Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Voodoo flossing for post-rehab patients

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    • 09/11/2014 at 11:15 am #71116
      AvatarMichael Harker
      Participant

      I’ve been voodoo flossing ankles, knees, elbows, shoulders, and wrists for healthy and injured athletes for awhile now. It has fixed a lot of problems from plantar fasciitis to medial epicondylitis. I’m a strength coach in a physical therapy clinic, so am interested in the potential for voodoo flossing at some point following surgeries. Currently, I’ll use the bands for generalized pain or tightness, lack of ROM, etc., but am hesistant to floss, for example, a knee after an ACL repair. Obviously, I wouldn’t consider until post-rehab. But it seems to me that if someone had a procedure six months ago and is back to near full function, maybe the voodoo bands could help get everything back to normal. Then again, there isn’t exactly a lot of literature on the topic. I’d be very interested in hearing from PTs who are using voodoo bands in general, and specifically in post-op situations. The fact is that I’ve had non-surgical patients go though months of various treatments with no improvement…I floss the joint and 2 minutes later they’re pain free and moving better. I know it’s not yet an approved protocol, but it certainly looks like something worth discussing. Are there anyone out there with experience voodoo flossing post surgery patients? Thanks!

    • 09/11/2014 at 2:53 pm #75224
      AvatarTom Matchinsky
      Participant

      Ken,

      Travis from MWOD Staff here. I have used the bands with good success post surgery on patients and myself (elbow surgery late last year). When working on myself, I started pretty much as soon as I was allowed to start moving the elbow. With patients I have waited until they are cleared for activity. I like to err on the side of caution when dealing with other people’s joints! If anyone has started earlier with patients, please chime in. I have found it to be very beneficial in releasing underlying fascial restrictions and restoring full joint motion.
    • 09/12/2014 at 11:33 am #75234
      AvatarMichael Harker
      Participant

      Thanks Travis. It seems to me that depending on the surgery, a little voodoo might be exactly what people need to deal with scar tissue and get things moving again after they heal. And I have used it on people that had surgeries from years ago. Results so far have been either immediate improvement in pain and function, or no change. Nobody has reported negative results. It would be nice if there were a reference for specifics: For example, ACL repairs are OK, but meniscus repairs are not. But I think it will come down to a case by case judgment call by the Physician or PT, and I obviously defer to them in these cases. But so far we’re seeing massive potential for this. Are you aware of any research on the topic? Or just any info beyond what’s on the MWOD site?

    • 09/16/2014 at 9:53 am #75252
      AvatarTom Matchinsky
      Participant

      There have been preliminary discussions about researching the use of this type of deep compression. With research you have to have someone willing to fund the project. Hopefully some information comes out in the near future.

    • 09/24/2014 at 7:43 pm #75288
      AvatarSimon Garland
      Participant

      Hi Ken,

      I am a physical therapist and have been practicing for 42 years. My patient load is orthopedics and sports injuries with a wide age variation. I think being cautious about who you use the bands on is smart. I like to show the patient what I’m going to do on the non-involved side first. I will use less pressure if the patient is not comfortable with the technique. The response to the technique and how well I can explain it is important. I have used it on total knee and ACL’s, if the soft tissue is the problem. Also consider the age of the client and their vascular condition of the extremity. I do a lot of soft tissue work with my hands before I do bands. I can feel the soft tissue response to this work and usually gives a good basis for continued deep work if necessary.

      Hope this helps.

      Tim Daley

       

    • 09/26/2014 at 1:59 pm #75305
      AvatarMichael Harker
      Participant

      Tim,

      Thank you for the input! Yes, we’re very conservative with voodoo bands. There just hasn’t been research on it yet. but our PTs are very interested in the possibilities. So far we’ve improved shoulder, wrist, and ankle mobility, often dramatically. We’ve also relieved pain in plantar fasciitis, shin splints, PFS, and medial epicondylitis. Since I’m not a PT, I’ll always get their guidance if I’m in doubt. But as a functional strength coach, I know if I can gain some dorsiflextion (if that’s an issue), then maybe I can fix gait and squat problems. That in turn can fix knee pain, for example.

      The other day we had an individual with wrist pain. Did a voodoo wrap for wrist extension and flexion and gained 18 deg of extension and considerable pain relief! Took about 2 minutes. Some of my athletes have added it to their mobility arsenal and just throw in a voodoo wrap with the foam roller stuff. And they swear by it. Hopefully we’ll see some research on it soon.

      Thanks again!

      Ken

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