Intu-Flow and MultiPlanar Mobility
Intu-Flow® and the Development of Full Multiplanar Mobility
by Jarlo Ilano, M.P.T.,C.S.T.
Multiplanar mobility (MPM) refers to our ability to move our body (as a whole and in parts) in all available directions. Again, we can begin the discussion by relating what a lack of MPM entails. “Stiff”, “Tight”, “Bound up”, are all terms related to the feeling of lack of mobility. Simply, we cannot move in the direction we wish our body to go. The general implications of this are obvious. Lack of mobility lessens our options in performing a task. How can I work this particular exercise if my arm can’t rise above a certain angle? How can I capitalize on my opponents lowered guard, if my hip is too stiff to allow me to kick that high? The specific implications are less obvious. If I cannot move my body in a particular angle of a particular plane of movement, then motor patterns will not be explored in this specific range of motion. It’s not just that I am not “flexible” enough to do a particular movement; it is that that movement will soon be “not there”. The neural pathways for the motion will degrade, and the option to respond with that movement is lost.
Taking MPM in its specific form, we can examine its importance as it relates to joint health. Synovial joints in the body can only acquire their nutrition through movement. Movement of the joint allows imbibition of the nutrients in the synovial fluid surrounding it. Without such absorption of vital chemicals, degeneration of these tissues set in. In effect the joint surfaces must be “scoured” by movement in order for nutrition to be delivered to all parts of the joint. Considering this, it is easy to imagine the condition of a joint that is not going through its motion appropriately and regularly. Also of concern, are the stresses that can be placed upon a joint that cannot move in all of its degrees of freedom. If a particular range is restricted, then strain occurs because force is often not dissipated throughout the structure, but instead is borne by one area, over and over again. If not allowed to regenerate and heal, structural failure can occur.
MPM in its wholistic form can also be described in the notion of the body as a tensegrity structure. A tensegrity structure retains its form and stability as a result of specific balances of tension and compression forces. In the body as a whole, free and complete multiplanar mobility of each of its “parts”, contributes to the optimal arrangement of these forces. Our physical capacity and performance is greatly enhanced by the ability to move freely in any direction we choose. As briefly introduced above, it is not only that we have the physical structure that allows movement, but also that we have the neurological option to perform the chosen movement. MPM as a whole means that neuromotor recruitment patterns can be varied and diverse, rather than constrained in rigid molds. How much easier would it be to learn and excel in a skill, if we could move our body freely in all planes?
The preceding describes the immense advantages of having proper MPM. With this in mind, the lack of MPM raises obvious disadvantages. Such as the aforementioned poor joint health and increased strain in weaker areas. This lack of options results in less than optimal movement strategies and choices. Peak physical performance not only suffers, it can also be a glance into the damage waiting just around the bend.
