The PFM Way to Movement Efficiency

Non-Negotiable #1:
FEET. Stripped of their incredible complexities, and laid bare to their simplest form, but no simpler. Home for a quarter of the bones in the body and our main contact with the ground; this is the only place to start.

‘Obvious’ reasons to look here are all the common feet complaints — plantar-fasciitis, metatarsalgia, Morton’s Neuroma, hammer/curled toes, bunions, high arches/rigid feet, low arches/flat feet, ‘over-supination’, ‘over-pronation’, bone spurs, dependence on orthotics.

Less obvious feet complaints — but no less relevant — are hypersensitive feet, ‘stomping’ feet, cramping feet, feeling the need for tight-fitting footwear, disliking being without socks and/or shoes, constantly going through socks and even shoe uppers with your toes, toe-walking, ‘bouncy’ walking, poor balance.

Common ‘above the feet’ issues connected to sub-optimal feet function are: repetitive ankle sprains, Achilles’ tendonitis, shin splints, repetitive calf niggles/tears, knee pain, bow-legged/knock-kneed postures, hip pain, back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, TMJ issues, headaches.

Feet really do reach far and wide in their movement influences. Do your feet have the freedom — innate in their design — to stimulate the cascade of movement possibilities above them?

Non-Negotiable #2:
HANDS and JAW-TONGUE: completing the ‘extremity trinity’. Their influences on movement go far beyond their obvious connections, and astonish many.

‘Obvious’ reasons to look here are all the common hand, wrist and jaw complaints — arthritis of the hand or wrist, trigger finger or thumb, dupuytren’s contracture, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, dependence on wrist splints, TMJ pain.

Less obvious hand, wrist and jaw complaints — but no less relevant — headaches, facial pain, dental decay on one side of the mouth, fast hand/forearm fatigue when using tools/writing, highly developed (hypertrophic) jaw muscles, teeth clenching and/or grinding.

Common ‘non-local’ issues connected to sub-optimal hand, jaw-tongue function are: repetitive ankle sprains, plantar-fasciitis, repetitive calf niggles/tears, hip pain, back pain, shoulder pain, frozen shoulder, shoulder impingements, neck pain, injury cycles focused on one side of the body, general tension throughout the body, domination of sympathetic nervous system, digestive complaints (constipation/IBS).

The hands & jaw-tongue, with all their fascinating connections, really do reach far and wide in their movement influences. Do your hands and jaw-tongue have the freedom — innate in their designs — to stimulate the cascade of movement possibilities throughout your body?

Non-Negotiable #3:
The LIFE-LONG REFLEX of LOCOMOTION that — surprisingly — isn’t much written about. Doris has 1000s of measurements that strongly suggest we should ALL be fascinated by it, be testing it and fine-tuning it.

‘Obvious’ reasons to look here would be anything to do with a gait pattern/way of walking that seems altogether too ‘arduous’. Given this amazing lifelong reflex helps to gift a lightweight ‘swing leg’, when legs appear to be a deadweight, they move 'clumsily' and/or there is a dependence on sideways/lateral/waddling movement strategies to ‘pick the leg up’, it’s a big clue.

Less obvious gait issues — but no less relevant — are ‘tripping over nothing’ (they don’t pick their feet up), scuffing/dragging feet as they walk, overt ‘picking up of feet’ (they’ve learned to pick their feet up to prevent falling over), tilted pelvis (the reflex is active on one side only), swinging legs ‘out and around’ rather than forward, tension in legs, difficulty co-ordinating contralateral arm/leg swings, excessive toe-lifting, a sense that running is somehow ‘easier’ than walking, walking with a very narrow 'tracking width' (feet landing towards the midline).

Common global issues connected to sub-optimal/asymmetrical amphibian reflex function are: repetitive ankle sprains, Achilles’ tendonitis, shin splints, repetitive calf niggles/tears, knee pain, hip pain, back pain, tilted shoulder girdle, shoulder pain, neck pain.

It must come as no surprise that our ‘life-long reflex of locomotion’ reaches far and wide in its movement influences. Do your hips have the reflexive reactivity — innate in their design — to stimulate the cascade of movement possibilities above and below them?

Non-Negotiable #4:
LATERAL FLEXIONS. Nobody visits me complaining of a lack of side flexion, and yet our ability to side flex influences how we reach, shift weight from one foot to another in gait, balance on one leg without falling over and sleep comfortably. Uncover harmonious movement between shoulder and pelvic girdles - literally.

‘Obvious’ reasons to look here are visible frontal plane TILTS and SHIFTS (off axis to the L or the R when observed from the front or back) of the head, shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle, general ‘stuckness’ in a particular postural shape and asymmetrical arm swing in gait.

Less obvious — but no less relevant — reasons to look here are extreme one-sided L/R dominance, shoulder and hip restrictions/pain, fidgeting/restlessness/hyperactivity, awkward or laborious gait pattern, aversion to belts and/or tight clothing and/or ‘sitting properly’ (avoids lower back resting against chair backs), poor breathing mechanics, poor proprioception/coordination between upper and lower body as well as difficulties coordinating movement of limbs on the contralateral (opposite arm and leg), poor balance, hypersensitivity to sound, difficulty sleeping due to discomfort.

Common global issues connected to sub-optimal lateral spinal flexion function are: foot pain, repetitive ankle sprains & calf niggles/tears, lateral knee pain, lateral hip pain, ITB syndrome, back pain, shoulder pain/frozen shoulder, neck pain, TMJ issues, headaches.

Your spinal side flexions feature heavily in just about every day-to-day movement; does your spine have freedom to the left and right — innate in its design — to optimise your movement potential?

Non-Negotiable #5:
SPINAL EXTENSION. The domain of the human, and yet clearly elusive if you look around. In as many ways as I can think of, I’ve devoted most of my working life to helping folk find ‘upright’; my explorations show no signs of slowing.

‘Obvious’ reasons to look here are forward head posture, flexed/rounded spine, ‘dowager’s hump’, forward pelvis posture, general ‘poor posture’, back and neck pain, headaches.

Less obvious — but no less relevant — reasons to look here are tilted shoulders, tilted head, poor breathing mechanics, stiff/straight spine (reduced curves), poor proprioception/moves in an uncoordinated fashion, poor balance, reliance on convergent vision (looks down constantly/wears spectacles constantly), trips over nothing (forward lean = already off balance), ability to stand straight only with conscious effort (slumps when not thinking about it), toe-walking, bouncy walking gait, over-focus on 'nitty-gritty'/unable to 'see the Big Picture'.

Common global issues connected to sub-optimal spinal extension are: any foot pain, Achilles’ tendonitis, tight calves, calf niggles/tears, shin splints, knee pain, hip pain, hamstring strains/tears, hip flexor strains, glute pain, piriformis syndrome, back pain, rib pain, shoulder pain/frozen shoulder, neck pain, TMJ issues, headaches, poor spatial awareness.

Your ability to ‘stand tall’ effortlessly - able to scan the world around you, with peripheral vision as default - is the epitome of a mobile human being; does your spine have access to its innate extension, gifting smooth, less effortful movement?

Non-Negotiable #6:
PFM ROUND-UP. Bringing it all together with the most crucial element in movement: timing. Without timing, our body’s movements are like a full orchestra without a conductor; or a serviceable train with a rusty signal box. Timing is not just for dance; timing is everything in the context of fluid, flowing, efficient movement. Movement Efficiency is Non-Negotiables #1-5 with TIMING.

Given this module connects TIMING with movement, ‘obvious’ reasons to look here would be anything to do with a gait pattern/way of walking that seems clumsy, stiff, awkward, discombobulated, uncoordinated, where the instruction “march on the spot” instantly instigates ipsilateral (same side) arm and leg movement, where a single limb swing looks ‘out of place’/catches your eye, where arms are quiet rather than swinging and when the person reports they can’t dance/move to the beat of the music.

Less obvious — but no less relevant — reasons to look here are shoulder, head and pelvis tilts, poor breathing mechanics, poor balance, reliance on convergent vision (looks down constantly/wears spectacles constantly), often trips (slower timing of a limb/limbs means slower recovery from a stumble), confusion with lefts and rights/has to think about it (even briefly), reluctance to cross midline with limbs during sports eg. avoids backhand in tennis and/or bias towards activities using ipsilateral limbs eg fencing, snow/skateboarding, difficulty staying focused/paying attention, difficulty catching/throwing, difficulty riding a bike, repetitive ear infections/history of glue ear/grommets, poor/messy handwriting/turns the paper to write, head-neck-shoulder move as one unit (head and eyes track together, with no separation).

Common global issues connected to poor timing are endlessly repetitive injuries/pain anywhere, with a bias to one side of the body (as if they ‘only have one side’) and poor spatial coordination/orientation.

Your ability to see, hear, think and move simultaneously is an unfathomably fast sequence of events created from sensory, vestibular and visual input, masterminded by the cerebellum — is yours smooth, efficient, organised and balanced … or a bit ‘rusty’? Help is here.