The Monster Band Lateral Slide is a drill that we use for folks with varying pain or movementPhysical Therapist in Alexandria Virginia Working With Patient issues. Some important pieces to remember here:

  1. No matter what type of resistance you are using, it is vital to continuously cue your clients to maintain the strictest spinal ‘alignment’ during this drill. Realize that any repetitions performed with poor A/P (anterior or posterior) or medial/lateral mechanics further engrain the poor movement patterning that you are likely trying to teach that client from repeating. NO “weeble wobbling” or “teeter-tottering.” The trunk should be tall, and the hips/feet move BENEATH everything.
  2. This is an excellent lateral hip and paraspinal (back/posture) muscle exercise, but recognize that with some minor tweaks, it can be aimed more aggressively at the thoracic spine and/or cervical spine extension ability. Mix in double or single-arm overhead presses while maintaining the aforementioned perfect alignment. I like to use the “athletic posture” cue to remind clients where I’d like to see them. Another cue might be to ask them to envision a short stop in baseball, a middle linebacker in football, or a tennis player JUST before the action happens. They are supple and ready to respond in any direction, with their hips and knees slightly flexed and their upper body tall and strong.
  3. Elbows INSIDE of hands. If we keep our elbows inside the width of our shoulders and slightly forward, we can get a much more corrective response of the lower trapezius, mid-thoracic, and low cervical spine. These minor changes to the overall mechanics of the move can easily fatigue a client but also break a chronically protracted scapulae and forward head posturing habit.
    SUPER IMPORTANT POINT: If this piece of the drill is done backward, we effectively teach the upper trapezius to assume an entire load of both scapulothoracic joints and reinforce a forward head with a rounded shoulder pattern.
  4. Don’t add too many wrinkles at once! A common mistake with a drill like this is to add too many moving parts. Remember: the client's brain has to wrap itself around this drill just as much as their body. If you overtake that system’s ability to absorb the exercise, there is no way that you will get the client’s body to move how you expect.

Try this one for yourself. See what you can add to it, and feel free to share!

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As a full-service sports therapy clinic, we typically meet our clients when they need pain management or after they suffer an injury. However, many of these clients transition into our wellness or personal training services after we have successfully resolved their initial problems. It’s our mission to examine and improve all levels of functional mobility, creating a ‘better than before’ chance for our clients to feel their absolute best.

Whatever your goals are, we take a slow-and-steady approach that gets you the results you want. Schedule your first visit at SPARK Physiotherapy today, or call 703-329-0181 to learn more about what we do.