell Rehab Method Certification went into great detail on pain that affects the Shoulder (ex. rotator cuff), Elbow (ex. tennis elbow), Back (ex. extension / flexion issues), Hip (ex. femoral acetabulum impingement), Knee (ex. knee osteoarthritis), and more. In alignment with Barbell Rehab Method, we at STRIVE have always believed in the importance of continuing the training process. While the BRM cert spoke to ways to improve these irritated positions, at the very least we have always believed to continue the training process in other areas of the body. For example, for individuals with shoulder or upper body injuries, we still have the ability to improve lower body qualities including movement ability, strength, power, and conditioning.
The Barbell Rehab Method Course also provided great opportunity to go over exercise technique, different approaches, and exercise options. It was great to connect with other coaches on the experiences they have training their clients.
Personally, I feel this course has provided me better insight into monitoring client irritations and when to best utilize our clinic. We are lucky to have a facility with physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and athletic therapists that each provide unique insights into pain management, recovery, and return to sport.
Most times we have an option to continue and move forward. We must find the best path for sustainable exercise to improve quality of life.
Going forward we are excited to continue to help our clients and patients build higher levels of resilience to better manage and avoid chances of pain.
