joint function
Space... The ultimate prerequisite measure of movement potential.
Joint space is the number one outcome measure that guides musculoskeletal output. The rule of fundamental motion is the joint workspace must come before everything. Without adequate space, all else breaks down.
The more space we have, the more access we have to our tissues. Thus the more time under tension can be spent on those tissues, thus the more positional information the nervous system can derive from those tissues, thus the more potential the athlete has for adaptation.
The CNS will react to lack of joint space by trying to define the space that you have by blocking and walling off areas of movement leading to subsequent tissue degradation.
JOint function, a closer look:
3d afference
Anatomy is a story, not a conclusion.
Anatomy tells the story of what the body finds most important; what information it wants to preferentially gather. From there, you can start to define how the body sees itself and how movements are created.
The first and most fundamental rule on movement is joint space is the prerequisite of movement potential.
Space is where degrees of freedom (Click for discussion) are expressed and is the primary prerequisite measure of musculoskeletal output.
Rule #1 of movement creation is joint workspace must come before everything and forms the foundation of our training strategy.
In order to move you need space to move into!
3 Dimensional space
Classical joint mechanics represents a flaw in our understanding of bio-mechanics as linear and 2 dimensional. We must update our thinking to understand joint space as 3 dimensional.
We have to add a 3rd dimension into a joint in order for the brain to get a better understanding as to where the body is in space, so the nervous system knows where we are and how to alter itself to get to where it needs to be.
Fixed point motion is an example of a misnomer that lead to our misunderstanding of bio-mechanics using classical mechanics. Classical bio-mechanics of joint motion were described as lever laws. The knee is a second class lever, the shoulder is a third class lever, etc.
Lever laws were falsely predicated on the idea that there was something to centralize the joint meaning the joint needs to centralize then move.
It doesn't work like that in the human body! Classic bio-mechanical ideas were based on cadaveric observation, which is why they fall short of living things. There's always going to be shearing as well as rotation and linear moving that will change the force dynamic within the capsule of a dynamic biological system.
There will be constant micro evolution to meet demand.
Think about lifting weights or moving against the force of another person's resistance like blocking in football, your body will push the joint into different areas of space.
It is imperative that an athlete have enough available range of motion at the joint level to accomplish relevant movement tasks that are required within the external environment with a high level of success.