Best Recovery Drill

The Best Recovery Posture and Drill You’re Not Using. 

I get all sorts of questions as a physical therapist about stretching and mobility drills to help with a variety of aches and pains. While each area of the body has its various drills that are useful, one of the best all around drills is 90-90 diaphragmatic breathing. 

The 90-90 with diaphragmatic breathing drill is a go to at the end of training or day because it helps shift me from a place of stress to a place of rest and recovery. It restores not only my squatting depth, helps with my overhead movements, but prepares me to get the most out of my sleep.

Why is this drill so simple yet so effective? 

The position itself allows you to reset your low back and pelvis posture. Resetting this region will also allow your femurs to drop back into the hip socket and reduce anterior hip tightness. It also puts you in a great posture to practice diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing aids in rib and thoracic spine mobility, appropriate core activation, as well as, quieting your sympathetic nervous system allowing built in physiological recovery systems to operate and prime you for whatever happens tomorrow. 

How to do it? 

1. Lie on your back with your knees and hips each bent to 90 degrees. You can either have your feet on the wall or supported on a box/couch (foam roller between the knees optional)

2. Curl your pelvis so that your hips are slightly off the floor

3. Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest

4. Inhale fully with your belly hand moving first, then your chest hand second. 

5. Hold your inhale for 2-3 seconds 

6. Fully exhale over 6-8 seconds imagining pulling your rib cage towards your pelvis

Hang out in the position for a few minutes after your training session to prepare you for the rest of your day. Or spend 5-10 minutes here at the end of the day before bed time to optimize your sleep habit. 

As always, 

Own your movement, build your resilience. 

Warrior Rx

Questions about your specific injury? We’re happy to talk to you about it! Contact us by e-mail to set up a phone call abigailbird@warriorrxtucson.com

Plantar Fasciitis Self-Management

Plantar fasciitis seems to plague everyone at some point in their active life. You know the symptoms: 

1. pain in the heel or arch 

2. pain upon standing first thing in the morning or after prolonged sitting 

3. pain when walking for a long period of time. 

What do all these symptoms have in common; PAIN. Plantar fasciitis is a real pain and for most people, a real challenge to eliminate permanently. I hear it all the time, “Oh my plantar fasciitis is acting up again, I’ve had this about 3 times.” So why is this such a pain and why is it so hard to get rid of? Let’s start with the basics….

What is your plantar fascia? 

The plantar fascia is part of the medial arch of your foot. Your medial arch is the primary load bearing structure of your foot. Your plantar fascia within this arch is the primary shock absorbing structure, and ultimately acts like a spring to help you receive load when your foot hits the ground then quickly return it when your foot pushes to leave the ground. The plantar fascia receives assistance from the muscles of the foot to propel you efficiently with walking, running, jumping, etc. When any part of this system doesn’t function plantar fasciitis is likely to show it’s ugly mug. Now, while rolling your foot on a frozen water bottle or tennis ball along your arch will help with the pain, it won’t solve the problem completely, or at least not forever. 

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

One of the common causes of plantar fasciitis….poor shoe choices. In shoes there is a feature called heel drop. The greater the heel drop, the higher the heel, causing stiff ankles. However excessively cushioned shoes result in reduced muscle activation. Make better choices to start with then implement a few of the following strategies to get you started.

1. Toe yoga and basic foot exercise, if you have flat feet that would be the best place to start to help rebuild some of the muscular supports for your plantar fascia. 

2. Get some big toe extension. Lacking big toe extension reduces what’s called the “windlass mechanism”. This mechanism uses great toe extension to help tighten the plantar fascia and keep the arch lifted. Why is a lifted arch important? It makes the foot rigid for more effective force transfer. This means less energy to perform box jumps, running, or whatever horrible torture you signed up for in class. 

3. Get and maintain some ankle dorsiflexion with either calf stretching or banded ankle mobilizations. 

4. Heel raises with a twist. 

These strategies will put you leaps and bounds in front of the people just rolling a frozen water bottle on their foot. Ultimately you’ll need a progression back to your activity to address any other deficits in your movement. 

Own Your Movement. Build your resiliency.

Warrior Rx