The pain has settled and the athlete is back in training. Even so, they cannot drive off the ground as before. Changing direction is harder on one side. They cannot swing the leg through fully.
The athlete feels “it is not the same as before”; the staff ask “what should we change next?” Zeroka Seitai looks for cues in the condition of the muscles involved in that movement.
When stiff muscle remains, load concentrates on the parts that can move
In Zeroka Seitai, we consider “muscle lock” as one possible background to remaining stiffness. Our interpretation is that a muscle stays in a state in which it does not release easily, triggered by an occasion when it tried to contract but could not contract normally. We do not regard all stiffness as caused by muscle lock.
We think that if a stiff part cannot lengthen and shorten sufficiently, other parts that can move have to compensate.
Figure showing Zeroka Seitai’s interpretation | How much of the muscle supports the same movement?
A schematic representing a muscle. It does not show the actual shape of muscle fibres or the distribution or proportion of stiff and movable parts.
If we assume that the same amount of work is covered by only the movable half, the work that half has to do is, by calculation, doubled.
This is a simplified figure to explain Zeroka Seitai’s interpretation. It does not show that the actual load on, or lengthening and shortening of, the muscle is uniformly doubled.
What we want to check here are the following two points.
| What can happen when stiffness remains | Effect on movement |
|---|---|
| Parts that can move compensate for parts that cannot | Load concentrates on some muscles |
| The necessary lengthening and shortening cannot be achieved fully | It becomes harder to achieve the movement or range of motion of before |
In Zeroka Seitai, we check not only the injured area but also the muscles that were compensating and the areas involved in the movement.
Checking separately that pain has settled and that the desired movement is possible
In addition to confirming “no pain” and “back in training”, we check whether the movement the athlete wants has returned.
We think factors other than muscle lock are also involved in stiffness. We compare the quality and distribution of stiffness felt by touch, the actual movement and the response after our work, and plan the area, method and sequence of hands-on work.
| What we check | Changes we look for before and after hands-on work |
|---|---|
| Condition of the muscle | Stiffness and tension, and the response as the muscle is engaged and relaxed |
| Actual movement | Driving off the ground, changing direction, running, kicking and other movements the athlete found difficult |
| The athlete’s own perception | Ease of movement, ease of producing force, and any sensation of catching |
Movement checks are matched to the athlete’s issue. We check not only whether the muscle has softened but whether the movement the athlete wanted has changed, together with the athlete, the practitioner and, where needed, the athlete’s staff.
In our work with athletes, we have seen movements that had been difficult become possible after responding to the stiffness. We share what has changed and what remains, and connect this to the next steps, such as strength, movement learning and adaptation to load.