ONE THING ABOUT A SKATER, THEY NEVER QUIT. THEY ARE THE DEFINITION OF RESILIENCY. I BELIEVE  SKATEBOARDING IS AN ART FORM, A LIFESTYLE AND A SPORT.

Let's clear the air here, by no means do I consider myself a skateboarder. Do I like to cruise around with my boyfriend while he grinds a rail or hits causal treflips? Absolutely. And Lawd, don't even get me started about the shoe game drip of this sport...sign me up for the newest SBs please and thank you. I am not here to convince you to go learn how to skate, or buy a pair of new Vans but what I am trying to do is dictate the beauty and demands  of this sport that I have witnessed not only to the physical body, but to the mind and soul. Towards the end, I will speak on the importance of training and bodywork for this sport (yes, sport- hello, Olympics) and how skaters should make this a priority. 

If we look up compromised in the dictionary, here is the result that you will find:
com·pro·mise
/ˈkämprəˌmīz/
accept standards that are lower than is desirable.

If we had to define the word "compromised" through sport, you would be amiss to not say "skateboarding".

Hear me out, let's take a small piece of wood and attach four wheels to it. Cool. Now, let's gain speed, or drop into a bowl or grind a rail, and launch our bodies into the most undesirable, risky positions and land back on the ground finding balance on our board rolling away. Sure, skateboarding is a lot of "I'm going to close my eyes, cross my fingers, and pray to God of stable ankles that I stick this landing" kind of sport. But oh no, you are mistaken. It's power. It's coordination. It's confidence. It's athleticism. It's proprioception. It's strength. It's agility. At. It's. Finest. Sure, it is all these things, but what the ordinary person doesn't see is how it trickles down into every other part of a skateboarders life, it becomes woven into their DNA. Skateboarders are the gnarliest grittiest human form on the earth. They learn to attack their giants daily, not just those on the board but in life, school, relationships, and setbacks. They don't accept defeat for an answer. They just don't. I think that is one thing that is plaguing our culture- people throw up the white flag too quickly, they are too afraid to battle. Skaters are out for blood. 
​
Let's shift directions. From a bodyworker's and trainer's point of view, I'd call you crazy if your mind wasn't blow by the movement patterns, I mean come on. Most sports are linear, but skateboarding is multidirectional and has specific needs and demands of the body. It is a very imbalanced sport, from stance (regular/goofy) to the way you ride or even style of riding. With that being said, the risk of injury is pretty high. Can we prevent injury? No. Can we reduce the risk of injury by strength training to build tissue, joint, and tendon tolerance? Yes. Skateboarding puts a lot of stress on your body and your muscles act like a mini force-field. The stronger they are, the more impact they'll absorb rather than your joints. Not only does training involve lifting, but tons of balance and agility work and putting your body in a controlled compromised position to build resiliency in those joints. 

Most common injuries in skateboarding are: ankle, knee, and wrist and by building up the strength in structures around the joints will give you a little more grace when those gnarly slams happen and help minimize the chance of serious injuries and degeneration of the joints overtime. If I can make training make sense to you and help you understand why we are doing what we are, creating harder flicks or more pop, then it is easier to take ownership when we understand application. 

If I skate, should I be getting bodywork? "Yes". The answer is always "yes".  Almost as vital to strength training is rest and recovery. If you keep throwing your body throw the ringer and not giving your body time to repair, weakness and inflammation can lead to even more injuries. Learn to listen to your body, eat well, get regular bodywork, especially lower body to keep things loose and happy. 

If I can make you shine harder in your sport from the sideline, then I know I did my job. 


Live Well, 


​Sara 

It seems like every weekend there is a local competition, meet, or race happening and don't get me wrong, I love to see this. Folks being active, testing the waters and pushing their bodies to do some really cool things. My hat is off to you guys!

Between all the training, working out, fitness events, tapering, peaking, reloads, day of- when is the right time to get a sports massage and what should your "goals" be for the session?

• rehabilitation or medical bodywork 
• maintenance 
• recovery 
• event/ day of

Rehabilitation or medical bodywork is work done for the purpose of enhancing the healing process of injured tissue and aiding the client in return to full activity. The sessions should primarily be focused on the injured or dysfunctional tissue, but also the surrounding structures.  For example, muscle strains should include treatment to synergistic and antagonistic muscles, which may be playing a huge role in compensation to site of injury.  Immobilization during injury (cast/sling/crutches/boot) can also lead to compensatory patterns we should address in session. 

Maintenance bodywork is typically what I see most of in my practice.  This work is typically targeting a certain area due to overtraining, soreness, or fatigue to help mitigate future injuries. The goal of these session is to keep the athlete training at the highest level. 

Recovery massage and Bodywork So, you just ran your first half marathon or competed in a CrossFit competition over the weekend? This type of session is used to help an athlete recover from a strenuous event or competition and return to homeostasis, where our bodies love to be. My two cents: if you know you have an upcoming event, try to go ahead and get a bodywork session on the books. Do not wait until the day after to call your therapist ;)

Event/Day of bodywork is a little more specific and can be broken down around specific time frames of the event.

• Pre-event: prepare you for competition, should be fast-paced and superficial, no deep work! Also emphasize preparation for muscles to be used during the event, and for most of y'all, it means EVERYTHING. 
• Intra-event: short and light and focus on maintaining you for next event or workout. 
• Post-event: all about getting your body back to "neutral". Should focus on reducing soreness and encourage relaxation and circulation back to the tissue. 

If you have any questions about when to schedule a time to come in around an event, please feel free to reach out! If you are planning on scheduling a maintenance session, there is no better time than now. 

Looking at the pec major as a whole, is like looking at the handheld fan from a sideways position. Like the trapezius muscle, this big broad mess has three parts and all funnels itself to a funny landmark called the crest of the greater tubercule of the humerus. The top fibers drop down and attach to lowest point, the middle fibers stay straight and stay in middle and low fibers cross up. 


It’s origin is like a big upside down L in the middle of your chest. The three origins include: the medial half of the clavicle, the sternum aka breastbone, and cartilage of ribs 1-6 "aka" your heart and lunge jail. All these origins cross over each other and insert into that funny crest landmark on the humerus. 


All of these attachments sites dictate what the pec major does. 

• The costal fibers, pull the arm back down or extend the shoulder
• the clavicular fibers, are going to pull the arm up or flex the shoulder 
• The sternal fibers, having to keep the peace. They horizontal adduct the shoulder,  medially rotate the shoulder. 

So, the pec major as a whole gets fully worked when we hug someone. But more than that, it helps to elevate the thorax when life knocks the wind out of you. 


Referred pain from these trigger points is experienced in the chest, front of the shoulder, down the inside of the arm, and along the inside of the elbow. The trigger points in the pec major can even produce symptoms that are nearly identical to the pain associated with having a heart attack, but please always have this pain ruled out by a medical doctor. From a biomechanics standpoint, these trigger points also have an intimate connection with upper body posture, and can have far reaching effects on the muscle groups in this region. Chronic tension in the pecs perpetuates the all too common rounded shoulder. This causes the traps and rhomboids in the upper back to become overstretched and weakened. 


If this is something you struggle with, contact us to get out of pain!

Live Well

Sara

Adaptation.

​As humans, it’s a fundamental trait to our survival. We adapt to our surroundings. We fall back into patterns, if just feels normal and super  comfortable. That is why the time off the table is crucial to reeducate. 


Sadly, it is a trait that can throat punch us. I would argue, when we become settled and comfortable we get “soft” and vulnerable. You start to see things as your are, not how the world is. PERCEPTION. This is a perfect time for injury to sneak itself in. With that being said, pain is also perception. 10/10 subjective. Hear me out, Rick Flair walks up and pops you in the face, I’d cry and you may laugh. Same external stimulus, different response.


Pain is your body’s way of begging for change! Changing how you move ultimately will change how you think 🤯 brain and body are really good friends. Pain you can’t trust, because pain is not the problem. ⁣Pain is a symptom of an issue that is causing beef with the body. Which means there is an underlying issue when pain is absent. ⁣
⁣

How can we make change?


Simply put: get out of your own way. keep it simple, it really is that easy
 
• get on the ground, move with your kids, sit and read
•Exercise outside: go hike, go rock climb, paddle board. Get out of the Sagittal plane 
• hop to your car after work? I don’t know, you may make friends? 
• stop taking the elevator, maybe walk sideways up the steps
• kneel or stand at your office desk
•squat during office meetings, again you may get some weird looks

Is your overhead range of motion or shoulder position trash? Try showing your pec minor some attention. Most folks go right after the t-spine and lats when working with soft tissue restrictions or lack of range of motion. Do these need to be addressed? Probably so, but you would be wise to not neglect a major player in overhead position and stooped posture. 

The pec minor lies under the pec major, originates on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th ribs and attaches to the coracoid process of the scapula.  It doesn't take up much space but it has a lot of responsibility and can cause major havoc. Th pec minor contributes to shoulder blade protraction, depression, and downward rotation of the scapula. It also tag teams with the serrates anterior to aid in forced inspiration. Whew, I'd be tired too man.

So what does this mean for you? Why is maintenance of the pec minor important. 

We have established that the pec minor is closely interwoven with the condition of the scapula, ribs, and tspine and if any of these tissues get tight and short then it's going to be key getting your shoulders into stable positions. Pec minor dysfunction can present a huge problem, especially if you are sitting at a desk, cycling hours a week, or driving miles for work because now your arms have to internally rotate as a way to stabilize your shoulders to remedy your limited range. Taking this into the gym or sport where we spend time under load in these compensated positions your pec minor has to work really hard to keep your shoulder stable causing chronic tightness. 

If you were to write a SOP for the elbow, the work flow would be insane. This guy is a workhorse. We rely greatly on this joint, flexing and extending is a big part of our day to day, not to include the demands in sport and in the gym. The thing with elbows is that people believe it to be a "simple" joint, that all it really does is flex and extend. There is a rotation piece that gets over looked.

Most dysfunctions tends to spread elsewhere, usually showing face in the shoulder or even down to the wrist. Now, there are many times when tissue and fascia around the elbow are the culprit, for example: tennis or golfer's elbow. Restoring and/or maintaining range of motion at this joint is crucial. 
​
Banded Elbow Distraction:
1. Hook a band around a rig or pole, create tension by sliding your arm back.
2. Keeping your shoulder in a stable position, flex and extend your elbow
​

I would have to argue, the most common restrictions we see in weightlifting mobility, and most athletes are limited ankle dorsiflexion — the ability for the knee to track forward over the toe (shoelace to shin). Not only does this effect major lifts like the barbell squat, it can also limit movements like the push press, split jerk, and even jumping exercises. Due to its position in the closed kinetic chain, limitations in ankle dorsiflexion can lead to a host of compensations upstream, including knee valgus, butt wink, and effecting torso angle in lifts.

"Yeah, I hear you Sara. I don't need to work on my ankle mobility, I just wear lifters." Tracking. 

While Olympic lifting shoes do allow the ankles to perform less dorsiflexion to reach the bottom of a squat to buffer limitations in ankle mobility, but when thinking longevity, there’s no outrunning the need for full ankle mobility. I will say, investing in a great pair of shoes has a huge benefits in the sport but shouldn't be used as a crutch. 

Alright then, how do I grease the ankle grooves then?

• Soft Tissue Work
• Stretching
• Dynamic Movement
• Loading the New Range

Each one of these effects the muscles differently: physically and neurologically.  You may have to play around a little bit to explore where your limitations and restrictions are and set a game plan from there.  

Move Well. 

Sara

To book a session for soft tissue work, please email me NOW! 
sarasumnerlmbt@gmail.com

"I haven't been able to reach above head in years." "I can't put my seatbelt on or take off my bra without pain". "Both of my shoulders are so messed up, I can't even brush my hair without it hurting." 

I hear complaints like this all too often. I also hate to say this but I also hear, "I tried bodywork and massage, but it didn't help." If the therapist does not have the specific skill set, odds are pretty good that massage therapy won't help much. 

The subscapularis, or subscap, is a very difficult muscle to find and palpate, let's face it- I have never had a client that is just overwhelm with joy when we do subscap work, although they do love the benefits. As one client said to me "It is kind of like a sour patch kid. Sour then sweet but also feels like you shouldn't be in there." But the pain-free range of motion was appreciated after the session. 

Real quick, lets break down the anatomy. The subscap is a thick muscle with a broad tendon that covers the anterior portion of the scapula and reinforces the shoulder joint. The muscle functions to stabilize, internally rotate, depress, and adduct the humerus. It's a pretty badass muscle and does a lot for the strength of our shoulder (making up about 50% of the rotator cuff strength) and joint centration. It also counteracts the powerful force of the deltoid. I could go on and on about this guy. Important trigger points to remember are across the shoulder blade, down the arm, and around the wrist (this one is often overlooked). 

A lot of therapist think they are on the subscap when they are in fact palpating the fat lat or the teres major. It is an easy mistake and easy to correct, I had to learn for myself. Why is this so common? Many therapist attempt to enter the subscap far too inferiorly, which causes a roadblock by the ribcage and the lat is mistaken for the subscap. Here is my tip:
Pinpoint your location by sliding your fingers laterally to feel the lateral border of the scapula. If you are lateral to the lateral border of the scapula, you are on the lat or teres major, not subscap. This is still fantastic work, but the client could be missing out on a lot of benefits. I always think: "to palpate the subscap, my fingers must be medial to the lateral border of the scapula."

Hope this helps,

Sara