Speaker #0Today, in Biopilates Deep Dive, we are going to take a look at an emblematic exercise of the reformer, the elephant. And more precisely, its second version, the right back elephant, or straight back. It's an extremely interesting exercise because it can seem relatively simple. We are standing on the cart, feet against the shoulders, hands on the support bar, and we slide the cart back and then forward. However, biomechanically... il demande une organisation très précise de la colonne vertébrale, du bassin, des hanches, des épaules et de toute la chaîne postérieure. Dans le répertoire Stott-Pilatz, l'éléphant se réalise avec la barre d'appui en position numéro 1 et avec un ou deux ressorts. Le principe fondamental de l'adertion straight back est de conserver la colonne aussi proche que possible de sa position neutre pendant que le mouvement se produit essentiellement au niveau des articulations coxofémorales. But what is a straight back? Is it really a flat back? No. Anatomically, a healthy spine is never perfectly straight. It has its physiological curves. We are therefore not trying to erase them, but to maintain a stretched and relatively neutral spine while the pelvis leans around the femoral heads. This is what we call a hip hinge. Dans les principes Stott-Pilat, le hinge est décrit comme une flexion au niveau des articulations des hanches, avec le bassin qui se déplace sur les fémurs, tandis que la colonne reste en alignement neutre. Imaginez le bassin et la colonne comme une seule unité relativement stable. Lorsque vous vous inclinez vers l'avant, vous ne pliez pas le dos. Le bassin bascule autour des têtes fémorales et entraîne la colonne avec lui. Voilà pourquoi le dos paraît plat. Ce n'est pas l'absence de courbure qui crée cette image, c'est l'absence de mouvements relatifs importants entre les segments vertébraux. Dans la position de départ, les pieds sont contre les épaulettes et le bassin se situe autant que possible au-dessus des pieds. Les chevilles sont en dorsiflexion et les talons restent abaissés. Les mains sont placées sur la barre à la largeur des épaules, les coudes légèrement fléchis et orientés vers l'arrière afin d'éviter de verrouiller les articulations. The shoulder blades must be stabilized without being frozen. Stabilized never means rigidified. The scapulae keep their relationship with the thoracic cage and the muscles modulate their tension to allow the scapula belt to support the load. The Stott-Pilat principles insist on this control with appropriate muscle tension rather than rigidity. At the inspiration, we prepare and stabilize the trunk and arms. Then we make an extension of the hips to push the cart backwards as far as possible without modifying the position of the pelvis compared to the column. It is not the shoulders that push the cart, nor the lumbar column that increases its extension. The movement comes from the hips. Hip extensions work concentrically. The hamstrings and the le grand fessier joue un rôle majeur. Simultanément, The trunk must resist the forces produced by the movement of the cart. In return, the hips bend to bring the feet under the pelvis and the hip extensions control the movement in an eccentric way. The hip flexors participate in the return, but the pelvis must not go backwards and the lumbar spine must not round to artificially gain amplitude. This is where the hamstrings become extremely interesting. When the knees remain relatively tense and the hips are flexing, they are gradually tense, since they cross both the hip and the knee. If their length is insufficient, the body looks for another strategy, and it very often chooses the path of the least resistance. The biomechanical principles of the Stott-Pilat system remind us that when an articulation or a region lacks mobility, the movement tends to occur in a neighboring region where it is less mobile. Here, if the hip flexion is insufficient, the pelvis can go in retroversion and the lumbar spine begins to flex. We no longer have a hip hinge, we have transformed the hip movement into a vertebral movement. This is why a slight change in the position is sometimes preferable to the absolute search for a neutral spine. neutral column. If the length of the ischio-legs does not allow this organization to be maintained, We can accept a slight imprinted position or modify the position of the feet rather than forcing the body into an amplitude it does not yet have. To understand the stabilization of this right back, let's look at two particularly interesting muscles, the large dorsal and the square of the lumbar. The large dorsal, latissimus dorsi, is a huge superficial muscle of the back. Its origin is very extensive. The pineal processes of the lower thoracic vertebrae, the thoracolumbar fascia on the lumbar and sacral region, the cretilia and the lower ribs. These fibers converge towards the humerus and insert themselves in the intertubercular cell region. It is usually described as an extensor, an adductor and a medial rotator of the humerus. In the course Injury Spatial Populations, it is classified among the global mobilizers of the glenohumeral joint. But in the elephant, the hands are fixed on the bar. We can therefore think of its action in closed chain. The large dorsal participates in the transmission of forces between the upper limb, the thoracic cage, the columbar fasciator and the pelvis. It becomes a real mechanical link between the scapular belt and the lumbopelvian region, which allows to build proximal stability from a fixed distal point. That's why I prefer to ask the practitioner to feel the bar rather than just push it. Les bras sont actifs. but the goal is not to move the cart with the shoulders. Be careful, however, more is not always better. A large dorsal too dominant can participate in an excessive extension strategy of the trunk or disturb the organization of the thoracic cage. We want an activation adapted to the task, not a maximum contraction. Let's now look at the lumbar square, or quadratus lumborum. It is deeply located in the posterior part of the abdomen, on each side of the lumbar column. It takes its origin on the iliac crest and iliolumbar ligament and goes to the 12th coast as well as to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae. Unilaterally, it participates in the lateral flexion of the trunk and can contribute to the elevation of the anibasin. Bilaterally, it contributes to the stabilization of the lumbar region and can participate in the lumbar extension. It also plays a role in the stabilization of the 12th coast. In the elephant straightback, it is above all an element of control of the lumbopelvian region. The code Injury Spatial Populations reminds us that a medial part of the lumbar square is theorized as a participant in segmental stability, but that the muscle remains mainly global in its function and that it can become hyperactive, painful or tense. It is extremely important pedagogically. We don't want to ask the lumbar square to hold the back on its own. If the practitioner contracts the lumbar muscles excessively to make a straight back, he risks losing precisely what we are looking for. The straight back is not a lumbar contraction, it is a global organization. The transverse of the abdomen contributes to abdominal compression and to lumbopelvian stability. The Stott Pilatz system describes it as a horizontal belt connecting the lower ribs, the pelvis, the abdominal aponeurosis and the thoracolumbar fascia. The pelvic floor participates in this deep organization. The multifids provide segmental control. The obliques maintain the relationship between the pelvis and the thoracic cage. The erectors of the rachis maintain the orientation of the colon. The lumbar square participates in frontal and lumbopelvic control, and the great bodies connects the upper limbs to the trunk. This is exactly what we are looking for, muscle activity without parasitic movement of the spine. Now imagine the return of the cart. Exhale. The feet gradually return to the pelvis, the hips are bending, and you imagine that the ischiums continue to move away from the top of the head. Don't try to bring your nose closer to your legs. Don't try to go further. Try to maintain the length. C'est la différence fondamentale entre mobilité et compensation. Si vous gagnez 10 cm de déplacement du chariot, mais qu'il provienne d'une flexion lombaire, vous n'avez pas gagné 10 cm de flexion de hanche. Vous avez déplacé le mouvement vers une autre articulation. L'Elephant Straight Back nous apprend ainsi à identifier précisément où se produit le mouvement. Les hanches bougent, la colonne résiste. Les épaules transmettent la force sans devenir le moteur du chariot. and the omoplates remain organized on the chest. The wrists remain as long as possible without collapsing in hyperextension, the elbows are neither locked nor excessively bent, the heels remain lowered, and the pelvis remains as long as possible above the feet when returning. If the ischiogambiae limit this organization, we can slightly advance the feet on the cart, which allows us to better distribute the weight above the feet and to find a better scapular stabilization. We can also work on the half-points, with the heels against the shoulder blades, in order to reduce the tension imposed on the posterior chain. A modification is not a less good version of the exercise. It is sometimes the only way to preserve its essence. Create mobility in the joints of the hips, while maintaining the stability and length of the trunk. 10 repetitions can then become a real biomechanical laboratory. At each repetition, ask yourself 3 questions. Est-ce que le mouvement vient réellement de mes hanches ? Est-ce que ma colonne conserve sa longueur lorsque le chariot revient ? Et est-ce que mes bras stabilisent la connexion à la barre sans devenir le moteur du mouvement ? Si la réponse est oui, vous commencez à comprendre pourquoi cet elephant s'appelle straight back. Le dos n'est pas réellement plat, il est organisé. Il conserve ses courbures aussi près que possible du neutre pendant que le mouvement se produit ailleurs. And that's where Pilates becomes exciting. We teach the body to distinguish mobility and stability, to choose the articulation that must move and to control those that must remain stable. The Elephant Straight Back becomes much more than a stretch of the hamstrings. An exercise of dissociation between the pelvis and the femurs, of lumbopelvian control, of transmission of forces between the upper and lower limbs, of scapular stability and understanding of the posterior chain. And behind this apparent simplicity, he teaches us something essential. An effective movement is not the one that goes the furthest, it is the one that occurs in the right place.
