Are You Breaking the Rules of Rehabilitation?
by Sam Visnic, CHEK III, CHEK NLC II, NMT, LMT
What? There are "rules" to rehabilitation? Absolutely! I have learned that there
are 5 steps that must be followed in order to insure the fastest recovery without
re-injury of soft-tissues. If you break these rules or try to take shortcuts,
you could risk further injury!
1. Conduct a proper assessment of posture, joint mechanics, range of motion and soft-tissue health.
2. Eliminate spasms and hypercontraction in the tissues, often through manual therapy.
3. Restore proper biomechanics by re-educating movement patterns.
4. Restore flexibility to the tissues by stretching.
5. Rebuild the strength of the injured tissues with proper exercises.
6. Build endurance through conditioning exercise.
Paul Chek, rehabilitation guru, suggests a particular formula that is critical
when employing corrective exercise and movement following an injury:
1. Flexibility:
Tissues must be allowed to regain proper extensibility to allow normal joint
mechanics and range of motion. This is accomplished through stretching and
soft-tissue techniques.
2. Stability:
Proper joint stabilization is accomplished by addressing muscle imbalances that
may be causing instability. Swiss Ball exercises and balance drills are particularly
helpful in programming new neural pathways.
3. Strength:
Only after proper flexibility and stability is regained can the muscles begin
training for strength. I always aim to improve strength considerably to
prevent future injury in the tissues.
4. Power:
This is the last stage of training for rehabilitation of tissues. It is important
to prepare the tissues for daily activities that may require quick movements or
demands from the work environment. This phase emphasizes the elastic qualities
of the soft-tissues and their ability to absorb and dissipate shock.
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