Helix Performance Exercise Rehab and Performance Coaching

A comprehensive assessment is the cornerstone of understanding how your body functions and moves. Through detailed evaluation, we assess the available range of motion in your joints, with a special focus on how your pelvis and thorax (axial skeleton) interact and position themselves during movement. This dynamic relationship between the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton (your arms and legs) is crucial to understanding how your body manages and responds to both internal pressures and external forces.

Using data from precise table tests and dynamic movement screens, we gather a full picture of your movement patterns, providing us with critical insight into how your body adapts to gravity and the demands of daily activities. With this tailored data, we are able to evaluate your movement in real-time, in specific contexts, leaving no room for guesswork.

At the heart of our approach is a belief that you are an individual (n=1) experiment. Your movement patterns, limitations, and strengths are uniquely yours, and we treat every assessment as an opportunity to personalize your plan of care. Whether you're an athlete, a weekend warrior, or seeking relief from chronic discomfort, we ensure that every evaluation is tailored to your unique biomechanics, so you can move with confidence and efficiency.

Human movement is deeply influenced by the structural differences in our bodies, which can be categorized into high pressure and low pressure systems. These differences impact how we produce force and manage rotation, and understanding them is key to effective training and interventions.

High pressure systems are typically biased toward a more exhaled position of the ribcage and pelvis. This positioning enhances the body’s ability to generate force, especially in activities requiring strength. The ribcage and pelvis alignment in these individuals promotes greater internal rotation, which becomes evident in movement assessments. High pressure systems excel at producing force in a more rigid, stable framework due to their structural alignment.

In contrast, low pressure systems are biased toward an inhaled position of the ribcage and pelvis. This positioning makes these individuals better suited for rotational movements. The ribcage and pelvis are more open, which allows for greater external rotation. Low pressure systems excel in dynamic movements that require rotation and fluidity, such as those found in sports or certain types of exercise

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These structural differences affect how each individual moves and manages both internal and external forces. The shape of the body, or "container," significantly influences movement patterns, which is why different strategies work for different people. What works for a high pressure system might not be effective for a low pressure system, and vice versa.

To optimize movement and performance, interventions must respect the natural range of motion each person has access to. The key is to use strategies that align with an individual’s unique body structure. By working within the context of the body’s "container," we can design more effective training programs that cater to each person’s archetype, improving their overall movement and force production capabilities.

Understanding the role of high pressure and low pressure systems in movement is crucial for developing personalized interventions that help individuals perform to the best of their abilities.

Breathing, particularly the movement of the diaphragm, plays a crucial role in managing internal pressure within the body. As the diaphragm contracts and relaxes, it creates shifts in pressure across the abdominal and thoracic cavities, directly influencing the body's posture and stability. 

By regulating this pressure, we can support proper joint alignment, optimize body mechanics, and enhance movement efficiency.

Breathing & Nervous System Regulation 

One of the most powerful tools we have for influencing the nervous system is breathing. The way we breathe directly impacts the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls unconscious bodily functions. By using specific positional breathing strategies, we can reduce motor output from the nervous system, activating the parasympathetic branch. This shift in the nervous system reduces tension, lowers muscle tone, and decreases connective tissue stiffness, helping to restore optimal joint positions that might have been misaligned due to stress or dysfunction. 

Breathing also plays a key role in regulating the body’s pH levels. When we exhale, we expel carbon dioxide (CO2), which directly affects blood pH. High CO2 levels can make the blood more acidic, while exhaling CO2 helps to restore a more balanced, alkaline state. Maintaining a balanced pH is essential for optimal nervous system function, as imbalances can increase neural excitability and disrupt normal movement patterns.

Breathing Impacts Mobility 

The nervous system constantly adjusts the tone of connective tissues, including ligaments, tendons, and fascia. When the body is under stress or dysfunction, the nervous system may increase muscle tone, resulting in stiffer tissues and less mobility. Breathing techniques can help modulate this response, reducing stiffness and allowing for better movement and flexibility.

The Breathing Feedback Loop: Negative & Positive Consequences 

All of these elements — joint position, pressure, motor output, connective tissue stiffness, and breathing — are interconnected in a dynamic feedback loop. If joint positioning is compromised, it increases pressure within the body, which in turn affects motor output and connective tissue stiffness. This leads to reduced movement options and can also impact diaphragm position and the efficiency of respiration, ultimately compromising the body’s ability to regulate pH. This cycle continues to feed on itself, making it harder to break the loop of dysfunction.

However, by making positive changes to these interconnected systems, we can reverse this cycle and create beneficial shifts in the feedback loop. That is the goal of both treatment and training — to intervene in the system in a way that breaks the negative patterns and sets the body on a path toward balance. Through careful application of breathing and positional strategies, we can influence multiple variables at once, creating systemic changes that restore mobility, reduce stiffness, improve posture, and promote optimal nervous system function. By understanding and respecting the interconnectedness of our systems, we can facilitate lasting improvements in the body’s overall function and well-being.

To regain your range of motion, it’s essential to work within the space you currently have available. If you push too far beyond your body's current capabilities, you risk using compensation strategies that won’t result in true progress. Instead of improving your “relative motion” — the ability of joints to move in opposition of one another — you may only create temporary movement patterns that limit long-term recovery.

The key to restoring movement is using exercises where you can access positions without compensation. These exercises must allow for true movement within your body’s natural range, building strength and flexibility where you need it most.

One powerful method of improving range of motion and restoring joint function is through "ground contact." When you make contact with a bone against the ground, you create a fixed point that allows the other bones and joints to move around it. This approach helps us target multiple joints at once, providing the opportunity to create changes throughout your body in an interconnected way. The human body isn’t a collection of isolated parts, but a system where every joint affects another. For true restoration, we need to address these interconnections and work on multiple joints simultaneously.

For example, imagine a situation where you are in contact with your knee, hip, and elbow. By positioning these three points strategically, you can control the position of your leg, pelvis, rib cage, and arm all at once. This allows you to address a complex movement issue with just one exercise, rather than needing five isolated exercises to address each area. This holistic approach is far more effective because it respects the interconnectedness of your body. By focusing on multiple joints at the same time, you’re creating meaningful changes throughout the entire system, rather than treating each joint as a separate entity.

Unfortunately, relying on the "stretch and strengthen" model alone isn't enough. This method tends to focus on muscles and joints in isolation, overlooking how they work together as part of a larger system. True restoration requires a holistic approach that respects the interconnectedness of the body, ensuring that changes occur at the right places and in the right way to restore full, functional movement. 

Ground-based exercises can achieve the same results as traditional weight room exercises, but the key difference lies in the degree of control and gravitational demands placed on the body. While weight room exercises typically isolate muscle groups and force the body to apply force against resistance, ground-based exercises emphasize the use of body weight and the natural alignment of the body in relation to gravity.

As you progress from the ground to your feet, you are gradually increasing the gravitational demands and force application on the body. This means that exercises performed while lying, kneeling, or sitting place less strain on your muscles and joints compared to those performed standing or with additional external resistance. As you advance, the challenge is not just about making an exercise "harder," but about improving your ability to apply force effectively without relying on compensatory strategies.

Progression should be based on your current capabilities and how your body responds to each exercise. It's crucial to select exercises that meet you where you are, allowing you to build strength and control progressively. The goal is never to simply make an exercise more difficult for difficulty's sake. In fact, pushing too hard too quickly can hinder performance, or worse, lead to increased pain, stiffness, or even injury.

When progressing through exercises, we prioritize achieving your goals—whether it’s strength, mobility, or stability. Our focus is on ensuring that you’re applying force correctly, using the proper mechanics, and avoiding unnecessary strain. This thoughtful approach to progression ensures that the exercises are both challenging and beneficial, setting you up for long-term success without risking your health or performance.

At Helix Performance, we believe that tracking progress is essential for achieving your goals, whether you're focused on rehabilitation or performance improvement. Without assessment, you're simply guessing. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are vital tools that allow you to measure and monitor how your body is responding and adapting to interventions, exercises, and training.

The body works as an interconnected system. To truly understand how your body is responding to stressors, exercises, and interventions, we must look at multiple KPIs—each providing a different perspective on your progress. These metrics allow us to track how well your body is adapting, whether in rehabilitation or performance training.

In a rehabilitation setting, KPIs are typically measured by your practitioner during table tests to ensure your interventions are on track. This helps us evaluate how well the recovery process is progressing and if any adjustments need to be made to your plan. But it doesn't stop there.

We also believe in empowering you to be part of the process. You may be given KPIs to track independently, like a toe touch or a split squat, to evaluate the effectiveness of your at-home exercises or training. This keeps you actively engaged in your recovery and performance journey, offering valuable insights into your progress.

To make the most of our KPI system, we work off a simple yet powerful method: Better, Worse, or Same. Here's how it works:

• Early Stages of Rehab or Performance: The focus is on improving your KPIs. If you are getting stronger, more mobile, or improving your range of motion, we want to see those changes reflected in your KPIs.
   
• Late-Stage Performance: At this stage, our goal often shifts to maintaining your KPI measurements—keeping them consistent without decline. Maintaining progress becomes just as important as making improvements.
   
• Acute Changes: There may be times when we intentionally push your body to experience a temporary "worse" in your KPIs, such as through heavy exercises like back squats to increase strength. While this might momentarily decrease your KPI measurements, the ultimate goal is to restore them to baseline or even improve them in the long run through restorative strategies.
   

KPIs provide the critical feedback you need to ensure your adaptations are on track. Whether we're improving mobility, strength, or performance, we monitor and adjust based on how your KPIs respond to each intervention. The real key to success is making sure that whatever adaptations we’re training are doing exactly what we want them to do.

At the end of the day, assessment is key to progress. By tracking the right KPIs and using them to guide your rehab or performance plan, we can confidently adjust to ensure that you're moving in the right direction.

Don’t Guess. Assess. Let KPIs be the guide to your optimal performance and recovery.