Joint Mobility for a Shoulder Issue, Which Joints Help the Most?

Common wisdom would say that you need to work on the shoulder.  Perhaps

Further done the chain they say scapular mobility.  Perhaps

Now thoracic spine mobility is the in thing.  Does that help?  Perhaps

What about opposite hip function since we know they are connected via the serape effect?  Perhpas

Opposite foot and ankle?  Same side wrist?

The key question is “How do you know”

Test it

Everyone is different, so you will need a custom approach with each athlete.

In general, for shoulder issues I find the following to work really well

• Same side wrist
• Thoracic Spine
• Opposite Hip
• Opposite foot/ankle

Does this work all the time?  No, but most of the time is does for acute/chronic movement issues.

If you get rid of the pain, is the athlete good to go?

No, you need to make sure they can play their sport at the same level as before.  Performance must be evaluated.  If there is still a decrease in performance, they are not 100%, despite passing whatever wizz bang test of the week they ace.

Comments?

What do you think?  What works for you?  Let me know in the comments section!  I love comments!!

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

Thanks to Jodie for letting me film her in the video as an example.  Only 3 more weeks until the big wedding date for us!

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Gym Movements Biofeedback, Z-Health Joint Mobility, Where is the hard data?

Walter Miller, Strength Athlete, Middleweight wrestling champion circa 1919

I am back!  Did you miss me?

Thanks for your patience with my response to comments last week. Jodie and I had a blast in Baja Mexico at a small town called La Ventana. We went down with some friends to hang out, see that orange thing in the sky that they call the sun and kiteboard.

We had a blast and Jodie did great kiteboarding too! I got out and rode 4 days (every day that there was wind) and even did a 7 mile downwinder back to where we were staying. More details to come soon.

Gym Movements, Z-Health, Hard Numbers Please!

One of the requests that I have received is one asking for hard numbers. Since I am a researcher, I like numbers. Heck, I did a whole MS in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics, so I better like numbers! ha! To be honest, they were never my strong suit, but after years of practice I got pretty good at it. When I started I did not think any math beyond Calc 4 even existed, wow, I was wrong.

I need to thank Kevin who is a strength coach on the East Coast for taking the time to do this. While this is far from a peer reviewed, placebo controlled study, it does show us some important things.

Take it away Kevin!

Mike

I purchased Gym Movements and I am really looking forward to the video. This past weekend I have been testing myself and 2 of my high school clients with both Z Health and some of the material I saw from the Gym Movements clips. this past weekend I had a girl I train do the following

Step 1 Toe touch test

Step 2. Vertical Jump Test (18 inches on a jump mat)

Step 3 do a “bad squat on the toes for 10 reps

Step 4 Jump again (16.4 inches)

Step 5. do some Z Health drills (ankle and hip mobility)

Step 6 Retest vertical and hit 18.2

Step 6. Static stretch (hit 16 inches)

Step 7 Z Health drills (18.5)

She looked at me like I was crazy and asked what I was doing? I filled her in and she was very interested in what I had to say

With me this weekend I have been doing static stretch tests, Active Isolates tests and Z Health test and EVERY TIME. I get more range of motion with the Z Health Drills I learned from Sara’s DVD.

I will let you know what I think about the Gym Movements DVD, but I think a combination of the Gym Movements DVD and getting the Z R-Phase is what I need

I am amazed how much your body “clears up” by just doing the ankle Mobs.

Thanks

Kevin

What Did We Learn

Now we have some hard numbers to show that what you do training wise and mobility wise has an IMMEDIATE effect upon your body.

Good training and mobility results is massive changes, very fast! I first learned this at the R-Phase cert from Dr. Cobb. When I do Z-Health sessions, the whole premise is that you have them walk (gait) and then try a Z-Health drill, then have them walk again. If their gait (walking movement) is better, that is a good drill. If not, then try another drill.

Exercise will have the same effect.

Good exercise= better movement and performance

I Want To Hear From You!

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments and if you have any similar data, I would love to hear from you!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Quoted in Muscle and Fitness, Nick Tumminello and More Randomness

If you pick up the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers, look for my quote in there regarding caffeine and fat loss.

Dave Barr wrote a great article on supplements for fat loss, so a huge shout out to him for quoting me in the article and pick up a copy today.  Thanks Dave!

Nick Tumminello

I have the honor of having a guest article over at Nick’s site.  Head on over there and learn

• Are people training the gym without their heads?
• How to fire up those glutes and hip
• Why should you bother with joint mobility work
• Do you need optimal joint mobility in ALL your joints?

Go to

Z Health Ichabod Training with Mike T Nelson

Super Bowl Throwback

The Super Bowl is coming soon and it is NFL playoff time, so I thought I would throw up this classic video.

I am not saying I can dance well (other than the white boy shuffle, which I rock at), but it looks like they are trying to shake a squirrel out of their pants.

Rock on!
Mike T Nelson

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Will Static Stretching Make Me Weaker?

Yes! Next question?

“But I love to do it and it feels good. Plus my strength is not going down, so you are full of crap”

I get lots of these emails. Literally I do.

This is not really even debateable in my opinon.  From the latest study below, the authors state:

“There is an abundance of literature demonstrating that a single bout of stretching acutely impairs muscle strength, with a lesser effect on power.”

Of course static stretching is not going to make your knee cap shoot across the room or make you instantly as weak as a kitten; but I don’t feel it is an optimal way to increase strength and movement efficiency.

If I Don’t Static Stretch, Can I Move Like Crap?

Most don’t want to give it up since they assume their movement will get worse. I agree that athletes of all types need to move well and movement quality is of high importance, I just don’t think static stretching is the best tool. I would much rather have athletes do dynamic work and joint mobility work (like Z-Health).

What About Long Duration Static Stretching?

An even worse idea!  Yes, I understand the proposed concept of very long (5-20 minute) static stretches to reset muscle length, but there are much better ways to do it.  What is the cost of this practice?  Who in their right mind is even going to do it beyond the most motivated athletes? Many barely warm up as it is in most gyms.

I stole this one from my buddy Frankie, “Drugs make you feel good too, but I would not recommend them.”  So just because something feels good does not automatically mean it is good for you?  How do you determine if an exercise is good for you?  I would go with some form of biofeedback.

Comments?  What do you think?

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

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REFERENCES

Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2009 Dec 18. [Epub ahead of print]

To stretch or not to stretch: the role of stretching in injury prevention and performance.

McHugh MP, Cosgrave CH.

Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, USA.

The Science Behind Biofeedback

I’ve been getting some great questions regarding biofeedback as of late, which is awesome. I am glad to see others asking questions and taking action. Kudos to you!

One of the questions has been around the science of biofeedback

• Is there any science?

• What does the science say?

• Who is this Mike T Nelson character and is he qualified to answer any of this?

• Why is he wearing a lab coat?

Find out below

Mike T Nelson Background

The Science of Biofeedback

Comments

What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

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Ouch, the Muscles Around My Shoulder Hurt:  Testimonial for Mike T Nelson

What are you waiting for?

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How to Harness Brain Neuroplasticity for Extreme Human Performance

Are We Missing the Boat?

Ever seen something that you were pretty sure was true and all the evidence was pointing in that direction, but you still felt a large chunk of the data was missing?

I always feel like that trying to explain some concepts in Z Health and how  your brain is in control of your performance in the gym and on the field.  Optimize your brain and your body HAS to follow.

How does the brain get information?

Eyes + Inner Ear (vestibular “balance”) + Joints (proprioception) = Extreme Human Performance

Optimize each one of these and you are set.   This will also allow you to add strength and not degrade your movement performance when done correctly.

If you come to me as an athlete that wants to be a D1 football player and coach says you need to get stronger.  Let’s say I add 100 lbs to your squat in 6 months, but in the process you move like you are dragging your right leg.  Did I make you stronger?  Yes!  Did I make you a better football player?  No!  Will coach (and you) be happy?  No!  What you are really saying is that you want to be a better football player and you and your coach think that strength is the ONLY way.

Strength is great and a huge component to athletics, but it should NOT come at the cost of movement efficiency.    How can we get an increase in performance without making you walk like Ethel?  THAT is the key and we need to look at the brain.

Data Please

Watch the slide show below.  It is a bit crazy, but hang in there

If you only get one thing, here is the take away

“The physical characteristics of your BODY IMAGE may affect how your brain works your body”

I would even go as far to say that they will instead of may (but we need more data of course).  If your brain is the key to performance, than maybe there is something to this body image thing.  The brain can actually change over time, so it is not fixed even if you are an older adult (concept of neuroplasticity).

Body Image, But I Already Look Good!

Not that type of body image there Fabio!  Body image is referring to the map that your body generates of yourself. When I busted up my ankle several years ago, I had a horrible map of my right ankle at the time. It just felt like a big lump and very “dumb.” It was not uncommon that I would bump it against things in my home (which does not help the healing process). My body image (map) of my right ankle was horrible. How do you think my ankle performance was at the time? Horrible! I could barely move it at all due to the injury.

To a lesser extent, this happens to all athletes. If your wrist wrist does not have 100% mobility, the body map is fuzzy because of it.

The Fix Is In

How do we fix it? For most, starting on the joints is key since they take a fair amount of abuse from desk jockeys with mousie right hand to elite athletes with crazy shoulders from throwing 90+mph fast balls to football players hitting each other at mach 2. Daily living takes its toll and getting all the joints to move through a full range of motion to clean up the body image (map) and allow more performance.

Remove the Brakes

Less than optimal joint mobility is breaking your current performance. I like the Z Health R Phase for mobility work since it targets the joints, but just plain movement is a great start.

Summary

We have evidence now that your body image will affect your performance. Fix your body image (movement map) by first starting off on some joint mobility and watch your performance sky rocket.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson
PS
Leave any comments below and tweet the heck out of this one! Much appreciate all the help!

REFERENCES
Full paper at
Interdependence of movement and anatomy persists when amputees learn a physiologically impossible movement of their phantom limb

References below taken from
Physiologically impossible movement of phantom limbs explained

1. Damasio A (2000) The feeling of what happens: body and emotion in the making of consciousness. (Vintage, London).
2. Churchland PS (2002) Self-representation in nervous systems Science 296, 308-310.
3. Ramachandran VS (1998) Consciousness and body image: lessons from phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and pain asymbolia Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London – Series B: Biological Sciences 353, 1851-1859.
4. Price EH (2006) A critical review of congenital phantom limb cases and a developmental theory for the basis of body image Consciousness and Cognition 15, 310-322.
5. Moseley GL, Olthof N, Venema A, Don S, Wijers M, Gallace A, & Spence C (2008) Psychologically induced cooling of a specific body part caused by the illusory ownership of an artificial counterpart Proc Natl Acad Sci 105, 13169-13173.
6. Moseley GL, Parsons TJ, & Spence C (2008) Visual distortion of a limb modulates the pain and swelling evoked by movement. Curr Biol 18, R1047-R1048.
7. Parsons LM (2001) Integrating cognitive psychology, neurology and neuroimaging Acta Psychol. (Amst). 107, 155-181.

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Testimonial on Joint Mobility Work Z-Health Style and Mike T Nelson for a Painful Shoulder

Here is another testimonial.  A HUGE thanks to Chris for stopping by the Extreme Human Performance Center in White Bear Lake, MN for 2 sessions.

For several years I’ve had a painful left shoulder that kept me from many things I like to do. The doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists could only tell me that there’s no specific injury or structural issue.

After only two sessions with Mike T Nelson, and a bit of homework on my part, the range of motion in my left shoulder has improved greatly and I began to find my lats again!

Now I can do several exercises I couldn’t do just a week before, others have improved, and my shoulder over-all just hurts less.  My shoulder is not 100% yet but it feels more stable than it has in years and I expect it to continue to improve.

Thanks Mike!

–Chris Hansen, Minnesota

Contact Mike T. Nelson to move better, lift more, with less pain today by clicking HERE.

Great question here about scar tissue and the use of SMR (foam roller) and other implements from Chris and Mark Young had some great comments too in response to my foam roller posts.

Foam Roller Exercises : Just Say No

I figured that I get lots of questions on the standard 4 phase Z Health approach I would republish the answer here for everyone.

Mike,

What do you suggest for removal of scar tissue if self release (foam rolling, baseball/lacrosse/golf ball) is removed from the picture?

Chris

Great question Chris.

I think the bigger question is “What can’t you do?”

Now this may be a problem for various reasons and scar tissue may be one of them.

I tend do the the following to get athlete bodies working correctly again:

1) joint mobility work

2) visual work (eye movements actually)

3) vestibular work (head rotation, tilt or chin down or up)

4) hands on work

Most of the time on a first session, joint mobiity work is enough.  Guy came in a while back and his shoulder did not go all the way when moving it out in front.  Joint mobility work (Z-Health) on the same side wrist, opposite hip, opposite foot/ankle got his arm almost all the way up (was only at about 70% before).

If joint mobility work is not having a good response, I will test their eye reflexes (PREP, taught in Z Health I Phase).   PREP=postural reaction to eye position.  If they were not normal, they do drills with an eye position and joint mobility.

Example: bad ankle

A female athlete came in a while back with an ankle issue.  In order to get her hip muscles to fire better, she had to move her eyes up and while holding them up, do some ankle joint mobility work.  Hip muscles (glute med, psoas and RF) fired up and her gait (along with her ankle) was much better.

If eyes + mobility don’t work I will add in vestibular work, using PNRT (postural neck reflex test).  A recent athlete came in post ACL replacement and post Physical Therapy  and on his first visit the joint mobility was not working, so I tested his eyes and they were normal (PREP test only), but his PNRT was positive (not normal) for his head rotated right. So his drill was an ankle mobility drill with his head turned right.  Moved much better, knee was much better.  (note I find it is rare to find ONLY vestibular issues)

Some times it is a combination of all 3

Mobility +  eyes + inner ear = optimal function and movement

This is hold the brain gets information to execute movements too (joints + vision + vestibular).  We are reverse engineering better movement by fixing the “bad” signals!

If that still does not work, I will check the tissue by just moving it in specific orientations at 3 different layers 1)skin 2) fascial 3) deep.   Note, most of the time I am not FORCING the tissue to move, I am holding it in a specific orientation and then using joint info, visual (ocular motor too) and inner ear (vestibular) work to ALLOW it to release.  I am working to find the correct combination to the safe via spinning the dial, vs trying to blow up the safe.

Another Example: Powerlifting and hamstring strength

Awhile back a powerlifter came in and her left hamstring would not fire up to 100% and gait could be better.  At the time she was deadlifting about 3xs body weight.  Went through the testing above, using a gait assessment after each drill.

On a manual muscle test, the left hamstring was still weak and gait was off.  Ending up doing a right elbow circle (neuro reflex to the opposite knee/hamstring aka probably interlimb coupling), with her head rotated right (vestibular input), with her eyes open and in the up position (looking up), while I held deep (not remotely painful) pressure on the whole hamstring (all 3) in a position to the “right.”

As she rotated her head and did the elbow circle, I could feel the hamstring tension to the right melt and it moved easily.   Had her walk and gait was much better, left hamstring fired up great.  Later I heard her DL went up, but hard to say what I did was directly related to it; but moving better is always a good adaptation.

I hope that helps a bit.

Summary

Basic joint mobility work is Z-Health R Phase, eye and head movements (vestibular) is Z Health I Phase, hands on work (holding tissue) is Z-Health T Phase (level 4) work.  Minimal amount to get the job done = less collateral damage to fix later (although I don’t see them again as much which is my goal, but is a crappy business model–hahaha)

Most don’t need direct tissue work right away, but that is not to say it can’t work.  Physiology is messy and many things can work.

If anyone has comments/questions on this one, post away in the comments!  Comments make me feel all warm and fuzzy and it is getting colder here in Minnesota now.

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS
If you want any info on the Z Health certs, let me know and drop me an email or give them a call and tell them I sent ya.  I am NOT an employee of Z-Health, but I do make a few bucks off of cert referrals.   Again, I would never recommend something that I don’t use myself or feel that works great.

Foam Roller Exercises Are the Bomb and Will Solve Everything!

Below is a funny video about how foam roller exercises will fix everything, even if done in pain.

A newer study below looked at the effects of a very hard and stiff foam roller- Multilevel rigid roller (MRR) and a standard Bio-Foam roller (BFR).
Let’s see what they found

Standard Foam Roller

A Do it Yourself “Hardcore” Roller

What they found is that the Multilevel Rigid Roller exerted more pressure.   Hello McFly, really?  You are telling me that if I get down and roll around on a rolling pin it will be more pressure on my IT band than a foam roller?  Do we really need research to tell us this?

Wrong Questions

They are asking the wrong question here for this study.   If you want a better answer, you need a better question.  A better question is “Does rolling on a foam roller (SMR) result in better long term performance?”

While I have not seen any direct research on that question yet, my answer is NO.

I’ve outlined it in this post below

Get Off the Foam Roller

Why I have No Love for the Foam Roller

My biggest issue with foam rollers is that people do their foam rolling in pain.  Ironically, most are rolling around humping their foam roller trying to get OUT of pain.  Creating MORE pain to get OUT of pain makes about as much sense as coming to see me about your right shoulder that is painful and I take a cow brander and brand your opposite shoulder.  I can guarantee you that your right shoulder will not be painful (and that will be $110 please too.)   Did I solve anything?  Nope, I did not change the underlying issue of your right shoulder?  Nope!  But I sure a heck altered the signal to your brain regarding your right shoulder pain and now it is NOT painful.

Enough With the “Hardcore” Painful Soft Tissue Work

Keep in mind that pain is a creation of the brain and is very complex.    Think of it as the “check engine light” on your car.  When it comes on, you are not sure what is going on, but something is not right and you better stop the darn car before you rip up the engine.   So you bring it to the dealer, they charge you a crap ton of money and hook up their computer to see what is going on.  Hopefully they then fix the underlying issue and you are on your way, albeit with a lighter wallet.  

Pain is telling you that something is not right, and you better go get it checked out by a professional.

See this video below that explains the process of pain

What To Do

You need to teach your brain that movement is NOT painful.  While that is easy in theory, in practice it can be a bit tricky.    Most will get huge benefits from active joint mobility work (like Z-Health).  All the drills have to be done so they are not painful to begin the re-education process.  The brain works by prediction and association.  Move in pain and that 3 pound thing at the end of your spine starts to associate movement with pain.  This is not what we want.  We want pain free movement.

What are your thoughts?  Are you going to continue to move in pain in the interest of feeling better?

Rock on

Mike T Nelson

PS

If you are interested in a custom movement coaching session to increase performance, feel better and move better, drop me a line.

Contact Mike T. Nelson to set up an appointment today by clicking HERE

REFERENCES

A comparison of the pressure exerted on soft tissue by 2 myofascial rollers.
Curran PF, Fiore RD, Crisco JJ.

J Sport Rehabil. 2008 Nov;17(4):432-42

Dept of Orthopaedics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA.

CONTEXT: Self-myofascial release (SMR) is a technique used to treat myofascial restrictions and restore soft-tissue extensibility. PURPOSE: To determine whether the pressure and contact area on the lateral thigh differ between a Multilevel rigid roller (MRR) and a Bio-Foam roller (BFR) for participants performing SMR. PARTICIPANTS: Ten healthy young men and women. METHODS: Participants performed an SMR technique on the lateral thigh using both myofascial rollers. Thin-film pressure sensels recorded pressure and contact area during each SMR trial. RESULTS: Mean sensel pressure exerted on the soft tissue of the lateral thigh by the MRR (51.8 +/- 10.7 kPa) was significantly (P < .001) greater than that of the conventional BFR (33.4 +/- 6.4 kPa). Mean contact area of the MRR (47.0 +/- 16.1 cm2) was significantly (P < .005) less than that of the BFR (68.4 +/- 25.3 cm2). CONCLUSION: The significantly higher pressure and isolated contact area with the MRR suggest a potential benefit in SMR.