During my learning journey as a student Massage Therapist, I find myself going down YouTube rabbit holes. There will be an interesting idea that comes up somewhere, and I have the uncontrollable urge to continue watching or reading more and more on it.
It’s incredibly fun to launch yourself head first into a topic that you just know could have immense benefits for your future clients.

In this instance, I got thinking seriously about the role of sound and music/rhythm in bodywork sessions, and how groups or individual muscles could be activated or deactivated depending on what you’re playing the client… See where I’m going with this?

The amount of times I’ve seen non-metalheads wrinkle up their nose and go: 

“Oh, but listening to metal?… during a massage?… isn’t that going to just tense you up instead of relaxing you?…” 

These are people who have clearly never felt the cathartic release of screaming along to an early Bathory album in a nice hot bath. And yes- for them, it would not be relaxing in the slightest.
But how many of my fellow metalheads feel distinctly unrelaxed while being forced to listen to panpipes during a massage treatment?
I can’t fuckin’ stand it.

I was watching a video from a chap called Neal Hallinan, who works in the field of Postural Restoration in the US as well as being a licenced Massage Therapist. He’s ridiculously knowledgeable about the way the different parts of the body are connected as well as the effects of breathing, sound and speech on our muscles and movement. It’s all pretty fascinating, and in this instance he’s using the hip flexors/Psoas to illustrate his findings.

There was an amazing part of his video where he’s demonstrates hip flexor inhibition on his clients through four ways (and the last one blew my mind a bit, I gotta say): 

Speech:

In this test, the client speaks multiple languages and is asked to speak one language while being tested, then another language while performing a repeat of the test. Speaking one language to the therapist caused there to be inhibition in the hip flexors, and then speaking another language caused a complete release. Bizarre! 

Rhythm:

The client walks to two kinds of musical genres- one genre they like and another genre that they don’t. After walking to each genre, the therapist does a hip flexor test on the client. After walking to salsa music -which they like- the client can adduct and there isn’t any inhibition. But after walking to country music- which they hate (hell, I can certainly relate to that…)  the client goes back on to the table to perform the same test and, Lo! They can’t adduct their hip flexors at all…

Breathing:

Now any of you who know me, know how I am mad into my breathwork and will bang on about the profound effects of breathing until someone forcibly stops me.

But it’s always good to see illustrations of breathwork theory in action. Especially when it’s not esoteric, fluffy or woo woo in any way- but coming from a biomechanical perspective, not humming in a gong bath session wearing harem pants (although, shout-out to the harem pants, they’re comfy as fuck).

In this one, the therapist does the preliminary tests on the table, then makes a simple adjustment in her stance and breathing position.

The result of this was a change from “neck breathing” (which a lot of us do without realising) to breathing with a focus on the left side of the diaphragm and the ribs expanding out to the side (often in certain things such as yoga, the teacher will instruct you to “breathe into your side body” or something to that effect). 

This shift turned off the hip flexors and in the subsequent tests, the client had a much fuller range of motion in both their hips and shoulder movements.

Now, bloody hell, this last one was reeeeally cool…

Yes, by literally JUST WATCHING someone walk to a pleasing rhythm or genre of music (in this case, it was both) can inactivate the client’s hip flexors and increase range of motion.

Visual Processing of Rhythm:

In this final test, we see the Father of the previous client on the table. A control test is done to assess neutrality of his hip flexors. First test is not moving at all, but just watching his Daughter walk on the rhythm to a 90’s hip hop track that he likes. Hip flexors instantly turn off, and he has full range of motion.

Next, he watches his daughter walk to the same music, but stepping off the beat this time. It doesn’t take long for this to activate the hip flexors and the range of motion he previously had is limited.
Absolutely mental.

Obviously, individual pathologies are variables to these techniques not working for everyone. But it was amazing to see real effects in action on the body.

I urge you to check out the video itself, if you have a spare 25 minutes. Link below!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf20us8TEvk?si=dRf5GXjDa1dR-YJ4&w=560&h=315]