While on this note, there are a few stretches that really need to be advised against in gymnastics. It alsomay impact their ability to control landings and tumble leading to decreased performance. Wilk KE, Andrews JR, Arrigo CA. A complex typically includes these steps (I will offer links to videos below), Pre Test Screen Current Concepts In Shoulder Examination of The Overhead Athlete. They accurately outline that areas like muscular strength and joint control must be trained in parallel with stretching. As anatomical and biomechanical research in the shoulder outlines (1-5, 16) this end range overhead flexion and internal rotation position may create excessive pressure on certain shoulder ligaments over time. This theory is also more in line with the motor control research I have read and interpreted related to changing human movement. In my mind, the warm-up should not really be the main time we are looking to make massive changes in flexibility. Its not that these are bad, but there needs to be equal amount of hamstring, glute, and deep hip external rotator work as well. Sports Med. This is where the third layer of dynamic stabilizers and muscles comes into play. The point is that targeting the soft tissue of the hip flexor and quad may be a more optimal approach. For 12 Weeks, 2 days a week and 90 min. A huge issue related to local ankle problems and also up the chain issues in gymnasts is the large imbalance that develops between the toes down motion (plantar flexion) and Toes up motion (dorsiflexion). Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine 2014:5 13-24, Edwards SL, Bell JE, Bigliani LU. Does stretching induce lasting increases in joint ROM? J Hip Preserv Surg (2015) 2 (2):123-135.doi: 10.1093/jhps/hnv017. Skills like Shaposh releases for female gymnasts, Tipelts for male gymnasts, and other extreme overhead motion demands require this amount of mobility. I see many shoulder stretches, and hip stretches that I feel are putting a crazy amount of stress on joint capsules and ligaments. In my experience, excessive force, excessive duration, and the incorrect placement of a foam roller or stick massager can have opposite effects. Hip Flexors, Quads, Groin, Calves, etc. Although I highly encourage people to review it and read the evidence for themselves, their thoughts follow in line with the ideas noted above related to changes in sensation or tolerance of stretching, rather than true muscle tissue changes. When correctly applied certain stretches into this position can augment skill development. J Bodyw Mov Ther. Subacromial Impingement. Yamaguchi T1, Ishii K, Yamanaka M, Yasuda K. Acute effect of static stretching on power output during concentric dynamic constant external resistance leg extension.J Strength Cond Res. The reality of the situation is that a variety of muscles around the hip or shoulder could be the culprit. It goes into much more depth than I will in this blog post. There may be a lot of variation on exact exercises/stretches included in your athletes' warm-up, but do try to include ALL of the following components: 2018. I agree that research is conflicting on the theoretical mechanisms and effects of soft tissue work, but it seems to be making some positive effect that supports its use. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach April 23, 2014, Shibata, K.R., Matsuda, S. & Safran, M.R. *Readers Note This gymnastics flexibility guide is a very long and in-depth blog post. Stretching keeps the muscles in the body flexible, so that they can stay at. (2 ed., pp. You can download all three here below, and I will also be sure to share lots of other free resources throughout this blog post for people to use at home. Nho, et al. Also, think how they apply to the gymnasts skill profile. Have your partner . Considering what type of ankle work you are doing with a gymnast who has an injury history like this is important for coaches to think about. I have this theory based on the changes in boney rotation that baseball players exhibit from throwing when younger. This can happen statically for a period of time (static stretching), with the use of momentum and holding of end range (dynamic or active stretching), or sometimes with muscle contractions and stretching together (PNF or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation). Self-soft tissue work refers to using foam rollers, lacrosse balls, tennis balls, or other implements to help massage different muscular areas of the body. These two things often happen together in very flexible gymnasts, theoretically as the contact of the femur on the pelvis creates a fulcrum type point for the head of the femur to lever against contributing instability. Kinetic Anatomy. Sands and Mcneal have a few fantastic chapters on flexibility in recent Strength and Conditioning text books (39-40). The research in the world of hip micro instability, labral tears, hip stress fractures, and other injuries commonly seen in gymnasts has been rapidly developing in the last decade. The down portion or plantar flexion is what makes up a toe point. For choreography or specific drills, this may be very appropriate when not pushed quickly to extreme ranges of motion. 1) improve range of motion and This means not only for the ankle joint, but also the rest of leg chain all the way up to the hip and lower back. The way someones hips or shoulders are shaped, unique rotations of bones, certain anatomical variations, or issues along the entire body chain, can all have a substantial impact on the amount of flexibility a gymnast can display during skills. Your legs should be at a 90 angle. To protect the gymnasts in our care and to protect ourselves against possible allegations of poor practice, coaches must carefully consider their . J Athl Training 35(3):278285, 2000. The hip socket being overly shallow is referred to as dysplasia. Some gymnasts with dysplasia or hypermobile hip capsules never have pain, but some are so far on the continuum of too excessive mobility that it leads to instability and injury. Long-standing hip micro instability is another concern that may be created without the proper training approach. Within the sport of gymnastics, a large majority of athletes who get involved have underlying natural hypermobility. Teaching gymnastics specific stability and whole chain coordination through single leg jumping, hopping, dynamic balance drills, and so on is usually the more beneficial route. They also echo the research covered already that emphasis how overly aggressive or excessive stretching duration can possibly have damaging effects on connective tissue(39). So think about this for a second. Also, aggressively pushing a gymnast down in a split or not taking the time to break down why someone is limited can also lead to serious injuries. The researchers proposed that the change in the range of motion may have primarily come from increased tolerance to the discomfort of nerve fibers that detect stretch pain, as the fibers were becoming more desensitized. We must remember Dr. Sands advice to view flexibility not as a static quality, but as a dynamic quality that incorporates strength, power, and control. Front Splits. 2015. Wilk KE, Macrina LC, Reinold MM. The ligaments and joint capsule, along with the alignment of the ball on the socket, create what is known as the passive structures or stabilizers. The glute muscles, deep hip rotators, other surrounding hip muscles, and core are essential for hip safety and performance. In terms of stretching induced neurological changes to the muscle tissue, the majority of the articles theorize that the main reasons behind this include, All of these mechanisms may be occurring as people stretch consistently over a long period of time. Trying to aggressively push through that bony or ligamentous limitation will only lead to pain and headaches for all involved. 0, pp. In particular, the knee and elbow joints can be areas that if overly stretched, can become problematic. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 25:3809, 1997. Targeted Muscular Stretching, or PNF Techniques 2015; 23: 203-212, Escamilla RF, Hooks TR, Wilk KE. Forcing a split down into extreme ranges of an oversplit without a proper assessment behind it, asking a gymnast to perform over splits when they are not even close to a split on flat ground, or blindly pushing someone down just to be tough, is most definitely dangerous. There is a much better way that is safer and has valid science behind it for support. Eccentric training and static stretching improve hamstring flexibility of high school males. I will say take these research studies with a grain of salt due to their methods, smaller sizes, and sometimes using cadavers as subjects. I did this for a decade as a gymnast, and for the first five years I was coaching. Manske R., et al. Active Flexibility in New Range of Motion and Eccentrics Sports Health. 2012 May;40(2):8793. doi: 10.3810/psm.2012.05.1968. The research in ballet dancers made me reconsider what must happen at the hip joint go to achieve such large ranges of motion needed for oversplits. While it is true that male gymnasts need extreme behind the back shoulder motion for pommel horse and pbars, I think there are much better ways to get it than being aggressive with behind the back stretch. This wraps in not only the passive range but also strength, active control, technique, and many other factors. Neurological vs Mechanical Effects of Stretching, Why We Must Change Certain Stretches for Safety. This is true both in training and in our medical clinic. 2014 Jan; 46(1): 131-14. Pictures 2 and 3 are showing a dynamic chest stretch over a foam roller where the shoulder blades are held down/ in while the arms slide on the floor from overhead to hip. That article can be found below, but before readers jump to creating only static stretching circuits based on those parameters, please read the rest of this chapter. This can be repeated with the hands in an under grip to bias the muscular soft tissue of lats/teres major, can be repeated with the hands on top of each other to mimic beam for female gymnasts, and can be repeated in eagle grip for those gymnasts who perform these skills. Knowing what I do now from all of the above research, I have mostly moved away from this approach of only using stretching to improve flexibility. If the gymnast is already hanging out in a down and in position, they are predisposing themselves to continuously catch their over and over, leading to the re-occuring injury part mentioned above. Ensure you are warmed up correctly A few fantastic chapters on flexibility in New Range of motion warm-up should not really be the culprit that variety... Require this amount of stress on joint capsules and ligaments vs Mechanical Effects of stretching, or PNF Techniques ;... I feel are putting a crazy amount of stress on joint capsules and ligaments when younger specific! 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