Life is a contact sport. Day in, day out your body takes a beating. Your muscles, bones, ego; The whole shebang. Today we focus on joints, and on something called arthrokinetic dysfunction (Yes I looked up how to spell that).
Arthrokinetic dysfunction, i.e. the arthrokinetic reflex, is a ten cent phrase that I throw out there when I’m wearing my glasses and want to sound smart. It is, above all, a way you can immediately increase strength and flexibility, impress your chiropractor, or Wow your friends at your next get together.
I’m actually serious. Stay tuned.
What does Arthrowhateverconjunction even mean? Here’s the easy way of describing it:
Jammed joints = instant global weakness/inflexibility.
There are 360 joints in your body. Your entire body immediately becomes significantly weaker and less flexible if any those joints are jammed. Why? Because your body is designed for the sole purpose of keeping you alive, and when a joint is jammed the body “adjusts muscle activity to protect a joint, leading to muscle weakness or altered coordination if movement is perceived as unsafe.”
It’s not significantly hard to jam/unjam a joint.
How about that magic trick. I wasn’t bullshitting. Sit back and be amazed, click HERE as I illustrate the concept of jammed joints with Lawyer extraordinaire (and Fit client) Ben Klein.
In Sum: I test Ben’s shoulder strength (he benches 200 btw), then jam a joint in his opposing thumb. His shoulder, as can be seen, gets MUCH weaker.
I’ve rewatched this a few times. I can’t get over his genuine surprise when his strength disappears. Definitely worth a couple rewatches.
Maybe you’re thinking you have some jammed joints in your body. What can we do if we suffer from arthrokinetic dysfunction? Mobilize your joints. I’ve seen clients increase strength and flexibility as rapidly as Ben lost his by opening their joints.
Benefits of Joint Mobilization
It’s easier to do than it sounds. Opening your joints provides:
- Immediate and significant strength increases.
- Pain relief
- increased flexibility and range of motion.
Specifically I’ve had clients dramatically increase hamstring flexibility using ankle tilts.
I’ve seen significant increases in hip and rotational range of motion from clients performing toe pulls.
Life is a contact sport, but take heart: if one move can get you into pain, the right countermove can get you right out. That’s the real magic of arthrokinetic dysfunction.