Composite Rehab & Chiropractic

04/30/2026

Time is often a major consideration for individuals looking to consider changing health related behaviors and take that step towards exercise. Some people may not even like exercise (although I would argue they may have just not found the right mode of exercise for them yet).

So what truly is the BARE MINIMUM that individuals have to commit to in order to still reap the benefits?

For strength
~1–2 hard sets per movement per week can see improvements for untrained
Currently recommended in trained individuals that performing above for 2-3x/wk
Heavy loads or near failure is key

For building muscle
~4–6 hard sets per muscle per week can produce growth
More volume = more growth, but not proportionally (diminishing returns)

04/20/2026

Words matter. A lot.
Call something “out of alignment” and suddenly people think they’re broken. Call it what it actually is, and now we’re talking about a body that’s adaptable, responsive, and very much not falling apart every time you sit weird.

Because here’s the thing: you are not broken, and you don’t need fixing.
Your body isn’t a crooked picture frame waiting for someone to straighten it. It’s a living system that changes, adapts, and occasionally gets sensitive.

Despite what decades of catchy phrasing might suggest, adjustments are not about realigning bones.

If your spine were genuinely “out of place,” a quick thrust wouldn’t solve it. That’s not how anatomy works. Your joints are stabilized by ligaments, muscles, and discs that don’t just casually let things slip around and then politely snap back.

What adjustments actually do
🧠 They influence the nervous system
🔄 They can improve movement (temporarily)
📉 They help with short-term pain relief

When we tell people they’re “misaligned” or “out,” we:
Create fear around normal movement
Reinforce the idea that their body is fragile
Increase reliance on passive care

When we shift the language, we shift the outcome. No silly BS narratives that only hold you back around here 💪

04/09/2026

New exercise antics!

Seems like exercises biasing working hip IR are the craze nowadays. Some of them seemingly appearing as though they would not provide a sufficient stimulus, with a select few checking off many boxes. Here’s my best attempt at playing around with finding the latter. Feels as though it is one I could genuinely load up quite heavy over time as well after attempting!

My quick current reasoning / thought process : picking an exercise where the femur is relatively fixed for the most part (in terms of IR / ER) and through the exercise approximating the pelvis & rib cage through rotation towards the same side to promote relative IR of the front hip. The reach (made possible with the variation) towards the front leg to help “shift” into front hip. A good bottom position to really work on “pressing off” on big toe, for who it’s worth.

Bro talk after attempting? Seemed to feel it quite nicely in adductors in relation to other variations of a lunge. Worth throwing in and having some fun.

04/06/2026

From cutting out a ton of movements to getting back to all of the exercises he loves! Lucas found himself gravitating to only doing a bunch of exercise machines due to persistent off and on back pain. While working with me, he has gradually gotten back to doing variations of squats, lunges, running, jumping, and finally deadlifting! He had essentially cut out deadlifting for about 2 years, but now he is feeling capable & confident! 💪🏻

The goal is that you receive a UNIQUE chiropractic experience that doesn’t just cover hands-on treatment. I go out on the gym floor and cover new exercises and rehab. I let individuals perform exercises they may feel uncomfortable with and give them feedback on how to optimize their movement. While I may provide a niche experience for gym-goers and athletes, we ALL have bodies that move & have different demands to prepare for!

03/27/2026

A pretty great infographic here! Social media and influencers can glorify & show off unrealistic expectations of “working hard” via always seemingly going to failure (that’s what is video’d typically). That being said, building muscle and strength can be done in a way that is strategic in helping keep down the risk of overtraining as well as the risk of injury. Not every set is meant to go to failure!

To Fail or not to Fail(ure) for Muscle Growth: Necessary or Not?

A lot of lifters still act as if a set only “counts” if it ends in complete collapse. The newer evidence does not support that.

Grgic et al. systematically reviewed and meta-analysed studies comparing resistance training performed to repetition failure versus non-failure and found that muscle hypertrophy was not meaningfully different between approaches when training was otherwise reasonably hard and well-designed. In plain English, you do not have to hit failure to grow muscle. PMCID: PMC9068575.

Singer et al. looked primarily at rest intervals and hypertrophy, but an important sub-analysis asked whether the set endpoint mattered, that is, training to failure versus stopping short. Their conclusion was that failure versus non-failure did not meaningfully change the relationship between rest intervals and muscle growth. Again, failure was not shown to be a magic ingredient. PMCID: PMC11349676.

That lines up nicely with the newer ACSM Position Stand (link in bio), which concluded that training to momentary muscular fatigue or failure did not consistently improve hypertrophy outcomes across the evidence base.

So my take-home is simple:

FOR MUSCLE GROWTH, FAILURE IS A TOOL, NOT A REQUIREMENT

You can grow very well by training hard, getting close enough to make the set count, accumulating enough volume, and recovering well.

Not every set needs to become a hostage situation.

Train hard. Leave a rep or two when needed. Come back and do it again.

Citations:
Grgic et al. PMCID: PMC9068575
Singer et al. PMCID: PMC11349676

03/23/2026

If you’re a runner dealing with nagging foot, ankle, or even knee pain, it might be time to look at something simple—but often overlooked: your big toe.

👉 Big toe extension (how well your big toe bends upward) plays a huge role in efficient running mechanics.

Here’s why it matters:

🔹 Push-off power
During each stride, your big toe needs to extend upwards of about roughly 60–70 degrees to allow proper push-off (depending on the activity). Limited motion = less force production and a less efficient stride.

🔹 Load distribution
When your big toe doesn’t move well, your body may compensate by shifting load elsewhere—often to the outside of the foot, plantar fascia, or even up the chain to the knee and hip.

🔹 Injury risk
Restricted big toe extension has been linked to issues like Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles irritation, and forefoot pain. It’s not the only factor, but it’s an often underlooked piece of the puzzle.

🔹 Stride mechanics
Without proper toe extension, you may cut your stride short or rotate your foot outward to “cheat” the motion—both of which can reduce efficiency and increase stress on other tissues.

Bottom line:
Better big toe motion won’t magically fix everything—but ignoring it can potentially keep you feeling stuck. Small joint, big impact.

02/23/2026

Started off the Sunday yesterday with two busy patients that needed appointments during the weekend!

If the week being too busy / crazy is a problem to you and you can’t find anywhere to get into - feel free to contact me! I do not list the option to online book on the weekends, but will certainly accommodate weekend appointments if contacted.

02/17/2026

How common are MRI imaging findings in shoulders.... even in asymptomatic individuals? Quite shocking results for most.

Where do we go from here?

It starts with reframing how we view imaging findings as well as their impact. For individuals, you most likely aren't "fixing" the way your partial rotator cuff tear looks on imaging by rehabilitation (nor is it relevant to feeling better). What you are doing is : decreasing sensitivity, increasing capacity, improving function, increasing strength, increasing confidence. There are some things that simply cannot be seen by a still image.

11/30/2025

It was Black Friday but we aren’t discounting these REPS 😤

Trialing some rehab exercises & movements after my workout on Friday to always work to deliver the best experience & results.