The KRUSE ELITE Podcast

In this episode, I speak with my producer, Tony, to answer questions from the listeners and we discuss:    What causes vision and vestibular issues Concussions and the visual system Peripheral vision and tracking movement Stimulating the vagus nerve - Exhalation based breathing drills A surprising benefit of strength training - Dealing with chronic headaches and migraines Using colored lenses Blood pressure, wall sits, and grip exercises When you need cerebellar training Adjusting to career changes and content creation And more...   Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode! Free Resources: Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite Join our free Cranial Nerve Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you: Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

Did your child skip some developmental milestones or seem a little behind in hitting them? Do they struggle with things like catching or throwing a ball, playing sports, or even making friends? Or maybe you were that kid once upon a time? In today’s episode, I’m chatting with pediatric occupational therapy assistant Rachel Harrington all about primitive reflexes—what they are, how and when they develop, and how they impact both kids and adults in daily life. We dive into how these reflexes get kick-started during the birthing process, how many are guided by the visual system, and why it’s so important to integrate them as children grow. We also talk about how primitive reflexes can actually come back after trauma or as part of the aging process, acting as a protective mechanism. Rachel breaks down the signs of poor reflex integration—things like ongoing anxiety, vestibular dysfunction, feeling ungrounded, poor left/right coordination, ADHD, bedwetting, IBS, trouble sitting still, speech or articulation challenges, and more. We nerd out a bit on the neuroanatomy behind primitive reflexes and get into practical tools like breathing exercises, motor control drills, and vestibular activities. We even chat about how these concepts overlap with applied neuro training. Plus, Rachel shares activity ideas for kids who struggle with emotional regulation and explains how to choose drills based on whether a child is over- or under-responsive. Huge thanks to Rachel for sharing her deep knowledge of pediatric occupational therapy and for creating such incredible resources for both parents and practitioners. Click below to follow and work with Rachel and her team at The Sensory Project and Sensational Brain. Websites:   https://sensationalbrain.com/ https://thesensoryproject.com/pages/integrative-achievement-center   Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/59C6E9E1-DEC9-4839-80BA-1B21D5D9D87F?ingress=2&lp_context_asin=B0FM8MQC2F&lp_context_query=the%20sensory%20project&visitId=ec71f4a3-c3c9-4710-8da7-88f70d8effd5&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto&ref_=ast_bln    Instagrams:        @sensationalbrain   @thesensoryproject208   Podcast: https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast  Freebies: Reflex checklist:  https://masterful-flower-376.myflodesk.com/pijs6q3tr7 Sensory checklist: https://masterful-flower-376.myflodesk.com/free-sensory-checklist    Free Resources: Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite Join our free Neuro Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you: Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What if listening to music in just one ear could make your pain go away?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about how we process sound and why it can be an incredible tool for improving balance, posture and muscle tone as well as decreasing pain.  I discuss how audio is processed in the brain, what pathways it follows, what related systems it is connected to in a neurological context, and how a hearing deficiency can have some wide ranging and surprising effects on the body and performance.  I lay out a simple assessment process for evaluating your hearing, as well as how to use specific sound stimulation techniques to target deficiencies in hearing or to support other systems such as the trigeminal nerve and the vestibular or sympathetic systems.  I also discuss phenomena like tinnitus, whether different frequencies in the audio spectrum have different effects, why hearing deficiencies that have neurological effects may not be considered diagnosable by an audiologist, how your brain can compensate for deficiencies in hearing, tone generators, tuning forks, bone-conduction headphones, stacking, and more.   Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode! Free Resources: Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite Join our free Neuro Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you: Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What if kegels aren't working for you?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, all about the pelvic floor.  I discuss the anatomy around the pelvic floor, common problems you might not realize are related to poor pelvic floor function, an old injury I had that caused asymmetries and tonal issues with my pelvic floor, why I think most pelvic floor rehabilitation like kegels aren't that successful, and why focusing on the reflexive control of the pelvic floor may be the more fruitful path.  I discuss drills and exercises that can improve pelvic floor function that go beyond just voluntary contraction work, such as spinal mobility work, breathing drills and techniques, bilateral complex movements, vibration, vestibular drills, tongue drills, stacking, and more.  This is a fantastic topic for applied neurology due to the reflexive nature of pelvic floor control and the often indirect paths you need to take to affect its function for the better.  Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode! Free Resources: Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite Join our free Neuro Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you: Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What if training "fast" isn't actually the best way to improve reaction time for athletes?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, all about improving reaction speed to improve athletic performance.  I discuss the neurology of reaction speed and how decisions are often made after first taking in visual information and understanding it.  This is why improving the speed of visual recognition is actually the game-changer many coaches and athletes are missing from their training.  I outline 4 main categories of vision, how to assess and train each of them, and how to make our training specific for each athlete based on their own neurology.  I also talk about depth perception, peripheral vision, contrast sensitivity, sympathetic tone, stacking cognitive skills, perturbation, and more.  This is one of our longer episodes filled with actionable assessments, drills, and gems that you can put into your practice immediately to train your reaction speed and improve your athletic performance.  Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode! Free Resources: Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite Join our free Neuro Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you: Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What do applied neurology professionals do when they injure their back?  In this episode, I speak with my podcast producer, Tony, about Alisha's recent back injury and the tools we used immediately to start to fix her pain and get her back to training.  I talk about how she got injured while we were moving, and then go step by step and detail what we did on day one and then throughout the first week to help get her back on track.  I discuss how we used the assessment process, combined with some clues from her training history, to find her high-payoff drills, and how we stacked them and drilled them repeatedly until we were able to majorly improve her mobility, relieve her pain, and get her back to her normal self.  I also discuss some of the dead-ends we embarked upon that sounded good in theory, but didn't pass the assessment process.  This is a case-study in applied neurology, and covers a plethora of concepts, including threat assessment, stacking, closed chain vs open-chain positions, the table dilemma, inhibition tools, isometrics, audio stimulation, tractioning and more.  I also talk about my balance-board, and whether or not I consider it valuable as a tool for vestibular training. Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode! Free Resources: Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite Join our free Neuro Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you: Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo