Care brings relief, but not to the point of moving fully. Movement felt easier right after a session, but after a while the stiffness and difficulty moving return.
When thinking about why, Zeroka Seitai focuses on “stiffness that improving blood flow alone does not resolve”. Our view is that even if some stiffness changes when we work on blood flow, there may still be stiffness that this alone does not resolve.
By remaining stiffness here, we mean stiffness involving muscle lock, fascia sticking together and similar. We do not limit the cause to muscle lock alone; we check what is preventing the muscle from softening.
Two pathways from remaining stiffness
We think remaining stiffness may affect subsequent circulation and movement, so that stiffness develops again or the stiff areas increase. The figure below divides this interpretation into two pathways.
Stiffness that improving blood flow alone does not resolve
Zeroka Seitai’s interpretation: two pathways from remaining stiffness
1. Stiffness from insufficient blood flow returns
- Pressure on blood vessels from the stiffness remains
- Insufficient blood flow occurs again
- Stiffness from insufficient blood flow returns
The vessel is drawn narrowed at the stiff area (illustrative only)
Review the stiffness that obstructs circulation
2. Load increases and new muscle lock develops
- Movable muscles compensate for the stiff parts
- Load on the movable parts increases
- New muscle lock develops
The cause of remaining stiffness is not limited to muscle lock
Review the source of the load and the compensating muscles
A schematic of Zeroka Seitai’s interpretation. Shapes, colours and arrows are explanatory, not measurements of blood flow or load. Not all stiffness or recurrence can be explained by these two pathways alone.
1. Pressure on blood vessels remains, and stiffness from insufficient blood flow returns
In Zeroka Seitai, we understand that stiffness involving blood flow may soften when we work on blood flow. However, stiffness that improving blood flow alone does not resolve, such as muscle lock or fascia sticking together, may remain.
We think that if pressure on blood vessels from that stiffness remains, insufficient blood flow may occur again, and the stiffness caused by insufficient blood flow may return.
In this case, temporarily softening is not the same as changing the background that keeps causing insufficient blood flow. Rather than simply repeating work on blood flow, we review where, and why, the stiffness we interpret as obstructing circulation remains.
2. Load on the movable muscles increases, and new muscle lock develops
The other pathway is the one in which remaining stiffness affects movement.
In Zeroka Seitai, we think that when stiff muscles that cannot move fully remain, the muscles that can move compensate, which increases the load on them. Our interpretation is that this load may cause new muscle lock, increasing the stiff areas.
In this pathway, we do not limit the cause of the remaining stiffness to muscle lock. Whatever causes the stiffness, we check whether the parts that cannot move fully are increasing the load on the parts that can.
The difference is that in pathway 1, “stiffness caused by insufficient blood flow develops again”, while in pathway 2, “new muscle lock develops from the load on the compensating muscles”. We think both may overlap.
Checking not only “where it came back” but also “what had remained”
Even when stiffness appears in the same place, the cause and condition are not necessarily the same as last time. The area that currently feels uncomfortable may also differ from the area that is creating the load.
| Pathway we consider | Cues we check | How we review the response |
|---|---|---|
| Stiffness from insufficient blood flow returns | The stiffness that changed and the stiffness that remained after the last response, and what happened afterwards. Whether a problem in another area is preventing change. | Review not only the work on blood flow but also the cause of the remaining stiffness and the area, method and sequence of the response. |
| Muscle lock increases from load on the movable parts | The condition of the parts that cannot move fully and of the parts that are compensating. After which movements or loads the change occurred. | Check both the newly stiff areas and the problem that is the source of the load. Share training load and the content of care with the athlete’s staff as well. |
| Both overlap | The stiffness that had remained, changes in muscle condition, movement, and how subsequent training and competition went. | Do not settle on a single pathway; rebuild the response while watching the reaction. |
A feel under the hands or a single change is not a direct measurement of blood flow or load. We test our interpretation by comparing the quality and distribution of stiffness, the actual movement, and the response and course after our work.
Not separating out the subsequent training and competition load
We do not always divide the question into either “a cause had remained” or “training load is the cause”. This is because we think remaining stiffness can make load fall unevenly on the movable parts even in the same training.
At the same time, we also check whether load newly added after the session is involved. We do not conclude that all causes have been resolved just because softness or movement changed immediately after a session.
- After the last session: how far softness and movement changed, and what remained.
- Between sessions: what training, competition and self-care took place, and when and what became difficult.
- At this check: how the quality and distribution of stiffness and the movement the athlete finds difficult have changed.
- Response and recheck: review the hands-on work, self-care and advice on load, and check how the muscles and movement change.
Movement checks are matched to the athlete’s issue. Rather than running the same test every time, we check the movements the athlete found difficult and the situations in which change appeared. We also review whether issues other than muscle stiffness are involved.
Carrying what we reviewed into the next stage of support
In our work with athletes, we have fed what we learned from these reviews into hands-on work, self-care and the information we share about training load.
Our aim is not only to respond to the stiffness of the moment but also to review the background to stiffness returning or increasing. We check what remained and what happened afterwards, and rebuild the area, method and sequence of the response.