Bodyworks MD: The Shoulder

Dr Mark Klion
Year Released: 2008

Categories: Special Health Conditions


Bodyworks MD: The Shoulder is one in a series of home rehabilitation DVDs for injured athletes available from the Spinervals site. The other DVDs in the series cover the knee, back and ankle.

Hosted by Dr Mark Klion, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Bodyworks MD: The Shoulder provides a comprehensive program for rehabbing shoulder injuries. The DVD is conveniently chaptered from the main menu.

Self-Assessment: This section asks questions about the frequency and intensity of your pain, whether you have trouble sleeping on your injured side, and the strength and range of motion in your injured shoulder. Your answers determine whether you will be on the Blue Team (easiest), White Team (intermediate) or Red Team (the most challenging).

Exercise Techniques: This section provides an overview of the exercises in the Main Rehab Program, as well as the equipment you will need. Blue Team members will need a heating pad and a dowel stick; White Team members, a height-adjustable table or chair to assist stretching, and a light weight; and Red Team members, a resistance band and/or tubing, a wall with a protruding corner to assist stretching, and a light weight.

Advanced Strengthening Program: This is a 21-minute shoulder strengthening program to use once you are pain-free. It requires a stability ball, a towel or strap for stretching, and dumbbells.

Shoulder Anatomy and Injuries: Troy Jacobson interviews Dr Mark Klion, who uses an anatomical model of the shoulder to explain how the shoulder functions and can become injured.

Main Rehab Program: This is the body of the DVD, a 30-minute program of stretching and strengthening exercises.

At the beginning of the Main Rehab Program, Dr Mark introduces the participants who are wearing colour-coded T-shirts: Melissa, a professional indoor cycling instructor, on the Blue Team; Paul, a licensed physical therapist, on the White Team; and Britney, a group exercise instructor and personal trainer, on the Red Team. All three go through the program together, as Dr Mark walks around offering form pointers and encouragement. I really like this set-up — the producers recognise that injured athletes may feel isolated and miserable, and feeling as though you are part of a team is encouraging. This arrangement also allows people on the Blue and White teams to see how their rehab program will progress.

The three exercisers are not seasoned DVD performers and it shows. Melissa plays the part of an injured athlete a little too convincingly and looks like a sick cat; Paul grins goofily at the camera throughout the entire workout; while Britney spends most of the session looking as though she's trying not to laugh, then after Dr Mark corrects her form, looks as though she's in a snit. This is what happens when you ask friends and acquaintances to star in your workout DVD!

After a five-minute warm-up, there are two stretching exercises, followed by six strengthening exercises. A countdown clock shows for each exercise. After the workout, Dr Mark recommends some light stretching and the use of an ice-pack if you're sore. He recommends that you use the DVD three to four times a week.

The verdict: Both myself and my husband have had very good results from using this DVD, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone with a shoulder injury. While expensive, it is also very comprehensive, and would take you from the early stages of an injury to the post-rehab phase. Apart from the less-than-polished performances of the three exercisers, the DVD has high production values.

Instructor Comments:
Dr Mark Klion is very personable and reassuring, and comes across as genuinely caring.

RedPanda

11/09/2010