Last week, I had the opportunity to host a mobility workshop at the studio for my team and other coaches. The workshop was taught by Brad Cox, of the Acumobility team out of the Boston area. It featured their soft tissue tools, a unique roller, therapy balls, and their bands. The balls are flat on one side which allow you to apply pressure to restricted areas while you work the
muscle through a range of motion. I’ve been a fan of tissue work for a while. If I had the time and unlimited resources, I would choose to get manual tissue work 2-3 times a week. Tools like foam rollers and balls have proven to be a good plan B.
In the picture below, I’m working on my thoracic spine, or t-spine, using two of their Acumobility balls.
This technique has been around for years using lacrosse balls. In the past, you taped 2 lacrosse balls together. The only problem was that they shifted around and moved. These Acumobility balls have the ability to stay in position as you perform various drills and keep pressure on the restricted area. The protocol we’re using at the studio is to apply pressure to the restricted area, incorporate a couple breathing drills, and then work the area of focus through a range of motion. It doesn’t end there. The key is the next step.
When you have a bound up or restricted area, it’s common for the affected area to adjust or compensate its movement pattern. The brain senses pain and adapts. Visualize how you may walk coming off a cross country flight. Tight hips and glutes may give you the John Wayne gait initially before loosening up. The problem arises when you don’t loosen up and the walking pattern isn’t corrected. The key is to loosen up the area and then work the muscle through a range of motion performing a strengthening exercise. This acts as a re-set for the muscle and motor control. The secret sauce is to perform the strengthening exercise immediately after addressing the restriction.
A colleague commented to me that he thought the tissue work was a band-aid for a more serious underlining problem. Which came first the poor movement or the restriction? Its like the old saying which came first the chicken or the egg? His point was that if you don’t address the root of the problem, it’s going to come back. I had to explain that working on the restriction was only part of the process. In 2012, I experienced a severe hamstring strain. I used physical therapy, manual massage, cupping, and various ice treatments. They all provided temporary relief, but the pain and restrictions would soon return. Years later, I still experience a slight limp initially from sitting for an extended time. If I would have followed this pattern of re-setting my motor control after releasing the restriction years ago, this may have been avoided.
After 29 years of being in this industry, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that we don’t live in a world of absolutes. There’s a lot of gray. There are a lot of techniques out there and there isn’t one single path to success. This approach simply provided me another route to my destination of unrestricted movement in a quest to get stronger.
I’ll see you at the studio.