Blinding Flash of the Obvious, yet, another perspective in testing

After seven weeks of discussing about the seven functional movement patterns used to really show us where some of our weak links lie we may wonder, what comes next after this.

The functional movement screen is not here to make diagnosis but is used to inform us if our athletes are at risk of getting injured. Interestingly enough, I have been keeping away from running because I had injured my calf while running in a trail.

Take a step back and do the functional movement screen and you will see that my deep squat has some level of compensation (not 100% perfect). If you dig a little deeper, you will also notice that this level of compensation is due to a limited range of motion in the ankle where one ankle is also more flexible than the other. Asymmetry leads to dysfunction which may lead to injury.

Releasing the calf tissue with foam rolling and stretching and seeking for manual therapy may have been helpful but then again, it was not taking care of the main problem. As soon as I started running for even 5–10 minutes, there I was limping.

Why?! And how do I find the answer to this?! This is where working with a team becomes such a valuable tool. I decided to try out NeuroKinetic Therapy and got my mind blown away. I knew what the issue was but this gave me the answer to why I was limping and also, made me realize where I should focus.

Interestingly enough, the answer was tight calves needed to be loosened and the glutes needed activation … after that, the flow of energy changed … fast forward a week and well, after foam rolling my calves, stretching them and working on my glute activation on a regular basis, I can now run again (this is the happiest day of my life haha).

Interesting how everything connects and how one test may lead to another, which may lead to a solution to our dysfunctional patterns. It’s good to have a team behind you. When working on some issues, sometimes, just changing the protocol such including one exercise after another may do all the difference in the world.

All of our muscles are connected and releasing one muscle may just help you reconnect with another.