Daniel Yazbek Chiropractic & Sports Injury Clinic

Passive range of motion characteristics in the overhead baseball pitcher and their implications for rehabilitation. - PubMed - NCBI

If our human physiology operates through a dynamic systems approach, then why should any rehabilitation system be any different? A rehabilitation system should respect the dynamic systems approach. How do we know how much of a discrepancy in laterality or handedness should be present? This paper states that a pitcher with external rotation differences less than 5 degrees may impart increased stresses on static stabilizers thereby contributing to an increased risk of injury over the career of an athlete. Attempting to reverse specific adaptation of imposed demands (SAID) in order to create more symmetry is not a good approach to take. A movement system must respect SAID. In fact, a shoulder that displays more symmetry relative to the non-dominant side in a throwing athlete should warrant a concern due to failure for SAID. This can be seen as the bodies attempt to represent its current neurobiomechanics, and express greater resistance to remodel in response to athletic movements. So, ask your manual therapist this question: "Are you prescribing corrective movements for my shoulder (or any other joint) and its interrelated parts due to a movement system that prioritizes symmetry or in order to allow expression for remodeling, in response to my athletic movements"?

SELF-LIMITING EXERCISE

Optimization and control at a joint will allow the body to self-organise and select the most appropriate sequence for the task at hand whilst minimizing the need to conserve large amounts of momentum. In this video I am eccentrically controlling right hip flexion which will allow sufficient time for the contralateral hip to stabilize an upright torso. Poor control at the right hip will inevitably result in non-optimal self organisation of the stance hip leading to an increase in the need for conserving higher amounts of momentum and thus potential acceleration-deceleration injuries.

Spine stability: the six blind men and the elephant. - PubMed - NCBI

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17210212 Spine stability is context dependent! Depending on the movement task, spine stiffness can either be enhanced or degraded. The voluntary act of "stiffening" the spine during a deadlift can improve efficiency and safety. However, if you were given the order to "turn on the core", "activate" the glutes or "stabilize" the spine whilst on a balance beam, your feedback to remain in balance will be negatively altered. If you are being told by a health professional to stiffen the spine or "activate" the "core" or glutes to a wide variety of different movement demands, durations and tasks, then clearly that health professional lacks an understanding on the dynamic systems approach to motor control and learning. A stiffer spine does not always imply a stiffer overall system. In some cases, a stiffer spine may experience larger displacements to maintain task stability, which can increase the risk of injury. Try stiffening the spine whilst maintaining single leg stance position or during a sprint, and internalize how inefficient and highly detrimental it is to your overall system.

BEGIN WITH THE END IF MIND!

What may seem to be a hamstring tightness problem may in fact be the consequence of impaired input, awareness or integration. The end result of a movement can only be achieved if that path was permitted to be safe. The end result may be safe but the path it took to get there may not have been. The end result of a movement is NOT linearly dependent on the summation of the total reactive forces, but as a result of the constant self organising, self emerging non-linear kinetic changes to the human biological system.

The only limitation to achieving a goal is the belief that a limitation exists. As a health professional I constantly strive to seek the right input necessary for a client to achieve a task. This is such that their internal awareness creates a positive and competent experience. There are many tools and rehabilitation methods to implement within different types of populations. Assisting a Cerebral Palsy client to achieve a lunge by permiting an increase in the shank angulation relative to the ground at the rear foot, reduces the internal force required to overcome neurologically driven tightness of the gastrocnemius.

THORAX CONTROL

The Thoracic spine is a common region in which health professionals prescribe mobility exercises in the attempt to improve function at the joints above and below. Whilst this is an important concept as explained by the joint by joint approach, it must be appreciated that control of the thorax is also imperative. The interrelationship of the thorax with the adjacent ribs significantly increases the amount of neuromuscular coordination and control required. This wonderful client of mine is engaging in a reactive stabilization strategy to assist control and mininize mediolateral sway of the thorax during full neck rotation

INTERREGIONAL DISSOCIATION

INTERREGIONAL DISSOCIATION Dissociating the neck, trunk and arms from each other is an important motor skill for athletes and the general population to acquire. Human movement is chaotic, random and unpredictable. Improving our internal dynamic orientation enables a better internal calculation of the relative motion of our physiological framework. Our human physiological framework is designed for the complex interplay between stability and mobility to allow optimal movement efficiency.

CONTEXTUAL INTERFERENCE

Unfortunately, the traditional approach to resistance training incorporates a pre-conscious effort in initiating a muscle contraction prior to dynamic motion. We always focus our time and attention on "setting" the movement prior to engaging motion (i.e. planning the decent phase of a squat when standing with a bar across the shoulders). However, we do not consciously stiffen or have time to "set" the movement in an attempt to make us feel aesthetically confident or comfortable (we don't consciously prepare to pick an object off the floor, we just do it!). Resistance training should incorporate high contextual interference and contractions that emphasize the interval between an initial relaxed state to a stiffened state (isometric) rather than emphasizing the interval between a stiffened (isometric) state to dynamic motion (concentric or eccentric state).

MOVEMENT ABUNDANCE IS BLISS

Athletes with Insertional tendinopathy (IT) have been shown to extend there ankle upon stair ascent greater than those without IT. This compensation is unfavourable, in that it puts more load and compression through the soft tissues deep to the Achilles tendon. Yet, why do these athletes compensate in such an innapropriate way? Perhaps they fear to load the ankle and foot on the stance leg thereby contributing to a compensatory increase in ankle extension on the swing leg to provide appropriate foot clearance. As shown in this video, Implementing another movement strategy to prevent increased ankle extension allows appropriate foot clearance. optimizing foot clearance on the symptomatic side in those with IT, can be achieved by a great magnitude of hip flexion which can be simultaneously achieved by forceful extension of the stance hip. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27796197

TISSUE CAPACITY

The power grip is the position in which martial artists attract towards in order to increase force output and efficiency. However, What happens at the possible unfortunate circumstance at which your wrist buckles under the tremendous impact of a punch? clearly, wrist "buckling" alters the length and thus force of which the extensor tendons can absorb load. Teach the nervous system to absorb load at the extreme and opposing ends of the range of motion spectrum.

TRUNK - ARM DISSOCIATION

The straight right cross in boxing requires coordination of the trunk and arm with reciprocal head and eye movement. Many novice boxers will move the right hand and trunk in unison leading to an inefficient and powerless delivery.