Soft tissue therapy is the application of force to muscles, tendons, ligaments and even joint capsules. Whether soft tissue is done passively via a manual therapist’s hands or actively via rehab exercises or physical training (weight training, running, biking, yoga, etc.) it all comes back to putting force through the body. And variability is key! The body responds well to force application; we need it to improve our aches and pains and to enable us to move more effectively. It comes back to the saying, “if you don’t use it you lose it!”
Passive therapy is there to get you moving again while active therapy helps your muscles and joints to maintain a pain free state. If you move well, you typically don’t have pain. Now, don’t get me wrong, the active bit can seem to take a long time but, remember this, pain that comes out of nowhere is likely the result of long periods of time with reduced amounts of movement or you happen to sustain some level of trauma.
Active force application has many health benefits aside from getting rid of aches and pains. These health benefits range from stress reduction to muscle hypertrophy (growth) to improved cardiovascular health and biometrics. When the body experiences external forces, for example, a foot striking the pavement during a run (Newton’s third law of motion) or loading your back up with weights so the body feels a compressive force, the body has to respond by producing internal force to withstand that load. When we do this, we couple stabilizers and “movers” to control our bodies. What I’m getting at here is muscle recruitment. If we recruit muscles for these demanding activities, daily life stressors become simplistic and, as a result, you are less likely to injure yourself during such low recruitment, low effort tasks. And that, folks, is where you want to be in terms of your body’s health. Simple things should be simple and, most definitely, pain free.
What you need to ask yourself is whether you rely heavily on passive force application and forget about the active component? Or are you the type of person to totally ignore any form of passive care? Neither is correct and, just like everything, balance is key.
I was listening to a podcast the other day, Control Yourself by Dr. Andreo Spina and something he said resonated with me. Let me paraphrase, yoga is good for yoga, hockey is good for hockey, lifting weights is good for lifting weights, etc., and he couldn’t be more correct. Practicing these activities helps with improving those activities, so there is hope that they translate to other facets of life. If we want to improve our movements, we need control and we need to practice getting out of our comfort zone in terms of how we move. Your goal should be to get as much useful range of motion as you require. Training for joint control will benefit you in all your movement endeavours. Gaining control of our movement isn’t about forcing our bodies into weird positions but rather trying to achieve effective, coordinated muscle activation. I see this every time I use my functional range release technique on clients and then pair it with specific joint movement skills. The shoulder is a good example: a client presents with limited shoulder flexion and I notice that they lack some rotational capabilities as well. First thing I correct is trunk control and help take out tension from the longest lever to the shoulder, the latissimus dorsi (lat). This often gets the client’s attention that they are cheating to get their hands over their head by extending the back more than they need to and, as a result, the shoulder stops caring about actually using its full flexion potential. Releasing the lat also helps to improve external rotation because it is an internal shoulder rotator and, if tight, will limit its opposing action. Then, I work with them through internal and external rotation exercises to help improve shoulder flexion. Crazy right? Work rotation to help with flexion, who would of thought? The most successful clients are the ones that take the time (5-10 minutes a day) to work on activating into their rotational ranges of motion while stabilizing EVERTHING else. The idea is to make the body work on a stable platform and then focus on moving what is intended to be moved. If we have control of joints then things like yoga, hockey, and weight lifting get easier and we get more out of them. Gaining control is a lifelong process. Movement can always be improved; we just have to come to terms with that philosophy.
For example, take rowers, they do the same thing over and over and over again yet they constantly need coaching and practice because there are so many variables that can affect their performance. Weather conditions are the most obvious but don’t forget about muscle imbalances, injuries, fuel levels, mindset, emotional state, etc. They all play a role in how efficient the athlete is as a rower. Practicing and focusing on the movements involved in the rowing stroke help more than you would think. I used rowers in this example because I was one and I remember thinking why a practice would go so well on somedays while, other days, I just couldn’t seem to get a good rhythm. The answer is focus and, yes, it is ok to lose focus because, if you are determined enough, there is always tomorrow. Stay focused on what you want to accomplish and you will inevitably improve!
Well, there you have it! Soft tissue therapy is more than you would expect. If you have a good balance between passive and active therapy you are setting yourself up for success. Just remember to add in the focused attention to control joints and you will make leaps and bounds in your body’s health journey.
Dr. Mark Bird, BSc (Hon), MSc, Acu, DC Chiropractor at The Coach House BOOK ONLINE!
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