Fundamental Movement Strategies for the Neck, Thorax & Shoulders

Fundamental Movement Strategies for the
Neck, Thorax & Shoulders

Teaching Functional Exercise & Postural Control

Course Description

In this fun and interactive movement lab course we will observe, analyze and participate in movement based exercises while learning new treatment strategies designed for immediate clinical application. We will explore how the slinky-like rib cage and thoracic spine should constitute a mobile and flexible base from which the head, neck and arms can move. We will be moving beyond origin and insertion thinking by utilizing integrative movement principles that see the head (and arms) moving as an extension of a dynamically moving torso, rather than moving relative to a stabilized torso (or scapula). Facilitating proximal power, balance and mobility with distal control, nuance and delicacy, this course explores the various relationships of the spinal system. These relationships include the mistakes people make that create repetitive strain injuries as well as the compensations made in response to injury. This approach to studying movement (dynamic/alive vs anatomical/cadaveric) makes you a better practitioner by improving your fluency in the universal language of movement—proprioceptive awareness and choice-based motor habit optimization. Informational movement sequences are built around functional contexts of balance, orientation to a high horizon, breath, orientation up/down and along the horizon, gait and shoulder girdle stabilization—connecting the dots between exercise and ADLs is imperative for long lasting results. Come and experience a refreshing new perspective, you will never see movement and exercise the same way again!

Course Objectives

By the completion of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Define Regional Interdependence & Specificity Principle
• List three primary differences between Static Integration & Dynamic Integration exercise
• Define the difference between Global & Differentiated movement or postural patterns—list two examples of each in the neck and shoulder girdles
• List three principles of Optimal Movement and give examples of common cervical and shoulder girdle clinical presentations resulting from sub-optimal movement
• Explain the benefits of informational exercise strategies—use of constraints, change of venue, reciprocating movements, goldilocks principle and link to functional context
• Identify long-term habitual movement and postural mistakes and correlate to cervical disc/joint degeneration, cervico-genic headaches, shoulder girdle myofascial syndromes, thoracic outlet syndrome, whiplash/MVA and more

Course Outline

Lab sessions involve experiential movement, partner observations,  facilitation techniques, modifications & discussion of clinical relevance.

Day 1

7:45-8:00—Registration & Snacks

8:00-9:45—Introduction to Integrated Movement Principles

• Exercise Paradigms: Isolate or Integrate?
• Types of Integrated Movement/Exercise: Static & Dynamic
• Principles of Optimal Movement/Posture

9:45-10:00—Morning Break

10:00-12:00—Lab I: Simple Head-to-Tail Relationships (Global & Cardinal Plane)

• Recognizing Hypermobility/Hypomobility Pairs
• Balancing Antagonists Locally, Regionally & Globally: Neck Starts at Hips
• Facilitating Even Distribution of Movement & Proportional Use of Synergists

12:00-1:00—Lunch on your own

1:00-3:00—Lab II: Complex Head-to-Tail Relationships (Differentiated & Multi-Planar)

• Mobilize Thoracic/Stabilize Cervical: Funneling Movement Where We Want It
• Applying Constraints & Changing Venues: Targeted Thoracic Activation
• Facilitating High Horizon & Level Horizon: Fascio-Skeletal Weight Bearing

3:00-3:15—Afternoon Break

3:15-5:30—Lab III: Challenging Head-to-Tail Relationships (Increasing Demand)

• Intention to Move Distally Eliciting a Proximal Response
• Functionalizing Exercise: Orientation, Balance, Transitions
• Reciprocating Movements: Balancing Antagonists & Re-Calibrating to Truer Middle

Day 2

8:00-9:45—Lab IV: Dynamic Scapular Stabilization & Scapulo-Thoracic Relationships I

• Scapulo-Thoracic Global & Differentiated Relationships
• Closed Kinetic Chain Facilitations
• L/R Thoracic Extension Diagonals: Key to Cervical & Shoulder Girdle Health

9:45-10:00—Morning Break

10:00-12:00—Lab V: Dynamic Scapular Stabilization & Scapulo-Thoracic Relationships II

• Anchoring the Arm to the Back vs. the Neck
• Dynamic vs Static Scapular Stabilization
• Grand Coalition of the Arm: Serratus, Lower Trap & Thoracic Extensors

12:00-1:00—Lunch on your own

1:00-3:00—Lab VI: Combined Themes & Loose Ends

• Differentiating Thoracic Extensors From Scapular Retractors
• “Setting” the Shoulders: Lifting, Holding, Carrying
• Functionalizing Exercise: Bending, Pushing, Reaching

3:00-3:15—Afternoon Break

3:15-5:30—Lab VII: Sympathetic/Parasympathetic Balancing

• Minimization of Unnecessary Effort
• Directed Breathing: The 360° Slinky & The Relaxation Response
• Review Objectives, Questions & Wrap Up

Register for this course