On 10/2/00, Henry Tsao<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
<< Re: your comments about hypertrophied psoas muscles on MRI, this is where
basic theory is important. A hypertrophied muscle does not neccessarily mean
that it is tight... a tight muscle can also be weak, which is what a
dysfunctional psoas muscle is. Therefore, we not only stretch the psoas
muscle, but strengthen the muscle to increase its muscle bulk. I hope this
clears up my previous statement. >>
***I did not refer to 'tightness' at all in my letter, especially since that
term alone can be rather colloquial and vague. Had I done so, I would have
questioned the nature of the alleged 'tightness' on the basis of mechanical
vs neural grounds. I was curious to know why the muscle diameter
increased after stretch and spray alone. As you stated:
<<These patients went through a regime of psoas stretch and spray over the
next 3 weeks only, and had psoas stretches and psoas ice exercises to do at
home. Over the 3 weeks, they re-MRI'ed these people and measured the
diameters again. What they found is that there was a significant increase in
the psoas and multifidus muscles diameter, and the patients subjectively
stated that they were ~80-90% better. >>
***As far as I know, the only case of muscle mass and diameter increasing in
response to stretching has been in laboratory situations in which birds have
had weights hanging from their wings for several weeks at a time. I was
intrigued to know how humans can increase muscle bulk with brief episodes of
stretching and spraying.
Now you have added that you also had your patients do regular strengthening
exercises. How can you now be so certain now that it was the stretching and
spraying alone which resolved the back pain? In terms of research
standards, you cannot deduce that the success which you claimed with "stretch
and spray" was thanks to the method which you singled out for praise. Back
pain is well known to resolve itself spontaneously or in response to regular
strengthening exercises. As I commented in another letter, if one combines a
series of different modalities, then the likelihood of success will often
improve, irrespective of the theories suggested. Have you compared the
relative recovery patterns of "stretch and spray" vs strength training
subjects?
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
http://www.egroups.com/group/supertraining
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