Rehab is a model for how to move through hard things- it requires consistency, time, trust, and perseverance. That’s why I love it. It offers flow into life, and that’s something I’ve always wanted to write about.
So much of my community are yoga teachers, acupuncturists, runners, physical therapists, personal trainers, dancers and Pilates teachers- I’ve always wanted to show the public more of what it’s like when we get talking. We are often more artful and innovative than anatomical or biomechanical despite all of the academics – especially PTs. PTs are some of the most creative people I know.
My current creative inquiry involves how to find springiness in the aging athlete. While social media touts weight lifting in the maturing and perimenopausal athlete, my friend Dave the PT is doing Pogo jumps with me at the bar, saying “yeah, it’s a great question, how do we measure for springiness?”
There is a sound physiological basis for the inquiry. Speed and tendon health are two variables in the aging athlete that decline, and predictable muscle strengthening helps our tendons stay stiff and strong, so they can handle variables like speed or variation.
As our bodies age, though, our tendons lose their springiness, and so there is a qualitative piece that I’m after in a broader conversation about what really affects our bounce.
To improve tendon health, one needs to strengthen their muscular attachments, most importantly through isometrics- long holds of about 30 seconds x 4. That helps stiffen the tendons for more efficient propulsion.
But, this won’t bring back spring. You need artful movement, creativity and maybe even a healthy dose of nostalgia to bring back springiness- maybe even fun, play and good music. There is a Feldenkrais Series called “Book on the Foot” that has also proven itself many times to work (that is a plug for my upcoming workshops).
One of my favorite Tai Chi energies is called Fajin- a type of explosive energy, that comes by compressing in and then discharging out- that works too.
I would say that between plyometrics, isometrics, speed training, and weight management, there is a swiftness that a person can rediscover. But, tendons don’t love big changes either, and so there is a dance PTs need to consider between tissue integrity and unpredictable movements.
There is also a trust element to finding the ground, and that is why proprioception matters. The bounce comes with trusting your air-time and predicting your landing and then bouncing right up again. It’s about picking up your feet, and going forward- letting the force that you place on the ground move up and through you. The harmony of ground forces. The dance with the floor.