As most of you know, The Renkens Center will soon be moving to a new location.  We are staying in Green Hills as the new office will be located just one street behind my current office.  We are excited to be a part of the newly developed Bedford Commons.  Our new address is 3811 Bedford Avenue Suite 104.

The project is coming along and we are expecting to move in the weekend of August 30th. I will begin seeing patients in the new location on Tuesday, September 2nd. Parking is available in the rear of the building and my office is located on the first floor. To get to the first floor, go up the stairwell or access the elevator next to the underground parking. Curbside parking along Bedford Avenue will soon be available as well. 

So, for the remainder of August I will see you in The Boardroom....in September, I will see you at the new Bedford Commons location!

One of my favorite topics to talk about is mobility. We all like to move and we all like to move without pain. To most people it will make sense that the more mobility one has the greater the advantage - whether it be in athletics such as swinging a golf club, or in everyday life such as climbing in and out of a car.

When people first hear the term "mobility", most will immediately think of muscle flexibility. However, mobility is really the combination of muscle flexibility and joint range of motion. In other words, your muscles need to be loose and your joints need to be able to move. 

The best way to describe mobility is very much like a sling shot. Think of your muscles like the rubber band portion of a sling shot. You can create elastic energy out of your muscles if you can pre-stretch (load) them. Picture your sling shot:  If I pull a muscle back like a rubber band of a sling shot and release it, the sling shot band goes forward with great speed and launches the rock or whatever it is I have in the sling. 

It is like a punch. If you were going to punch someone, you would first bring your arm and fist back (stretching the pec and anterior deltoid creating elastic energy) and then move the arm forward towards the target. It is the ability to preload, or bring the arm back first creating elastic energy, that gives your punch its "punch". 

Picture a golf swing:  From my address position, I rotate.  I stabilize one side and coil the hip, obliques, and shoulder on the opposite side....and then unload and strike the ball. I could go on and on with examples.

Here is the problem:  Most people lack the necessary mobility to make movements most efficient. When efficiency is lost, the body is forced to compensate. This is beginning to sound familiar isn't it? Yes, when the body compensates overtime, it begins to wear down, tissues are overloaded and subsequently we end up injured and in pain.

The problem is usually one of two things.  Let's say you go to pull your sling shot back and the muscle (rubber band) is tight. If it is tight, it does not move.

The second possibility for problems is when you have good flexibility and motion in a muscle, but when you move there is nothing stable for it to anchor off of so everything moves at once. Picture your sling shot and as you pull the rubber band back to launch the rock, the handle comes with it. 

So what is the lesson here? Answer: You first need stability to get mobility! What happens if you don't have stability where you need it? Well, over time the muscles that are supposed to be mobile and move us (global / superficial) begin to act like stabilizers (local / intrinsic). That is, they wind up and feel tight. Many times we look at tightness as being the cause of pain and/or dysfunction when actually it is just a response by the brain and nervous system attempting to provide a sense of stability. Your brain recognizes the instability resulting in a hyper-contraction of other muscles in an attempt to protect the body from injury. It is like when we walk on ice. The body senses instability and the muscles tighten up in attempts to provide a sense of stability.

It is like your brain saying to itself, "I need to start stabilizing this joint, and I am going to use these muscles (global / superficial) to help." Therein lies the problem. Your brain has recruited the global muscles to be stabilizers so now there is nothing left to lengthen / stretch and move us. So how do you feel then? You feel "tight".

The amazing thing is that if we can get the intrinsic local stabilizer muscles to work effectively, then the global muscles let go and you start to feel like you are ten years old again. Your mobility is restored and you are moving most efficiently again. What did we just do? We used stability to regain mobility. This can happen throughout your entire body.

There is no doubt many of you have been watching the Olympic Games on television this past week. I have enjoyed watching the various athletes compete for gold myself. One thing that has been cool to see is how many athletes are utilizing KinesioTape. Whether it be beach volleyball players like USA competitor Kerri Walsh's shoulder, a Chinese diver's low back, or a French swimmer's trapezius muscle, athletes around the world are utilizing this fantastic tool.

A gentle yet effective approach to therapy, the KT method involves taping over and around muscles in order to assist and give support or to prevent over-contraction of muscles. It is extremely versatile in its ability to re-educate the neuromuscular system, promote lymphatic flow, reduce pain, promote injury resolution, and enhance performance. 

The Olympic athletes obviously know the tremendous benefits of this remarkable tool in attaining the best out of their bodies. However, KT is suitable for individuals of all ages and virtually all conditions - not just Olympic athletes. Yes, this means you!

Several of you have been taped with KinesioTape by me. I love using this stuff! You can spot it in a wide array of colors: beige, black, pink, or my personal favorite, blue. Keep your eyes out for it!