Today’s episode features physical therapists, Ryan Foley and Kyle Paxton. Together they run the continuing education business: “Integrated Kinetic Neurology”.
Dr. Ryan Foley, co-founder of IKN has worked with a number of high level athletes, and owns Evolve Physiotherapy. He has studied applied functional neurology methods, specifically Proprioceptive Deep Tendon Reflex, along with other applied neuroscience approaches to help get people get out of pain and improve function. Kyle Paxton’s successes and experiences with neurology based training interventions led him to the development of IKN, and Kyle has strategically shaped the techniques involved in IKN to ensure a practical and effective teaching process of neurology for performance and therapy interventions.
I always enjoy learning about the role of the nervous system in training. As Kyle mentions early in this show “when you really think about it, everything is neurology”. The nervous system is a very complex entity, however, and personally I’ve seen loads of “neural” training ideas that can get extremely complicated and involved, leading me to wonder how much the placebo effect is in play and how sustained the results are.
That’s where the practicality and dedication of Ryan and Kyle come in, and today’s show narrows neural training down to the specific sensory inputs of the body: proprioception, vestibular and ocular channels. Without sensation, we can’t feel safe to move with power and grace, and if I’ve learned anything as a coach, it’s to value the sensory map of an athlete immensely in conjunction with their sport technique. This valuable episode covers those points, as well as performance topics such as “dual tasking, isometric training integration, and more.
Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.
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View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage.Key Points
- Ryan and Kyle’s backgrounds and interest in neurology and performance
- The primary sensory systems that contribute to human movement and why they matter
- The role of the eyes and intention in human performance
- Why bracing the core doesn’t work with the performance principles of neurology
- Ways to enhance isometric training using the hands, feet or eyes
- “Dual Tasking” and isometric training
- Why athletes might place their free hand on a muscle or body region subconsciously during an exercise
- How to use the eyes and vestibular system to drive more tone into a body area
- Any potential value in balance oriented sensory work prior to heavier strength training
“When you really think about it, everything is neurology”
“Sensory feedback both from an internal perspective and external perspective is what drives our ability to respond to the world around us”
“The sensory systems allow you to fully utilize the actual structure that you have”
“If you can start to understand that the proprioceptive system, the visual system and the vestibular system are the primary drivers of how our body can respond to the outside world, then it can really start to change the lens that you look at your programming through”
“When I think of the (core) versus the limbs, there is a lot more purposeful and intentional control to control my limbs in the real world, versus my (core) which is more subcortical and reflexive in movement control”
“The eyes allow us to maintain that smooth coordination through our hands and through our feet. Whenever I’m doing any isometric work, or any kind of movement based work I typically have a lot of intention through my eyes and the target and I’m putting a lot of importance on how the hands are dissipating load through the limb and how the feet are dissipating load through the lower body”
“I don’t want a lot of noise in my nervous system when I’m trying to move in a particular direction”
“Isometrics really allow you to experience load in a safe and controlled manner, while still producing a lot of motor output”
“What is really important about isometrics is where you are delivering that load (not so much about time)”
“In my clinic, I want to see how the clients nervous system is accepting load through their feet”
“(In stance based drills) When I have them close their eyes, I’m seeing, “does their brain trust the information coming from the proprioceptive system””
“I’m having them engage that specific position where their nervous system was perceiving some threat through those tissues to enable it to safely experience load”
“I want my nervous system to trust information from every peripheral tissue”
“I do a lot of “dual-tasking” with isometrics”
“When you can think about isometrics from a dual-task lens, it can really increase carry-over elsewhere”
“Once you bring your thought into an area, you are laying conscious awareness on top of subconscious awareness…. if the brain has more sensory feedback to a body part, then as a result, it is going to feel more safe, granting you more motor output, a bit more tone and tension to achieve the task you are trying to achieve”
“That’s the ultimate goal of your brain, to know where you are in space, because it hides in a black cave, and the only way it has access to your outside world is through your sensory systems”
“(Where athletes naturally put their free hand or hands on their body during a drill) it’s a way that I look for “where is the body looking for more information”?…. Use that to drive your training based on what you see.
“The position of your head is a very important piece of information to your nervous system”
“If I want to get more tone into a body part, I will use the vestibular system to drive more tone…. I do a lot of vestibular ocular drills, which involve coordinated movements of the eyes and the head”
“You don’t want your eyes moving around with your head in a game situation”
“Vestibular-ocular cancellation is linking the eyes with the head in motion (cortical as opposed to reflexive and more stimulatory to the nervous system)”
“We want to truly assess where an athlete can’t absorb load”
“I think frequency is more important than intensity when it comes to neural change”
Show Notes
Dr. Ryan Foley demonstrates an isometric combined with neurological enhancements for greater posterior chain activation.
Integrated Kinetic Neurology (IKN), a simplistic yet diverse system involving a combination of neuroscience and movement techniques. Dr. Paxton has strategically shaped the techniques involved in IKN to ensure feasibility in knowledge and application, allowing practitioners to utilize the techniques amongst a variety of settings, and to promote drastic and timely improvements for clients within the areas of pain and performance.
About Ryan Foley
Dr. Ryan Foley earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences,Psychology, and Gerontology from Nazareth College of Rochester, New York. After his 6 years in New York, he moved to Miami to work at a sports performance center, delivering treatment professional athletes from teams such as the Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos and also the U.S.A Olympic Sailing team. It was here where he learned advanced treatment techniques to improve pain and sports performance. After his spell in Miami, Ryan moved to back to Manhattan, NY to begin working at a sports medicine & amp; rehabilitation Institute, specializing in helping individuals with pain and performance issues. Out of dissatisfaction with the conventional approach to helping people resolve pain and injuries, he moved back to Ireland and began studying applied functional neurology methods, specifically Proprioceptive Deep Tendon Reflex, along with other applied neuroscience approaches to help get people get out of pain and improve function. He now owns his own private practice Evolve Physiotherapy
About Kyle Paxton
Dr. Kyle Paxton has earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science, along with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from a private university in New York. He set launch to his career by moving to Washington, D.C. and opening a private-owned sports medicine clinic. Through his experiences at the clinic, he realized that the “traditional” approach to rehabilitation was no longer sufficient for providing clients with long-lasting outcomes for enhanced physical performance. From consulting and working with colleagues within the highest level of athletics, he soon realized the power of the nervous system and its immense affect on physical performance. Dr. Paxton began to tailor his techniques within his clinical work accordingly and found positive, sustaining results for clients with a variety of needs. His successes and experiences led to the development of Integrated Kinetic Neurology (IKN), a simplistic yet diverse system involving a combination of neuroscience and movement techniques. Dr. Paxton has strategically shaped the techniques involved in IKN to ensure feasibility in knowledge and application, allowing practitioners to utilize the techniques amongst a variety of settings, and to promote drastic and timely improvements for clients within the areas of pain and performance.
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