Your journey with an intrinsic biomechanics coach…

Written by Andrew Rouse for ARBodyworks and Elements.

A decision made…

So after days, weeks sometimes years of suffering or “putting up” with discomfort or impaired performance, you make the decision to do away with the various therapy appointments that are having negligible impact and choose to book an appointment with me, an intrinsic biomechanics coach.

The first appointment…

So arriving slightly early wearing loose fitting workout gear you wonder what to expect. You sit filling in your client assessment form and tell me anything that is relevant to your visit. The first appointment is used by me to assess your ability to perform certain movements; over/underperformance in these tests/screens is noted and used in later sessions as a comparison. None of the tests/screens are difficult, in fact they are very easy to complete. After the testing/screening process, I will relate the findings of the tests back to the reason for your visit.

For example: A client I currently treat arrived for his first appointment unable to stand from or sit into a chair without discomfort in the rear of his hips. We followed the screening process without any problems and from the results gathered I was able to explain to him what was happening in his hip joints and lower back from a muscular point of view and a nervous point of view, in a way he understood and how he could prevent the discomfort, which gave him impetus to do his exercises.

The last part of the first session puts the onus on to you. You will be given some very simple exercises to complete at home/work/school as well as pre and post workout if you train. The more the exercises are completed and understood, the quicker the apparent dysfunction will go.

0-8 weeks from first appointment, The Normalise Stage

Depending on the results of the first screening, how long you have been dysfunctional and how much you do your exercises, will depend on how long this stage of treatment is. This stage looks to make the function available at your Shoulders, Spine, Pelvis, Hips, Knees and Ankles NORMAL or as the body intended. This stage could be very quick and you could make significant improvements in a short amount of time.

For example: An athlete I currently work with ran a 10k and after basically falling apart after it came to see me. She complained of shin pain, hip flexor pain and hamstring pain. I assessed her and explained that some of her muscles were unable to perform the tasks she was asking them to because the function at her hip joints was not normal. She could still run but because she was compensating around these muscles that weren’t working she was becoming injured. We worked together for 2 follow up sessions over 2 weeks and also had 1 personal training session. She competed in a 10k shortly after the final session and with no run specific training and just some very simple movements to correct function to do at home she knocked 9 mins off her time and experienced next to no discomfort for the days after the race.

I would recommend a follow up session at least every 10-14 days. The follow up sessions will build on your “homework” exercises and will rescreen you to see the improvement over time.

8 weeks onwards… Stabilise, Functionalise and Strengthen Phases…

When the screening process confirms that your function is normal we will move into the stabilise phase and will look at the corset of muscles that encircle you between your pelvis and your ribs. If these muscles work correctly then you move on to Functionalise. However this rarely occurs, the majority of people work the front section of their “core” being their abs, but forget that the sides and back are just as important. So I have a series of tests and screens to illustrate the overall strength of your “core”. Only when these tests are passed can we move onto Function. This stage starts to ask you to move in normal day to day patterns with strength and control, and whether you can.

For example: after normalising and stabilising a client I asked her to lift something relatively light from the ground to above her head and imagine it was something she was putting in a top cupboard. She was strong and performed well until her arms went above her head and then the stabilise work went out of the window. So working with her in the functionalise stage will make her strong and stable to function in things she would encounter day to day.

Building from this example into the strengthening stage, when a movement can be performed in control and repeated with no loss of technique, we can add additional weight to it.

So using the example above; when the overhead lift can be performed with no loss of control or technique we can add additional weight to it in order to make it harder to control, thus strengthening the muscles used and safeguarding against injury when performing this task.

Throughout the latter stages of the journey the sessions will evolve with you and the work we will complete will be individual and unique to you. It does merge boundaries with Personal Training and Yoga/Pilates and these supplementary services when applied correctly can do no harm.

The final stages of this journey are ongoing and should never really be over until you feel confident enough in understanding and building movement patterns/routines to go it alone, with no discomfort or dysfunction.

If you would like to start your journey in Reading please contact me on 07866846113 or through www.arbodyworks.com

If you would like to start your journey in Southampton/Fareham please contact me on 07866846113 or through www.elements-therapy.com