Ready to Run by Dr. Kelly Starrett and TJ Murphy, (16) Introduction to Mobility Work, Notes

Post date: Dec 9, 2017 3:36:17 PM

Ready to Run

Part III- We are a system of systems. Pain is not the problem. The underlying cause is. Testing for the standards provides a working picture of where the body is. Identify weaknesses so that they can be turned into strengths.

(16) Introduction to Mobility Work. Testing against the standards presents a working snapshot of how ready to run the body is, but more importantly, it pinpoints major weaknesses.

• 1. There are four types of shortcomings (Goats) and they are all interrelated:

     1. Lifestyle issues like not maintaining neutral feet when standing, walking or running, dehydration, wearing overbuilt shoes and sitting too much lead to:

     2. Mobility issues like poor hip extension, stiff, unhealthy tissues, range of motion restrictions and hot spots which lead to:

     3. Positions issues like not being able to squat well or being unable to sustain good spinal positions which lead to:

     4. Mechanics issues like poor jumping and landing technique and the inability to run without the arches and knees collapsing inward.

  2. Performance Problems: Pain, Injury and Power Loss

• • 1. Lifestyle/Adaptation Standards

       1. Neutral Feet

       2. Flat Shoes

       3. Warming Up and Cooling Down

       4. Compression

       5. Hydration

    2. Mobility/Motor Control Standards

• • • 1. Supple Thoracic Spine

      2. Squatting Technique

      3. Hip Flexion

      4. Hip Extension

      5. Ankle Range of Motion

      6. No hotspots

      7. Jumping and Landing

• 3. Improving Mobility: A strategic approach or system needs to attack the particular issues of the individual. It must prioritize fixing underlying problems but also address the nagging symptoms. Daily attention to mobility work is one part of a three part approach:

• • 1. Make sure lifestyle choices are in order: proper hydration, flat shoes, compression socks, neutral feet at all times. Attend to these simple yet powerful disciplines.

    2. Make certain to work toward or maintainthe mobility standards, especially hip extension and ankle range of motion.

    3. Mechanics: jump, land, and squat correctly. From there, take on the Pose Method of running.

• 4. Mobility Work: Guiding Principles

• • 1. At least 10 minutes/ day (20 or more is better). Progress can be made with a mere 10 minutes per day but it needs to be charged with a purpose. Pick a target area for the day and pepper that area with mobility work. No matter what, get that 10 minutes in every day. In addition, squeeze in a little couch stretch time and time spent in a squat position.

    2. Take two minutes or more on each mobilization. This is the minimum amount of time to affect tissue change. But it has to be a focused two minutes. To make daily mobility time count, pick one or two mobilizations and go in with a total purpose. Work smartly and deeply, searching for particularly tight areas. Work with focus and concentration for those two minutes to be effective.

    3. Work upstream and downstream of the problem. In addition to using voodoo floss compression or taking a lacrosse ball to the site of the pain or restriction. The goal is to develop some slack around the problem (above and below).

    4. If it feels sketchy, it is sketchy. Pain signals can be more about hitting a nerve in a bad way than the stress being placed on the muscle tissue. Back off and go about the mobilization in a different way. Push deep and peel back layers of discomfort with mobility work, but if the signal coming from your body says it's wrong, it’s wrong.

    5. Be creative. Poke around. Try different tools and techniques. Have fun with it and always work with intent. Let intuition lead to new techniques and combos of techniques.

    6. Use good positions. Pay constant attention to postures and positions. Keep a braced neutral spine and don’t let the knees collapse inward. Follow this principle throughout the day, not just during workouts. Be an athlete 24 hours a day. Spending less time sitting leads to less time spent mobilizing to counter sitting-related problems. Tune in mechanics and try to be in a good position all the time.

    7. No days off. Muscles mold around the positions used most. Time spent in bad positions leaks into the positions and mechanics of athletic pursuits. Develop the habit of constantly scanning the positions being used. The more that good positions and good mechanics are used, the more that running benefits. Every movement and position counts. No days off from maintenance means committing to finding at least ten minutes per day for mobility work. Each minute invested in mobility work helps prevent and reduce the minute wreckage that occurs with each step of running. Build maintenance work into the daily routine so that it becomes part of the flow of the day. Every hour set the timer to get out of the chair, walk around, sip some water, perform a calf mobilization or drop into a deep one minute squat.

• 5. Techniques

• • 1. Smash. Enables a look into what’s going on in the depths of the tissue. Place a ball or roller on the area working on, take a breath, let it out, and allow the muscles to relax around the tool. Many techniques start off with smash.

    2. Contract-Relax. If a hotspot is hit during a basic smash, the body will respond naturally by tensing the muscles. This is countered by contracting the muscles with an inhale and relaxing the muscle on the exhale, allowing the ball or roller to sink deeper into the tissue. Repeat this process several times, interacting with the trigger points to generate relief. Go deeper into the problem by relaxing away the tension with this technique. Contract-Relax also works when stretching muscles at end range. Tense the muscle for a few seconds, then relax the muscle, then deepen the position. It is also a good technique for improving sliding surface function. When using the ball on a specific spot, press deep with the ball, then contract, then relax, press the ball deeper and repeat.

    3. Pressure Wave. Use this technique for pinpointed work. Effective for deep tissue needs: place the ball or roller on the knot, then use body weight to sink the ball deep into the tissue.

    4. Stripping. Is using a ball or roller along the grain of the muscle tissue to comb the various fascias and fibers. Work ever so slowly.

    5. Smash and Floss. A vital technique for restoring the natural glide that should exist between layers of skin. Use the smash technique to get deep into the tissue then move the joint through as much range of motion as possible. This flosses the ball through the tissues to restore, slide and glide.

    6. Global Shear. Designed to rake through large muscles or a range of muscles all at once. Helpful to start with to create general release and warm up the tissue for the deeper work to come.

    7. Flexion Gap. Addresses a tight gummed up knee. Place a ball or rolled towel behind the knee and pull the leg into full flexion. The gap created by the ball or towel creates a force that helps develop full range of motion.

    8. Tack and Twist. Smash a ball into the tissue to tack things down then give it a twist. This helps brush through soft tissue as well as move blood into an area where circulation is relatively weak.

    9. Banded Flossing. Flossing is moving a limb back and forth or side to side. Loop a heavy duty band around a joint or muscle--then begin moving. Adding the banded flossing to a mobility drill enables additional range of motion and resetting of the joint.

    10. Voodoo Floss Band Compression. Creates a high powered shearing effect on a tissue hot spot, chunk of scar tissue or compromised joint. The band restores sliding surface function to the area and after the band is removed, fresh blood flows into those joints and tissues. Compressing a swollen joint forces the swelling back into the lymphatic system, where it can drain from the body. Wrap the target joint or hot spot, increasing tension to 75% over the swollen area itself. With the band wrapped around the joint or hot spot. Spend time moving the joint through its range of motion. For sliding surface restoration, aim for two sessions per day. To counter swelling and inflammation from an injury that just happened, shoot for a minimum of five sessions per day (10 max)

• 6. Don’t Ice. Using ice with the intention of healing an injury is counter productive. Ice shuts off the communication between muscle and nerves. Icing congests the tissues. Instead of RICE to reduce swelling and speed up the recovery process think movement & compression.

  7. Mobility Toolbox

• • 1. Battlestar

    2. Lacrosse Balls

    3. Yoga Tune Up Therapy Balls

    4. Alpha Ball

    5. Gemini

    6. Softball

    7. Supernova

    8. Soccer Ball

    9. Coregeous Ball

    10. Rogue Monster Band

    11. Voodoo Floss

    12. Ab Mat

1. Going Deep. Treat the root cause. It can always be found in either the ability to get into good positions (mobility) or in motor control patterns (mechanics.) By periodically testing and constantly addressing the 12 standards, injury can be stopped before it is expressed. Meeting and maintaining the standards creates an injury buffer zone.