As a follow up to my interactive event this morning with the crew at Lululemon (West Edmonton Mall), here’s a brief summary of maximizing Optimum Body Mechanics in activity and sport. By no means is this a comprehensive article, it is merely a starting point to preventing injury and optimizing sport performance.
ANKLE:
What we need:
- Dorsiflexion mobility
Why we need it:
- Minimize stress on knee
How we can get it:
KNEE:
What we need:
- We need to realize that the knee is often an innocent bystander
Why we need it:
- We need to realize this because the research says so
How we can get it
- We can achieve optimal knee mechanics by looking both above (the hip) and below (the ankle) this joint.
HIP:
What we need:
- Saggittal plane mobility
- Extension strength
Why we need it:
- Minimize stress on lumbar spine
How we can get it:
What we need:
- Frontal & Transverse plane dynamic stability
Why we need it:
- Minimize dynamic valgus at knee and dynamic internal rotation at knee
How we can get it
- Side Lying Abduction
- Clam Shells (Hip – External Rotation)
- Mini Band – External Rotation
- Airplane (I’ll get a video of this up soon)
LOW BACK / CORE:
What we need:
- Antirotation, Antiextension, Antilateral flexion STABILITY
Why we need it:
- To be able to transfer forces THROUGH not TO the “joint” (aka Core”)
How we can get it:
- Antirotation: “Pig on a Spit” Roll
- Antiextension: Front Plank series including the Body Saw
- Antilateral flexion: Farmer walk / Suitcase carry
What we need:
- Lumbar intersegmental stability
Why we need it:
- To be able to transfer forces THROUGH not TO the “joint” (aka Core”)
How we can get it:
- Effective “core activation” methods
THORACIC SPINE:
What we need:
- Rotation & Extension mobility
Why we need it:
How we can get it:
SHOULDER:
What we need:
- Scapular stability
Why we need it:
How we can get it:
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this approach of looking at the body, please have a look at Coach Boyle’s The Joint by Joint approach and FITS Toronto’s 5-site Integrity
Anatomical photos courtesy of Primal Pictures
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