Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/82405
BODYREADING THE MERIDIANS IS THE ANKLE DORSIFLEXED? The lower leg ideally rests more or less vertically above the foot. If the lower leg is leaning forward as if in a ski boot (Image 7), then perhaps the tissues of the tibialis anterior and long toe extensors are too short, or caught under the retinacula in the crural fascia. IS THE PELVIS AHEAD OF THE FEET? An anterior shift of the pelvis relative to the feet is a very common pattern in our "on your toes" Western, urbanized world (Image 9). When you drop a plumb line from the greater trochanter, does it fall through the ankle malleoli, or just in front? If it falls well ahead of the ankle, this person needs to find the present moment. There is reciprocity between this anteriorly shifted pelvis and the feeling of anxiety or being chased. Lifting the tissues of the whole lower SFL from toes to pelvis is very helpful in helping people to re-center themselves in a balanced stance over their feet. A dorsiflexed leg. IS THE KNEE HYPEREXTENDED? If the knee is held back into hyperextension (Image 8), this is a bodywide pattern, not just a knee aberration, and so needs to be handled globally. We will be addressing this more in the next installment, but the SFL contribution to this pattern is a tight set of quadriceps, particularly the vastus intermedius, so you have to reach down under the rectus femoris in order to free this deep stabilizer. IS THE PELVIS ANTERIORLY TILTED? If the pubic bone looks pulled down, or the low back appears short and hiked up, the pelvis may be in an anterior tilt (Image 10). Although the rectus femoris, or the branch lines of the sartorius or tensor fascia latae (TFL), may contribute to this pattern, pelvic tilt is much more a matter of the core musculature, which we will be dealing with in a later installment. You can release the SFL contribution to this pattern, but do not expect much change until you can release the psoas complex— the anterior adductors, iliacus, and pectineus—as well as the psoas itself. Anterior shift pelvis. Anterior tilt pelvis. Hyperextended knees. 78 massage & bodywork july/august 2011