Exercises for the Shoulder to Hand - Release Your Kinetic Chain. Dr. Brian James Abelson DC.

to store and release energy is immediately diminished. The same thing happens to your soft tissues when you build up restrictions and adhesions (from the micro-tears caused by repetitive motion), or scar tissue from injuries. These adhesions and scar tissues are analogous to knots in the cord. Just as the cord’s ability to store and release energy was diminished by knots, so is our body’s ability to store and release energy diminished by these restrictions. Think of these adhesions and restrictions as energy leaks that rob your body of much needed energy for healing.

You will have problems with storing and releasing your own energy if your body is full of tight areas and ropy fibrous restrictions. This is why foam rollers, Massage Therapy, Active Release Techniques, Graston Techniques, and dozens of other soft tissue techniques are so valuable for helping in your healing process. All these procedures act to improve the quality of your soft tissue by releasing or removing the soft tissue restrictions that lie between your tissue layers.

      Bottom line: you may need to invest in some soft tissue care to get rid of these restrictions...these restrictions are sapping your energy, causing injuries, and aging you prematurely. Consider getting treatment for these areas. Obtaining care in this area is an investment that will pay countless positive dividends to you for the rest of your life.

Principle 3: Build your Aerobic Base

      Yes, rehabilitative care does require you to build a good aerobic base. Your cardiovascular system is responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients to all your cells, and for carrying away toxins and waste products. These are essential processes for any kind of recovery from injuries, and even more essential if you plan to take up athletic endeavours.

      See the following topics for more information about the importance of Aerobic warm-ups:

        What is the Importance of Aerobic Warm-ups? - page 16

        So What is a Good Warm-up? - page 19

        Working within your Aerobic and Anaerobic Zones - page 20

Athletic or Performance Care Routines

      The major focus of the Release Your Kinetic Chain series of books is to help you resolve your injuries and to prepare your body for possible performance-level training.

      • If your primary objective is to resolve an injury and you have no interest in athletic or performance care, then you can move directly to the next chapter.

      • For the rest of you, there are several factors you should consider once you have attained a level of fitness where your body is ready to begin performance training.

      Athletic performance training is all about speed, power, and strength, which in turn are based on the development of superb neuromuscular control. Great neuromuscular control (the training of your nervous system to perform a task) is what defines the world’s best athletes – not strength or muscle size. There are some similarities (as well as some huge differences) in the objectives of rehabilitative exercise and athletic or performance training. In both, the development of neuromuscular control remains critical.

      Athletic or Performance training has greater risks than rehabilitation training. Athletic training often involves riding the fence between overloading the body (to increase strength and power) and reaching the point of tissue failure (injury). In Performance training there is always a greater chance of injury. Athletic or performance training differs from rehabilitative training in its:

       Increased risk of injury.

       Need to work through muscle pain.

       Need to increase resistance to the point of overloading the muscles.

       Requiring speed training.

       Development of the anaerobic system.

      The following are a few fundamental principles that you should keep in mind as you progress into Athletic training routines:

       Principle 1: Athletic Development is Not the Same as Body-Building! - page 11

        Principle 2: Good Tissue Quality = Good Performance - page 12

        Principle 3: Some Muscle Pain is Okay - page 13

        Principle 4: Develop Your Aerobic Zone Before Working on Your Anaerobic Zone - page 14

Principle 1: Athletic Development is Not the Same as Body-Building!

      Exercise programs that focus only on increasing muscle size serve to meet body-building objectives of increasing size and definition and have very little to do with improved athletic performance or improved body function.

      Athletic Performance training typically focuses upon developing your speed, power, and strength. To achieve this goal, you must establish good muscle endurance, good motor control, and superb neuromuscular responses. This is very different from body-building which focuses primarily on increasing the size and bulk of your muscles.

      Exercise programs that focus only on increasing muscle size by isolating specific muscles (weight training with machines) often result in muscular imbalances, soft tissue injuries, and an overall decrease in performance. This is one of the reasons we do not recommend the use of exercise machines (other than cable machines) in any of our routines.

      Look for athletic training programs that integrate elements of strength, endurance, speed, and power. These are the ones that will be most helpful in increasing your performance.

Principle 2: Good Tissue Quality = Good Performance

      In sports performance, the quality of your soft tissue is a key element that cannot be ignored. When you improve the quality of your tissue (no restrictions, adhesions, or tightness) then you will reap the rewards of faster recovery, increased speed, improved range of motion, more strength, reduced injuries, and improved performance.

      As we discussed in Principle 2: Develop your Power - page 7, your muscles are like rubber bands. When there are no knots (restrictions) in them you can easily store and release your energy. This directly translates into improved performance. This is why soft tissue techniques such as Active Release Techniques have helped take Olympic athletes to gold medal status. These types of techniques work to improve the overall quality of your soft tissues.

      Bottom line: When you ignore the quality and state of your soft tissues, then you are taking the path of diminished performance! So, if you have restrictions and tight spots that are not resolved by exercising, then take the time to work these restrictions out by using our myofascial techniques (foam rollers, golf balls, self-massage) or see a skilled soft tissue practitioner for help in restoring your soft tissue quality. See Alternative Therapies to Explore - page 223 for more information.

Principle 3: Some Muscle Pain is Okay