Metcon Magazine Preview - 5 Hindering Joint Restrictions
In exercise and sports science, achieving triple extension has been the goal of many common athletic movements. Triple extension is a position in which the ankle, knee, and hip are extended. In functional fitness programming, there is revolution in the way coaches and trainers look at movement. Most functional exercises and workouts emphasize what I call global quadruple extension. This means the athlete extends the foot/ankle, knee, hip, and the thoracic spine. The inability to get to this position results in poor performance and pain. The following is a list of joints that I find are routinely restricted and prevent athletes from moving efficiently into this globally extended position. Keep in mind that dysfunction at one joint leads to dysfunction throughout the entire body.
In exercise and sports science, achieving triple extension has been the goal of many common athletic movements. Triple extension is a position in which the ankle, knee, and hip are extended. In functional fitness programming, there is revolution in the way coaches and trainers look at movement. Most functional exercises and workouts emphasize what I call global quadruple extension. This means the athlete extends the foot/ankle, knee, hip, and the thoracic spine. The inability to get to this position results in poor performance and pain. The following is a list of joints that I find are routinely restricted and prevent athletes from moving efficiently into this globally extended position. Keep in mind that dysfunction at one joint leads to dysfunction throughout the entire body.
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ering how much rotational power<br />
is needed for running and rope<br />
climbing, this spells doom for<br />
athletes looking to crush multimodal<br />
PRs.<br />
An athlete who has an excessive<br />
thoracic curve will often complain<br />
of shoulder impingement,<br />
tennis elbow, and mid-back<br />
pains.<br />
Neck<br />
A forward head carriage is the<br />
most common postural deviation<br />
seen at the head and neck.<br />
The head weighs 8 to 11 pounds.<br />
We need to remember that the<br />
spine is one piece. If the neck<br />
is out of position, the rest of the<br />
body either follows it or is taxed<br />
excessively to hold it in place.<br />
One of the muscles over-worked<br />
by a forward head carriage is<br />
the levator scapula. A short and<br />
overactive levator will pull up<br />
and forward on the scapula and<br />
make movement of the shoulder<br />
dysfunctional.<br />
The sport of fitness is incredibly<br />
dynamic and requires explosiveness,<br />
coordination, flexibility,<br />
and stamina. Often overlooked<br />
is the importance of maintaining<br />
a center of mass. Having a<br />
forward carriage displaces this<br />
center of mass to a forward position.<br />
Almost as if a person is<br />
constantly falling, the athlete’s<br />
brain will need to recruit additional<br />
muscle to maintain alignment<br />
and good positioning. This<br />
is counter-productive for an athlete<br />
who is trying to be faster,<br />
stronger, and go longer because<br />
muscle gets trained to do a job.<br />
A muscle that is easily stimulated<br />
can be recruited when it is<br />
not needed. This is the concept<br />
of synergistic dominance and<br />
reciprocal inhibition. Poor alignment<br />
for an athlete leads to muscle<br />
imbalances and movement<br />
impairments. A forward head<br />
carriage is an example of this.<br />
If we go back to our functional<br />
anatomy, we know the levator<br />
scapula muscle attaches from<br />
the base of the skull to the top<br />
of the scapula. A forward head<br />
carriage will shorten the levator<br />
scapula and the upper trapezius.<br />
Proper shoulder function and<br />
rib cage positioning will be very<br />
difficult to achieve because the<br />
lower trapezius will be inhibited<br />
and the scapula will be hard to<br />
depress.<br />
A forward head carriage is associated<br />
with shoulder impingement,<br />
neck pains, and headaches.<br />
In most parts of life, becoming<br />
great has very little to do with<br />
what you already excel at and<br />
everything to do with the little<br />
parts we hide. Functional training<br />
has revolutionized the capacity<br />
of the human body. Our “engines”<br />
are stronger, faster, and<br />
fitter than in any time throughout<br />
history. The only thing that<br />
will slow us down is failure to<br />
take care of our smallest hidden<br />
parts.<br />
About the Author<br />
Jeremy McCann is a pain relief<br />
exercise expert, master<br />
trainer for The Biomechanics<br />
Method and owner of<br />
Range of Motion Fitness in<br />
Riverside, Calif. In addition<br />
to his advanced certifications<br />
from The BioMechanics<br />
Method, he also holds numerous<br />
corrective exercise<br />
specialty certifications from<br />
some of the industry’s most<br />
prestigious institutions, including<br />
the Gray Institute,<br />
National Academy of Sports<br />
Medicine, PTA Global and<br />
FMS.<br />
romfit.com<br />
fb.com/romfitness<br />
fb.com/JeremyMMcCann<br />
June 2016 | METCON<br />
9
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