Premier Track Coach Reviews Shoulder Rehab Device
September 22, 2009
Mike Young
Mike Young is founder and owner of ELITETRACK.COM, co-owner of Human Performance Consulting and coach of the HPC Elite Track Team. That alone gives him a ton of credibility, but he also:
- holds a PhD in Biomechanics
- has coached at LSU and Ohio University before serving as the sprints and decathlon coach at Army
- served as an instructor or adjunct professor at Ohio University, LSU, and the University of North Carolina
- has lectured for the Chinese Track and Field Association and USA Speed Skating
- participated in 3 Olympics – as an athlete (Lake Placid), as a sport scientist (Colorado Springs and Chula Vista), and as a coach (Colorado Springs)
Several months ago, Mike agreed to evaluate the Rotater. Here are some of the excerpts from the review he posted on his blog – The Rotater and Shoulder Injuries.
…Unlike most of the shoulder stretching and strengthening variations for internal and external rotation that are used in shoulder rehab / prehab, the ones that the Rotater places the athlete in are much less awkward on the shoulder joint because it helps to stabilize the elbow in the appropriate position, limits movement to the shoulder joint while still permitting enough play to at the elbow joint to ensure the stretching and strengthening isn’t turned in to something robotic..
…I think it’s one of the few products I think could be valuable for increasing the performance and decreasing the likelihood of injury in athletes that need to do high velocity, ballistic overhead movements…
Here’s the complete Rotater review and comments.
If you have a twitter account, you can follow Mike at @mikeyoung
Rotater sponsored racer Wins BIG in Ohio
September 20, 2009
Miles Thornton, the 15 year old road racing phenom that we sponsor went to the AMA Racing Road Race Grand Championships held Sept. 10-13 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio and rode away with the prestigious AMA Road Race Horizon Award for 2009!
Miles Thornton - 2009 AMA Road Race Horizon Winner
Miles was able to string together three impressive races:
- winning the Middleweight Superbike class
- finishing second in Middleweight Supersport class – Miles battled pro racer Ben Stokes, the 2003 Horizon Award winner, former AMA Superbike Champion and grand marshal for this event before finishing second by half a bike
- winning the 250GP class that ran as part of the U.S. Grand Prix Riders Union (USGPRU) program
AMA Horizon Award
The Horizon Award is presented to the amateur road racer whom voters believe will make the biggest impact after moving to the professional level.
Skier says – the Rotater works great!
September 14, 2009
We received this email from a another satisfied Rotater client:
“I received my Rotater 2 months ago and have been using it regularly.
I had a skiing accident that resulted in a 4 part fracture of the proximal humerus that required hemiarthroplasty (half an artifical shoulder) 2 years ago. The top of the humerus was shattered the head was broken off as and both tuberosities were broken. The injury included complete tears of the subscapularis and supraspinatus muscles as well. Doctors and PTs all said I literally destroyed the entire joint.
Falling while skiing can result in shoulder injuries
I had 12 months of supervised PT and have been working on my own to regain strength and ROM since then. My most difficult ROM is internal rotation and part of the reason is it is very difficult to stretch in that direction without assistance. The Rotater works great for that stretch!
I saw my surgeon this morning for a regular 6 month check up. I showed him the Rotater literature and he thought it was a fantastic device. I left the literature with him so he could recommend it to his other patients.
Thanks for everything!”
Jeff Roy
Best-selling author reviews the Rotater
September 11, 2009
In January of this year, Daylle Deanna Schwartz, best-selling author, speaker, self-empowerment counselor and music industry consultant, posted an article in which she recommends a number of products to enrich your life. One of those products was the Rotater.
Tips, Tools and Perspective for Being More Empowered
Here are a couple of excerpts from her article – Nurturing Yourself & Your Environment Through 2009
“…it’s helped me with my sensitive spots that get sore when I work out with weights and for overall stretching to relieve the soreness I always get after..”
“…It’s a MUCH better stretch than I get on my wall! ? I like that it’s a simple device. I can just pick it up, stretch, then put it away, without a lot of fuss..”
“…This is highly recommended by many doctors, physical therapists, people involved in sports, and me!”
Certified personal trainer gets results with the Rotater
September 7, 2009
Chris Sellards - CPT, CES, PES
We received the following email from Chris Sellards, a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, Corrective Exercise Specialist and Performance Enhancement Specialist.
Chris has been using the Rotater for several weeks and documenting his results. Here is that data:
Initial Observations
Improve your physical condition
Client suffers from tightness in his Infraspinatus, pain in his Supraspinatus, weakness with external rotation, and winged scapula. Goniometric measurements prior to Corrective exercise showed 120 degrees. He complains about pain in shoulders and a feeling his shoulder needs to “pop” when working out. He is unable to do any overhead work – shoulder press/lat pulldowns.
Efforts Stall
I worked with him using basic NASM CEx principles for 6 weeks and moved him into Stabilization training. This is where we stalled and couldn’t seem to obtain the range of motion and stability in the shoulder needed to move into strength training.
After 8 weeks of stabilization with little progress, I was about to refer him to a specialist. This is when I came across the Rotater.
Implementing the Rotater
I used the Rotater with him for 3 weeks using the following routine: Foam roll lats, tennis ball on pec minor and posterior capsule, ball lat stretches, 90/90 stretches, and using the Rotater in all positions for a one minute stretch in each position. CEx exercises included tea cups, external rotation, face pulls, ball combo I and II, Cobras, scapular pushups, and scapular protraction/retraction.
| Typical Workout | Circuit One | Circuit Two |
| Foam roll Lats, rhomboids/traps | Stability ball bench press | Bosu ball pushups |
| Tennis ball on pec minor and posterior capsule | Cobras | Standing rows |
| Static stretch lats and pecs | Ball Squats | Multi-planar lunges |
| Rotater in all 4 positions for a 1 minute stretch in each position | Rotater stretches on the affected shoulder. Hold stretch for 5 seconds, release and repeat for 3 sets. Perform in all 4 positions | Single leg Medicine ball PNF with rotation |
| Tea cups and/or external rotation | Rotater stretches on the affected shoulder. Hold stretch for 5 seconds, release and repeat for 3 sets. Perform in all 4 positions. | |
| Foam roll Lats, rhomboids/traps | ||
| Tennis ball on pec minor and posterior capsule | ||
| Static stretch lats and pecs | ||
| Rotater in all 4 positions for a 1 minute stretch |
Increase your ROM with the Rotater
Results
Using this method for 3 weeks, client increased range of motion to 173 degrees, exhibits stability in external rotation, and is ready for strength training.
Conclustion
I am absolutely amazed with the effectiveness of the Rotater. My client no longer has pain or discomfort in his shoulder, is performing shoulder presses, lat pulldowns, and will NOT require seeing a specialist. The Rotater is the best thing since the foam roll.
Chris Sellards, NASM CPT, CES, PES
Disclosure: Chris was provided with a Rotater at no charge. His testimonial was voluntary and not required.
