Building a Better Bridge

Using bridge exercises? Want to make it more effective? Here's one simple way: bend the weight bearing knee to 135 degrees rather than the traditional 90. It preferentially activates the g max and med more (relatively, compared to the hamstring ; the actual values for the max and med remained similar) and the hamstring significantly less (24% vs 75%)

CONCLUSION:

"Modifying the traditional single-leg bridge by flexing the active knee to 135 ° instead of 90 ° minimizes hamstring activity while maintaining high levels of gluteal activation, effectively building a bridge better suited for preferential gluteal activation.

Lehecka BJ, Edwards M, Haverkamp R, et al. BUILDING A BETTER GLUTEAL BRIDGE: ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF HIP MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING MODIFIED SINGLE-LEG BRIDGES. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2017;12(4):543-549.

link to free full text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5534144/

Gaining Anterior Length, Through Posterior Strength. A Lesson in Reciprocal Inhibition

Gaining Anterior Length, Through Posterior Strength and vice versa….A Lesson in Reciprocal Inhibition

I found a really cool article, quite by accident. I was leafing through an older copy of one of, if not my favorite Journals “Lower Extremity Review” and there it was. An article entitled “Athletes with hip flexor tightness have reduced gluteus maximus activation”. Wow, I thought! Now there is a great article on reciprocal inhibition! This reminded me of a piece we wrote some time ago

What is reciprocal inhibition, also called “reciprocal innervation” you ask? The concept, was 1st observed as early as 1626 by Rene Descartes though observed in the 19th century, was not fully understood and accepted until it earned a Nobel prize for its creditor, Sir Charles Sherrington, in 1932.

Simply put, when a muscle contracts, its antagonist is neurologically inhibited (see the diagram above) When your hip flexors contract, your hip extensors are inhibited. This holds true whether you actively contract the muscle or if the muscle is irritated in some manner, causing contraction. The reflex has to do with muscle spindles and Type I and Type II afferents which I have covered in an article I wrote some time ago.

We can (and often do) take advantage of this concept with treating the bellies of hip flexors (iliopsoas, tensor fascia lata, rectus femoris, iliacus, iliocapsularis) and extensors (gluteus maximus, posterior fibers of gluteus medius). This is especially important in folks with low back pain, as they often have increased psoas activity and cross sectional area, especially in the presence of degenerative changes.

There also appears to be a correlation between decreased hip extension and low back pain, with a difference of as little as 10 degrees being significant. Take the time to do a thorough history and exam and pay attention to hip extension and ankle dorsiflexion as they should be the same, with at least 10 degrees seeming to be the “clinical” minimum. Since the psoas should only fire at the end of terminal stance/preswing and into early swing, problems begin to arise when it fires for longer periods.

Can you see now how taking advantage of reciprocal inhibition can improve your outcomes? Even something as simple as taping the gluteus can have a positive effect! Try this today or this week in the clinic, not only with your patients hip flexors, but with all muscle groups, always thinking about agonist/antagonist relationships.

In the moment: Sports medicine  Jordana Bieze Foster: Athletes with hip flexor tightness have reduced gluteus maximus activation  Lower Extremity review Vol 6, Number 7 2014

https://tmblr.co/ZrRYjx1VG3KYy

Mills M, Frank B, Blackburn T, et al. Effect of limited hip flexor length on gluteal activation during an overhead squat in female soccer players. J Athl Train 2014;49(3 Suppl):S-83.

Ciuffreda KJ, Stark L.  Descartes’ law of reciprocal innervation. Am J Optom Physiol Opt. 1975 Oct;52(10):663-73.
Jacobson M Foundations of Neuroscience Springer Science and Business Media, Plenum Press, NY 1993 p 277

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1932/sherrington-bio.html

https://thegaitguys.tumblr.com/post/9708399904/ah-yes-the-ia-and-type-ii-afferents-one-of-our

Arbanas J, Pavlovic I, Marijancic V, et al MRI features of the psoas major muscle in patients with low back pain. Eur Spine J. 2013 Sep;22(9):1965-71. doi: 10.1007/s00586-013-2749-x. Epub 2013 Mar 31.

Roach SM, San Juan JG, Suprak DN, Lyda M, Bies AJ, Boydston CR. Passive hip range of motion is reduced in active subjects with chronic low back pain compared to controls. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Feb;10(1):13-20. Erratum in: Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2015 Aug;10(4):572.

Paatelma M Karvonen E Heiskanen J Clinical perspective: how do clinical test results differentiate chronic and subacute low back pain patients from “non‐patients”? J Man Manip Ther. 2009;17(1):11‐19.[PMC free article] [PubMed]

Evans K Refshauge KM Adams R Aliprandi L Predictors of low back pain in young adult golfers: a preliminary study. Phys Ther Sports. 2005;6:122‐130.

Mellin G Correlations of hip mobility with degree of back pain and lumbar spinal mobility in chronic low‐back pain patients. Spine. June 1988;13(6):668‐670. [PubMed]

Lewis CL, Ferris DP. Walking with Increased Ankle Pushoff Decreases Hip Muscle Moments. Journal of biomechanics. 2008;41(10):2082-2089. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.05.013.

Nodehi-Moghadam A, Taghipour M, Goghatin Alibazi R, Baharlouei H. The comparison of spinal curves and hip and ankle range of motions between old and young persons. Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 2014;28:74.

Daniel Moon , MD, MS; Alberto Esquenazi , MD Instrumented Gait Analysis: A Tool in the Treatment of Spastic Gait Dysfunction JBJS Reviews, 2016 Jun; 4 (6): e1. http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.RVW.15.00076

Kilbreath SL, Perkins S, Crosbie J, McConnell J. Gluteal taping improves hip extension during stance phase of walking following stroke. Aust J Physiother. 2006;52(1):53-6.

Abs on the UP, Glutes on the DOWN

I had the opportunity to go on my 1st mountain bike ride of the season last Sunday morning. Yes, I am aware it is JUNE, but the snow has finally melted (we had over 7 FEET at arapahoe Basin in May) and you need to understand that I am usually a runner). In the cool morning 44 degree air I was reminded of the importance of my gluteal muscles (rather than just my quads) while climbing a technical hill which was clearly pushing my aerobic capacity. We have the opportunity to perform many bike fits in the office and treat many cycling ailments. We also train and retraing pedal stroke and one of our mantras (in addition to skill, endurance and strength) is “Glutes on the downstroke; Abs on the upstroke”. Meaning use your glutes to extend the hip from 12 to 6 o’clock and use your abs to initiate the upstroke. Quadricep (on the downtstroke) and hamstring dominance (on the upstroke) is something we see often and this mantra often proves useful in the “retraining process”.

I have been a fan of Ed Burkes work (“Serious Cycling” and “Competitive Cycling”) for years and have read (and lectured about) these books many times. In my effort to find a basis in the literature for my mantra, I ran across a paper (1) that seemed to substantiate, at least in part, the mantra. It is a small study looked at elite athletes that explores changes that occur in muscle recruitment as the body fatigues after a sub maximal exercise session.

Their conclusion “The large increases in activity for gluteus maximus and biceps femoris, which are in accordance with the increase in force production during the propulsive phase, could be considered as instinctive coordination strategies that compensate for potential fatigue and loss of force of the knee extensors (i.e., vastus lateralis and vastus medialis) by a higher moment of the hip extensors.”

This makes sense, although may be contradicted by this study (2), which showed LESS gluteal activity at higher mechanical efficiency, with increased tricep surae activity. They conclude “These findings imply that cycling at 55%-60% V˙O(2max) will maximize the rider’s exposure to high efficient muscle coordination and kinematics.”  Although this study looks at mechanical efficiency and the 1st lloks at muscle activity.

Being seated on a bike and having your torso, as well as hips flexed is not the most mechanically efficient posture for driving the glutes, but clinical observation seems to dictate that the less quad and hamstring dominant people are on the down and up stroke respectively, then the more pain free they are. This does not always equte to being the fastest, but it does equate to fewer injuries showing up in the office.

1. Dorel S1, Drouet JM, Couturier A, Champoux Y, Hug F. Changes of pedaling technique and muscle coordination during an exhaustive exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Jun;41(6):1277-86. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31819825f8.
2. Blake OM1, Champoux Y, Wakeling JM.  Muscle coordination patterns for efficient cycling. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 May;44(5):926-38. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182404d4b.

The One Cheek Sneak and Your Gait.

Yup. You know what we are talking about.  Out gassing. Passing gas. Trouser coughing. Flatulating (is that a word?) Tooting. Farting.. Call it what you like. Exemplified by Shinta Cho’s classic “The Gas We Pass”. The question is, why is it relevant to gait?

If you have followed us for any length of time, you know how important we think the glutes are.  We have many posts and blog articles on their importance and exercises to strengthen them.  The problem is, when most people do them, they THINK they are contracting their glutes (and some are) BUT they are ALSO contracting their (external anal) sphincter (for you neuro nerds,  the internal sphincter is not under voluntary control). This results in gas retention, which may cause a stomach ache, or in rare instances, distention of the bowel. Chances are, when  you relax, it will come out then (yes, you fart in your sleep, as your bedfellow for an honest answer !).

Try this. Sit down and and contract your glutes and your external sphincter. Now try and contract your external sphincter, ONLY. Contracting the external sphincter also engages the pelvic floor. Not necessarily something you need to do (unless you are treating an incontinence issue but then again that more recently under hot debate, here read our blog post here for some truths and myths on this topic) when running. OK, now just the glutes. You can palpate them (glutes only please) to make sure they are contracting. You are now experiencing isolation of the individual muscles. You should be able to access them individually, as well as together. For an added challenge in your powers of isolation, you can then try this exercise after consuming beans (as you flog your gut with their poisonous lectins) , to test your true abilities.

There are other related issues here to consider, one is the Kegal exercise. As we mentioned in another blog post (link here):

“A Kegel attempts to strengthen the pelvic floor, but it really only continues to pull the sacrum inward promoting even more weakness, and more PF (pelvic floor) gripping. The muscles that balance out the anterior pull on the sacrum are the glutes. A lack of glutes (having no butt) is what makes this group so much more susceptible to pelvic floor disorder (PFD). Zero lumbar curvature (missing the little curve at the small of the back) is the most [we would chose to say a nicely speculative] telling sign that the pelvic floor is beginning to weaken. An easier way to say this is: Weak glutes + too many Kegels = PFD.”-Nicole Crawford (1)

Many exercises are designed to help train your nervous system and create a new motor pattern, in addition to strengthening and or creating endurance in the targeted muscles.  Your external sphincter probably has plenty of strength and endurance.

The Gait Guys.  Bringing you the relevance in the seemingly irrelevant. All Gait; All the time…

 1. Here is Crawford’s article link.

http://breakingmuscle.com/womens-fitness/stop-doing-kegels-real-pelvic-floor-advice-women-and-men

All material copyright 2013 The Gait Guys/ The Homunculus Group. All rights reserved. We have Lee and know how to use him