3-D Movement Focus: Introduction to the Biomechanics of Functional Grappling and Wrestling

I have the distinct pleasure of having many amazing people in my life. Friends, family, students, teachers and mentors. Interestingly enough, a person may fall into one of those groups, but many times, a person may fall into more than one to all of those groups.

One of those people who falls into many of those groups is Kancho Cameron Shayne, creator of Budokon (pictured below). Budokon or "Way of the Spiritual Warrior"  in Japanese, is Kancho Shayne's fusion of Yoga and Mixed Martial arts into a powerful conditioning system as well as an effective Mixed Martial Arts format combining Olympic Style Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kung Fu, Capoiera and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

In talking with Kancho, we discussed how to appropriately get across the Principles of Grappling to our students with particular focus on leverage and angles of force. Through Applied Functional Science and the Principles of Function, I will go over more strategies and techniques that focus on the Chain Reaction Biomechanics of Grappling and Wrestling so that you can go into a situation with more knowledge, so that the application in "live" situations comes much easier.

A short 3-D Holiday Reflection

Happy Holidays to all!!!

Tis the season to be jolly and I hope this blog post finds everyone in good spirits. I have to admit that I really do enjoy this time of the year, especially the music. I think my radio has been tuned to 97.1 WASH FM since the day after Thanksgiving so I can listen to the music. I even listen online.

First, I want to thank all the people who have been following and reading the blog. It's been a great experience for me to sit down and write about the body and optimal performance. I appreciate your emails, messages and comments. As we move into the new year, I will continue to write the blog as long as you all continue to read.

In the past month, I have had the opportunity to really sit back and take a minute to look at the work that I do, and I have to admit that I am so blessed to have the privelge of working with people, helping them make their lives better. As I have said before, working with someones body, you are also working with their mind and the spirit. Having this opportunity is truly a blessing and I want to thank all of my clients/patients/athletes.

As I move into the new year, I am rededicating myself to constantly learning about the body. It seems everyday I learn something new about the body. However, a mentor once told me that "No one cares just what you know. They care about what you can do for them." A little harsh but true in my mind. I can no every nerve, muscle, bone, ligament, fascia, organ, etc in the body but that knowledge is nothing if I do cannot share and apply it. To this end, I will DEFINITELY be doing more instructional videos as well as workshops for anyone interested in optimizing performance in their body.

Finally, I am still working on a post regarding 3-D Grappling. It's taking me longer than normal because of many factors but I expect to have it out in a day or so.

Again, thank you and I look forward to sharing more with you.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Will

Introduction to Functional Manual Reaction (FMR)

Todays' post is courtesy of Dr. David Tiberio of the Gray Institute explaining exactly what Functional Manual Reaction is. This type of work is absolutely amazing in any setting and is worth looking into. I use it for post-rehab work as well training and conditioning. What I find most interesting is that I can apply this method with my athletes by going through the appropriate biomechanical movements in throwing a ball, shooting with a lacrosse stick as well as martial arts grappling and wrestling.

I will post in a few days!! Enjoy the wisdom below.

FUNCTIONAL MANUAL REACTION

Dr. David Tiberio Ph.D., PT, OCS, FAFS

FMR is an acronym that stands for Functional Manual Reaction. Functional Manual Reaction is the name that the Gray Institute uses to describe the application of hands to bone segments in order to facilitate an optimal sequence of motion during a functional movement. FMR is used during the clinical tasks of movement assessment, functional training, and rehabilitation. It can complement all aspects of movement analysis.

3-D Shoulder: Subtle Shoulder Instability Probable Suspects

Another round of THANKS to Dr. David Tiberio for his guidance on shoulder instability using Applied Functional Science!!!


As I continue this exploration of the shoulder, I am starting to really get into the complexity of the human body. Looking through the Applied Functional Science glasses, I really am able to see the antaomy and function of the shoulder in a different light from what I was originally taught and its amazing. As we progress on our respective paths, I am encountering more and more people who either have acute or chronic shoulder issues, but what I'm also finding is that many people have "dysfunctional" shoulder complexes and don't even know it. Who would have thought a gunked up scapula or glenohumeral joint instability can cause a global shift of function in the body?

In this post, I will focus more on the 3-D Shoulder with an overview of subtle shoulder instability as well as some PROBABLE SUSPECTS that we can go to.  If you are just linking in to this blog, please see my other two blog posts: Introduction to the 3-D Shoulder and 3-D Shoulder: Rotator Cuff Impingements and Probable Suspects for more on the 3-D shoulder.

3-D Shoulder: Rotator Cuff Impingement Overview and Probable Suspects

A big THANK YOU to Dr . David Tiberio of the Gray Institute for inspiring me to write this blog post based on his wonderful webcasts during the GIFT Program!

In my last post, I introduced the 3-D Shoulder. As I study it more, I'm finding that the shoulder really is an amazing piece of work. The simple complexity of the shoulder really can make your head spin, but if we are looking at it through Applied Functional Science glasses, we can start to appreciate and understand the complex simplicity.

As we look at the shoulder, we realize its wonderful function, but at the same time, it can be dismally dysfunctional. In this post, we will look at rotator cuff impingements through AFS and then look at PROBABLE SUSPECTS.

Introduction to the 3-D Shoulder

The shoulder comnplex is another interesting 3-D structure where the oxymoron of "complex simplicity" comes to mind. We see this when as we observe infants grasping for their parents hand, bottle, or anything else in reach. The symphony of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage and other soft tissue is amazing to witness when proper chain reaction biomechanics are occuring. However, like many other structures of the body, the shoulder complex can be as dysfunctional as it is functional.

Another oxymoron that comes to mind regarding the shoulder is "Mobile Stability" or "MOSTABILITY". As we look at the shoulder, we see a complex that has the capacity to be extremely mobile in all 3 planes of motion. However, this is the classic "Goldilocks" phenomenon. Too much mobility we can have instability. Too little mobility, can lead to pathologies like impingements. We are looking for "just right" mobility which is accomplished through a delicate balance of STABILITY in the complex With this MOSTABILITY, we are able to functional load and explode the PELTRUNKULARUS system to allow the shoulder to do its job of catching, throwing, hugging, etc.

In this post, you will be introduced to the complex simplicity of the 3-D shoulder complex along with some simple strategies and techniques for post-rehab as well as training and conditioning.

3-D Movement Focus: Functional Wrestling and Grappling

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the football team I work with win their conference championship. It was quite a feat for our athletes who may not be the biggest guys on the field, but they usually are the scrappiest. They worked very hard all summer long with the 3-D Training and Conditioning that included not only physical training but also mental and spiritual training. Spiritual training in the sense of having them be encouraged, successful and inspired to be play football. Congrats to the 2009 Bulldogs!

When the fall season came to a close, I was able to shift gears into our winter season that includes Basketball, Hockey and finally WRESTLING which I am involved in.

BRIEF HISTORY OF WRESTLING

Wrestling, to me, is one of the most fundamental activities that a person can take part of. It is also one of the oldest MARTIAL ARTS practiced thousands of years ago by many countries like Greece, China, and Egypt to name a few. Over time, wrestling has evolved into various forms, and the two most practiced in the United States are Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling, both of which are Olympic sports.

The history of wrestling is dependent on the country but the overall principle is that it is a martial art or art of warfare ("martial" deriving its name from the Mars, the Greek god of war). Wrestling was used in war situations that required hand to hand combat as well as in peace time where it was used to condition and prepare the soldiers for battle. It also was one of the first sports at the 1st Olympiad and continues to this day.

Introduction to 3-D PelTrunkUlaRus

It's interesting that where you can find a muse. As a self-appointed "writer", I look for everyday situations that will inspire me to write. The most interesting thing is that the muses reveal themselves exactly when they need to propel me to the blog to write. Big THANKS to Matt M. who was my muse for today and a big THANKS to Gary Gray and David Tiberio from the Gray Institute for their explation of the  PELTRUNKULARUS!!!!

What is PELTRUNKULARUS????

Well, it is a word created by Gray and Tiberio that is a combination of Pelvis, Trunk, Scapula and Humerus but the wisdom of this word is that it's not only a combination of anatomical structures but takes into the consideration of a very important chain reaction in the body. For instance, in a baseball pitch, basketball jump shot, football pass or lacrosse shot, require these structures to be connected in a perfect synchronization for optimal speed and power.

Referring back to our Principles of Function, we know that Peltrunkularus is 3-D in that it moves in 3 planes of motion as well as that it is DRIVEN. This is especially important to remember because it can either driven from the Top to Bottom or Bottom to Top.

Why is it important to understand PELTRUNKULARUS???

As we look at clients/athletes/ourselves, we see that when we are performing a task such as reaching for a box on the floor, picking up our child, throwing a baseball, etc that a reach with the hand causes a reaction down to pelvis (and lower). However, when we do not use our whole 3-D body, we can start to overuse a particular segement and not get all we can out of the movement. It's important to remember that the body will always choose the path of least resistance so if it can get away with just rotating at the lumbar spine as we pick up our Christmas tree, instead of having the pelvis rotate to turn on the big muscles of the butt, it will. Overtime, this may get us into trouble.

Regardless if we are rehabbing, training and conditioning or programming for injury prevention, it would benefit us and our clients/patients to keep this mind.

An example of using the strategy of PELTRUNKULARUS

My athlete, Matt, who is a lacrosse player is looking to develop his explosive speed. As a midfielder, he may be jogging and have to break into a sprint at any moment while trying to shake another player. Fortunately, Matt and I had the chance to work together all summer and he made great gains in power and speed and was still looking for more. As I watched him move, I noticed that a lot of his changes of direction were being primarily driven from the bottom up, meaning that he would drop his hip then rotate them in the direction he wanted to go. This is a great strategy as it has allowed him to move better and stay injury free during fall ball; however, we needed to get a little more explosiveness out of him. Because we know that function is DRIVEN, we decided to use a more Top-down driver. As a lacrosse player, Matt is using his stick for a variety of reasons, so he felt pretty confident that we could use his arms to drive him into the direction we wanted to go. This will not be a huge move but it will definitely allow him to get into and explode out of the TRANSFORMATIONAL ZONE better. My strategy was to be able to take him into that place a bit faster using the arms(humers) that would send a chain reaction down through the scapula, trunk and pelvis to load those important back and front butt muscles. 

The first thing I had Matt do was to do the lunge matrix with 15lb dumbbells in both hands reaching to ankle height everytime; however, I really wanted him to reach or drive his hands down toward the ground so he could take advantage of the extra mass and momentum to get an appropriate ground reaction force that would eventually load the muscles of the body to allow him to return back to neutral or his next lunge. From there, we took it a little more dynamic from a walk, to a jog, to a sprint with Matt using his arms in either direction that I cued him to get into the TRANSFORMATION ZONE quicker to load and explode. For more information about the PELTRUNKULARUS strategy, go to the Gray Institute or check out the Scapula video from the Functional Video Digest Series

This is just one example of PELTRUNKULARUS. As I work with people, I am aware of it whether I'm assessing, post-rehabbing, or training and conditioning. Next time you see someone reach for something, see if there is a reaction throughout their body. Check out your favorite pitcher, quarterback, basketball player as they throw. If their fundamentals are sound, you will see a beautiful coordination of their body that will result in a poweful full 3-D body movement.

Happy Monday to all!!!!

Will

The Transformative Power of 3-D Chain Reactions

Once in a while, I have the opportunity to step back from my daily routine and look around. It's always interesting to me that when I step back, I can take a look at what I'm really doing in my life. For me, that introspection can be very powerful. I think it can be so powerful that the moment we see ourselves,  we can make a choice to change if necessary, and if we make that choice to change, a chain reaction of mind/body/spirit happens.

Last week, I had the privilege of going out to San Diego, CA to attend a Chain Reaction Transformation Seminar with Gary Gray PT, Dr. David Tiberio PT and Doug Gray. This was my second time going and while it's the same seminar, it's only the same in name only. Being a Fellow of Applied Functional Science, we have been through the material that they cover in the CRT seminar in great detail but it seems that everytime I go, I learn something different. Another great thing about being a Fellow is that we are able to go as guests which equates to many of the Fellows getting together at the seminar.  What is amazing to me is how much brain power is in the room. There are PTs, CPTs, PTA's, Strength Coaches, ATCs, all in one room for the same reason of LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF THOSE WE COME IN CONTACT WITH. The seminar director, Gary Gray, has this amazing ability to not only see the body but to see the mind and spirit also. As a movement therapist and enhancement specialist, I truly believe that if we affect a peresons body, we are also affecting their mind and spirit. It's back to that Principle of Function that Function is 3-D, and in this case, mind/body/spirit.

Once in a while, questions arise in my mind. Most of the time these questions are wrapped in self-doubt and trepidation of what was, is and will be. These questions usually set off a chain reaction that gets me anxious, tired and cranky and when that happens, I'm really no use to anyone, including myself. However, when I can actually step back, take a breath and see the situation for what it is, I experience clarity and I am anchored back to why I really am in this profession. 

For those out there who are in the health profession, no matter what you do, it is easy to get drained and worn down. It seems that peoples woes are endless and that we are not putting a dent in the big picture of illness and dysfunction. When I take that view and run with it, I find that I am not in this profession for someone else. I'm doing it for me. However, to that one client or patient that we interact with, we are the ones that they have put their trust in to help them get better. However, we have to remember that WE DO NOT HEAL ANYONE. We do not have the power to heal. What we do have is the gift is to work with our clients and patients to create an environment where healing can take place. If there is a block to healing, we can help them remove that block but the wisdom of the body is that it actually heals itself. Once the body has a clear path, it will heal itself. It is truly the power of chain reactions.

Interestingly enough, the same strategy applies to the mind and spirit. However, sometimes it takes an  "injury" where we need to step back and see what is going on. Sometimes we can clear the block ourselves, sometimes we need somone or something to clear it for us. However, I find when that happens, the chain reactions that take place not only affect us but everyone around us.

Have you taken ONE moment today to step back, be objective and look around? It is so easy to get into our routines that one moment out of the day may seem completely out of the ordinary. Well, it is. It should be. Just remember that there is a thin line between being in the groove and being in a rut.

Step back. See what's going on and see if your strategy for that day is fitting the situation. If not, change it up. Just remember to anchor to your Principles of Function.

Happy Monday!!!

Will

3-D Movement Focus: The Art and Science of Hatha Yoga

(Dedicated to all members of the US Armed Forces, past and present)

I have been a yogi since 1996, and every year I learn something new about the practice. It is truly amazing and I am going to give my teacher Paula D. Atkinson props again. She is such an inspiration for me doing yoga.

As I traveled down my yogic path, I discovered so many nuances about the practice. However, these nuances left me with many questions. With the Mind/Body/Spirit aspect of yoga, I came to realize that when you work with one of the aspects, you are really working with all of them. However, I think a big question in my mind was "Why and how is yoga such an efficient stretching practice?" To me, it's way above any other stretching protocol. I recommend the practice to anyone who wants to change their lives. However, the question of "WHY AND HOW IT IS SO EFFECTIVE?" remained.

3-D Hips: Power and Speed in Lacrosse

I enjoy writing, talking and teaching about 3-D Hips. I truly believe they are the power source of the body and it's usually the first place I go in the body if to look for dysfunction. Usually an hour or so with 3-D hip work, I can usually get pretty good results with better movement from an athlete. From there, we can really  develop more power and speed for their respective sport.

This summer I had the pleasure of working with one of my former athletes who is now at major university playing Lacrosse. At the beginning of the summer, Matt and I sat down and really discussed what he needed in terms of performance enhancement and what was expected of him in his position. From there, I took Matt through a basic evaluation to see where he was. This was not your typical max bench, squat, deadlift, etc tests. Functionally, Matt needed to be quicker and explosive not necessarily bigger/stronger. Don't get me wrong, he definitely needed to be stronger but  full-body functionally stronger.

I hesistate to use that word "functional" because has become very distorted. However, for lack of a better term, I will use it. For Matt, he needed to be able to move in all three planes of motions with mobility and stability which would translate to more power and speed. With this, he also needed to get a faster shot. Well, this was going to be fun.

Welcome to November and RULE NUMBER 6

Happy November to all!!!

I apologize for not posting sooner, but it has been pretty crazy with football, soccer, cross country, and HALLOWEEN which was especially fun this year.

I have been saying that I was going to start doing a lot of things in November, and I fully intend on following through. Some of the new additions to 3-D Performance Guide will be:

• Educational Videos
• Movement Sequences/Workouts
• Specific Applications of the functional anatomy and physiology
• "I am Will's body" funtional muscle function series
• More 3-D joints like the shoulder, spine, foot/ankle
• Food for thought posts

As we move into the new month, we are moving into the holiday season where we typically get very busy with parties, jobs, and definitely more stress. It seems we are pulled in even more directions than normal and we start to lose ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually. I have found myself being a little less than enthusiastic lately, and a little cranky and rushed. When I get to that point, I step back and am reminded of a story that goes like this.

Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury, shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him: "Peter," he says, "kindly remember Rule Number 6," whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws.

The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder is greeted with the words: "Marie, please remember Rule Number 6." Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology.

When the scene is repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: "My dear friend, I’ve seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of Rule Number 6?" "Very simple," replies the resident prime minister. "Rule Number 6 is ‘Don’t take yourself so damn seriously."

"Ah," says his visitor, "that is a fine rule." After a moment of pondering, he inquires, "And what, may I ask, are the other rules?"

"There aren’t any."

As we approach this month, lets stay focused on our 3-D Optimal Peformance by taking a few moments out of each hour to remember RULE NUMBER 6. I am willing to bet that things will go much smoother if you do.

Happy Wednesday!!!

Will

3-D Soft Tissue Therapy: A deeper understanding of the healing process

In my last two posts on soft tissue therapy, I went into the scarring process in relation to an injury. If you have not already, please take the time to read those two posts, as this post is really the last part of the series.

In the first two posts, I described the healing process from a traumatic injury of sorts and left off starting to describe the FIBROTIC PROCESS.

When an acute injury begins on the linear process of healing, the body responds to that area only. However, with the fibrotic process is cyclical and affects the entire fabric of the connective tissue. Unlike the scarring process which ends, the fibrotic process will continue until the main cause of the irritation is discovered.

The irritant in the fibrotic process, such as repetitive stress, excessive pressure-tension (i.e sitting for long periods of time), postural stress starts a chain reaction in the tissues as follows:

1. Activation of microphages
2. Increase in tissue vascularity
3. Increase in fibroblastic activity
4. Increase in connective tissue
5. Increase in myofibroblastic activity
6. Shrinkage of connective tissue
7. Abnormal motion

Again, this cycle will continue until the irritant is found.

With the scar tissue, we see that lack of ROM is due to the elasticity of the scar as well as the surrounding adhesions; however, the fibrotic process is a change in entire soft tissue region.

A case study would be the difference between a rotator cuff tendinitis caused by too much overhead throwing activities that is caught early, R.I.C.E'd, and taken through the proper therapy as opposed to the 'idiopathic' frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis where the fibrotic process has taken over and changed the texture of the entire shoulder capsule where there is little ROM, pain and chronic inflammation. For more info on this, click here. Its a good article by the American Family Physician Newsletter.

Working with clients or patients, its so important to take a detailed medical history in regards to injuries. One of my lacrosse players who trained with me this summer was having some knee issues so we did a little soft tissue work on him to see if we could get a little more ROM in his ankle. I asked him on multiple occasions if he had injured his ankle to which his reply was "I don't think so"; however, I knew something was wrong. The difference of ankle motion in his right foot to his left foot was pretty big. Well, my athlete returned back to college and unfortunately sprained his ankle a few days ago. It was severe enough that they took him to the doctor for x-rays. The x-rays revealed that he had a break in his right ankle from a while ago that had healed but the injury had calcified. WELL THERE GOES MY ASSESMENT OF HIS ANKLE. The feeling was a definite osseous end feel; however, the soft tissue surrounding it was a bit like working on a rope that has several knots in it that prevent it from really stretching out. It's a hard feeling to explain but I confirmed the unusual lack of ROM in the right ankle by checking it against the left ankle. Definitely not the same.

These palpation skills are something that I will go into a little more in depth. I believe that it is an experience that you need to have. The feeling of healthy tissue and dysfunctional tissue is VERY different. As a soft tissue therapist, you learn, through tactiile "observations" what it feels like.

I hope this look into the soft tissue healing process helps. As a soft tissue therapist or really anyone who works the body, we need to understand the process that many of our clients and patients are experiencing. As our knowledge deepends, we are able to tap into that knowledge base so that we can apply the Principles-Strategies-Techniques to our individual clients.

I will continue on this soft tissue journey soon by discussing some strategies and techniques for assessing soft tissue.

In Health,

Will

Again, I would like to thank Lenny Parracino CMT, FAFS for his guidance, knowledge and wisdom in regards to the soft tissue system. Thank you, Lenny!!!!

Confessions of a Blogger in Wonderland

Well, today was an interesting day. I woke up at my normal 4:30am to do walk my dogs, get ready for work, etc. I made my way in and stopped to get a cup of bold coffee then made my way into the gym to teach a yoga class. Typically, I have about 30-45 minutes of prep time before I start my class and I usually either mess around for a bit with a few poses or go through a short yoga practice to start my day.

Well, today was a little different. As I was going through my mini-practice, I suddenly had a revelation. "What the heck am I do this for?" I realized that I had lost track of why I was practicing. Was I practicing just to practice yoga? Was I just "warming-up" for my class? At that moment, the answers that I was giving to myself really did not make sense other than going through the motions. My realization was that I had not set any intention for myself for that day. Just doing something just to do it. I think that's fine sometimes, but I think what gets me into trouble is when I am just doing things just to do them and then I get caught in a rut. This action then becomes a habit, and I find myself losing interest and then really getting myself into a rut of doing NOTHING.

Well, I thought as a Soft Tissue and Movement Therapist, I really should practice what I preach. When I go into a session with anyone, I make it a priority to set an intention. It usually helps that the client or group of athletes has a common goal. From there, we can develop some strategies and then movement sequences, whether it be a post-rehabilitation or performance enhancement. I find this extremely beneficial to me and the person I am working with as creates a framework, but like I stated before, when this does not happen, well, its a little more "higgledy-piggledly" as my grandmother used to say.

This morning, I realized that I was going about things in a higgledy-piggledly way. I have been "working out" just to work out and it was without a clear purpose. Initially, I find the novelty of an activity the most exciting part of the process and I still do think its exciting, but I would not go as far as to think it's the most exciting anymore. What's the most exciting to me now is taking that activity, say yoga, and really digging deep into it. "What is my body able to do? What is not able to do? Can I become even more flexible than I am now? Can I learn to control my breathing through yogic training? " This is all so important in the grand scheme of having some intentions for my actions. Here are some the answers to the above questions:

• I do not know what my body is fully able to do because I have never tested it to that point.
• I believe the things that I am CAN DO are far more in number than those that I cannot do because I haven't tried a lot or spent enough time focusing on it; therefore, what I cannot do is not a logical question.
• I can definitely become more flexible (mobility and stability-wise) as well as become stronger.
• My breathing can be much better and I believe yoga is a great system for learning that.

To me, identifying where I can improve is a starting point. It's a place where I can start to go to a goal. For me, I am aware of of where there are weaknesses and tightness in my body. If I want to truly become more flexible, I will "clear" those areas first then move onto improving those areas. There are MANY techniques how to find that flexiblity. As far as being stronger, I can always be a stronger but I do not think its going to necessarily have to be in the form of solely lfiting weights. There is a lot of wisdom behind bodyweight exercises and tweaking them. I also think there should be a reason for me getting stronger. For instance, I have never been able to do a press to handstand because lack of shoulder and core strength and stability. Well, that's a reason to go lift weights. Will my shoulders look more ripped? Yes more than likely, but I like to think of that as a byproduct of function and not a primary objective. However, to each his own. If you want ripped shoulders that look great and you are willing to work for that goal, I say more power to you.

At 3-D Optimal Performance, we stand for maximzing the areas of your life in mind/body/spirit. There is no difference. If we optimize one, we are going to be optimizing the other two. However, intentions based on principles do pave a road, and not necessarily to hell.  I like to use a passage from "Through the Mirror" by Lewis Carroll. It goes:

Alice: Which way should I go?
Cat: That depends on where you are going.
Alice: I don't know which way I'm going!
Cat: Then it doesn't matter which way you go!

Our intention based principles will lead the way for us. However, if we do not have those, then we may be chasing our tails. Again, sometimes, we need to chase our tails but KNOWING that we are chasing our tails is the key. When I chase my tail but do not realize it, I find myself in a rut.

I check in with myself daily, and more than once per day. I urge you to do the same. That way, we both know what we are doing, how we are doing it and most importantly, WHY we are doing it.

In Health,

Will

3-D Hip: Overview of Acute and Insidious Onset Injuries

A while back, I went over the 3-D hip and included a focus on the iliopsoas and the ligaments of the hip capsule. I also went through the Chain reaction biomechanics of the hip. If you dont find the hip interesting, I strongly urge you to reconsider that. The hips are truly the powerhouse of the body. Typically, I find that soft tissue in the hips are some of the most hypomobile of the body which can cause all kinds of issues in the body, especially the back.

When we look at the hip, we can see a very complex structure but this complexity also has a simple side as well. Because of the complexity, we unfortunately see quite a bit of injuries. Unfortunately, this year, I've seen my fair share of hip injuries. Within the first 6 weeks of the fall season, I have seen: sports hernia, osteitis pubis, internal snapping hip syndrome, adductor strain, ASIS apophysitis, gluteal medius strain and various other back problems that I think stem from the hip issues. Unfortunately, I did not see any of these atheletes in our athletic development/injury prevention program with the exception of one and he insisted on playing about 30 games of lacrosse while going through his rehab program for an adductor strain from the previous sports season. What I have become very good at is understanding the hip and many of the issues that affect it, so I will go through a little overview of some of the injuries commonly seen as well as the though process that I use in post rehab and injury prevention situations involving the hip.

Introduction to "I am Will's Body" muscle function series

Many, many years ago, Reader's Digest published an amazing set of articles by J.D Radcliffe. These articles were originally entitled "The body and how it works." This series of articles took a very different look at the body as the author would become the body part, like the heart or liver, and speak in the first person, as the organ. Wonderful. It was such a new way at looking at the body. Instead of memorizing facts about the heart, it was if the heart was talking to the reader in a an autobiographical way. These articles were published later as "I am Joe's body". Here's the first paragraph of the Liver article:

"Joe frets about his teeth, hair, lungs, heart; he is hardly aware of my existence. I am Joe’s liver.* When he thinks of me at all, he has no trouble visualizing me. I look like what I am supposed to look like-liver. The largest organ in his body, I weigh three pounds. Protected by ribs, I pretty well fill the upper right part of Joe’s abdomen"

Introduction to 3-D Soft Tissue Therapy - Part 2

In yesterdays post, I touched on the healing process of soft tissue in the body. It's an amazing process that I believe that we take for granted a lot of the time. We just expect the body to "do its thing" without an appreciation for the process; however, maybe a lack of appreciation of the process stems from a lack of understanding. Functionally, speaking, we must allow the body to heal so creating an environment of optimal healing is of the utmost importance.

A DEEPER LOOK AT THE HEALING PROCESS

There is definitely a simple complexity in the soft tissue healing process. Let's take an injury that unfortunately, I have had more than my share of experience with. This year, my football players have been afflicted with Acromioclavicular Joint (AC joint) sprains. They have mostly been Grade 1's but there was one pretty nasty Grade 2 that required that we take the athlete to the hospital to make sure it was nothing more than an AC joint sprain. The area of injury was the ligament soft tissue that connects the acromion to the clavicle. Sometimes we will see a superior displacement of the clavicle and you can see the discontinuity in the form of a little ridge. I tell my boys that their days of modeling tank tops is over. (Lame, I know)

Introduction to 3-D Soft Tissue Therapy - Part 1

(Technical level: Beginnger-Intermediate)

When I went through massage school a few years ago, I can say that I loved learning about the soft tissues of the body more than anything else, and what got me was that my teachers said "This is just the beginning." Three years later, I look back and I'm still learning about the soft tissues of the body. What's amazing is that we are just starting to tap into the knowledge about and wisdom of the soft tissues of the human body.

As I learned more and more about the soft tissues, I also learned that there were literally hundreds of different methods to facilitate healing of the soft tissue like Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Active Release Technique, Graston Technique, Bowen Therapy, Lomi Lomi, etc. The list really does go on and on. The interesting thing is that all of these modalities have a place in soft tissue therapy. However, many people get wrapped up in the TECHNIQUE and forget the PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTION. If we do not anchor ourselves and techniques to the Principles of Function, then we are doing something just to do it. The technique should be applied to the individual if appropriate, not applying the individual to the technique (if that makes any sense).  The interesting thing is that when we start to anchor ourselves to Principles of Function, our "toolbox" is only limited by our imagination (and scope of practice). Let's take a look at the soft tissue of the body, our Principles of Function and then see what we can come up with as far as appropriate techniques.

WHAT IS THE SOFT TISSUE SYSTEM?

The soft tissue system consists of the muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons, nerves, joint capsules, circulatory and lymphatic structures. Unfortuately, many the soft tissue system has been largely ignored even though it causes more pain and dysfunction than any of the other organ systems.

3-D Movement Focus: Power Yoga (Strength and Flexibility)

In 1996, my amazingly cool aunt, Tracy, introduced me to Yoga. I was in high school and thought I knew it all. Well, stepping onto the yoga path, I came to realize that I still know very little over 10 years later, but it has been a great journey.

Yoga to me is an amazing movement practice. One of my first teachers and colleagues, Paula D. Atkinson, said that "Yoga is MAGIC" and I believe her. The great thing about yoga is that can be anything you want it to be. It can primarily be a physical, mental or spiritual practice OR all three. It just depends on the yogi or yogini.

3-D Knee: Patellar Tendinopathy - Understanding, Post-rehab and Prevention

Lately, a number of my athletes as well as adult clients have been afflicted with knee pain. I think I mentioned in a previous post that knee pain, in my opinion, is second to lower back pain in occurences. I have also had terrible knee pain, that at times was so bad it woke me up at night. I know from experience how debiliating it can be and I have empathy for people who have suffered or are suffering from it so I am dedicating this post to understanding, post-rehab and prevention.

SNEAK PEAK OF 3-D FIT AND FUCTIONAL

Well, I had the privilege of attending an amazing celebration of academics, athletics and arts this weekend at the high school where I work. I tip my hat to the administration and all of the parents who were involved in this event. Great job!

During the event I was able to chat with many people who were (surprisingly enough) following the blog. Wow! Thanks to all. Well, what I was getting a lot from the conversations was that people wanted a "new workout" or wanted to get back into shape. I think thats great and I'm definitely up for doing that. Another Principle of Function is that Function is VARIABLE, so when people are getting workouts from magazines, they are getting a VERY broad spectrum workout. Usually, the workouts are pretty good but lack a really individually functional touch that will be address the various personal variables in a persons life such as goals, schedule, pre-existing movement dysfunction, etc. These must be addressed if the person really wants results.

3-D Behavioral Science - Focus on Drivers

It's amazing to me to observe human behavior on a daily basis. I am intrigued with the psychology and neuroscience behind it so I will dedicate a post every once in a while to it.

I fancy myself an amateur neuroscientist as I think every person who works in the Allied Medical field should be as well. As providers of health care, our understanding of human behavior needs to be more than the average citizen. To understand someone in Mind, Body and Spirit is to understand than as whole being. Afterall, that is who we are.

Introduction of Applied Functional Science

Applied Functional Science is the convergence of Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Behavioral Sciences that consists of the Principles-Strategies-Techniques process for functional assessment, training and conditioning, rehabilitation, and injury prevention that is practical for any and all individuals regardless of age or ability.



Applied Functional Science is based on scientific truths that serve as the foundation of the process. These principles, integrated with neuromusculoskeletal Chain Reaction™ biomechanics, lead to powerful strategies that guide the decision-making process.


Applied Functional Science strategies are employed to properly and successfully manage transformational environments, utilizing effective and efficient techniques for desired purposes.


For more information on Applied Functional Science, go to www.grayinstitute.com . If you are really serious about learning Functional Rehabilitation, Training and Conditioning and Injury Prevention, consider becoming a Fellow of Applied Function Science with GIFT program. It is the best program out there with amazing faculty and colleagues.

The Wisdom of Pooh-Bear

Pooh: Oh bother! Why am I sitting on this tree stump trying to make my leg go straight with Piglet hanging onto my ankle?


Owl: So Rabbit and I can calculate how strong your leg is.

Rabbit: Extending a Piglet twenty times means you have a strong leg for a bear.

Piglet: It is hard to hang on. I hope I don't fall off when you make your leg go fast.

Eeyore: This all looks very boring to me.

Pooh: But this is not what the leg of a Pooh Bear does.

Owl: And what, may I ask, do you mean by that?

Pooh: Well, the leg of a Pooh Bear likes to balance while reaching for a jar of honey, likes to squat down to play sticks with Piglet, likes to lunge back during tug-a-war with Eeyore, likes to climb the three steps to visit with Owl, likes to jump over logs in the forest with Tigger and likes to play hop games with Rabbit.

Tigger: Oh, thank you, Pooh. I like jumping with you, too...that's what Tiggers do best, you know.

Owl: May be if Piglet lets go of your ankle and you get up off the slump we can see what the leg of a Pooh Bear can do.

Rabbit: But there will be nothing to calculate, nothing to count, nothing to time, nothing to measure.

Pooh: It seems if you let my leg do what it likes, you could measure it while it likes what it does.

Tigger: You mean like jumping with me, hopping with Rabbit, tugging on Eeyore and squatting with Piglet?

Eeyore: Everyone is always tugging on my tail.

Pooh: and specially balancing while reaching for a jar of honey...just the thought of all this makes me very hungry, indeed.

Owl: Maybe there is a way to measure all the things your leg likes to do. I really enjoy it when you climb up the steps into the tree to visit me...maybe next time we can count the steps.

Rabbit: I would like to see how far and how fast we can jump together...that's what we do best, you know.

Eeyore: I'll bet you will want to lunge as far as you can to see how far back you can pull me by my tail.

Pooh: I wonder how long I can balance and how far I can reach for a jar of honey?

Rabbit: It seems like there is going to be a lot of things to measure if we are going to measure all the things the leg of a Pooh Bear likes to do.

Piglet: But what am I going to do now that I am not hanging onto the ankle of a Pooh Bear?

Pooh: Oh, Piglet, now you can hang onto the hand of a Pooh Bear and the rest of your friends and join in on all the fun.


--Gary Gray, PT
 
(Borrowed from http://www.backtofunction.blogspot.com/)

Introduction to the 3-D Knee

(Technical level: Beginner-Intermediate)

Greetings all!!!

I will have to say that I'm very fortunate to have all the friends I have in my life. These friends have helped me when I was down and couldn't manage to do things on my own. My family is the same way. They both take hits for me. I feel blessed, and sometimes I feel like I take advantage of their generosity.

Well, the knee is the same way. The knee is the hit taker for the hips and the ankle. It's "caught between a rock and a hard place with no place to go." When the foot or the hip are not doing their jobs, the good ole' knee steps up and picks up the slack for them. However, because the knee is so generous it can even take the hit for a gunked up thoracic spine or a weak core musculature.

I find that in my practice, the biggest complaint is lower back pain followed by a very close knee pain. Knee pain comes in so many forms from a plethora of reasons like structural deformities, trauma, overuse, etc. I strongly believe that many of these injuries can be prevented or the serverity of the injury lessened with a knowledge and application of functional anatomy and Chain Reaction Biomechanics.

FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY:
I've heard the knee described as a "poorly designed structure." WHOA!!! Everytime I hear that I ask people why they say that? The answer I usally get is some derivation of "it's so easily injured" or "it's unstable". Well, I personally believe nothing could be further from the truth. The WISDOM of the body and WISDOM of whoever designed the body, definitely did not stop at the knee. If we look use our Applied Functional Science 3-D glasses, we can see the magic of the knee. Here's a quick anatomical snapshot of the knee:

Bones: Tibia and Femur and Femur and Patella
Major Ligaments: Anterior and Posterior Cruciate Ligaments (ACL and PCL), Medial and Lateral Collateral Ligaments (MCL and LCL), Patellar Ligament (aka Patella tendon)
Cartilage: Extenal and Internal Firbro-cartilage or the MENISCUS (plural: Menisci) and Hyaline Cartilage
Bursae: 14 various bursae located throught the knee complex
Nerves: Innervated by the Femoral, Obturator and Sciatic nerves
Major Muscles that cross the knee: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteus Maximus, Tensor Fascia Latae, Sartorius, Gracilis, Poplitieus, Gastrocnemius



CHAIN REACTION BIOMECHANICS:
Looking at the knee we see that it is a 3-D joint that moves in 3 planes of motion. However, the knee is interesting in that many people only see and appreciate the flexion/extension motions of the knee. I believe that is because those two motions are the ones that we PREDOMINATELY see, but that does not mean that the other motions are not as important if not more important to the knee and throughout the body. Here's what happens at the knee in walking in the front leg.

Sagital Plane: Because the ankle is going through dorsiflexion and the hip is going through flexion, we have KNEE FLEXION or bending.
Frontal Plane: Because the  foot is going through eversion and the hip is going through adduction, we have KNEE ABUDCTION or shifting in towards the midline of the body.
Transverse Plane: Because the foot and lower leg are internally rotating and the femur is internally rotating but the the tibia is rotating faster than the femur, we get KNEE INTERNAL ROTATION or rotating inward.

These movements in the frontal and transverse planes are more subtle especially the frontal plane motion but the motion should be there. If not, we may be getting into a situation where the other two planes are having to absorb the frontal plane motion in their plane and overtime, that can lead to an overuse injury. Yes, the knee can be its own best friend and take a hit for itself but just in another plane of motion. Crazy, huh!?!!?

As the leg in wallking goes to being the back leg, the sagital and frontal plane motions are reversed, but the transverse plane motion remains the same.

Now this is not as complex as it seems. The body moves in a rhythm. When the natural rhythm is off, then you get into a place where something has to take the hit for the dysynchrony. In my experience, its either the lower back or the knee that is taken the hit for the foot, hip or thoracic spine.

As I stated before, there are MANY injuries that can happen to the knee. Tendonitis, ACL tears, patellafemoral pain syndrome, IT band syndrome, bursitis, etc. The list goes on and on unfortunately. Having a basic understanding of the knee and its biomechanics, allows us to create functional strategies and techniques for prevention, training and conditioning and rehabiliation if necessary.

FUNCTIONAL STRATEGY AND TECHNIQUE:
This is not a subsitution for medical advice. Check with your physician before you begin any new movenment program.

Let's say that an athlete with knee tendonitis has been cleared by a doctor and PT to return to activity at a decreased level but still needs to continue some work to decrease the pain further and strengthen the muscles of the knee. Well, would it help to go right to the knee and focus on it? Well, with what you know, the knee is the friend who takes the hit for its friends the foot and hip. It's stuck between a rock and hard plaace with nowhere to go. Yes, continue having the athlete ice their knees if the tendonitis is persistent and reduce unneccesary physical activity. We have our athletes use THE STICK, which is basically a tool that you can use to self-massage. (Click on the link to learn more)

To begin, I'd choose either the foot or the hip to start. Because i have been discussin the hip, lets pick that one. A GREAT way to get started is the KNEELING MATRIX. (will post as soon as I can find my digital camcorder cord). The kneeling matrix will focus on the mobility of the hip. I suggest you put either a foam mat, towel, blanket, yoga mat (triple folded) under the knee so that you will be smashing your knee into the hard floor for a extended period of time. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds and then do 10-15 oscillations from mid to almost end range. After you do that for BOTH legs, go through a very simple and easy LUNGE MATRIX. Just step between intial and mid range reaching both hands down and away from your knees about 12 inches. This lunge matrix will help to mobilize the hips and load and unload the neuromuscular system.  If any of these lunges hurt, stop that lunge immediately. Do not aggregate that knee anymore.

After you do that work, you can ice and rest. This is a very basic but powerful strategy and technique that you can use.

I hope this introduction helps. The knee is really a great friend as I'm sure many of you are to your friends. Sometimes, we have to understand where our friends are coming from to be able to assist them better and vice versa. There may be times when you are asking for a lot from your friends and they put a lot of energy and effort into assisting you and other times it may be the other way around. However, as we tap into our wisdom, we realize that after a while, someone is going to get worn down from assisting their friend in need. At that time, the worn down friend needs to back up, take a moment to rest and then devise other strategies that will help our friend in need. Maybe we have given them all the help we can and its time to go in a different direction.

Our knee is the same way. Sometimes it needs a time to rest, heal and have its friends the foot or hip, take a look at themselves and say "Hey! I am not doing all I can to help the rest of the body and my little buddy the knee is really getting beat up. What can be done for us to make us more successful? Maybe if the person we live inside would mobilize then strengthen us in the 3 planes of motion, we could be a better help to everyone." You would be surprised what a little 3-d loving will get you.

Happy Thursday!

Will

3-D Hips with a focus on the capsular ligaments

(Technical level: Intermediate-Advanced)

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a HIP guy. Not the "cool" hip though. However, I am trying.

As we make our way through the body, I thought the first station we should stop at is the Hip and my last two posts have been about the joint itself and then I started digging into the muscles with the iliopsoas. This post, I am going to dig a little bit deeper with the anatomy of the  ligaments of the hip and their 3-D functional function.

When we loook at the hip, we see a bunch of muscles that are very important to its function. We even take a good look at the hip joint itself and the arthrokinematics or joint motion as it relates to function.  I unfortunately came to an understanding of the LIGAMENTS of the hip capsule very late in my career. Of course, throughout my education, I understood the "ligaments connect bone to bone" phrase,and I left it at that. Well, that was a huge mistake for me because ligaments do so much more than just that.

3-D Hip with a focus on the Ililopsoas (Functional Muscle Function)

(Technical Level: Beginner-Intermediate)

First, thank you to everyone who has been reading the blog and commenting. It's been great to get the feedback.

A few of my friends have asked me about the psoas and I thought it would be a great topic to dive in to.

FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY: The iliopsosas is actually two muscles. It consists of the Iliacus and Psoas. However, it is usually referred to as the Iliopsoas. For the most part, I will concentrate on the psoas though.

As we look at function through 3-D glasses, we already know that the psoas is a 3-D muscle. If you take a look at the picture, you will see that the psoas is attached to the spine. Specifically, it is attached to the front-side aspect of T-12 to L-4 and the TRANSVERSE processes of L-1 to L5 as well as a smll slip that crosses the Sacroiliac (SI) Joint.

The iliacus originates from the interior surface of the Ilium.

Now the coolest thing of the ILIPSOAS is that the two muscles combine via the psoas tendon, passes over the ramus portion of the pelvis, twists MEDIALLY and inserts into the lesser trochanter.

Many of the books do very accurate drawings of the Iliopsoas but what I failed to recognize was that the muscle actually does do a little twist as it inserts into the femur. That is HUGE in terms of function. This muscle is pretty biased in rotation or the Transverse Plane.

3-D Hips

(Technical Level: Beginnner)

The hip joint is truly amazing in its architecture. It is composed of two bones: the femur (thigh bone) and the pelvis.

It is known as a "Ball and Socket" joint, well, because that's what it looks like.

Because of the construction of the joint, it has a very large range of motion. However, unfortunately, because of factors like: sitting down all day in chairs, specializing in sports at an early age, inadequate stretching and strengthening programs, etc, we are diminishing our range of motion significantly.  So how do we create mobility and stability of our hip joints so that we do not start developing the various hip pathologies that plague many people?

Principles of Function

I am very excited to start blogging again, and I wanted to the first post to be one that I am very passionate about.

As health-care providers, whether you are an MD, DC, PT, ATC, LMT, CPT, etc, we are committed to encouraging transformation and growth in our clients and patients. Unfortunately, there are so many diseases and dysfunctions that exist, many of people are reactively driven to us. Whatever their situation may be, our jobs are to help them back on the road to transformation. To that regard, having principles of function will set a foundation for the way we treat them.