The Baby Get Up
I use the BGU to improve the pattern of trunk flexion and rotation. I also use it to provide an opportunity to challenge hip and sacro-iliac joint stability in the presence of other body part movements. The bottom arm moves into internal rotation until it meets it's end-range, at which point the person sits up. The ""screwing home" of the shoulder creates a stable joint. As the person continues to press the hand down to the floor, the shoulder girdle is brought with it, pushing the trunk off the ground. Actively sit up. Place the top hand against the "up" leg. As you sit up, keep the hand/arm against the inside of the knee. The top leg, remaining in active abduction and external rotation, creates hip and sacro-iliac joint stability. The three stable areas, bottom arm, bottom hip/hemipelvis and top hip/hemipelvis, provide a stable base for the trunk to flex and rotate around. In other words, activating stabilisers permits expression of mobilisers. Common errors: Top leg collapses; bottom arm loses connection with the ground; jerky trunk flexion and rotation; bottom leg loses extended position.
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The "world's greatest", as dubbed by EXOS's Mark Verstegen, combines multiple joint movements in one series of moves.
So many great elements: Stepping move - dynamic stability in the sagittal plane of the weightbearing hip with triple flexion of the stepping leg. Lunge - force absorption on the front leg. Lunge progression to trunk rotation - closed chain ankle dorsiflexion and hip flexion, with closed chain hip extension on the trailing leg. Locked lumbar spine for isolated thoracic rotation, weightbearing dynamic stability on the down hand. Chest on thigh stimulates resistance for diaphragmatic breathing. Dynamic posterior lower chain stretch to stand up. One of the go-to moves before training of any kind to explore which body parts are not happy moving, and to express mobility with stability. I use this drill as a supplement, to activate anterior core whilst stimulating the hip drive required for acceleration.
Linear and lateral movement drills can be used as knee rehab drills. My athlete is a Shanghai Womens Handball Professional with clinical lateral meniscus lesion of the right knee which did not clearly appear on MRI. The Chinese MRI report included femoral and tibial bone bruising, although I couldn't see it on the MRI, so she's being rehabilitated and treated based on clinical signs and symptoms. (Background song - Art vs Science "Friend in the field" & Ben Harper's "Fight for your mind" - they kind of sum up being a sports physiotherapist in China.
Ankle grab whilst walking is a test of dynamic single leg stance control with contralateral hip extension, knee flexion & tibial rotation. Ideally you'd already clear the ankle mobility, split kneeling hip/core control, hip extension, knee flexion and tibial rotation. Then this drill brings together the whole pattern with ankle & knee stability & motor control.
One of the more difficult movement preparation drills - the quad stretch to toe touch - challenges dynamic stability on the stance leg, and mobility on the other leg.
In movement prep, a great drill that follows the high knee march and leg cradle is the quad stretch with hip IR walk. The natural flow of movement of the hip in extension is to rotate into internal rotation. Performing a walking drill over 10 metres, pulling the knee into flexion, hip into extension and applying a little hip internal rotation is a nice way to a) check that hip E and IR is comfortable, and b) lubricate the tissues into this pattern.
By pulling down on a cable, or tubing, with resistance, this activates the anterior core, stabilising the pelvis on the rib cage. The hip flexion pattern, on a stable stance leg, is improved.
The posterior chain is crucial for all sorts of reasons in runners, but the strength or control of hip flexion by the psoas is equally crucial. Asymmetry, or active insufficiency, is notable in many people with hip pain or low back pain. The ramifications of not noticing it are significant. Here's how to look for it. Iliopsoas is most active above 70 degrees hip flexion, where the length-tension relationship of the adductors, TFL and rectus femoris restrict their ability to generate force, leaving iliopsoas as the primary hip flexor.
Following on from facilitated diaphragmatic breathing with a weight on the abdomen, this variation uses the forearms and finger tips to facilitate the water pump and bucket handle movements of the rib cage in proper diaphragmatic breathing.
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