Though I don’t follow football, I’m awed by this video of DPT Sharif Tabbah working with NFL superstar Alvin Kamara.
In the video we hear Dr. Tabbah say, “By training on these unstable environments, it really helps improve their overall function on the field.” Later we hear the sportscaster exclaim, “There’s that balance we talk about!” As someone working in the mind/body health space, I love the focus on injury-prevention.
With some clients, there’s something we do in our Feldenkrais Functional Integration lessons that involves standing on a hard foam roller to change the way the foot interacts with the ground. It also changes the way we organize our bodies over our feet. The challenge of being on an unstable surface helps us fine tune the arrangement of our bodies over our feet. We also have a number of lessons with the feet, from Artificial Floor (a neurological lesson also known as “Monkey on a Branch,”) to “Toe Twiddling” as Trainer Arlyn Zones used to call it, to a lesson inspired by Trainer Jeff Haller’s incredible work with the feet.
While I’ve never done anything nearly as demanding as the kind of elite athlete training demonstrated in the video, clients report that their feet make better contact with the ground and their balance improves with the variety of work we do with their feet. This photo demonstrates a person’s feet gripping and balancing on a hard roller. This exercise can be beneficial to the feet and the way the person stacks up their legs, pelvis, spine, shoulders, and head over their feet, changing the way they hold themselves in a more neutral position. Special thanks to my brilliant Pilates instructor Sarah Artha Negara for showing me the video with Dr. Tabbah and Alvin Kamara.
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