The Art and Science of Mobility – Part 1

In the book ‘The Modern Art and Science of Mobility’, an approachable format is presented for maintaining functional movement capability. This series of blogs will give an outline of the book. There are combinations of movements and therapies contained in the book that will not be presented within this series of outlines.

Pain.

Pain and Movement – Movement efficiency is impacted by the influence of pain on neuromuscular efficacy. The long term influence of painful effects are decreased activity of the deep and postural muscles. This situation devolves to a state of muscular disconnection from the effective pathways, resulting in atrophy and difficult rehabilitation. It is difficult to perform regular activity when pain is a factor in the equation. Yet, many choose to be suboptimally active in the presence of challenging neuromuscular difficulty.

Trigger Points – trigger points are (small) areas of muscle that form adhesions. These adhesions are small knots of muscle that can cause pain to radiate when they are disturbed or ‘triggered’. They cause alterations in posture, of movement to maintain functional levels of movement or activity. Different types of trigger points have been described, the main two being active and latent trigger points (Travell & Simons 1999). A latent trigger point is one that results in some dysfunction, normally stiffness or movement restriction: unless touched, it is not normally painful. An active trigger point can also cause dysfunction but with the addition of pain. 

Self Massage – This is an effective modality for relieving tension in the myofascial chain. Using self massage positively impacts recovery time, movement, warm-ups and pain. Most people are bot affluent enough to have caretakers for the maladies that they encounter. There are different degrees of massage that can be applied to the body. they can be applied to the body for various types of activity to be undertaken.

• Painful Massage – Massage does not have to be painful. It depends on the point of massaging and individual tolerance level.
• Iliotibial Band is not an area that is responsive to massage. It is highly susceptible to pain response. The ends of this structure, near the hip and near the knee, are more so beneficially affected by self massage.
• From Self Massage to Warm up – This stimulates muscle responsiveness. This combination of techniques improves ROM and muscle contraction strength. memory

Combatting pain – Addressing painful areas is important to them being alleviated Combatting pain is a methodically, incremental process. Focusing on a specific area with a multi-faceted approach is instrumental to recovering good movement.

• The Basic Reset Rule – Treating pain is dependent upon correcting postural compromise, minimizing motor (neuron) abnormalities, reducing muscle tightness.
• Limiting the exclusivity of self massage. Massage is good but other therapies can be incorporated to facilitate a more thorough abatement of the pain.
• Theory of the analytical approach – Localized pain is typically due to general causes. Address the painful are using the -four-step method. Regularly utilizing aspects of this methodology will help to mitigate the pain and return movement to functional levels.

Feel free to forward any questions that may need to addressed concerning this blog . . . . .

Next week: Breathing