Body By Design, Inc., Mamaroneck, NY (2025)

10/31/2025

Did you know your knee is designed to move in all three planes—not just forward and back? 🦵✨

Applied Functional Science (AFS) teaches us that healthy knees need to flex, extend, rotate, and shift side-to-side, just like real life demands. Limiting knee motion can actually increase injury risk, while training for multi-directional movement builds true resilience.

In our biomechanical assessments, we use scientific measurements to analyze joint angles, torque, and velocity—helping you understand exactly how your knee moves and where you can improve. This data-driven approach guides personalized rehab and performance plans for pain-free, confident movement.

Science shows: when your knees move the way they’re built to move, you move better—period. Ready to experience the difference?

10/30/2025

Training the Abdominals/Core: What Really Works

Most people think of the abs as just a “six-pack,” but the abdominal muscles are actually a complex, four-layered group stretching from your pelvis to your rib cage. These muscles connect your upper and lower body, linking the pelvis, spine, ribs, and back through deep layers of connective tissue. This connection is what gives your core the power to stabilize, transfer force, and coordinate motion in everything you do—from reaching and twisting to running and lifting.
But here’s what most people don’t realize:

Your abs don’t simply “turn on” because you want them to. They aren’t controlled by conscious brain power. Instead, they’re activated subconsciously by your body’s sensory system. Every time you move, gravity, ground reaction forces, momentum, and three-dimensional motion send signals to special sensors (proprioceptors) in your muscles. These proprioceptors are what “turn on” your abs automatically, helping you decelerate movement in one direction and accelerate in another. This is why the abs are often one of the first muscle groups to “turn off” when something’s wrong elsewhere in the body—leading to weakness, instability, or even pain.
For Best Results:

Train your abs with functional, real-life movements that challenge them in all three planes: side-to-side (frontal), forward/back (sagittal), and rotation (transverse)
Use dynamic exercises that lengthen your abs before they contract—this is called eccentric loading, and it’s how your core gets primed to generate power (“load before explode”)
Focus on motion and stretch, not just static holds or crunches. The more your abs are challenged by authentic movement, the stronger and more reactive they become
Remember: true core strength is about stability, coordination, and resilience—not just looks

Understanding how your core truly works means you can train smarter, prevent injury, and move better every day.

If you want to see real results, start thinking beyond crunches—train your abs to react, stabilize, and support you in every direction.
Want to learn more or see these principles in action?

👉 Visit www.bobfanelli.com
Bob Fanelli, MSc, FAFS
Injury Rehab | Applied Biomechanics | Kinesiologist
Bob Fanelli, MSc, FAFS
Injury Rehab and Applied Biomechanics
Kinesiologist
Exercise Physiologist

10/29/2025

From daily pain to real freedom—possible?

Meet Lisa, age 47. She arrived at Body By Design, Inc. frustrated by nagging back pain that made daily life a struggle. Four weeks in, she’s not just pain-free—she’s back to hiking with her friends, confident her body can keep up.

How did she get here? Through a personalized biomechanics assessment and a 7-session program tailored to her unique movement patterns, tracked every step with Spark Motion video analysis. Lisa’s story is one of many—proof that real change is possible with the right guidance.

Curious what your own progress could look like? Let’s talk about your goals and see if our approach is the right fit for you.

Reach out to Bob Fanelli, MSc, FAFS, at Body By Design, Inc. in New Rochelle—where pain relief and renewed confidence start with science and empathy. 📞

10/28/2025

Unlock movement, not just manage pain.

Ever wondered why traditional rehab sometimes falls short for chronic pain? The answer often lies in the science of real-life movement—how your body truly functions, not just in the clinic, but in daily life.

Applied Functional Science (AFS) goes beyond symptoms, using advanced biomechanical analysis to pinpoint root causes and design tailored solutions for lasting results.

Curious how AFS could transform your approach to injury rehab—or help your clients finally break free from persistent pain?

Let’s connect for a deeper dive or schedule a complimentary consult to see AFS in action.

Bob Fanelli, MSc, FAFS | Body By Design, Inc. | New Rochelle, NY 📍

www.bobfanelli.com | 914-260-8216

10/25/2025

What happens when your glutes stop working?

Most people blame pain on a single muscle or joint. But real-life movement is a symphony—when one part (like your glutes) falls silent, the whole system adapts, often in ways that lead to discomfort or injury.

At Body By Design, we use Applied Functional Science and advanced video analysis to reveal how your body truly moves—beyond what you can feel or see. This isn’t just rehab. It’s a roadmap to restore confidence, prevent setbacks, and reclaim your active life.

Curious how your glutes are performing, or why pain keeps returning? Message me to explore a personalized assessment or discuss the science behind functional rehab.

Let’s move smarter—together. 🏃‍♂️

10/23/2025

🔬 Discovering the Mechanics: Lumbar Spine & Chain Reaction® Principle 🔬

The lumbar spine is pivotal as the "transportation" hub of bodily movement. However, when the kinematic chain's flow is obstructed, issues can manifest. 🚧

Conventional lumbar stabilization programs aim to halt vertebral movement but often fall short. Instead, Applied Functional Science recommends that vertebrae move across all three anatomical planes. 🔄

Do not restrict bone motion—discomfort arises not from bone movement but from excessive joint and disc motion when there is limited articulation above and below the lumbar spine. 💡

The Chain Reaction® Principle demonstrates how initiating motion in one area creates a dynamic response throughout the entire body, essential for functional movement. 🏃‍♂️

Our bodies process external forces (gravity, ground reaction, momentum) alongside internal forces (muscle contractions, energy potential in stretched tissues), producing torque and power that transfer seamlessly across anatomical structures. 🔄

This continuous force transmission through musculoskeletal networks validates the interconnected Chain Reaction® Principle, promoting enhanced functional movement through interconnected body segments. 🦵

Isolating a single joint or muscle—a Link—doesn't account for the body's intrinsic connectedness. Empirical research confirms that bodily movements occur in interconnected kinematic sequences and that kinetic energy transfer is integral to functional activity. 📚

We must acknowledge these intricate connections to truly understand and optimize movement efficiency!

10/21/2025

Rethinking Movement with Gravity and Ground Reaction Force 🌍

In Applied Functional Science, we understand that functional movement is context-dependent. One principle that provides essential context is Gravity and Ground Reaction Force. This principle might make us, as practitioners, reconsider our approaches to assessment, prevention, performance, and rehabilitation. 🏋

A critical question to ask is: “Am I using Gravity and Ground Reaction Force authentically to the ultimate function/task, or am I confusing the body?” 🤔

Beyond creating motions that activate muscles, Gravity and Ground Reaction Forces play a significant role in everyday movement. 🌟 Gravity induces rotational forces or torques, and when muscles contract to manage these torques, they act as “sensors.” This falls under the study of haptic perception, where the motor output of muscles is sensed and converted into “muscle-based perception.” 🧠 Through the muscles, the body can sense the authentic torques Gravity produces, orchestrating the proper muscle contractions to execute desired movements! 🏃‍♂

For activities our patients/clients wish to perform in an upright stance, practitioners must design training, rehabilitation, and injury prevention programs that are predominantly upright and weight-bearing. 🏋️‍♀

This approach utilizes Gravity and Ground Reaction Force to produce the normal Chain Reaction®! ⚙️

www.bobfanelli.com
Bob Fanelli, MSc, FAFS
Fellow of Applied Functional Science
Exercise Physiologist
Kinesiologist
Applied Biomechanics
Restore Corrective Exercise

10/21/2025

Recover and thrive with comprehensive rehabilitation at Body By Design, Inc.! 🌟 Our approach combines kinesiology and Applied Functional Science to help you heal effectively. Discover more about how we can support your recovery journey today! 💪 Visit us at 5 Plain Avenue, New Rochelle, NY.

👉 [Link in bio]

10/13/2025

🔬 Myth Buster Monday 🔬

Training the Transversus Abdominus (TA) in isolation—fallacy or folly? For years, studies by Cresswell, Hodges, and others showed the TA could fire first, independently, using the “hollowing” maneuver, especially in those with low back pain. Ultrasound and EMG confirmed isolated TA contraction was possible (Cresswell et al. 1992, Hodges et al. 1996). This led to TA isolation becoming a rehab trend.

But let’s look closer: Most of these studies were performed with subjects standing, moving arms and legs in three planes—real-world movement, not just lying on a table. Yet the training program focused on conscious, isolated contraction in supine, which doesn’t match how we move or stabilize in life.

Recent research has challenged the original findings: TA does not always contract symmetrically or independently of limb direction, and in real movement, synergy rules. Human movement is driven by subconscious, 3D muscle activation in response to joint and environmental forces—not by isolating one muscle.

Bottom line: TA isolation isn’t a fallacy, but it is a clinical folly. Science evolves, and so should rehab. Restore movement, not just muscle. What’s your take?

10/10/2025

Fast Function Friday: ACL Biomechanics for Movement Professionals

ACL injuries are prevalent and often identified in real-time by sports commentators due to characteristic joint kinematics observed during injury mechanisms. Effective prevention and rehabilitation require an in-depth understanding of the ACL's functional biomechanics within the context of weight-bearing activities.

The ACL demonstrates distinct biomechanical roles when subjected to weight-bearing conditions versus non-weight-bearing clinical assessments. Training protocols that fail to incorporate these functional dynamics risk proprioceptive maladaptation and increased injury incidence.

Conventional approaches emphasizing knee neutralization and isolated isokinetic strengthening neglect the integrated kinetic chain involving the hip, knee, and ankle complex. Applied Functional Science advocates for training paradigms that respect these interdependent biomechanical relationships, optimizing neuromuscular control and joint stability.

Advancing beyond outdated methodologies is essential for enhancing athlete outcomes and mitigating ACL injury risks.

Interested in personalized, science-driven rehab to protect or recover your ACL? Contact me to start your journey to stronger, safer movement.

Body By Design, Inc.

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