Ascend Spine & Rehab

Ascend Spine & Rehab Dedicated to treating the root cause of your pain. Bridge the gap between pain and performance. Runners Guide: https://go.ascendspine.com/introduction-page

09/19/2026

Your glutes are supposed to do A LOT more than just look good in a pair of shorts.

They play a huge role in walking, running, squatting, lifting, climbing stairs, and just moving well day to day.

But there’s a difference between having strong glutes and actually being able to use them well.

If your glutes aren’t contributing the way they should, your body usually finds another way to get the job done. That can mean more stress gets shifted to areas like the low back, hips, or knees.

That’s why sometimes one small change in an exercise can make such a big difference.

The goal of glute activation isn’t to do little band exercises forever. It’s to build better awareness and control, then carry that into bigger movements and real life.

Whether you’re an athlete, a lifter, or just want your body to keep working well as you get older, your glutes need to show up when you need them.

Dealing with pain or feel like something just isn’t working right?

Click the link in my bio for a free discovery visit.

Maybe you didn’t listen when your body whispered…Maybe now it’s screaming.That still doesn’t mean it’s too late.I’ve wor...
09/17/2026

Maybe you didn’t listen when your body whispered…
Maybe now it’s screaming.

That still doesn’t mean it’s too late.

I’ve worked with people who were told their spine, hip, knee, or shoulder was “bone on bone.” They were told surgery was likely. They were told to stop squatting, stop running, stop lifting.

And in some cases, what they really needed was a better plan and progressive rehab.

It’s easy to chalk everything up to getting older.

“My knees are bad.”
“I can’t squat anymore.”
“I’m too old to run.”
“This is just arthritis.”

But getting older doesn’t automatically mean giving up the things you love.

There are absolutely situations where surgery or more invasive treatment is the right move. But a serious diagnosis doesn’t always mean you’ve exhausted your conservative options either.

And if you can catch something earlier? Even better.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of recovery.

It’s a whole lot easier to address a lingering ache when it’s still a small problem than after months or years of pushing through it.

So whether something just started bothering you, or you’re already worried that you’ve waited too long, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Come in for a free Discovery Visit.

If I can help, I’ll show you what that could look like. And if I can’t, I’ll at least help point you in the right direction.

The goal isn’t to stop doing what you love.

It’s to help you keep doing it.

09/12/2026

Some of you are REALLY good at pushing through.

Aches. Pains. Tightness. Something feels off?

“Eh, I’ll be fine.”

And for a while… you probably are.

But there’s a difference between being tough and constantly beating the hell out of your body without ever giving it a chance to recover.

Eventually, those little issues can become bigger, more persistent problems. Then one day you’re saying, “I guess I’m just getting old.”

Maybe.

Or maybe your body has been asking you to adjust for a long time and you’ve just gotten really good at ignoring it.

Taking care of your body doesn’t mean doing nothing.

Sometimes it means walking instead of running.
Lifting lighter.
Changing the workout.
Actually addressing the problem instead of hoping it disappears.

And if you’ve already reached the point where something keeps bothering you, it’s not too late to turn it around.

You just need to figure out what’s actually going on and build your way back from there.

If you’ve been pushing through pain and it’s not getting better, click the link in my bio for a free discovery visit.

09/11/2026

At the 2017 World Championships marathon, the most common foot strike among elite runners was actually a rearfoot strike.

At every measured point in the race, at least 54% of the men and 67% of the women were heel strikers. Even the top four men were rearfoot strikers.

So no, heel striking isn’t automatically bad like most people think.

When I’m working with runners, I care a lot less about forcing everyone into the same “perfect” foot strike and a lot more about how they’re actually handling force.

Are they overstriding?

Are they braking too much?

Can they absorb impact and spring back off the ground efficiently?

That’s where the rehab side becomes so important.

Because I work with a lot of runners who used to love running, and now they almost dread it because every run hurts.

The goal isn’t to make your form look perfect.

The goal is to optimize what matters, build your capacity back up, and get you back to enjoying running again.

If you’re in the St. Charles area and running has started to hurt, or you want help improving your running form, send me a DM saying RUN.

Dave came to me with shoulder pain that had been bothering him for a long time.He had already seen an orthopedic surgeon...
09/10/2026

Dave came to me with shoulder pain that had been bothering him for a long time.

He had already seen an orthopedic surgeon, had X-rays taken, and was told his shoulder was “bone on bone” and that surgery was likely the answer.

But Dave wanted to know if there was anything else he could try first.

He went to physical therapy and actually started making some progress. His range of motion improved. He felt a little stronger.

But the exercises always felt more like a warm-up than a workout.

Eventually, he stopped going, continued the exercises on his own, and hit a plateau.

For months, nothing really changed.

By the time he came to see me, he already had surgery scheduled.

This was his last shot.

We didn’t find some magical exercise.

We progressively loaded the basics.

Overhead presses. Push-up variations. Simple movements that gradually became more challenging as his shoulder became more capable.

And that was the difference.

He got stronger.
His shoulder became more capable.
And ultimately, he was able to avoid surgery.

Sometimes you don’t need a fancier rehab exercise.

You need the right exercise progressed to the point where it actually creates change.

Your rehab shouldn’t stay a warm-up forever.

Your rehab should become your workout.

09/05/2026

“I’ve tried everything.”

I hear this all the time.

PT. Chiropractic. Injections. Maybe you’ve even been told surgery is the next step.

But seeing multiple providers doesn’t always mean everything has actually been assessed.

A few things I commonly look at with low back pain:

1. Intra-abdominal pressure
Can you breathe, brace, and create pressure through your trunk so your low back isn’t doing all the work?

2. Feet + ankles
Your foot and ankle help absorb, control, and transfer force from the ground up. If that system isn’t working well, something above it has to compensate.

3. Hips
It’s not just about having “mobile hips.” It’s about knowing how to actually use them. Can your hips and glutes create movement and force without your low back constantly picking up the slack?

So if all of your treatment has focused on the exact spot that hurts…

you probably haven’t tried everything.

DM “BACK” and we’ll help you figure out what’s actually driving your pain.

There’s so much information about exercise and rehab that sometimes the hardest part is figuring out what you’re actuall...
09/04/2026

There’s so much information about exercise and rehab that sometimes the hardest part is figuring out what you’re actually supposed to do.

Don’t round your back.
Don’t squat that deep.
Don’t run.
Stretch more.
Actually… don’t stretch.

Eventually, all that conflicting advice creates paralysis by analysis.

You start questioning every movement and feeling like you’re always doing something wrong.

But movement is a good thing.

The real challenge is knowing what makes sense for YOU, right now.

That’s why rehab shouldn’t be the same exercise sheet, the same adjustments, or the same treatment for everyone.

It should be specific to your body, your goals, and your presentation.

Less noise.
More clarity.
A clear path back to doing what you love.

If you feel stuck and don’t know what direction to go, click the link in my bio for a free discovery call.

09/01/2026

When Amy first came to see me, she had basically stopped running.

And that was a BIG deal for her.

Amy was an avid runner. She loved signing up for marathons, training with friends, and being part of the running community.

But for years, the same cycle kept happening.

She’d sign up for a race, start increasing her mileage… and her knee pain would come right back.

Eventually, training became so miserable that she stopped running altogether.

When we finally looked at her running mechanics, we found something important.

Amy was overstriding and repeatedly absorbing more impact through her knee than she needed to.

So instead of just treating where she hurt, we worked on WHY her knee was being overloaded in the first place.

We cleaned up her running mechanics, worked on getting more contribution from her hips and glutes, built strength through her core, and slowly built her running capacity back up.

And eventually, Amy wasn’t just dealing with less knee pain…

She was running with her friends again.

THAT was the real win.

Because for Amy, running was never just exercise.

It was her community. Her outlet. And something she genuinely loved doing.

Pain stopping you from running like you used to?

DM me “RUN” and I’ll show you how to start addressing the root cause and get back to running pain-free.

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3833 E. Main Street
Saint Charles, IL
60174

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