A guide to closed kinetic chain exercise. It covers developments in research findings and provides practical tips for optimal application of the technique in settings with patients, athletes and others. Written by experts who use the technique daily, the work interprets the research, clarifies the scientific principles underlying the technique and highlights important differences between open and closed kinetic chain exercise. The authors reinforce their points with examples from everyday life to make the information meaningful. In addition, 45 closed kinetic chain exercises effective in enhancing muscular strength, power, endurance and functional performance are incorporated into an individualized progressive training or rehabilitation programme. Understanding the difficulties in treating the elbow and shoulder, the authors pay special attention to the use and progression of closed kinetic chain exercise in these areas.
Todd S. Ellenbecker, MSPT, SCS, OCS CSCS, is the clinic director at the Physiotherapy Associates Sports Clinic, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a licensed physical therapist who has researched and taught in the field for 15 years.
The author of The Elbow in Sport, Complete Conditioning for Tennis, and Knee Ligament Rehabilitation, he has published numerous articles and research studies pertaining to the upper extremity in baseball and tennis players and has treated shoulder and elbow injuries in many professional players.
He is certified by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) as both a sports clinical specialist and orthopedic clinical specialist. The APTA also awarded him its Sports Physical Therapy Clinical Teaching Award in 1999. He is chairman of the APTA's Shoulder Special Interest Group and a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy.
Ellenbecker earned a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse and a master's degree in exercise physiology from Arizona State University. He also is certified as a strength and conditioning specialist.
Ellenbecker runs and plays tennis in his spare time.
George J. Davies, MEd, PT, SCS, ATC, CSCS, CET, SMAC, has been a professor of physical therapy at the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse graduate physical therapy program for 25 years and presently is the director of clinical and research services at Gundersen Lutheran Sports Medicine-LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
Davies has practiced closed kinetic chain exercise for more than 30 years in rehabilitation, performance enhancement, and prevention and has been involved in numerous research studies. He is the author of A Compendium of Isokinetics in Clinical Usage, the first book dedicated to the use of isokinetics in clinical settings. He has also published many book chapters and articles in the professional literature.
Davies earned his MEd in health and physical education from Trenton State College and a certificate in physical therapy from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University at New York. He also is an ABPTS sports clinical specialist, is certified as an athletic trainer by the NATA, a strength and conditioning specialist by the NSCA, an exercise specialist by the ACSM, and a specialist in martial arts conditioning by the ISSA.
In his leisure time, the former U.S. Marine participates in marathons, triathlons, and weight training and holds a black belt in karate. He has been a sensei (teacher) of karate for several years.
