We’re already getting great feedback and questions regarding Assess and Correct, so I thought I’d start this week by answering a common question.
Q: Bill, I noticed that you, Mike, and Eric use the seated 90/90 position as part of one of your progressions in Assess and Correct. I read somewhere that some people had concerns about it irritating the posterior hip capsule. What’s your take on this?
There are some therapists and trainers that are concerned that the hip capsule can be stretched to often resulting in a “loose hip capsule” and hip joint instability. My response to this is that it’s possible but unlikely during intentional stretching activities.
If you consider the way capsular tissues adapt to stress in actually adding length, you need very long duration, low load forces applied repeatedly over a long period of time. Doing so results in what are called plastic adaptations. This means that the tissues adapt by adding true length to the collagen fibers that make up the capsule which is a relatively permanent adaptation.
Occasionally, we’ll have to use this type of stretching if we encounter a shortened capsule in the PT clinic or in the gym, but it is truly an exercise in self-discipline and determination as it is not very comfortable and may last up to 20 minutes at a time several times a day. Most plastic changes in the real world are a result of repetitive behaviors or postures that place tissues on stretch under low load conditions such as chronic postures or crossing your legs the same way for extended periods of time as many people do rather than the result of typical stretching protocols.
Considering the volume of total exercise, the protocols used in Assess and Correct, AND the way connective tissues adapt to stress, it’s doubtful that hip capsule will be overstretched. The exposures aren’t long enough to result in plastic capsular changes.
Bill