This is a bold statement….I know.

I made the statement in the title of this blog because of the new optimal movement program at Optimum Function. For years, I have been studying chiropractic and manual medicine. One common denominator of all that I have studied is that these techniques help to relieve pain by balancing movement. Too little movement tears down the foundation of your movement patterns. Techniques like chiropractic manipulation, soft-tissue mobilization, the Graston Technique, Kinesiotape and more help to increase movement when there is not enough and reduce movement when there is too much. What I have known for a while now is that there is another component to optimal movement and optimum function…..STABILITY!

This is where many manual techniques fall short and many doctors/therapists fail. Granted, you cannot have stability without first having mobility but you must eventually address any stability issues you may have or you will almost always injure yourself in the future.

As an infant, you had absolutely no mobility issues, you had all the mobility you needed for any task at hand. The problem back then was stability; your immature nervous system could not control all of that mobility thus not being able to stabilize your movements. Back then, it was hard to stand, walk, do complex tasks and movements because of a lack of stability. WIth no lack of mobility, gaining stability was a matter of time; your nervous system was like a sponge that soaked-up all the information it needed to eventually stabilize your body….well….what happened?

As you grew older, minor injuries, bad habits etc. created lack of mobility in certain areas but because you are a human being with a very adaptable nervous system, you just adapted by creating compensatory patterns of movement to bypass that which was not there. Now, a little bit of this is OK but the more compensation that occurred the more your primitive movement patterns were affected. Things like touching your toes, squatting, reaching behind your back etc. became dysfunctional or maybe somewhat impossible.

Because you like many others, have a busy, active life, the lack of proper, foundational movement patterns eventually spells the breakdown of things like ligaments, tendons and muscles. In addition, movement in general takes more energy and things that you used to be able to to without fatiguing become tedious.

Well, improving the health of your ligaments, tendons and muscles while also addressing the mobility of your muscles and joints helps immensely but if your primitive, foundational movement patterns are not addressed and stability is not improved, you WILL BECOME INJURED AGAIN….period. It won’t matter if you’re an athlete, office worker, mom, dad, grandma or grandpa, your system will continue to create compensation and when there are too many compensatory patterns, it will break down again.

This is where my optimal movement screen  and treatment program comes into play. I utilize some very insightful yet simple movement patterns discovered by Gray Cook PT, Brett Jones RKC, Dale Buchberger DC, PT, and others to evaluate the current state of your movement foundation. Then I deal with any movement problems that I find with the many manual techniques that I have at my disposal in addition to some custom mobility and movement prep exercises.

Once your mobility is adequate, I will work with you to develop some simple yet effective movements and exercises to regain the stability that you so desperately need. In the end, I will eventually help you transition into functional movement and exercises like kettlebell workouts to help you maintain optimal movement and start building performance on top of your new found whole body efficiency.

These techniques have never been paired with the unique combination of manual techniques at Optimum Function until now. The screening process has been used to improve the function of professional athletes while also decreasing the rate at which they get injured. I have combined the screening with some real-world techniques to make it more applicable to the general public. It will help you to also perform better, feel better, function more efficiently and not become injured as much in the future.

To find out more about my optimal movement screening and treatment program, click here

To get more information about me and Optimum Function, email info@optfunction.com, go to www.OptFunction.com or call 503-866-9739.

Yours in Health
Dr. Tim Irving DC, LMT, CKTP
Optimum Function
Portland, Oregon

References:

1. Bahr R, Bahr IA. Incidence of acute volleyball injuries: a prospective cohort study of injury mechanisms and risk factors. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 1997;7(3):166-171.
2. Baumhauer J, Alosa D, Renstrom P, Trevino S, Beynnon B. A prospective study of ankle injury risk factors. Am J Sports Med. 1995;23(5):564-570.
3. Cholewicki J, Silfies SP, Shah RA, et al. Delayed trunk muscle reflex responses increase the risk of low back injuries. Spine. 2005;30(23):2614-2620.
4. Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR, et al. Biomechanical measures of neuromuscular control and valgus loading of the knee predict anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in female athletes: a prospective study. Am J Sports Med. 2005;33(4):492-501.
5. Trojian TH, McKeag DB. Single leg balance test to identify risk of ankle sprains. Br J Sports Med. 2006;40(7):610-613; discussion 613.
6. Kiesel K, Plisky P, Voight M. Can serious injury in professional football be predicted by a preseason Functional Movement Screen? North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2007;2(3):147-158.

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