[thegaitguys]

*NEW: Occult ankle injuries and other tidbits

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

*NEW: Split treadmills, limping and prioprioception.

Velocity, timing, stance and swing phases, injuries, center of pressure, step width,

.... lots of good topics today

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

*NEW: How to get started with a client

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

NEW: Hips, Hops and Limb Spin

This time around we introduce some new literature to provoke some clinical thinking that will inform, amuse and hopefully entertain you.  We also introduce the newest athletic tape to the market, surely someone will rip off our idea, but hopefully they will tag our name to it and help make us famous.

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

*NEW: Case studies and clinical thinking.

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

Pod: Foot muscles, core strength and more

Podcast 169: Foot muscles, core strength and more

Join us each month on the Masterclass in Gait, link below https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys Join at the $40 monthly level and get the masterclass each month, bonus material and the detailed monthly content we only share on Patreon. The Masterclass is a formal LIVE presentation of slides, videos, demos, deep dives on topics you will not hear anywhere but here ! We hit the gait, biomechanics, neurology and orthopedics of all of the gait topics we present. This is not for the weak and timid, this is the deep dive you have been waiting for. Join us while we turn our normal 50 minute presentations into 3.5 hours on a regular basis ! The 40$ Patreon level will give you the Masterclass and also get you the $20, $10, and 5$ Patreon level content. What a deal ! It will not be here forever so lock in now ! Or, you can get less for your money (why would you do that?) and just buy our Monthly $40 Masterclass at our VIMEO on demand page: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thegaitmasterclass Links to find the podcast: Look for us on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, PlayerFM, RADIO and more. Just Google "the gait guys podcast".

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thegaitguys/pod_169_March_12_-_32821_10.19_AM.mp3

https://thegaitguys.libsyn.com/gait-speed-hip-extension-and-a-new-dawn

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/18496787 _______________________________________________________________________________ Our Websites: www.thegaitguys.com Find Exclusive content at: https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys doctorallen.co summitchiroandrehab.com shawnallen.net Our website is all you need to remember. Everything you want, need and wish for is right there on the site. Interested in our stuff ? Want to buy some of our lectures or our National Shoe Fit program? Click here (thegaitguys.com or thegaitguys.tumblr.com) and you will come to our websites. In the tabs, you will find tabs for STORE, SEMINARS, BOOK etc. We also lecture every 3rd Wednesday of the month on onlineCE.com. We have an extensive catalogued library of our courses there, you can take them any time for a nominal fee (~$20). Our podcast is on iTunes and just about every other podcast harbor site, just google "the gait guys podcast", you will find us. Where to find us, the podcast Links: Apple podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gait-guys-podcast/id559864138?mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Icdfyphojzy3drj2tsxaxuadiue?t=The_Gait_Guys_Podcast

  Irene Davis, PhD, PT

@IreneSDavis

Numerous studies demo foot muscle hypertrophy when removing support of the arch. While it seems intuitive, this is the first published study to demo that adding support results in foot muscle atrophy after only 12 weeks of orthotic use! Nice work!! #strengtheningoverbracing

  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546520969205

Foot Core Training to Prevent Running-Related Injuries: A Survival Analysis of a Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial Ulisses T. Taddei, PhD, PT, Alessandra B. Matias, MSc, PT, Marcos Duarte, PhD,

https://twitter.com/IreneSDavis/status/1306033740020408320/photo/1

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32521283/

2020 Aug;78:105063. clinbiomech.2020.105063. The effect of a 12-week custom foot orthotic intervention on muscle size and muscle activity of the intrinsic foot muscle of young adults during gait termination Katrina Protopapas 1 , Stephen D Perry 2

_______

hip abduction

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2020.1820183?journalCode=rjsp2

Inter-limb strength asymmetry in adolescent distance runners: Test-retest reliability and relationships with performance and running economy Rich Blagrove

Summary: Key finding: Larger hip abduction asymmetry associated with worse running economy in female runners (r = 0.85).

____________

Developing neurplasticity

SPlit treadmills , limping,

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23312637/

_____________

quick talk on bone density

https://twitter.com/rwilly2003/status/1303526386846461952?s=1

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1992.73.3.1165

Relationship among running mileage, bone density, and serum testosterone in male runners: J. D. MacDougal

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

Podcast 167: Foot muscles, core strength and more

Podcast 167: Foot muscles, core strength and more

Join us each month on the Masterclass in Gait, link below https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys Join at the $40 monthly level and get the masterclass each month, bonus material and the detailed monthly content we only share on Patreon. The Masterclass is a formal LIVE presentation of slides, videos, demos, deep dives on topics you will not hear anywhere but here ! We hit the gait, biomechanics, neurology and orthopedics of all of the gait topics we present. This is not for the weak and timid, this is the deep dive you have been waiting for. Join us while we turn our normal 50 minute presentations into 3.5 hours on a regular basis ! The 40$ Patreon level will give you the Masterclass and also get you the $20, $10, and 5$ Patreon level content. What a deal ! It will not be here forever so lock in now ! Or, you can get less for your money (why would you do that?) and just buy our Monthly $40 Masterclass at our VIMEO on demand page: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thegaitmasterclass Links to find the podcast: Look for us on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, PlayerFM, RADIO and more. Just Google "the gait guys podcast".

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thegaitguys/pod_169_March_12_-_32821_10.19_AM.mp3

https://thegaitguys.libsyn.com/gait-speed-hip-extension-and-a-new-dawn

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/18496787 _______________________________________________________________________________ Our Websites: www.thegaitguys.com Find Exclusive content at: https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys doctorallen.co summitchiroandrehab.com shawnallen.net Our website is all you need to remember. Everything you want, need and wish for is right there on the site. Interested in our stuff ? Want to buy some of our lectures or our National Shoe Fit program? Click here (thegaitguys.com or thegaitguys.tumblr.com) and you will come to our websites. In the tabs, you will find tabs for STORE, SEMINARS, BOOK etc. We also lecture every 3rd Wednesday of the month on onlineCE.com. We have an extensive catalogued library of our courses there, you can take them any time for a nominal fee (~$20). Our podcast is on iTunes and just about every other podcast harbor site, just google "the gait guys podcast", you will find us. Where to find us, the podcast Links: Apple podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gait-guys-podcast/id559864138?mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Icdfyphojzy3drj2tsxaxuadiue?t=The_Gait_Guys_Podcast

Podcast links:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thegaitguys/168_feb_12.2021_-_4321.mp3

https://thegaitguys.libsyn.com/pod-foot-muscles-core-strength-and-more

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/18589871

Irene Davis, PhD, PT

@IreneSDavis

Numerous studies demo foot muscle hypertrophy when removing support of the arch. While it seems intuitive, this is the first published study to demo that adding support results in foot muscle atrophy after only 12 weeks of orthotic use! Nice work!! #strengtheningoverbracing

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546520969205

Foot Core Training to Prevent Running-Related Injuries: A Survival Analysis of a Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial Ulisses T. Taddei, PhD, PT, Alessandra B. Matias, MSc, PT, Marcos Duarte, PhD,

https://twitter.com/IreneSDavis/status/1306033740020408320/photo/1

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32521283/

2020 Aug;78:105063. clinbiomech.2020.105063. The effect of a 12-week custom foot orthotic intervention on muscle size and muscle activity of the intrinsic foot muscle of young adults during gait termination Katrina Protopapas 1 , Stephen D Perry 2

_______

hip abduction

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2020.1820183?journalCode=rjsp2

Inter-limb strength asymmetry in adolescent distance runners: Test-retest reliability and relationships with performance and running economy Rich Blagrove

Summary: Key finding: Larger hip abduction asymmetry associated with worse running economy in female runners (r = 0.85).

____________

Developing neurplasticity

SPlit treadmills , limping,

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23312637/

_____________

quick talk on bone density

https://twitter.com/rwilly2003/status/1303526386846461952?s=1

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1992.73.3.1165

Relationship among running mileage, bone density, and serum testosterone in male runners: J. D. MacDougal

[thegaitguys]

Not "I love you". Rather, Love "you".

Je t'aime. Excerpt from Luc Besson's Angel-A (2005).

Have you loved yourself from the very first second ? How about from this moment forward? Do it.

We may have said it to another in our lives if we are lucky, “I loved you from the very first second I saw you”. But, have we ever said it to ourselves? When was the last time you looked in the mirror and said to yourself, “I love YOU, I have loved you from the very first second I realized YOU.” Maybe you never have said it, or felt it. But, it is time. And if you have never done so, perhaps for good reasons, make some changes, so that you can feel deep true love for yourself. It is the greatest gift you will ever give yourself. Ever.

Love. Love “you”.

Watch closely. This is a brilliantly scripted cinema scene, perhaps it has never been done better. Careful, warning, this movie scene may crack your heart and soul wide open, maybe, just maybe; it will if you have been asleep at the wheel of your own life.

It is time. Love. Not “I love you” outwardly, rather, I love “you”, inwardly.

Love “You”. It is time.

After all, we merely think we have time.

-Shawn

A final thought for the reader,

I write for me, and me alone. These writings are some of my deepest inner struggles and ponderings, my stories. These are also stories I have at times told others in a matter of words, and they have resonated there, so I share them here in case they resonate into the troubled or curious corners of other’s lives. I share what I write because if there is any possibility that my words can reach just one person with similar woes or life’s bigger questions, perhaps it can re-weave more than just one tapestry and change more lives exponentially than my own. I write about the things in life that I question, things that vex me, that tear at me, that twist me, things that bounce around my mind and rattle my peace and clarity.  I start writing these things when there is a mere spark. At first they might be a solitary word that draws in a thought, sometimes it is a phrase from a song, a movie, a poem, a book. I write until that spark settles. It is very often an incomplete thing, something that has to sit dormant, I like to think it is like planting a seed, it has to sit growing roots below the surface, until it is time to breach the surface asking for more.  I choose to write about them more when they breach, when it is time they seem to. call on me again, like the muse they seem to beckon me, perhaps in a manner of final confrontation to awaken me, and to silence them, by finding honest meaning in their attempt to blossom.

I do this in the great hopes that in my final days my last breath can be a peaceful exhale, and not an anxious final gripping and denying struggle for the things I denied resolving. This fear fuels my life, may it fuel yours as well. 

As Hunter Thompson was once quoted, "One of the few ways I can almost be certain I'll understand something is by sitting down and writing about it. Because by forcing yourself to write about it and putting it down in words, you can't avoid having to come to grips with it. You might be wrong, but you have to think about it very intensely to write about it. So I use writing as a learning tool. "

[thegaitguys]

Genu varum ? Maybe

It’s subtle, do you see it? While standing in line at Copper to make a few turns with my wife, I snapped this shot of the gentleman in front of me. Can you see the tibial varum present bilaterally? We see this often in the office and it puts people on the outside edge of their ski. This makes it difficult to initiate a turn with the inside edge and makes transitions occur very quickly as they are already on the outside edge. It can also create patellofemoral tracking problems. The idea is to create enough motion of their first ray to help them to get the head down to the ground (or the ski). Sometimes, building up underneath the medial side of the foot and hallux (varus wedge or Morton’s toe extension) if they don’t have that range of motion available to them can work as well. #Tibialvarum #Genuvarum #Skiing #FootProblem #Varuspost #varuswedge

[thegaitguys]

A case of chronic hip pain. ?

We figured out why you have chronic hip pain....This is what happens when they use the wrong size cup... Chronic dislocation... #Chronic #Hip#pain #dislocation

[thegaitguys]

Gait Speed, hip extension, and A New Dawn

Podcast 168:   Gait Speed, hip extension, and A New Dawn

  Join us each month on the Masterclass in Gait,  link  below https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys Join at the $40 monthly level and get the masterclass each month, bonus material and the detailed monthly content we only share on Patreon. The Masterclass is a formal LIVE presentation of slides, videos, demos, deep dives on topics you will not hear anywhere but here ! We hit the gait, biomechanics, neurology and orthopedics of all of the gait topics we present. This is not for the weak and timid, this is the deep dive you have been waiting for. Join us while we turn our normal 50 minute presentations into 3.5 hours on a regular basis ! The 40$ Patreon level will give you the Masterclass and also get you the $20, $10, and 5$ Patreon level content. What a deal ! It will not be here forever so lock in now ! Or, you can get less for your money (why would you do that?) and just buy our Monthly $40 Masterclass at our VIMEO on demand page: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thegaitmasterclass Links to find the podcast: Look for us on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, PlayerFM, RADIO and more. Just Google "the gait guys podcast". _______________________________________________________________________________ Our Websites: www.thegaitguys.com Find Exclusive content at: https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys doctorallen.co summitchiroandrehab.com shawnallen.net Our website is all you need to remember. Everything you want, need and wish for is right there on the site. Interested in our stuff ? Want to buy some of our lectures or our National Shoe Fit program? Click here (thegaitguys.com or thegaitguys.tumblr.com) and you will come to our websites. In the tabs, you will find tabs for STORE, SEMINARS, BOOK etc. We also lecture every 3rd Wednesday of the month on onlineCE.com. We have an extensive catalogued library of our courses there, you can take them any time for a nominal fee (~$20). Our podcast is on iTunes and just about every other podcast harbor site, just google "the gait guys podcast", you will find us. Where to find us, the podcast Links: Apple podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gait-guys-podcast/id559864138?mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Icdfyphojzy3drj2tsxaxuadiue?t=The_Gait_Guys_Podcast

    Dual decline in gait speed and cognition is associated with future dementia: evidence for a phenotype Age Ageing. 2020 Oct 23;49(6):995-1002. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa106. Manuel Montero-Odasso  et. al Walking in humans: how much brain function is needed? Kressig RW. Age Ageing. 2020 Oct 23;49(6):930-931 Correlations Between Hip Extension Range of Motion, Hip Extension Asymmetry, and Compensatory Lumbar Movement in Patients with Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain Med Sci Monit. 2020 Sep 24;26:e925080. doi: 10.12659/MSM.925080 Won-Deuk Kim  1 , DooChul Shin  2 Prolonged sitting and physical inactivity are associated with limited hip extension: A cross-sectional study Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2021 Feb;51:102282. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2020.102282. Epub 2020 Oct 28. Abderrahmane Boukabache  1 , Stephen J Preece  1 , Nathan Brookes  2 Independent muscle of extensor hallucis capsularis: a cadaveric case report Surg Radiol Anat. 2020 Oct 13. doi: 10.1007/s00276-020-02592-7. Online ahead of print. Jeong-Hyun Park , Yu-Jin Choi, Kwang-Rak Park , Digud Kim , Hyung-Wook Kwon , Mijeong Lee, Jaeho Cho Sensorimotor and gait training improves proprioception, nerve function, and muscular activation in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a randomized control trial J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact. 2020 Jun 1;20(2):234-248. Irshad Ahmad , Shalini Verma , Majumi M Noohu , Mohd Yakub Shareef , M Ejaz Hussain

Check out our latest Podcast episode!

[thegaitguys]

Podcast 168: Gait Speed, hip extension, and A New Dawn

Podcast 168: Gait Speed, hip extension, and A New Dawn

Join us each month on the Masterclass in Gait, link below https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys Join at the $40 monthly level and get the masterclass each month, bonus material and the detailed monthly content we only share on Patreon. The Masterclass is a formal LIVE presentation of slides, videos, demos, deep dives on topics you will not hear anywhere but here ! We hit the gait, biomechanics, neurology and orthopedics of all of the gait topics we present. This is not for the weak and timid, this is the deep dive you have been waiting for. Join us while we turn our normal 50 minute presentations into 3.5 hours on a regular basis ! The 40$ Patreon level will give you the Masterclass and also get you the $20, $10, and 5$ Patreon level content. What a deal ! It will not be here forever so lock in now ! Or, you can get less for your money (why would you do that?) and just buy our Monthly $40 Masterclass at our VIMEO on demand page: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thegaitmasterclass Links to find the podcast: Look for us on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, PlayerFM, RADIO and more. Just Google "the gait guys podcast".

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thegaitguys/pod_169_March_12_-_32821_10.19_AM.mp3

https://thegaitguys.libsyn.com/gait-speed-hip-extension-and-a-new-dawn

https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/18496787 _______________________________________________________________________________ Our Websites: www.thegaitguys.com Find Exclusive content at: https://www.patreon.com/thegaitguys doctorallen.co summitchiroandrehab.com shawnallen.net Our website is all you need to remember. Everything you want, need and wish for is right there on the site. Interested in our stuff ? Want to buy some of our lectures or our National Shoe Fit program? Click here (thegaitguys.com or thegaitguys.tumblr.com) and you will come to our websites. In the tabs, you will find tabs for STORE, SEMINARS, BOOK etc. We also lecture every 3rd Wednesday of the month on onlineCE.com. We have an extensive catalogued library of our courses there, you can take them any time for a nominal fee (~$20). Our podcast is on iTunes and just about every other podcast harbor site, just google "the gait guys podcast", you will find us. Where to find us, the podcast Links: Apple podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gait-guys-podcast/id559864138?mt=2 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Icdfyphojzy3drj2tsxaxuadiue?t=The_Gait_Guys_Podcast

Dual decline in gait speed and cognition is associated with future dementia: evidence for a phenotype Age Ageing. 2020 Oct 23;49(6):995-1002. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa106. Manuel Montero-Odasso et. al Walking in humans: how much brain function is needed? Kressig RW. Age Ageing. 2020 Oct 23;49(6):930-931 Correlations Between Hip Extension Range of Motion, Hip Extension Asymmetry, and Compensatory Lumbar Movement in Patients with Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain Med Sci Monit. 2020 Sep 24;26:e925080. doi: 10.12659/MSM.925080 Won-Deuk Kim 1 , DooChul Shin 2 Prolonged sitting and physical inactivity are associated with limited hip extension: A cross-sectional study Musculoskelet Sci Pract. 2021 Feb;51:102282. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2020.102282. Epub 2020 Oct 28. Abderrahmane Boukabache 1 , Stephen J Preece 1 , Nathan Brookes 2 Independent muscle of extensor hallucis capsularis: a cadaveric case report Surg Radiol Anat. 2020 Oct 13. doi: 10.1007/s00276-020-02592-7. Online ahead of print. Jeong-Hyun Park , Yu-Jin Choi, Kwang-Rak Park , Digud Kim , Hyung-Wook Kwon , Mijeong Lee, Jaeho Cho Sensorimotor and gait training improves proprioception, nerve function, and muscular activation in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a randomized control trial J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact. 2020 Jun 1;20(2):234-248. Irshad Ahmad , Shalini Verma , Majumi M Noohu , Mohd Yakub Shareef , M Ejaz Hussain

[thegaitguys]

Why does it feel so good to stretch?

-We are sure you have read many articles, some written by us, about the good the bad and the ugly about stretching. Regardless of how you slice the cake, we think we can all agree that stretching “feels” good. The question of course is “Why?” -Like it or not, it all boils down to neurology. Our good old friends, the Ia afferents are at least partially responsible, along with the tactile receptors, like Pacinian corpuscles, Merkel’s discs, Golgi tendon organs, probably all the joint mechanoreceptors and well as a few free nerve endings. -What do all of these have in common? Besides being peripheral receptors. They all pass through the thalamus at some point (all sensation EXCEPT smell, pass through the thalamus) and the information all ends up somewhere in the cortex (parietal lobe to tell you where you are stretching, frontal lobe to help you to move things, insular lobe to tell you if it feels good, maybe the temporal lobe so you remember it, and hear all those great pops and noises and possibly the occipital lobe, so you can see what you are stretching. -The basic (VERY basic) pathways are:Peripheral receptor-peripheral nerve-spinal cord-brainstem-thalamus-cortex; we will call this the “conscious” pathway: and peripheral receptor-peripheral nerve-spinal cord-brainstem-cerebellum- cortex; we will call this the “unconscious” pathway. -Of course, the two BASIC pathways cross paths and communicate with one another, so not only can you “feel” the stretch with the conscious pathway but also know “how much” you are stretching through the unconscious pathway. The emotional component is related through the insular lobe (with relays from the conscious and unconscious pathways along with collaterals from the temporal lobe to compare it with past stretching experiences) to the cingulate gyrus and limbic cortex, where stretching is “truly appreciated”. -As we can see, there is an interplay between the different pathways and having “all systems go” for us to truly appreciate stretching from all perspectives : ) #stretch #stretching #stretchingexercises #neurology

[thegaitguys]

metatarsus adductus

Metatarsus adductus or metatarsus varus/forefoot adductus as it is also known is a congenital deformity occurring one in about every 1000 to 2000 live births. It can be due to genetics, intrauterine positioning and occasionally the sleeping position of a baby. -If you draw a line bisecting the heel forward through the foot it should pass through the second metatarsal or between the second and third metatarsal. If the foot is medial to this line, the condition is present. -It sometimes can resolve without treatment however this case persisted into adulthood. It often results in the individual having greater amounts of supination in the foot, less flexibility and is often present with a cavus arch along with internal tibial torsion. In this particular case, the adductus combined with his internal tibial torsion was causing patellofemoral tracking issues #metatarsusadductus #metatarsus #adductus #forefoot #forefootadductus #supination

They often occur in threes -Congenital abnormalities that is… -For whatever reason, when you see one of these things, there are usually at least two more to go along with it. Take this gentleman for example. We looked at his forefoot adductus on the 29th. Can you also see how he has a cavus arch as well as internal tibial torsion? -The cavus arch means that his weight will most likely be on the lateral aspect of his foot. The internal tibial torsion and forefoot adductus will both cause him to bear weight laterally as well. This results in an over supinated foot which is an excellent lever but poor shock absorber. -For these folks we like to improve the range of motion in the feet intersegmentally, Ensure that they have adequate extension and internal range of motion of the hips and will sometimes employee of August post if there are patella femoral tracking issues to get the knee back to midline #valgus#forefootadductus#InternalTibialTorsion #CongenitalAbnormalities #cavusarch #Gait #gaitguys #gaitabnormalities

[thegaitguys]

Making your stretching more effective

-Whether you agree that stretching is good or not, you or your client still may decide to do so possibly because of the “feel good” component. More in that in another post. -If you do decide to stretch, make sure you take advantage of you or your clients neurology. One way we will discuss today is taking advantage of what we call myotatic reflex. -The myotatic reflex is a simple reflex arc. The reflex begins at the receptor in the muscle: the muscle spindles (nuclear bag or nuclear chain fibers). This sensory (afferent) information then travels up the peripheral nerve to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord where it enters and synapses in the ventral horn on an alpha motor neuron. The motor neuron (efferent) leaves the ventral horn and travels back down the peripheral nerve to the contractile portion of the myfibrils (muscle fiber) from which the the sensory (afferent) signal came. This causes the muscle to contract. Think of a simple reflex when somebody taps a reflex hammer on your tendon. This causes the muscle to contract and your limb moves. -Nuclear bag and nuclear chain fibers detect length or stretch in a the muscle whereas Golgi Tendon organs tension. With this in mind, slow stretch of a muscle causes it to contract more, through the muscle spindle mechanism. - Another reflex that we should be familiar with is called reciprocal inhibition. It states simply that when one muscle contracts it’s antagonist is inhibited. -Try this: -do a calf stretch like this: put your foot in dorsiflexion, foot resting on the side of the doorframe. -Keep your leg straight -Grab the the door frame with your arms and slowly draw your stomach toward the door frame. -Feel the stretch in your calf? this is a slow stretch. Can you feel the increased tension in your calf? You could fatigue this reflex if you stretched long enough. If you did, then the muscle would be difficult to activate. This is one of the reasons stretching seems to inhibit performance. -Now for an added stretch, dorsiflex your toes and try to bring your foot upward. Did you notice how you can get more stretch your calf and increased length? Reciprocal Inhibition!

[thegaitguys]

Why is that muscle so tight?

We often think of neurological reasons (increased facilitation of the agonist, decreased reciprocal inhibition of the antagonist, increase gamma drive, etc), but how about the series elastic element (ie the connective tissue)? Or perhaps the sarcomere (individual contractile unit of the muscle)? How can we fix that? It is easier than you thought! An oldie but a goodie. A great FREE FULL TEXT paper on sarcomere loss and how to prevent it. Yep, would you have guessed static stretching? Yes, this study was on mice and it seems plausible that it would be applicable to humans as well. “When muscle is immobilised in a shortened position there is both a reduction in muscle fibre length due to a loss of serial sarcomeres and a remodelling of the intramuscular connective tissue, leading to increased muscle stiffness. Such changes are likely to produce many of the muscle contractures seen by clinicians, who find that such muscles cannot be passively extended to the full length, which normal joint motion should allow, without the production of muscle pain or injury. …These experiments show that in addition to preventing the remodelling of the intramuscular connective tissue component daily periods of stretch of ½ h or more also prevent the loss ofserial sarcomeres which occurs in mouse soleus muscles immobilised in the shortened position.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1004076/pdf/annrheumd00439-0044.pdf link to full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1004076/pdf/annrheumd00439-0044.pdf #stretching #stretch #stretchingexercises #neurology

[thegaitguys]

More stetching tricks

More Tricks for stretching -Take a look at the picture above and note the posturing of the baby in the 2 positions. These neurological reflexes (or postures) are called symmetrical tonic neck reflexes or responses (STNR’s for short). -You next question is “Do these persist into healthy adulthood”? and the answer is a resounding YES! -Take a look at the picture above again and note the following: -When the neck is flexed, the fore limbs flex (and the muscles facilitating that, bicep, brachialis, anterior deltoid are contracting) and the hind limbs are extending (relatively), with the glutes maximus, quadriceps, foot dorsiflexors contracting. -Note that when the head is extended, the forelimbs are extended and the hind limbs flexed. Think about the muscles involved. Upper extremity tricep, anconeus, posterior deltoid, lower back extensors, hamstrings and foot plantar flexors facilitated. The reflex is based on the mechanoreceptors in the neck articulations and muscles and are frequently used by us and many others in the rehabilitation field. Generally speaking, looking up facilitates things which make you extend above T12, and flex below T12. Looking down facilitates flexion above T12 and extension below. -We would encourage you at this point to “assume” these positions and feel the muscles which are active and at rest. -So, how can we take advantage of these while stretching? -Think about your head position: -If you are standing up and hinging at the hips to stretch your hamstrings (notice we did not say “bent at the waist”; there is a BIG difference in shear forces applied to your lumbar spine) you would probably want your neck bent forward, as this would fire your quads which would in turn ALSO inhibit your hamstrings, in addition to the STNR inhibiting the hamstring. -If you were in a hip flexor stretch position, you would want you head up, looking at the ceiling to take advantage of the reflex. We are confident you can think of many more applications of this reflex and trust that you will, as it can apply to both upper and lower extremity stretches. Just remember that this reflex is symmetrical and will affect BOTH sides.

More effective stretching -Another way to get muscles to the end range of motion is to utilize a technique called “post isometric relaxation”. Notice I did not say to lengthen the muscle; to actually add sarcomeres to a muscle you would need to use a different technique. -Contracting a muscle before stretching is believed to take advantage of a post isomteric inhibition (sometimes called autogenic inhibition), where the muscle is temporarily inhibited from contracting for a period immediately following a isometric contraction. This has been popularized by the PNF stretching techniques, such as “contract hold” or “contract relax” . EMG studies do jot seem to support this and actually show muscle activation remains the same or increased after contraction. Perhaps it is due to an increased stretch tolerance. -The technique was 1st described by Mitchell, Morgan and Pruzzo in 1979. These gents felt it was important to utilize a maximal contraction (using 75-100% of contractile force) to get to have the effect. It was later shown by Feland and Marin that a more minimal, submaximal contraction of 20-60% accomplished the same thing. Lewit felt that a less forceful contraction offers the same results, and combined respiratory assists (inspiration facilitates contraction, expiration facilitates relaxation) with this technique. Interestingly, there are bilateral increases in range of motion with this type of stretching, indicating a cross over effect. Regardless of the mechanism, the phenomenon happens and we can take advantage of it. -This is how you do it: -Bring the muscle to its end range (maximum length) without stretching, taking up the slack. This should be painless, as this will elicit a different neurological reflex that may actually increase muscle tone. resist with a minimal isometric contraction (20-60%) and hold for 10 seconds. You can inspire to enhance the effect. - relax and exhale slowly. It is important to wait and feel the relaxation. Stretch through the entire period of the relaxation. You should feel a lengthening of the muscle. -repeat this 3-5 times #stretching #stretchingexercises #postisometricrelaxation