Bowling in the Right Lane

Bowling in the Right Lane

Isolated means of loading can be an effective way to bias the stimulus toward a target tissue – like using bumpers when bowling: we’re not guaranteeing a strike, but we’re increasing the confidence that pins will be hit.

This becomes especially relevant when trying to direct stress toward a tissue, often the case post-surgically or after extensive time loss injuries but not exclusive to it. By limiting the “noise” through constrained movement strategies, we can improve the signal. In doing so, we increase the likelihood of achieving the desired neurophysiological and material adaptations.

However, isolation does not absolve coaching. Just because a movement is constrained doesn’t mean technique is irrelevant. Ensuring the impulse is derived from the intended tissue obligates satisficing kinematics.

Consider standing calf raises. Often, individuals exhibit a pronounced external knee flexion moment during the eccentric phase, followed by an internal knee extension moment during the concentric. While this may be an expression of synergistic accommodation – common in those with Achilles tendon rupture, symptomatic tendinopathy, or longstanding deficits – it subtly redistributes the load away from the ankle.

Synergistic accommodation is a form of motor abundance, and that degeneracy can be a gift until it becomes a roadblock. When the goal is to load the ankle-plantarflexor complex, an emergent knee strategy might lessen the torque demand at the ankle and dilute the stimulus.

Isolation is not immune to compensation. And bumpers may help us hit pins but not if we’re throwing at the wrong lane.

-Jarred