[jzamarron]

jzamarron on May 7, 2022 at 5:32 am · in reply to: Mobility for the Uphill Athlete #66761

I did three sessions with a DPT recently. Her findings were that my shoulders were tighter than my hips, which was surprising to me, because I felt like it was the other way around. Her explanation for this difference between my hips was that I might have a larger femoral head or a smaller joint socket on my right side. She said that only an x-ray could confirm that. For my shoulders she felt that it could be from a tightness in my forearms and/or pec’s or perhaps a nerve impingement based on how I described trying to control overhead movement. I have also been doing some sessions with a Rolfing/Anatomy Trains practitioner with some interesting results.

I remember in Kelly Starrett’s course that I took, he discussed hypermobile athletes versus non hypermobile athletes in one lesson. One of the takeaways I had was that “tight” athletes that perform well and are durable can sometimes have less injuries even if they have limitations in their range of motion. An example of where I struggle going overhead is in the overhead squat. Thanks to ChamFit Level 3, this movement has gotten easier, but I would be surprised if I could do this movement with a weighted bar.

It was interesting to hear you mention how difficult it is to interpret the results from the FMS. Dr, Andreo Spina, the creator of Functional Anatomy Seminars and Functional Range Conditioning has said similar things regarding how difficult it is to interpret the results from existing movement screens and assessments. I have heard him say that his Controlled Articular Rotations (CARS) is intended to make it easier to dial in on the cause of an altered movement pattern.

I also realize that part of my interest in this topic is simply that watching people like Ido Portal or Erwan LeCorre of MovNat makes me want to move that way as well, which goes back to your question about is a focus on mobility even necessary. I think this discussion has helped me to reconsider how much mobility I need to reduce stress on the joints/tissues given my focus on endurance sports. Thank you again for your time and your thoughts on this topic.

[jzamarron]

jzamarron on May 7, 2022 at 5:32 am · in reply to: Mobility for the Uphill Athlete #66760

Hey Nate,
Thank you so much for your detailed and insightful response. I can’t tell you how helpful it is to get your perspective on this topic. I found that interesting that there isn’t a lot of conclusive evidence to support the correlation between movement screens and injury reduction or improved performance. I also realize I wasn’t exactly certain of what ROM was needed for most endurance athletes. To answer your question about my injury history, I have been very fortunate to not have had any major injuries so far in my life. The worst of which was a minor stress fracture in my left foot and a bad right thumb sprain. Otherwise, only minor sprains or muscle strains.

I think my interest in mobility has come from several different influences. I stopped running my freshman and sophomore years in college, because I read a few articles that running was “bad” for your knees. I played a few team sports through high school but did not play at the collegiate level. I found that I greatly missed running as a form of exercise. When I started running again after this hiatus, I found that I had a pain on the outside of my left knee. I also would sometimes get the same pain when I was hiking downhill. I believed that I had injured my knee.

I went to see a doctor and he took x-rays of my knees and moved my leg and knee through a few different ranges of motion. He found that my knees had plenty of cartilage and looked healthy, however, he also stated that I should limit my running and that I would never run a marathon. I don’t recall him offering an explanation outside of this. I couldn’t understand why I shouldn’t run if I had “healthy” knees with plenty of cartilage? This piqued my interest and I started doing my own research. Eventually, I came across discussions about the catch all “runner’s knee”. Through a consultation with one of Kelly Starrett’s staff. I learned how to address this by self-myofascial release techniques and some ways to strengthen my Glute Medius. It is seldom that I have this issue anymore and I can run pain free.

The other impetus for trying to learn more about mobility was my right hip and my overhead shoulder mobility. For as long as I can remember, it has always been uncomfortable for me to sit cross-legged. My right side is significantly tighter than my left. My upper leg is probably around a 45-degree angle from the floor whereas currently I can have my left leg resting comfortably on the floor in a cross-leg position. I feel tension and almost a pressure in my right hip joint when I reach end ROM for the cross-legged position. While I have seen small improvements from yoga and other mobility work, in my mind, there is still a large disparity from right to left. I think from my research on the topic and hearing that improved range of motion and movement control/quality could also reduce stress on joints inspired me to want to take as good care as I can of my joints.