It by no means is the perfect solution, but when based on a movement assessment and used with other strategies, self-myofascial release can be very beneficial. 1) improve range of motion and 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. The twenty-five individuals in the experimental group stretched their calves in a standard protocol four sets of thirty-second calf stretches to the point of tolerable discomfort, five days per week, for six weeks. Its very important that both coaches, gymnasts, and medical providers understand this research to not see negative results from these tools, or worse cause unintended damage. Im glad you asked! In short, stretching the toe point more may be exaggerating this imbalance, leading to issues both in their injury risk for inversion sprains as noted above but alsoother ankle injuries. A paper by Weppler / Magnussun in 2010 (find it here, A paper by Ben / Harvey in 2010 (find it here, A reduction in the amount of stiffness or compliance within muscles (viscoelasticity), although likely transient, An increase in the length of contractile units within muscles (sarcomeregenesis) especially if eccentrics are used, Increases in the water content, blood flow, and temperature within muscles acutely, A 2018 systematic review by Thomas et al (, The issue is not with use of stretching. As a younger coach and medical provider, I absolutely did not study enough and use proper flexibility methods. There are usually large groups of people warming up, a limited amount of space, and a limited amount of time. 90 Minutes of Must Hear Gymnastics Coaching Expert Advice, Master the Basics: Gymnastics Drills for Kips, Fly Aways, and Giants, Nick Ruddock Shares His Best Uneven Bar Methods for Giants, Flyaways, and Cast Handstands, Understanding and Treating Back Pain in Athletes, 5 In-Season Gymnastics Tips for Maximizing Meet & Routine Performance, Gymnastics requires significant amounts of flexibility and mobility, which makes it a primary area of training, It can be very confusing and easily overwhelming, especially with the rapid increase in scientific advances and the internet, Anyone working with gymnasts should have an understanding of basic anatomy and physiology before assigning flexibility drills, Although research is conflicting, there appear to be both neurological and mechanical reasons as to why regular flexibility training increases range of motion, Its crucial that proper methods are used to reduce joint stress and bias the stretching of soft tissue structures, especially in hypermobile athletes, Static stretching has a role to play in gymnastics but must be used correctly and at the right dosage. J Bodyw Mov Ther. Before kicking this off, please keep in mind that I wrote an entire book chapter on gymnastics flexibility, which you can download and find for free here. Also, you must remember that immediately following the warm-up genetically go to an event has very high forces. Its not that these are bad, but there needs to be equal amount of hamstring, glute, and deep hip external rotator work as well. In a sport like gymnastics, where very high forces are going through shoulder, hip, and spine joints at extreme ranges of motion, this level of force can quickly cause already mobile passive tissues to stretch out more. I will try to provide simple explanations and also include graphics for the concepts. This would suggest that with significant immobilization or time spent in prolonged tension, sarcomeregensis may occur within the muscles. As mentioned, the important take away here is to focus on things we can change, like the muscles themselves. 2015; 23: 203-212, Escamilla RF, Hooks TR, Wilk KE. Active Flexibility in New Range of Motion and Eccentrics Phys Ther. Stretching Skeletal Muscle: Chronic Muscle Lengthening through Sacrocmeregenesis. Forcing a split down into extreme ranges of an oversplit without a proper assessment behind it, asking a gymnast to perform over splits when they are not even close to a split on flat ground, or blindly pushing someone down just to be tough, is most definitely dangerous. (13-14). When this acquired excess in joint laxity is paired with a lack of strength, lacking technical development, high repetition, and fatigue in not fully matured athletes, this may have a variety of negative consequences. In my experience, excessive force, excessive duration, and the incorrect placement of a foam roller or stick massager can have opposite effects. The research definitely leans towards changes in the nervous system being the primary reason, especially in the short term. Conflicting Research on Foam Rolling and Other Soft Tissue Care, Why Movement Assessments Are Key For Finding The Root Problem, Components of Splits and Handstand Flexibility, Not Feeding The Fire with Strength and Physical Preparation, How to Help Working In Complexes vs Just Stretching, Points for Knee/Elbow Hyper Extension and Ankle Toe Point Safety. There are many reasons, and I put together this video highlighting how to look for some of the most common ones. Keeping this in mind, we need to seriously consider that gymnasts have open growth plates and can suffer from ischial apophysitis or growth plate stress fractures if we blindly force split motion. In Cardinale M, Newton R, Nosaka K,Strength and Conditioning: Biological Principles and Practical Applications. After seeing so many gymnasts I worked with struggle, and to be honest suffer overuse injuries, I knew something had to change. Both skills allow the spine, shoulders and hips to bend while the body is in continual motion. Neurological vs Mechanical Effects of Stretching, Why We Must Change Certain Stretches for Safety. In this situation, if the gymnast can not access their full range of motion against gravity alone,I see no justification for adding additional ankle weight resistance and allowing swinging momentum to reach the desired end range of motion. Again, without an in-depth knowledge of anatomy, injury mechanisms, and medical imaging, it is tough for someone to tell the difference between a hip flexor strain and a more severe ligament or labral tear. All of the studies that did show a change in range of motion from various techniques (static stretching, PNF type, more dynamic stretching) did not push the subjects into very extreme pain or use excessively long periods of stretching past 2 minutes. If you are more curious about learning the medical side of hip injuries in hyper-flexible athletes, I highly recommend reading these articles. For choreography or specific drills, this may be very appropriate when not pushed quickly to extreme ranges of motion. Lastly and most importantly, this complex approach tends to create much more engagement from gymnasts, as the longer static holding of flexibility can be very prolonged and monotonous. John Wiley & Sons: Oxford. Picture 3 is a lat stretch where the athlete sits However, this requires very specialized medical training and must be performed by a healthcare provider who is competent. Cipriani DJ, Terry ME, Haines M, et al. This is because a large body of manual therapy and self-soft tissue work does not recommend very intense/painful pressure, or extremely long bouts of foam rolling are needed to gain the positive benefits. Sadly, many young gymnasts are requiring hip surgery, or are retiring due to hip injuries of this nature. to injury. However, we need to understand that forcefully pushing oversplits, not being open to learning basic anatomy, or ignoring serious pain complaints from gymnasts is not tolerable. Chaundry H, et al. Let's learn about the most common gymnastics exercises and how they help gymnasts perform! Im just saying there are many factors to consider and that there may be a more optimal approach to take. The researchers proposed that the change in the range of motion may have primarily come from increased tolerance to the discomfort of nerve fibers that detect stretch pain, as the fibers were becoming more desensitized. Seated Overhead Screen with Stick Sitting at the wall with the lower back flat and head against the wall, the gymnast raises the bar overhead with the arms shoulder-width apart and palms down. While on this note, there are a few stretches that really need to be advised against in gymnastics. These issues are commonly overlooked as culprits to why a gymnast struggles in this area of gymnastics. 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. Corrective exercises consist of stretches that improve chest and lat flexibility (fig. Without the ability to assess these various factors, it can be very challenging to make progress in flexibility. 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 think that by using correct stretching consistently over time (not into excessive pain or passive tissue damage) combined with strength in full range of motion. Many gymnasts will continue to see me in the competitive season for maintenance care, as they can notice how adaptively stiff they become through high volume of training or competing. Approaching this goes back to the chapter on why an interdisciplinary approach to the future of gymnastics is needed. I will then end with some important notes on other joints like the knees, elbows, and spine. As far as specific flexibility circuits, those I feel are the best times to truly make positive increases in joint flexibility. There is a much better way that is safer and has valid science behind it for support. Everyone in gymnastics should understand that there are many subcomponents of split, overhead handstand, or behind the back patterns that must be worked on. Long term changes that have minimal injury risk do not tend to come from short-term, high intensity and high force methods often seen in gymnastics. Please consult with medical providers for proper understanding and implementation of this information. A very useful research review on this topic was performed by Weppler and Magnusson titled, Increasing Muscle Extensibility: A Matter of Increasing Length or Modifying Sensation? (18). *Readers Note This gymnastics flexibility guide is a very long and in-depth blog post. The reality of the situation is that a variety of muscles around the hip or shoulder could be the culprit. Also adding in regular soft tissue work and mobility drills would be very important. They can also partner with healthcare providers who are versed in this information to either to teach in-services to their staff or teach the gymnasts themselves. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, arms by your sides. This means the hip bone was slightly migrating out of the hip socket to reach such large ranges of motion. These structures and systems tend to have much more potential to change through training. There is more support in the literature for the use of static and dynamic compression, but I think lighter recovery sessions of self-myofascial release, light stretching, or even light aerobic exercise are valuable tools alongside other methods. I will offer basic concepts from them in the coming paragraphs as it relates to injuries but cant stress enough how valuable the articles or textbooks mentioned were to me over the past five years. Eccentric training and static stretching improve hamstring flexibility of high school males. Gymnasts partake in stretching every day for months on end, so we cant conclude that changes in muscle tissue over time are not occurring. The Gymnastics Flexibility Guide Cutting edge soft tissue, strength, and active flexibility techniques for splits, handstands, and shapes Practical traditional stretching methods combined with latest scientific research Techniques for increasing flexibility, and making changes transfer to gymnastics skills Send Me the Flexibility Guide! exercises, and stretching exercises are the only kind you are able to do, do them at least 3 times a week, for at least 20 minutes each session. Now let me tie this into why I no longeruse of ankle weights. Scand J Med Sci Sports. I view the different goals fo flexibility in this light. There may be a lot of variation on exact exercises/stretches included in your athletes' warm-up, but do try to include ALL of the following components: It may very well be a minor strain. An Acute Bout of Self-Myofascial Release in the Form of Foam Rolling Improves Performance Testing. Microinstability of the Shoulder in the Overhead Athlete. Place your left arm across your chest to the right side. A Review of the Literature Part 1: Neuromuscular and Anatomic Risk, Risk Factors for Anterior Cruciate Ligament InjuryA Review of the LiteraturePart 2: Hormonal, Genetic, Cognitive Function, Previous Injury, and Extrinsic Risk Factors, Anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention training in female athletes: a systematic review of injury reduction and results of athletic performance, The Best Gymnastics Leg Conditioning For Explosive Power on Vault and Floor, Exactly How to Build Explosive Power in Gymnasts Using a Hybrid Lifting Program with Scott Willgress, 5 Ways Gymnastics Coaches Build Healthy & High Performing Gym Cultures, Luke Carson on Gymnastics Culture Change, Handling Disappointment, and The Olympics/Worlds, 5 In Season Pitfalls for Gymnastics Coaches to Avoid, SHIFTs 200th Episode! The goal is to make hand contact with the wall. strength, co-ordination, spatial awareness and the core gymnastics session. 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gymnastics flexibility exercises pdf