Tag: Forms

In the Groove – 5. Rhythm

Rhythm is the result of organizing the relating parts in a way to generate energy. In change efforts in which a result is created, there may be many sub results that are necessary and must precede the overall result. Returning to the example of making a cake we see that sequence does indeed matter.   The dry product is mixed with the wet product to form the cake batter.  The sequencing of putting the contents together is just as important as the quality of the contents itself.  When seeking to create a treatment that produces accelerated motor learning the parts of the treatment need to be organized to generate the different rhythms desired.

In the rehab world this looks like sequencing the treatment planning towards movement related goals. Each functional movement is composed of many sub component movements. Shoulder flexion includes flexion at the glenohumeral joint as well as external rotation and abduction. Miss one or more of the movements and the shoulder will not flex. Flexion is primary, abduction supports flexion, and external rotation supports all the above. To miss this relationship results in shoulder exercises that unspecific and lack an impact on functional improvement. The best joint mob, the perfect execution of stretch, the perfectly timed trigger point release will not have an impact if performed in the wrong sequence. Yes, sequence does matter.

Changing perspectives and backing up to see how the shoulder impacts and is impacted by the rest of the body, we can use the progressing scale of center of gravity and base of support pairs to increase or decrease the functional demands on the shoulder.  We can also, knowing that the position of the thoracic spine will be determinant on how the scapula will move, change our perspective to examine the hierarchically arranged parts.  The shoulder will also behave differently due to the change in the behavior of the thoracic spine in sitting or stride positions, or standing on one leg.

How do we as movement specialists organize the actions of the change effort? It is a question with a variety of different stylistic answers depending on your field of study, the time frame of your practice, etc. However, if it is human movement that is the subject, there are constants. The styles of practice are a spectrum, from a free flowing impromptu jazz style, to a rigid classical approach. Whatever your technique of choice, you can learn to design a program that has an underlying groove to it. In music, the groove, refers to the underlying bass line that supports the free styling, harmonizing, and melody of the other instruments. It’s palpable in funk, Rand B, rock, and other forms of blues derived music. It is also present in classical music. In jazz, the groove, is what allows the individual musicians to solo off into the outer regions and return home without losing their way.  No matter what they play it seems to work.

The groove is also obvious when it is absent. No groove means no life, no soul of the music, and without the groove no matter what the musician creates it will seem flat.  Without a well organized, scalable, integrated treatment approach you will find that impact made on your patients function is at most temporary.  To use rhythm to generate in conjunction with the groove is to be well positioned to create what is uniquely required for level of involvement your patient or client would like in their life.

In the Groove – 4. Specific Consistency

In this article, we’ll explore the way movement specialists work, and the way we think. The decisions making process used by the clinician will produce and support the change efforts and the results created… or not. Although the fields of improving movement through exercises, hands of techniques, teaching, all have similarities, there outcomes are dependent not on solely the technique applied but the development of the groove. We will explore the fundamentals of observing the causative relationships, and then the process of designing, implementing, and progressing a change effort to produce the desired results.
Whether it is PT, chiropractic, massage, or any of the sub styles of each profession, there are shared commonalities. The motivation for both experienced and novice movement experts are the same. Namely, to impact their client’s life by the interventions provided. The impact of improving someone’s movement cannot be overstated. At the beginning of the session the client could not achieve a desired time, movement, skill, task. At the end of the session, in just a short period of time, they have achieved it. Through the decisions made by the clinician and the teaching and learning the client has gone from a level of physical capacity to more options for involvement in their own life. Wow. To support your client on this level seems to be motivation enough. However consistency in results seems to be available for some clinicians easier than others. Why?
There are many notions about what is happening. It was the diet they are on, the medications they are taking, the affirmations, the psychology, a lot of different ideas. Maybe it just happens, we got lucky. If this was the case, then it would be a game of chance. The best you could hope for is that it would magically appear. Statistical number games would be the strategy employed. Make a lot of something and the quantity of the results will increase as to would be the failed efforts. However statistics would not explain why some practitioners are more consistent in getting results than others. For this we need to understand .
What do top professionals do different? One observation is that they consistently get results. They consistently have new clients, patients that want only their unique skills. They are always busy. Continuing the investigation of the arts let’s consider a few possibilities. What if U2 or the New York Philharmonic or Steven Spielberg or Qunicy Jones showed up for work, and just waited for something good to happen? Imagine going to a U2 concert, and it was a roll of the dice whether or not it was going to be a good show. How about Quincy Jones collaborating with musicians, if the time with him was chance. Is he just that lucky? Steven Spielberg or George Lucas? Is it chance that there movies are block busters. It seems that they know something about creating results that we can learn from. These true artists understand how to focus the process and their mind towards the results.
You can create sessions that generate their own internal energy, creating dynamic motor learning and satisfaction for both you and your client. Notice that these artists and professional creators do so in a variety of disparate and unrelated fields of study. Within the same field different creators may have radically different techniques, and styles. Well if is not about the technique is must be about something else.

In the Groove – 3. The Role of Form

If we step back from just watching the creator and observe the patterns the creator uses we will see distinct repetitions of sequences. One action follows another, resulting in a defined outcome. However unlike a distinct process where the same action always follows the same step, these directed actions are open. This is called a form. Forms are generalized areas that are in relationships to each other. An example is a tax form. The areas are generalized, income, expense, deductions etc, but the amounts, and types of content may be vastly different from person to person, or the same person from year to year. The result is each section provides the relevant result through a series of actions to produce a sub-element of the overall result.

In music there is a form that produces momentum, unlike the tax form which produces for most vertigo and nausea. The Sonata form is a specific form. Each form has component parts that are in relationship to each other and when combined, provide a place holder for a variety of notes to be organized. In this way, the music is always different as it contains different notes, but those notes are held in relationship to each other in a way to sustain the development of momentum.

It is the use of form as an organizational approach that promotes the ongoing production of results, and also allows those results to be different or the same. In producing improved function, the form is to first identify the what level of involvement and what specific activities the client or patient would desire. Then their current abilities are assessed in relation to that master goal. The process of assessment and evaluation involves multiple iterations of the telescoping form. In this way, the parts maintain a consistent relationship with each other and support components can be evaluated in context of the overall master goal. Functional tasks that are present in a desired activities are then assessed as well as the demands each task requires for the center of gravity and base of support relationship that is primary to the human form. For here, further assessment of the desired position, strength, flexibility, coordination to produce the requirements of the functional task are once again related to the current reality.

In this way, multiple iterations of the same form are used and organized into a telescoping structure to produce a powerful underlying structure to support an ongoing change effort. In the case where the initial approach has not made a change in current reality that was desired, the clinician can return to each component part, re-assessing and re-evaluating. In this way the momentum that was produced can still be utilized to turn around the change effort. It is easier to turn a car around that is moving then to try to turn a car that is not moving even when the car is going the wrong way.

During this revisiting of the actions and steps taken, the clinician will be evaluating the required specific critical tasks, weight shifts, muscle contractions that all support the functional outcome desired. The current ability to perform these motions are assessed in relation to the end result and specific. Relevant actions are generated that are understood as necessary to impact the specific part at the local level of joint mobility, arthrokinematics, osteokinematics and how that will impact the overall behavior of the body in terms of control of the center of gravity and base of support relationship.

In change efforts in which a result is created, these many sub results are necessary and must precede the overall result. With the use of the telescoping form, these sub results maintain their relationship to the overall end result. In making a cake, the dry product is mixed with the wet product to form the cake batter. The quality of the cake is dependent upon the many steps that happen during the dry and wet product mixing. Different proportions, ingredients, time, skill of the baker, decisions, etc, mix together to yield the resulting cake. With mastery of treatment plan design and clinical decision making your collaborations with patients and clients will be just as sweet.