Muscle tone is simply the proportion of fibers that remain contracted when the muscle is relaxed.
so the less fibres remain contracted, the more relaxed the muscle is.
and what kind of muscle tone you should have before a particular session? the less contraction remained, the better in any case?
how do you acheive it? i mean what kind of stretching, or massage?
asking too much? sorry… last one…
Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to that. Maybe Charlie can clearly articulate the answer. I’m still learning myself, and if I attempted an explanation it would just be confusing.
Flash,
It would have been great if you had taken some posture photos of you before and after the treatment. However can you tell how your foot position is now? I mean where do the feet point (straight ahead, everted, inverted) as you stand/walk? Did the treatment change that?
Not, really. My feet were pretty straight before the treatment. The big difference is how the legs are aligned under the body. Most of my tightness was in the legs (still is to some extent) which carried up the whole structure.
this lou guy puts my ART guy to shame here in vancouver. My treatment only lasts 15 mins around there.
The treatment is different in nature. However, structural integration is usually performed over ten weeks in one-hour blocks. Lou’s treatment was the exception, mostly because he does a lot of travelling treatments.
One type of treatment is not a substitute for the other. Structural integration is more of a once a decade kind of thing, whereas ART would be more of a periodic treatment (e.g., every month or two).
Incidentally, when I was in Toronto recently, I had several sessions with an instructor who taught me the basics of Guy Voyer’s myofascial stretching and ELDOA (spinal stretching) system. This stuff is really bad ass. It goes far beyond anything else I’ve encountered.
I’m going to try and write an article about my experience, but these technqiues are virtually impossible to teach in words and pictures. You really need hands on instruction. Charlie sat in on one of my sessions and he can attest to the complexity of executing some of these stretches.
I’m not really qualified to teach it, but hopefully I should be able to get across the flavor of the system. Stay tuned.
If you’re interested in learning a little about Voyer’s system in the meantime, check out Warren Hammer’s articles:
http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/18/24/09.html
http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/18/18/06.html
For those living in the Toronto area, I recommend dropping in on Rucsandra Mitrea at the Pilates Center of Toronto. She’s the one who taught me:
http://www.pilates-center.com/mfs.htm
http://www.pilates-center.com/eldoa.htm
She teaches these methods in a 10 week series or in private lessons (which is what I did). The private lessons are $100 CAD (worth every penny). I don’t know the price of the class.
Any more info on this thread Flash? How is your running going after seeing Louis Gross. I ask as i’ve been having some e-mail conversations with him and I’m considering buying his books and videos, would you recommend I buy the products?
The running is going well, but the treatment was not able to completely resolve the lower leg problems. Therefore, once I got back into regular running, a lot of the tightness in the lower legs came back, although not nearly as severely. The rest of the body felt terrific, but the lower leg problems were the main impetus for contacting Lou in the first place.
My leg problems came from over pronation, and that was not really resolved until I got my orthotics. This is not a deficiency on Lou’s part. No amount of treatment (SI, ART, massage, etc.) was going to resolve the problem until the underlying biomechanical fault was corrected.
The stretching techniques in Lou’s videos are modifed mostly from Bikram yoga, as well as a few other sources. I think Guy Voyer’s myofascial stretching techniques are more precise and sophisticated, but unfortunately there’s very limited access to his methods. I would definitely consider Lou’s tapes to be the next best thing that I’ve come across. You might also be interested in John Barnes’ myofascial stretching tapes http://www.myofascialrelease.com/store/video.asp?wss=A2F1CD36CDFF4A609B39DBB40C32951, but I think they’re overpriced, and I only recommend volumes 2 and 3. Lou’s tapes are a better value.
I’m luke warm on Lou’s books. They’re not really how-to books. They mostly explain/advertise his treatment methods. However, they do have some value in explaining how the body structures interact as well as the sources of many problems. Therefore, they might be useful in helping you diagnose and troubleshoot problems. I would recommend just starting with the tapes. I think you can also get them on DVD.
Cheers,
So would you advise following Bikram Yoga then? What is the idea behing Lous stretching? Length of hold? Postions? Stretching more than one muscle group at a time?
I’m not familiar enough with Bikram yoga to suggest it as a simple subsitute for Lou’s material. In addition, Lou has techniques of his own. The positions are part of it, but Lou’s approach also integrates a lot of autogenic relaxation with the stretching. Although he does not use that terminology, that’s what it is. Simply getting into a stretch position will only achieve partial results. It’s the subtleties of focusing on particular muscles during stretch that really make the difference. Lou does a good job of explaining it in the tapes.
It’s not just stretching groups of muscles. What you’re really focusing on are the fascial chains that interconnect the muscles.
Give me a week or two and I’ll try and finish that article on the Voyer myofascial stretching. Since I’m not really an expert on it I can only provide a basic introduction to the concepts and contrast it with other methods that I’m familiar with.
Unfortunately, there are only a few stretches that I think I can adequately describe with words and pictures, but I’ll try the best I can. Luckily, the stretches that I think are easiest to include in the article are for neglected but important muscles (e.g., pectineus).
I’m also going to try and adapt some aspects of the Voyer stretching to more common stretches that are easier to describe. It won’t be as good as Voyer’s stretches, but hopefully it will add a little more “kick” to your stretching.
Nice one 
Thank you Flash for this informations!
I’ve just contact Lou for his video stretching series.
Do you have any experience with Pfrimmer fascial work? Rich Phaigh and his technique called “onsen”?
I’m waiting for for your article! 
I’m not familiar with these specific methods, but after a quick search it looks like they are based on the same general concepts as structural integration and myofascial release.
However, all of these techniques are manual techniques that require specially trained therapists. I try as much as possible to focus on self-applied techniques for the sake of cost and convenience.
Flash,
Lou Gross is sending me his video’s I just wanted to know how you were after his treatment/stretching advice?
You also mentioned Feldenkrais, have you found this useful?
I think you also mentionedthe book “Structural Stretches” did you find this useful?
thanks
John
I’ve Lou’s video, very good, but i’ve tried some position but i feel me more free with a complete routine of AIS, in according with fascia dinamics.
Thanks Jamirok, in what way have Lou’s vidoes helped you? What do you mean by “fascia dynamics”?
I also like AIS, in Aaron Mattes book, he claims that AIS stretches fascia, does anybody know if this is true?
We have two kinds of fascia, superficial and deep (fascia organization is more complicated but i think this is a good example).
The point is: All stretching techniques “stretch” the superficial fascia.
(a little precisation, not all stretch techniques have the same effect on neural component)
The second point is: work fascia with specific sequence.
This is a basic work for posterior chain and extrarotation component:
[You can use i.e. AIS techniques]
1- Calf
2- Hamstring
3- Glute
4- ITB/Piriformis
Then anterion chain and intrarotation component:
1- Tibialis
2- Quad
3- Psoas/Iliacus
4- Adductor
This stretch works ipsilateral fascia not myofascial spiral.
Ipsilateral fascia is “used” for strength/explosive exercise, spiral for bodyweight/low intensity work.
The third point is: Deep fascial problem doesn’t always heal with superficial work, we need to specific therapy (ART/Rolfing/STR).
Lou’s work, is a whole body stretch, more generale and less specific (IMO)
You can start with Lou’s technique and finish with above sequence.