Dampener Cord

Thanks for tuning in to my latest blog.  I was challenged the other day to show an exercise in which I had removed the red Dampener Cord.  I started thinking, do I want to do an exercise that I have already done before or show a whole new exercise.  I finally decided to so the "4-way LE" exercise.  For one thing, it's an exercise I hadn't shown yet, but also, it's a great exercise that demonstrates the difference between using and not using the Dampener Cords.  

This is a relatively easy exercise.  Attach an elastic band to the non-weight bearing leg of the patient.  Either hold the band for the patient or have it attached to a stationary object.  While balancing unilaterally, perform 20-30 reps of hip flexion, extension, abduction and adduction.  For a more challenging exercise, remove the red Dampener Cord as I did in the video. 

All I can say is WOW! Take those Dampener Cords off and the difficulty level shoots through the roof.  You just feel all of your muscles in your leg firing to maintain balance.  I would love to get an EMG attached sometime.  This way we could see how much more muscle firing is needed when we remove the Dampener Cord.

Till next time.......