CHAOS In Injury Rehabiltation

For a long time I was a firm believer of quality before quantity, so much so that I probably spent way too much time chasing 'perfect' movements. The problem with chasing the mythical perfect movement is that you get so caught up in making everything look great, that you often fail to improve any of the physical qualities that you're chasing with your programme.

S&C coaches are not alone in chasing the 'perfect' technique, many physiotherapists are also paralysed by perfection. But, what if we should actually be exploring chaos and movement dysfunction as part of the rehabilitation process? What if rather than perfect, we take on some of the concepts of dynamic systems theory proposed by Frans Bosch and get comfortble with 'practically perfect' (Mary Poppins fans will like that reference)? It's time for a little bit of CHAOS in injury rehabilitation.

Whilst developing fixed and stable movement capabilities is certainly the foundation on which to build an effective rehabilitation programme, we must not neglect more dynamic and flexible movement patterns. Why? Because real life demands that we are not only capable of producing force, but that we can actually apply force within fractions of a second whilst reacting to a wide range of stimulus. And I'm not just talking about athletes, the same is true for the general population.