Do The Thing!

A movement therapy approach to removing roadblocks and reaching goals.

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This is a guest post by John Rothe – BS, CPT, FMT, OES, NKT, P-DTR,
Movement Therapist.

Click here to learn more about what John does and/or schedule an appointment. 

We’ve all been injured. Some more than others. When this happens, your brain does its best to keep you from injuring yourself further. To do that, the brain essentially cuts power to parts of your body and reroutes it to others. Essentially putting key players on the bench so they don’t make the problem worse. Sometimes, when we can’t or don’t take time to heal, the brain holds on to that injury like a security blanket. It leaves those key players on the bench doing nothing and plays the backups until they’re falling apart. And that is precisely when we notice pain, tightness, and injury.

For example: When was the last time you stubbed a toe? How many steps on that sore toe did you take before you figured out how to walk without the toe touching the ground? Viewed from the outside, the difference in normal vs stubbed toe walking is almost comical. If you sit down for a few hours afterwards you probably won’t even remember the stubbed toe walk. However, if you immediately had to walk 10 miles, that stubbed toe might cause you to change your normal gait, to the detriment of your hips.

There are a lot of professional grade approaches to resolving movement issues like these. I use several of them in my own practice. They’re effective and can address a wide range of problems but they require a highly trained professional to use. What’s worse, that professional may be a thousand miles away or unavailable for weeks.

The truth is, most movement issues don’t need a professional grade approach. With a bit of experimentation and work you can correct them yourself. All it requires is some patience, discipline, and an awareness of your own body.

How it Works

How do we get those players back in the game? We force the brain to change the lineup. We find out who the backups are and sideline them. Then we put the old first string back in for a tryout. If the brain trusts them, they will get to stay in the game for a little while. Once we’re sure we have the right players, we repeat the process until it sticks and they’re back on the field full time.

Put very simply: Find a movement that doesn’t work well, massage, foam roll, or stretch a sore area, then try the movement again.

“But what if I’ve tried foam rolling my [hip flexors, IT band, hamstrings, etc.] and it didn’t work?”

The whole point is to convince the brain that the muscle(s) or movement(s) you’re trying to use are safe and reliable. If you just foam roll the tight spot you’re taking away the security blanket without convincing your brain that that the movement is safe. To make a lasting change you have to do both. But first, you have to find out who is on the bench and who is playing in their stead. So, here’s how we do it.

1. Find a movement that you find difficult.
2. Find a tight, sore, or weird feeling spot to work on (massage, foam roll, stretch, etc.).
3. Repeat the difficult movement.
   1. If the movement did not improve then that spot isn’t affecting the movement. Look for another tight or sore spot and try again.
   2. If the movement did improve then that spot is affecting the movement.
      Keep repeating the movement until just before your form goes bad.

Once you know which spot you need to work on to improve the movement, you’re set. Then it’s just a matter of working that spot and repeating the movement often enough to make the change stick.

“How much do I have to do to make it stick?”

There’s a bit of an art to deciding how often to repeat the process. Usually, twice a day is a good starting point. You may find that you get better or faster results by repeating the process more often.

Usually this kind of change sticks pretty well within a week or two. If not, either you didn’t find the most important backup player or there may be something more complex going on. Go looking for another spot that improves the movement. When you run out of ideas or nothing else helps, it may be time to find a professional to help figure out the next step.

Self Assessment

I’m including one self assessment here as an example. I will add more later if there’s enough interest. This movement isn’t special or magical. It’s just one example that I’ve tried to explain in as much detail as possible. Any movement that you understand is an assessment that you can use.

Self Assessment #1 – Hip Extension

This movement is trying to determine if your hamstrings and glutes are involved when you try to extend your hip.

Try this when:

• Your forward footwork feels slow or just not explosive.
• Your knee feels a little unstable.
• Your knee is collapsing inward during a lunge, squat, or deadlift.
• Your calf (one or both) is tight or painful.
• Your achilles tendon (just above your heel) is tender or slightly painful.
• That muscle just under your jeans pocket is tight or sore (tensor fascia latae).

What to do:

1. Lay face down (prone) with your legs together and your toes pointing down into the floor.
2. Decide which leg you are going to test.
3. Move the leg you are testing out to the side, away from your other leg. If your head is at 12 o’clock and you are testing your right leg then it would go out to about 5 o’clock. If you are testing your left leg then 7 o’clock.
4. Bend the leg you are testing until your heel points straight up (about 90 degrees).
5. Now, reach your heel toward the ceiling as far as you can. Your heel goes up. Your thigh goes up. Even your hip goes up a little.

What to look for:

• Can you get your knee off the floor?

If not, this is the movement for you.

• Did you move your legs closer together?

Try again, but keep them apart. If you can’t then you’re probably using your hamstrings instead of your glutes.

• Did you hold your breath?

Try it again without holding your breath. If you can’t do it as well without then there’s likely either a breathing problem, a core stability problem, or both.

• Can you get your thigh off the floor? Is this easy?

If so, great! Try the other side! If not, there’s room for improvement.