MOTOR LEARNING, Fighting Monkey Practice

“MOTOR LEARNING”
Fighting Monkey Practice
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by Marko Grönholm:

Motor Learning. // According to Dingenen & Gokeler (2017) the currently used ACL return-to-sport (RTS) test batteries may be missing the ability of an individual to handle neurocognitive overloading. "Most RTS batteries mainly focus on the motor end of the sensorimotor system, and fail to comprehensively address the interaction of an individual with the task and environmental constraints. This is in contrast with the current injury prevention and rehabilitation literature, where, for example, the inclusion of an external focus of attention and visual-motor interaction training is increasingly supported to enhance motor learning and stimulate the transfer of a learned motor behavior towards a variety of functional athletic tasks and dynamic environments. "

"Athletes recovering from injury typically have an increased internal focus of attention, which can be a result of the fear to sustain a reinjury, lack of confidence in the injured body part, or the predominantly internally focused instructions provided by the clinician during a prolonged time of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, during athletic activities it is highly important to be able to redirect attention to the most relevant environmental cues. Several studies have shown that the performance on postural control tasks decreases significantly more in ACL injured and ACLR patients compared with healthy controls when the neurocognitive loading increases."

Dingenen & Gokeler continue saying that ACL injury should be considered as a neurophysiological injury, and not as a ‘simple’ musculoskeletal pathology with only local mechanical or motor dysfunctions. These alterations may contribute to the increased need to rely on visual feedback and conscious movement planning with an internal focus of attention after ACLR. The central nervous system may become overloaded in these particular situations where task and environmental constraints are altered.

In the video we are applying this principle in the clinic with practice ball creating movement variability in the knee and whole body interaction in the movement. Notice also the difference in using the ankle compared to, for example, on balance board, where the movement of the ankle is usually much larger but response in the upper body is quiet.

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Dingenen & Gokeler: Optimization of the Return-to-Sport Paradigm After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction:
A Critical Step Back to Move Forward. Sports Med. 2017 Aug;47(8):1487-1500.

Knowbody - ft Marko Grönholm (Knowbody - ft Marko Grönholm
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