What lies beneath the pillars?

Part One: Functional Movements and the Joint-By-Joint Approach

By: Chris Wicus,
MPS CSCS FMSC USAW TPI FRCms

A training system like Morrill Performance’s FPT provides Ultimate players with a solid collection of principle based methods to use in order to transform themselves into the best athlete possible. This series of blog posts will serve as an introduction to the functional movement principles that create the base of the FPT pillars.   In order to better understand where these ideas come from I am going to give an overview of the Functional Movement Systems ™ methodology we try to abide by when formulating training systems and programs. Coach Morrill and I understand the hierarchy of athletic development which is often represented in the literature as a performance pyramid.

The foundation of the pyramid is movement competency, followed by movement capacity, with a focus on sport specialization last.  These first few posts will focus on the base of the pyramid: Movement and movement competency.

As believers in the importance of functional movement model, we in turn obey the joint-by-joint approach to training.

The joint-by-joint approach to training treats the body as a stack of joint segments with alternating priorities.  In order to move properly and effectively certain segments will need more mobility while other adjacent segments will need stability. In response to injury or neurological dysfunction this relationship will flip-flop and we will see tendencies at the various segments transition to stiffness or sloppiness.

Starting from the ground, the training needs at each segment will be as follows (listed with an example of common dysfunction)

• Toes [Mobility], 
  • with a tendency to become stiff and immobile in cleats (turf toe)
• Feet [Stability], 
  • with a tendency to become sloppy (flat feet/fallen arches/ plantar fasciitis)
• Ankles [Mobility], 
  • with a tendency to become stiff and immobile front to back (can lead to ankle sprains and knee issues)
• Knees [Stability], 
  • with a tendency to be sloppy and lead to ligamentous/meniscal /tendon strain
• Hips [Mobility], 
  • with a tendency to stiffen and cause issues above and below
• Lumbar Spine (Low Back) [Stability], 
  • with a tendency to move too much and lead to overuse
• Thoracic Spine (Rib Cage) [Mobility], 
  • with a tendency to lock up and cause issues above and below
• Scapula (Shoulder Blade)[Stability], 
  • with a tendency to be sloppy and lead to impingement
• Glenohumeral (Shoulder) [Mobility], 
  • with a tendency to stiffen and lead to overuse at neck/elbow/wrist
• Low Cervical Spine (Neck) [Stability]
• Upper Cervical Spine [Mobility]

These tendencies will often lead to problems above and/or below the effected segment.   This is an important distinguishing factor to recognize if you are experiencing problems at a certain segment. It might seem intuitive to look to that particular segment for answers when, in reality, attention should be paid to sections above and below the issue. The best example of this is in regards to lower back pain, which in many cases is treated by addressing the back itself but not by looking above, to the T spine, and below to the hips to first see if the requisite capacity for mobility exists at both of those segments. With this understanding of the regional interdependence of the human body under the lens of the joint-by-joint approach we systematically program our movement preparation progressions accordingly.  In the next post I will get into how these principles influence the first 3 pillars of the FPT (SMR, Static Stretching, Mobility and Activation).