Introduction to Functional Manual Reaction (FMR)

Todays' post is courtesy of Dr. David Tiberio of the Gray Institute explaining exactly what Functional Manual Reaction is. This type of work is absolutely amazing in any setting and is worth looking into. I use it for post-rehab work as well training and conditioning. What I find most interesting is that I can apply this method with my athletes by going through the appropriate biomechanical movements in throwing a ball, shooting with a lacrosse stick as well as martial arts grappling and wrestling.

I will post in a few days!! Enjoy the wisdom below.

FUNCTIONAL MANUAL REACTION

Dr. David Tiberio Ph.D., PT, OCS, FAFS

FMR is an acronym that stands for Functional Manual Reaction. Functional Manual Reaction is the name that the Gray Institute uses to describe the application of hands to bone segments in order to facilitate an optimal sequence of motion during a functional movement. FMR is used during the clinical tasks of movement assessment, functional training, and rehabilitation. It can complement all aspects of movement analysis.

It is complementary because it is not a passive technique that exists by itself, but rather a technique used during active movements to enhance the three clinical tasks listed above. FMR is a very powerful and effective tool when utilized during functional movements. However, it can not be effectively employed without a comprehensive foundation in Applied Functional Science that includes: joint and muscle anatomy, tri-plane muscle function, biomechanics/kinematics, relative joint motions, and inter-segmental dynamics.

FMR can be used to assess movement restrictions caused by muscles and joints. In addition to eliminating identified movement restrictions, it can also be utilized to restore the proper sequencing of bone movements that is essential to effective and efficient task execution. FMR is frequently used to increase the load to a muscle during an eccentric contraction in order to enhance the muscle’s concentric power. Whatever the purpose of the FMR technique, the actual application must be consistent with the principles of function so that the proprioceptive input is genuine. The proprioceptive information (direct by the hands, and indirection through the joint motion and muscle lengthening) must be what the body receives during actual functional activities.

FMR shares some aspects of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). PNF and FMR emphasize the three-dimensional nature of human movement, the role of hand contact in guiding bone movement, and the potential to increase muscle activation. FMR does not however require specific hand placement for efficacy. FMR, in contrast to PNF, is most commonly used with the client in an upright position so that the load and proprioceptive input produced by gravity are consistent with the functional activity.

The forces applied to bones during FMR are relatively gentle and carry little risk because they are consistent with the physiological movement that is occurring. During the FMR techniques, the hands can be placed on adjacent bones, but also can be placed so that they cross multiple joints. Because of this, FMR is not always specific to a particular joint, but it is always specific in each of the three planes to the particular activity, as well as what body parts are creating the motion.

3-D Shoulder: Subtle Shoulder Instability Probable Suspects

Another round of THANKS to Dr. David Tiberio for his guidance on shoulder instability using Applied Functional Science!!!


As I continue this exploration of the shoulder, I am starting to really get into the complexity of the human body. Looking through the Applied Functional Science glasses, I really am able to see the antaomy and function of the shoulder in a different light from what I was originally taught and its amazing. As we progress on our respective paths, I am encountering more and more people who either have acute or chronic shoulder issues, but what I'm also finding is that many people have "dysfunctional" shoulder complexes and don't even know it. Who would have thought a gunked up scapula or glenohumeral joint instability can cause a global shift of function in the body?

In this post, I will focus more on the 3-D Shoulder with an overview of subtle shoulder instability as well as some PROBABLE SUSPECTS that we can go to.  If you are just linking in to this blog, please see my other two blog posts: Introduction to the 3-D Shoulder and 3-D Shoulder: Rotator Cuff Impingements and Probable Suspects for more on the 3-D shoulder.

3-D Shoulder: Rotator Cuff Impingement Overview and Probable Suspects

A big THANK YOU to Dr . David Tiberio of the Gray Institute for inspiring me to write this blog post based on his wonderful webcasts during the GIFT Program!

In my last post, I introduced the 3-D Shoulder. As I study it more, I'm finding that the shoulder really is an amazing piece of work. The simple complexity of the shoulder really can make your head spin, but if we are looking at it through Applied Functional Science glasses, we can start to appreciate and understand the complex simplicity.

As we look at the shoulder, we realize its wonderful function, but at the same time, it can be dismally dysfunctional. In this post, we will look at rotator cuff impingements through AFS and then look at PROBABLE SUSPECTS.

Introduction to the 3-D Shoulder

The shoulder comnplex is another interesting 3-D structure where the oxymoron of "complex simplicity" comes to mind. We see this when as we observe infants grasping for their parents hand, bottle, or anything else in reach. The symphony of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage and other soft tissue is amazing to witness when proper chain reaction biomechanics are occuring. However, like many other structures of the body, the shoulder complex can be as dysfunctional as it is functional.

Another oxymoron that comes to mind regarding the shoulder is "Mobile Stability" or "MOSTABILITY". As we look at the shoulder, we see a complex that has the capacity to be extremely mobile in all 3 planes of motion. However, this is the classic "Goldilocks" phenomenon. Too much mobility we can have instability. Too little mobility, can lead to pathologies like impingements. We are looking for "just right" mobility which is accomplished through a delicate balance of STABILITY in the complex With this MOSTABILITY, we are able to functional load and explode the PELTRUNKULARUS system to allow the shoulder to do its job of catching, throwing, hugging, etc.

In this post, you will be introduced to the complex simplicity of the 3-D shoulder complex along with some simple strategies and techniques for post-rehab as well as training and conditioning.

3-D Movement Focus: Functional Wrestling and Grappling

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the football team I work with win their conference championship. It was quite a feat for our athletes who may not be the biggest guys on the field, but they usually are the scrappiest. They worked very hard all summer long with the 3-D Training and Conditioning that included not only physical training but also mental and spiritual training. Spiritual training in the sense of having them be encouraged, successful and inspired to be play football. Congrats to the 2009 Bulldogs!

When the fall season came to a close, I was able to shift gears into our winter season that includes Basketball, Hockey and finally WRESTLING which I am involved in.

BRIEF HISTORY OF WRESTLING

Wrestling, to me, is one of the most fundamental activities that a person can take part of. It is also one of the oldest MARTIAL ARTS practiced thousands of years ago by many countries like Greece, China, and Egypt to name a few. Over time, wrestling has evolved into various forms, and the two most practiced in the United States are Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling, both of which are Olympic sports.

The history of wrestling is dependent on the country but the overall principle is that it is a martial art or art of warfare ("martial" deriving its name from the Mars, the Greek god of war). Wrestling was used in war situations that required hand to hand combat as well as in peace time where it was used to condition and prepare the soldiers for battle. It also was one of the first sports at the 1st Olympiad and continues to this day.

Introduction to 3-D PelTrunkUlaRus

It's interesting that where you can find a muse. As a self-appointed "writer", I look for everyday situations that will inspire me to write. The most interesting thing is that the muses reveal themselves exactly when they need to propel me to the blog to write. Big THANKS to Matt M. who was my muse for today and a big THANKS to Gary Gray and David Tiberio from the Gray Institute for their explation of the  PELTRUNKULARUS!!!!

What is PELTRUNKULARUS????

Well, it is a word created by Gray and Tiberio that is a combination of Pelvis, Trunk, Scapula and Humerus but the wisdom of this word is that it's not only a combination of anatomical structures but takes into the consideration of a very important chain reaction in the body. For instance, in a baseball pitch, basketball jump shot, football pass or lacrosse shot, require these structures to be connected in a perfect synchronization for optimal speed and power.

Referring back to our Principles of Function, we know that Peltrunkularus is 3-D in that it moves in 3 planes of motion as well as that it is DRIVEN. This is especially important to remember because it can either driven from the Top to Bottom or Bottom to Top.

Why is it important to understand PELTRUNKULARUS???

As we look at clients/athletes/ourselves, we see that when we are performing a task such as reaching for a box on the floor, picking up our child, throwing a baseball, etc that a reach with the hand causes a reaction down to pelvis (and lower). However, when we do not use our whole 3-D body, we can start to overuse a particular segement and not get all we can out of the movement. It's important to remember that the body will always choose the path of least resistance so if it can get away with just rotating at the lumbar spine as we pick up our Christmas tree, instead of having the pelvis rotate to turn on the big muscles of the butt, it will. Overtime, this may get us into trouble.

Regardless if we are rehabbing, training and conditioning or programming for injury prevention, it would benefit us and our clients/patients to keep this mind.

An example of using the strategy of PELTRUNKULARUS

My athlete, Matt, who is a lacrosse player is looking to develop his explosive speed. As a midfielder, he may be jogging and have to break into a sprint at any moment while trying to shake another player. Fortunately, Matt and I had the chance to work together all summer and he made great gains in power and speed and was still looking for more. As I watched him move, I noticed that a lot of his changes of direction were being primarily driven from the bottom up, meaning that he would drop his hip then rotate them in the direction he wanted to go. This is a great strategy as it has allowed him to move better and stay injury free during fall ball; however, we needed to get a little more explosiveness out of him. Because we know that function is DRIVEN, we decided to use a more Top-down driver. As a lacrosse player, Matt is using his stick for a variety of reasons, so he felt pretty confident that we could use his arms to drive him into the direction we wanted to go. This will not be a huge move but it will definitely allow him to get into and explode out of the TRANSFORMATIONAL ZONE better. My strategy was to be able to take him into that place a bit faster using the arms(humers) that would send a chain reaction down through the scapula, trunk and pelvis to load those important back and front butt muscles. 

The first thing I had Matt do was to do the lunge matrix with 15lb dumbbells in both hands reaching to ankle height everytime; however, I really wanted him to reach or drive his hands down toward the ground so he could take advantage of the extra mass and momentum to get an appropriate ground reaction force that would eventually load the muscles of the body to allow him to return back to neutral or his next lunge. From there, we took it a little more dynamic from a walk, to a jog, to a sprint with Matt using his arms in either direction that I cued him to get into the TRANSFORMATION ZONE quicker to load and explode. For more information about the PELTRUNKULARUS strategy, go to the Gray Institute or check out the Scapula video from the Functional Video Digest Series

This is just one example of PELTRUNKULARUS. As I work with people, I am aware of it whether I'm assessing, post-rehabbing, or training and conditioning. Next time you see someone reach for something, see if there is a reaction throughout their body. Check out your favorite pitcher, quarterback, basketball player as they throw. If their fundamentals are sound, you will see a beautiful coordination of their body that will result in a poweful full 3-D body movement.

Happy Monday to all!!!!

Will

The Transformative Power of 3-D Chain Reactions

Once in a while, I have the opportunity to step back from my daily routine and look around. It's always interesting to me that when I step back, I can take a look at what I'm really doing in my life. For me, that introspection can be very powerful. I think it can be so powerful that the moment we see ourselves,  we can make a choice to change if necessary, and if we make that choice to change, a chain reaction of mind/body/spirit happens.

Last week, I had the privilege of going out to San Diego, CA to attend a Chain Reaction Transformation Seminar with Gary Gray PT, Dr. David Tiberio PT and Doug Gray. This was my second time going and while it's the same seminar, it's only the same in name only. Being a Fellow of Applied Functional Science, we have been through the material that they cover in the CRT seminar in great detail but it seems that everytime I go, I learn something different. Another great thing about being a Fellow is that we are able to go as guests which equates to many of the Fellows getting together at the seminar.  What is amazing to me is how much brain power is in the room. There are PTs, CPTs, PTA's, Strength Coaches, ATCs, all in one room for the same reason of LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF THOSE WE COME IN CONTACT WITH. The seminar director, Gary Gray, has this amazing ability to not only see the body but to see the mind and spirit also. As a movement therapist and enhancement specialist, I truly believe that if we affect a peresons body, we are also affecting their mind and spirit. It's back to that Principle of Function that Function is 3-D, and in this case, mind/body/spirit.

Once in a while, questions arise in my mind. Most of the time these questions are wrapped in self-doubt and trepidation of what was, is and will be. These questions usually set off a chain reaction that gets me anxious, tired and cranky and when that happens, I'm really no use to anyone, including myself. However, when I can actually step back, take a breath and see the situation for what it is, I experience clarity and I am anchored back to why I really am in this profession. 

For those out there who are in the health profession, no matter what you do, it is easy to get drained and worn down. It seems that peoples woes are endless and that we are not putting a dent in the big picture of illness and dysfunction. When I take that view and run with it, I find that I am not in this profession for someone else. I'm doing it for me. However, to that one client or patient that we interact with, we are the ones that they have put their trust in to help them get better. However, we have to remember that WE DO NOT HEAL ANYONE. We do not have the power to heal. What we do have is the gift is to work with our clients and patients to create an environment where healing can take place. If there is a block to healing, we can help them remove that block but the wisdom of the body is that it actually heals itself. Once the body has a clear path, it will heal itself. It is truly the power of chain reactions.

Interestingly enough, the same strategy applies to the mind and spirit. However, sometimes it takes an  "injury" where we need to step back and see what is going on. Sometimes we can clear the block ourselves, sometimes we need somone or something to clear it for us. However, I find when that happens, the chain reactions that take place not only affect us but everyone around us.

Have you taken ONE moment today to step back, be objective and look around? It is so easy to get into our routines that one moment out of the day may seem completely out of the ordinary. Well, it is. It should be. Just remember that there is a thin line between being in the groove and being in a rut.

Step back. See what's going on and see if your strategy for that day is fitting the situation. If not, change it up. Just remember to anchor to your Principles of Function.

Happy Monday!!!

Will