Bill Hartman

Author: Bill

  • Stiffness and Shortness revisited

    I’ve blogged about stiffness and shortness before, but I’ve recently received some questions about the different approaches in each case.  I also go into more detail in the Indy Performance Enhancement Seminar DVD’s… 

    I think it’s important to distinguish between whether a muscle is short or if it is stiff when determining a corrective plan.  Treat each case the same and only half of your clients will improve.

    A short muscle lacks length.  It may be that the muscle is positioned in a shortened position frequently and the muscle fibers have dropped sarcomeres in series or the connective tissues have adaptively shortened. 

    If you actively and/or passively stabilize the proximal attachment of the muscle and move the joint into a position to stretch the muscle, the proximal attachment will move well before reaching the end range of motion of the joint.

    A stiff muscle has greater resistance to stretch.  This may be due to hypertrophy or a greater quantity of connective tissues.  Think of two rubber bands made of the same material, but one rubber band is wider than the other.  The materials would have equal extensibility but because one has greater width, it take more force to stretch it the same length as a thinner band. 

    In the case of a stiff muscle, if you actively and/or passively stabilize the proximal attachment and move the joint into a position to stretch the muscle, The joint will move through it’s full range of motion without movement at the proximal attachment assuming enough force is applied to stretch the muscle.

    Short muscles require repetitive, prolonged stretching to encourage creep of connective tissues and the addition of sarcomeres in series to add length.

    Stiff muscles can be corrected by balancing the stiffness across a joint by strengthening their antagonists and by holding the antagonists in a shortened position as they may have been adaptively lengthened over time.

  • New Interview and Indy Performance Enhancement DVD

    I recently did an interview for Mike Robertson’s website newsletter.  You can access it HERE. 

    If you missed the recent Indianapolis Performance Enhancement Seminar back in May, now’s your chance to get the DVD’s…AND you can get NSCA CEU’s to go with them.

    You can buy them at the Indy Performance Seminars website.

    Bill

  • Kyphosis and Shoulder Range of Motion

    Question:  Bill, What mobility activities do you use for lower level patients/athletes with increased kyphosis and limited glenohumeral ROM?

    Answer:  If you come into my clinic on any particular day, you’ll see my shoulder patients doing many of the exercises from the Inside-Out DVD.  There’s certainly a reason we put those exercises in the program, and it’s simply because they’re effective in most cases.

    Thoracic spine mobilizations with a foam roller and combined thoracic extension and rotation can be done with just about any shoulder patient.  Even in the early stages of rehab, the painful shoulder can be protected while important gains in thoracic spine mobility that will improve shoulder function are made.

    I also like to use the active shoulder range of motion and scapular mobility exercises from Inside-Out.  The exception is when there may be a limitation in range of motion that requires a time dependent change in the tissues.  In this case, various stretching methods will be implemented.  The more common areas in athletes that require stretching are the posterior and inferior capsule.

    In cases where muscle stiffness is the limitation, traditional, 30-second static stretches, and PNF stretching works quite well.  In cases of tissue shortening, longer duration methods such as low load passive tension stretches for up to 20 minutes or eccentric quasi-isometrics may be in order.

    Bill

  • Injury Prevention vs. Performance Training

    Question:  Is there a difference between training for injury prevention and training for improved athletic performance?

    Answer:  No.

    Think about it.

    Can an athlete perform at his best with significant asymmetries in joint movement from one side of the body to the other?

    Not likely. (Note: there are a few exceptions like the shoulders of baseball pitchers and tennis players)

    Is an athlete more likely to be injured with significant asymmetries in joint movement from one side of the body to the other?

    Yes. (AJSM 19:  76-81 (1991), Spine. Sept; 8(6):  643-51)

    Can a fatigued athlete produce and absorb high levels of force and perform at an optimal level?

    Not likely.

    Is a fatigued athlete more likely to get injured?

    Yes.  (Neuroscience Letters 333(2):  November 2002, pp.  131-135; MSSE 34(12):  1907-1912, December 2002)

    Ever see an ACL injury prevention training program?  They emphasize proper landing mechanics, posterior chain strengthening, force absorption and plyometric training, etc.

    Looks a lot like a performance enhancement program.

    Train your athletes for improved performance, and they’re less likely to be injured.

    Bill

  • Personal Trainer Indianapolis

    Are you ready for the best sports training, fat loss training, or personal trainer Indianapolis has to offer? 

    Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training is taking a select number of new clients as we approach our official opening date.  This gives you an opportunity to get your foot in the door early.

    You can check out our website and get more info here: Indianapolis Personal Trainer

    Bill