Handstands, beginner jumps or leaps, and introductory ring or parallel bar skills demand extreme mobility to execute. These cases are much less frequent in gymnastics but do exist. I have found that many of the traditional general stretches we use as go to methods for increasing flexibility do not have proper assessments preceding them or may not have anatomical considerations in mind. Its not always because they are not trying hard enough. My best recommendation is that people become more familiar with the research, practice, and use of self-soft tissue work. A rolled ankle happens when the gymnast catches their foot into a down and in position (plantar flexion with inversion) leading to the structures on the outside portion of the foot being damaged. J Hip Preserv Surg (2015) 2 (2):123-135.doi: 10.1093/jhps/hnv017. Increased flexibility provides the gymnast with a greater range of motion, reduces the chance or severity of injury, and produces a more aesthetic quality to the movements and skills. It goes into much more depth than I will in this blog post. Stretching keeps the muscles in the body flexible, so that they can stay at. You may remember the shoulder joint has a very shallow socket, which allows for lots of motion but then creates a situation where stability is needed. A possible increase in the levels of chemicals that are natural pain relievers, like enkephlin, within the body. 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. Enseki et al., Nonarthritic Hip Joint Pain: Clinical Practice Guidelines Linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health from Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. While some of it was helpful, I found that the majority of it was based on anecdotal evidence, and did not have a really solid grounding in the science of anatomy, physiology, medicine, or strength and conditioning. Take this gymnast for example, who has super wobbly ankles and does a lot of pre-hab for in an effort to minimize her risk. If a training strategy is not yielding results over a few days or weeks, we must change and reevaluate our methodology. Effect of PNF stretching training on the properties of human muscle and tendon structures. However, I have seen these types of problems snowball into huge injuries quickly in gymnasts I treat. Atraumatic Hip Instability in Patients with Joint Hypermobility.Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Without an in-depth medical background to understand human anatomy, the risk to reward ratio of trying to stretch ligaments and joint capsules are incredibly high. The muscles of the shoulder blade and upper back are often not nearly as developed as the chest and underarm muscles mentioned above. I will get a bit nerdy outlining the mechanisms, but then I will offer a practical application type summary for people to apply in training. Flexibility Training for Gymnasts Many concerns have been expressed recently about what is acceptable practice with regards to stretching exercises and flexibility training for gymnasts. The Approach to the Evaluation and Surgical Treatment of Mechanical Hip Pain in the Young Patient. Along with this, no stretching shoulder produces excessive soreness longer than the end of the day, as prolonged soreness may indicate microtissue damage. In my experience, excessive force, excessive duration, and the incorrect placement of a foam roller or stick massager can have opposite effects. Speaking beyond the research on this idea, I think light soft tissue work and static stretching may have the most impact on blood flow or lymphatic drainage. Picture 3 is a lat stretch where the athlete sits 2, 3, 4). Within the sport of gymnastics, a large majority of athletes who get involved have underlying natural hypermobility. It can be accomplished through an addition by subtraction type approach of using an alternative exercise or changing the alignment of certain common gymnastics stretches. Keeping your back straight, walk your hands out in front of you. As a result, gymnastic branch-specific stretching exercises increase the balance and flexibility parameters in a positive way; it is thought that the longer duration of training programs will have a positive effect on the athlete's performance. In its most basic form, stretching involves taking a muscle to its end range of motion, and holding the elongated state for a period of time. Often the specificity or individuality of specific exercises lacks as a result. They also represent layer two of the shoulder joint. Does it make sense to take a gymnast who go theirinjury in the first place by rolling her ankle down and in and stretch the down portion more? This screen measures hypermobility through looking at elbow hyperextension, knee hyperextension, the ability to touch the floor in a pike stretch, hyperextension of the pinky, and hyperextension of the thumb. Journ Sport Rehab, 2015, 24, 286 292, Nelson RT, Bandy WD. Neurological vs Mechanical Effects of Stretching, Why We Must Change Certain Stretches for Safety. Gymnastics requires a significant amount of flexibility for skills to be done correctly and safely. Just as with the sleeve of a shirt, depending on where your arm is in space, different parts of the shirt sleeve are more taught. I feel this issue comes up during fast dynamic movements like jumps, kicking drills, leaping, running, mens pommel work, and so on. Anyone experiencing pain, discomfort, abnormal sensation, or other symptoms should stop immediately from any advice offered and seek formal medical care. In Llyod RS, Oliver JL, Strength and Conditioning for Young Athletes: Science and Application. Elastic band openers, shoulder circles to mat laying on stomach, PNF techniques 389 398, Sands WA, McNeal J. Mobility Development and flexibility in youths. After having various conversations about flexibility with people in the gymnastics community, the safety of training over splits is typically the biggest question. Alongside this, there is a lot of confusion or misunderstandings about what happens when gymnasts stretch, why it helps increase range of motion, how much stretching is suggested as beneficial to improve flexibility, and how to make changes show up in skills. These are the muscles themselves, to a small degree the tendons that connect muscles to bones, and largely the nervous system. It was also outlined that total time spent stretching per week was more important than total time spent stretching per session. 4 full hip and shoulder circuits in PDF Front splits, straddle splits, handstands and pommel horse/parallel bar flexibility Downloadable checklists to use at practice Exercise videos for every drill included Three-Dimensional Mathematical Model for Deformation of Human Fasciae in Manual Therapy. I think this is especially true in those with natural hyperflexiblehip joints who are not fully developed andlack hip strength. And lastly, passive or active flexibility exercises alone will not have a substantial impact on the nervous system to change movement, build strength, or correct technique. Schleip, R. Fascial Plasticity: A New Neurobiological Explanation: Part 1. However, the rationale for this is in a different context. It alsomay impact their ability to control landings and tumble leading to decreased performance. Strength and Conditioning for Sports Performance. This helps to enhance strength, power, and reduce the risk of instability- based shoulder injuries. Dynamic flexibility is often the focus during warm-up exercises. Clin Sports Med 30 (2011) 349-367. Without an in-depth knowledge of medical assessments, it is difficult to know why a gymnast may be limited in their split and what structure is referring discomfort during flexibility training. Click here to read our full privacy policy. I feel gymnasts should be doing regular soft tissue care routine to combat excessive stiffness that may negatively impact flexibility. Hipinstabilityrefers tothe hip moving into to those same endranges of motion without strength/control, causing the head of the femur to partially slide out of the hip socket. I dont want readers to think static stretching is bad, and that we shouldnt do it. Many people say how easy their jumps and skills feel after taking them off, but I think this is a short-lived neurological trick that may not have the best long term carry over. They ended up finding changes in range of motion for both groups, with more changes to the muscle tendon stiffness in the Hold Relax group. I strongly suggest people who may be unknowingly pushing knees down more in oversplits, or feet elevated pike stretches stop and think about why they chose to certain stretching interventions. The most effective approach to increasing flexibility may be when stretching is used with proper assessments, consistency in stretching, follow up control work, strength programing including eccentric training and proper volume / fatigue management for athletes. zerofive 43 foot vertical 10 160m. Similar to the study above, it was found that while ankle range of motion did improve, there were no significant changes in the muscle extensibility outcomes that would indicate tissue change. The majority of these articles theorize that the main reasons that stretching increases range of motion include. My thoughts on hip mobility and why we choose certain exercises closely echo my thoughts on shoulder mobility, and I again will not go into much depth as this was covered in an earlier chapter. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. Lastly, I have made a Gymnastics Pre-Hab Guide that includes daily soft tissue work, stretching, and weekly circuits to help with reducing the risk of injuries in gymnasts. Returning to the analogy of a shirt sleeve, more naturally mobile athletes (gymnasts, baseball players) usually have a baggier shirt sleeve. 2015. Gymnasts practice up to 30 hours a week and have regiments full of conditioning and exercises. But, the timiing protocols for these studies were insanely more than and human does, so its likely not the main case for increases in muscle length. A growing body of research refutes these mechanical theories, suggesting instead that in subjects who are asymptomatic, increases in muscle extensibility observed immediately after a single stretching session, and after short-term (3-8 week) stretching regimes are predominantly due to modification in subjects sensation. (18). Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). If you look down at your arm (and are wearing a shirt) your actual arm within the shirt sleeve represents the first golf ball on a tee bony layer, and the shirt sleeve surrounding the arm represents the second layer made up of joint capsules and ligaments. Elastic band kick drills, needle kicks, PNF techniques This will raise the body temperature, improve the movement skills which are the foundation upon which high level and cardiovascular system and increase respiratory rate. Tissues most commonly targeted are the latissimus dorsi, teres major, and pec muscles. You can read more about hamstring apophysitis here (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322373/) and shoulder impingement syndromes here (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945046/). Gymnastics is, therefore, a sports discipline that seeks to provide strength and flexibility to the body, through specific exercise routines. Andrews, J., Reinold, M., Wilk, K. The Athletes Shoulder. Bialosky, et al. Right and Left Leg Split on Line If the gymnast doesnt do it fast enough or lands awkwardly it can be problematic. These gymnasts were born this way. The biggest concern I have withthe use of ankle weights is related to two concepts ofhipimpingement and hip instability. Reference below Microinstabilit of the hip, does it exist?. From all the science I have read, and conversations I have had with medical professionals on stretching or self-myofascial work, when correctly applied the positives effects of foam rolling on performance largely outweigh the negatives. So here are some main take always to help. I will then end with some important notes on other joints like the knees, elbows, and spine. Increasing muscle extensibility: a matter of increasing length or modifying sensation? The main way people approach increasing the flexibility of the active structures is through regular stretching. Dave J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2007 Oct 17;(4):CD004577. flexibility exercises designed to enhance split flexibility. I recommend these tools be used alongside full dynamic warm-ups and technical drills commonly seen in gymnastics. Despite our best efforts we may continue to see cast handstands that lack open shoulders, leaps that do not have larger angles, and parallel bar swings that lack a large front swing. I feel this approach not only makes more sense from a gymnastics technique point of view, but also incorporates a lot of current scientific research on flexibility, soft tissue work, and human movement. This becomes more important as the athlete gets older, starts training higher-level skills, or are spending more hours per week in the gym. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 2(2) 2010. It is one of the fastest ways to increase injury risk over time and stall progress in skill progression. The athlete is encouraged to round their upper back to create upper back flexion. Other more naturally stiff individuals who excel in other sports may have a tighter shirt sleeve. Please keep in mind that application of this material is a personal choice, and in no way is the author responsible for those choices. They concluded, that both Hold Relax Stretching and Static Stretching can increase end range of motion, which may be because of the decreases in muscle stiffness and modified stretch tolerance during the stretch application. Gymnasts are already notorious for having really tight calves because of how much time they spend in a toe point along with doing so much jumping and landing. Simply doing more splits or pulling shoulders open with stretches that are a bit extreme will likely not get to the cause of the issue. When correctly applied certain stretches into this position can augment skill development. You can see a video of our entire warm up here. If a gymnast is known for having tight shoulders that limits their handstand and swinging skills, why are we continuing to have that athlete do a high volume of pull- ups, rope climbs, push-ups, and leg lifts? For choreography or specific drills, this may be very appropriate when not pushed quickly to extreme ranges of motion. If the ligaments and joint capsules are already hypermobile, and have trouble dealing with high force, and then we add more laxity to them over time, we are likely asking for disaster regarding instability- based shoulder and hip injuries. Lets dive into some safer and more science-supported methods. Download My New Free 10 Minute Gymnastics Flexibility Circuits Send Me the Circuits! A systematic review. When you combine these three areas, along with the already discussed points about not having the best science behind flexibility methods to stress muscular tissue and spare joint capsules, it certainly makes sense why gymnasts may struggle with their flexibility. 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. They explain that the short-term effects often seen from stretching must be supported by other qualities of athleticism. Many gymnasts struggle with excessively tight hip flexors, inner thighs, and quads. This is commonly tested with something called a Beightons screening. Strength Work to Opposite Side of Joint Meyers CA., et al. I do not feel they working as intended to address the true problem of muscular soft tissue stiffness. They say not to worry about it, and that this is something that can be trained through. The sport of gymnastics is more than just flashy routines you see on the competition stage. 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. Targeted Muscular Stretching, or PNF Techniques It blows my mind that people actually would push on knees for better lines at the cost of potentially increasing laxity in their knee and increasing the chance of a gymnast blowingACL out during landings. I meet many well-intentioned gymnastics coaches and parents who are simply looking for an easy to use, but scientifically-backed flexibility program to help the gymnasts they know to increase their flexibility, reduce the risk of injury, and increase their performance. Take them to a qualified medical professional for an assessment. 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. (10), In another study by Konrad (10), twenty-five adult individuals were compared to twenty-four adult individuals in a control group to see if a six-week calf stretching program would. 2009. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. (36-38). The important point here is that we must remember that changes in flexibility come about from slow, consistent, and patient application in training. I feel extreme passive stretching like these movements really serve little help in the process of safely getting shoulder flexibility. significant difference (p > .05). There are cases where mobilizing these passive structures is appropriate (after surgery or some other trauma). It is way beyond the scope of this text to breakdown all these different anatomical variants, but the reader must be aware of the simple fact that not all gymnasts hips are the same. Without the ability to assess these various factors, it can be very challenging to make progress in flexibility. 10 Minute Gymnastics Flexibility Circuits, Download SHIFT's Free Gymnastics Pre-Hab Guide, I usually start any discussion that I have with coaches or gymnasts related to flexibility on some basic anatomy. Although its purely anecdotal, I have consulted with cases where x rays show a very similar phenomenon in gymnasts doing oversplits while getting hip xrays. Another version of an overhead stretch, pictured below, is an example of the opposite. Appropriate when not pushed quickly to extreme ranges of motion include lacks as a result large majority of Athletes get. Per week was more important than total time spent stretching per session stretch where athlete! 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