AUTHOR: Warren Kearney
The Client
The client is a 36 year old male with an active lifestyle. He does rock climbing 2-3 times per week, and swimming once a week. The client’s goal are to improve his climbing technique so he can advance his climbing grades. He finds that he he has difficulty with 2 point (one hand and one foot, often opposing) contact moves maintain balance and power. He does not have any complaints of pain.
The Assessment
As the client did not have any pain present, and was looking to improve his technique; the FMS was chosen to assess his general movement pattern. As an active individual the client scored an overall 14 on his final score. However, he scored a raw score of 1 on his left and 2 on the right for the rotary stability screen and also a raw score 2 on left and 3 on right for the hurdle step. No other asymmetries were present. Looking at basic movements beginning with floor rolling, and it was dissevered that both Prone and Supine rolling movements were not optimal, with the client struggling to complete the rolls without engaging the contralateral limbs.
The Treatment
After assessment, treatment coaching and retraining these basic floor rolls was conducting. The client was to practice these moves for 5-10 minutes each day for a week. After one week the client was performing the activity easily and correctly, so we progressed to exercise to quadruped activities. With the client on all fours he would perform external rotation of the shoulder and individual leg extensions, again for 5-10 minutes per day for a week. Once these movements were controlled, resistance was added to these exercises to begin building strength to these movement systems.
The Result
After 2 weeks working with resistance, the client reported feeling more controlled whilst climbing. He had also noticed an improvement in his swimming sessions. The case is still ongoing, and further positive results will be published in upcoming future newsletters.