Programs & Assessments Muscle Balance or Flexibility Profile by Lenny Parracino | Date Released : 13 Aug 2001 0 comments Print Close As a personal trainer, your ongoing quest for the "perfect program" never ends. This is the second part of a three-part series on how to build a foundation for your program design. Before we can discuss what acute variables your client should start with (sets, reps, tempo, and rest periods), we must first start with an understanding of what condition our client is starting with. Since the "typical" client of today is much different from the "typical" client of 30-40 years ago, their program design must be altered to fit their environment. In the article Postural Profile, we discussed the importance of posture and its effect on performance. In this article, we will cover flexibility profiles, which will aid any health and fitness professional in their attempt to design an integrated flexibility program. Muscles work to reduce, produce and control movement or maintain posture. For muscles to work optimally, each requires specific levels of flexibility. Therefore, Integrated Flexibility Training (IFT) becomes a key component for all training programs. IFT is performed to correct muscle imbalances, increase joint range of motion, decrease muscle soreness, decrease muscle hypertonicity, relieve joint stress, improve the extensibility of the neuromuscular junction and maintain the normal functional length of all muscles. The goal of the NASM flexibility profiles is to assess muscle balance. When a client presents an imbalance, some muscles are shorter and longer than optimum lengths. This imbalance has been shown to be fairly systematic; certain muscles are prone to shortening while others are susceptible to lengthening. Two fundamental changes appear when there is muscle imbalance: Tightening of movement muscles Loss of endurance (weakness) within single joint-stabilizer muscles The most common, controllable cause for muscle imbalance is repetition of movement and/or positions. Prolonged static activity in a constrained, poor posture as well as lack of daily movement should be addressed. The trainer must also always consider correlations. Correlating client history, possible sources of repetitive strain, activities of daily living, job demands and exercise habits will assist in the development of an individualized integrated-training program that influences a positive lifestyle change. The following series of muscle-balance assessments will assist the trainer in identifying muscles (regions) requiring stretching in order to achieve optimum gains in the resistance portion of the integrated-training program. GASTROCNEMIUS Position - Instruct the client to lie supine with knees straight. Assessment Instruct client to pull toes toward his or her knees. Maintain subtalar joint neutral, measure dorsiflexion. Repeat for other foot. Compare measurements. Optimum range of motion is 15-20 degrees. Trainer Notes - Prevent compensations (eversion) SOLEUS Position - Instruct the client to lie supine with knees bent at a 30-degree angle. Assessment Instruct client to pull toes toward his or her knees. Maintaing subtalar joint neutral, measure dorsiflexion. Repeat for other foot. Compare measurements. Trainer Notes - Optimum range of motion is 15-20 degrees. HAMSTRINGS Position - Instruct the client to lie supine with a neutral lumbar curve. Have client bend one leg at the hip until the thigh is vertical to the floor, mat or table. Assessment Instruct client to slowly straighten the knee, raising the foot to the ceiling. Measure range of motion at first resistance barrier. Repeat for other leg. Compare measurements. Optimum range of motion is 10 degrees (0 degrees is knee fully extended) Trainer Notes - The lumbar spine must maintain a neutral curve. At first sign of lumbar movement, stop and measure ROM. HIP FLEXORS Position - Instruct the client to lie supine on a bench, raising both knees to the chest. The client should be positioned at the end of the bench, removing any obstruction. The back should remain flat to the point where the sacrum begins to lift away from the bench. Assessment Instruct client to continue holding one knee to the chest and lower the opposite leg over the end of the bench. Repeat for other foot. Compare right and left movements. Optimum alignment occurs when the thigh of the lowered leg is horizontal and aligned with the sagittal plane, while the tibia is perpendicular to the floor. Trainer Notes - The bench must not obstruct the client’s leg from lowering. LATISSIMUS DORSI Position - Instruct the client to stand against a wall with optimum postural alignment and low back (in a neutral position) against wall. Arms should be flat at the sides. Assessment Instruct the client to raise arms toward ceiling, maintaining motion in the sagittal plane. Look for back extension and deviation of arms from sagittal plane (elbows flair out). If test is positive, perform unilateral movements and compare right to left. Optimal range of motion is 165 degrees (arms covering ear). Trainer Notes - The lumbar spine must remain in a neutral position with no movement of the pelvis. As a health and fitness professional, you can use these simple techniques to create your clients' flexibility program. Click here for Muscle Balance or Flexibility Profile Form. Back to top About the author: Lenny Parracino Lenny Parracino is a former author, hands on instructor and clinician for The National Academy of Sports Medicine. Currently, he serves as a faculty member of the Gray Institute of Applied Functional Science. He has spent over 20 years serving the health industry as an international lecturer, soft tissue therapist and movement therapist. Lenny has performed over 300 lectures/workshops, has written educational materials and consulted/lectured in the fitness, manual therapy and educational industry and for various medical organizations around the world. Lenny has earned his degree in Health Science, is a Fellow of Applied Functional Science, holds a California certification/license to practice soft tissue therapy. As a full time clinician, he integrates an eclectic approach of movement conditioning with Dr. Vince Guagliano and Dr. Carina Escudero at AIM Sports Medicine in Hermosa Beach, California. 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