On Flexibility

Dancing Smart Newsletter
April 7, 2006

Announcements

This week I will be sending out the newsletters in a text format. I am doing this as a way to test the reliability of delivery with the new server. Make sure you have white listed and added me to your address book AND please add system@autocontractor.com to your address book as that is the server name the newsletter comes from. If you have firewall software installed on your computer you may also need to white list system@autocontractor.com and DeborahVogel@thebodyseries.com there as well. It may be that this newsletter is being caught by spam filters and put into your junk mail box.

Registration is continuing for the summer workshops Dance Connections: Training for Success! Early bird discount is good until April 30 th , so please register online or send an email to me at DeborahVogel@thebodyseries.com .

I'm so excited to have my colleague and good friend, Anneliese Burns Wilson responding to the question this week. Anneliese is a teacher extraordinaire, who has expanded her teaching through the Stott Pilates certification program. She teaches ballet and ballroom, and does group and personal Pilates training in the Dallas area. I'm excited to be working with her more closely this summer with the Saturday workshops. Without any further ado, let's move onto the first question.

Question of the Week

Anneliese's Answer

Flexibility is an interesting concept. A definition of flexibility is "the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints that is attainable in a momentary effort with the help of a partner or a piece of equipment." (Grummerson). Additionally flexibility is joint and movement specific. Having flexibility in a cambré back does not mean that you are able to round your spine forward or flex it sideways into a side bend. There is also a difference between passive flexibility - the range of motion in the joint that is determined by the bone and connective tissue structure and dynamic flexibility - the ability to use the range of motion in the joint with muscular support and intention. Dynamic flexibility is generally considered the more realistic measurement in dance, since potential range of motion without the needed support to utilize it is actually a hazard more then a help. Whenever the range of motion in the joint structure is greater then the support system of the joint, the potential for injury increases due to the instability. Think of the dancer who is "loosey goosey" with limbs able to move in all directions, but no control of the movements, this is a prime example of the passive flexibility exceeding the dynamic flexibility.

When looking at the flexibility of the spine it is important to remember that there are really many joints involved and not just one. You have 7 vertebra in the cervical or neck area, 12 in the thoracic or torso area, 5 in the lumbar or lower back area and then the vertebra which form the sacrum which has negligible movement. Ideally the spine has 3 curves to it. The cervical and the lumbar area have a curve towards the front of the body, the thoracic has a curve towards the back of the body. When these curves are aligned and in proportion they are effectively creating a long spring which will act as a shock absorber and stabilizer for the whole body. In between each vertebra of the spine you have a disk which provides additional shock absorption to the spine. Attached to the vertebra you have many layers of muscles running in different directions and then a layer of fascia that winds around the body. In addition to the muscles on the back of the body, the spine is also greatly influenced by the abdominal muscles and pelvis.

To determine appropriate stretches for back flexibility you first need to determine the following:

Which direction of movement does the back need to increase? Possibilities are extension (arching back), flexion (rounding forward), lateral Flexion (side bending) or rotation.

What part of the spine needs to increase the range of movement, upper, mid back, lower?

Why does the movement need to be increased - to create a line? To aid in the movement of another body part, such as lifting the leg in arabesque? Or, to create the movement (such as rounding forward)?

Is the block caused by structure, lack of strength, tightness, or lack of endurance for the movement?

Let's break down some basic dance movements and see what needs to occur to get the desired result.

Cambré back - from the lower portion of the thoracic spine down, the back needs to maintain the stability. The cervical, upper and mid thoracic spine is extending or arching back, this means the muscles in the back are actually concentrically contracting or shortening to create the movement. The eccentric or lengthening contraction is occurring in the front of the body the abdominal muscles are lengthening and yet still need to be supportive as are the muscles in the chest and the front of the neck. The abdominal muscles and the hip extensors (hamstrings and glutes) are working to hold the pelvis in a neutral alignment to avoid excessive compression in the lumbar spine. As the cambré deepens all of these muscles need to work harder to support the weight of the body going backwards without losing the stability that would cause the lumbar area to take a strong force.

Rounding Down - from the head the muscles in the front of the neck shorten and those in the back lengthen to begin to flex forward. The muscles in the upper back are next to lengthen as the abdominal muscles begin to shorten to pull the spine down and forward. The muscles down the length of the back must therefore continue to lengthen to allow the forward movement. Again the lower abdominals and muscles of the hip extensors are working to hold the pelvis in a neutral position.

Side Bending - from the head, the muscles on the same side as you are bending to begin to shorten and those on the opposite side need to lengthen to allow the bending to occur. All the way down the spine one half of the back muscles are shortening as the others are lengthening, in the abdominal area a similar action is occurring. The lower abdominals and hip extensors are again holding the pelvis in a neutral position.

Rotation - this is a segmental movement which is most easily described by wringing a wet towel. The spiraling action moves from the bottom up and is created equally by the front and back of the body shortening one set of muscles and lengthening the opposing muscles. It is important in rotation that the pelvis not be held in a rigid alignment or a shearing force will create hypermobility somewhere along the spine to relieve the tension.

To create flexibility in any of the movements described above you need to work on both the lengthening and supporting components of the movement as well as the physical structure of the body. As with stretching any muscle the more specific the stretch is for the function of the movement and the body's need the more effective it will be. For all stretches to be effective there needs to be a fixed point - with the spine that is generally the pelvis. This doesn't mean that you can't provide muscular intention away from the body part being stretched, but it does mean that if you allow the pelvis to move in the same direction as the stretching movement that you will lose the tension that creates length.

Shaking is a sign that you are past the effective range of motion for the dynamic flexibility of the joint. The muscles are jumping between stabilizing and moving and are basically short circuiting. Very often this will create a "stretch response" which is quite counter productive. In a stretch response, the muscles go into a mode where they are trying to protect the integrity of the joint at all cost, the joint is more protected when the movement is reduced, so the muscles will go to a length that is shorter then when the stretching began as a way to avoid injury. It is important to honor the limits of your body in order to increase the movement potential.

Hopefully the above information will provide you with the insight to select stretches that are effective for your needs and goals. Sometimes too it is helpful to get some body work done or do pinkie ball work on your own body to allow the muscles and fascia to respond to the movement requests we place on them. A combination of body work and well chosen stretches with the opposite muscle groups providing support will increase the dynamic flexibility of everyone, no matter the age.

 

Thank you, Anneliese, for a very thorough answer!

Until next week,

Deborah

"Education is the key to injury prevention"

Copyright ©2003-2006 The Body Series. All Rights Reserved.

Deborah Vogel is a dancer, author, and master teacher who conducts workshops across the U.S. for both student and professional dancers. Her numerous articles on dance technique and injury prevention have appeared in Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher magazines. She is the Director of the Institute for Performance Studies and a faculty member at Oberlin College and the OC Conservatory of Music. During her years in NYC she co- founded the Center for Dance Medicine. Deborah makes her home in Oberlin, Ohio.