I may or may not have met the next “Mcdreamy” in training but I had a great time. The medical students were very appreciative and interactive. It was an honor to be in a position to contribute to the next generation of physicians. Our society is in desperate need of more prevention minded, fore thinking individuals that can begin to combat the myriad of health issues belaboring our society today. In all honesty, we will probably be battling these issues for a generation to come before we clean this mess up that we are in. 

Some of the information that we discussed was;

-The annual cost of chronic pain in the US is estimated to be $100 billion ($100,000,000,000)

-Pain affects more Americans than Diabetes, Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke, and Cancer combined

-Of the 8/10 people in the U.S. who will experience back pain

–50% of those people will

The Concept of the Kinetic Chain

The Dissemination of the Core Stabilization System (local stabilizers) and the Core Movement System (global movers)

Core Stabilization Training is a key component to preventing back pain, treating back pain and enhancing athletic performance.

It was interesting to watch the students actively participate in this presentation during the hands on program. They did well! They also noticed subtle asymmetries in themselves and their classmates, subtle accessory movements and compensations. 

In addition to the lecture I had them practice;

1) a basic kneeling hip flexor stretch;

2) stability ball bridges

3) quadruped progressions

4) supine marching progressions

Overall these med students were more fit than the average gym goer who as been on hiatus, but they do have to sit long hours so it did seem that their core stabilization mechanism could use some work, just like the rest of us:)

I am proud to be a part of this progressive program and kudos to these students for going the extra mile to be part of it and the UMass Medical Program for including it. Maybe we can be begin to truly use exercise as medicine!

Thanks for reading!

ps. I am filming a new video this Sunday! Can’t wait, more details to come!