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A Guide to Better Movement: The Science and Practice of Moving With More Skill And Less Pain
A Guide to Better Movement offers a clear and practical look at emerging science related to the brain’s role in movement and pain. It is written for movement professionals, athletes, chronic pain sufferers, and anyone else interested in moving better and feeing better. In it, you will the essential qualities of movements that are healthy and efficient; why good movement requires healthy “maps” in the brain; why pain is sometimes more about self-perception than tissue damage or injury; the science behind mind-body practices; general principles that can be used to improve any movement practice; and 25 illustrated and simple movement lessons to help you move better and feel better.
306 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2014
135 people are currently reading
925 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 19, 2014
Easily could have been 5 stars from me since it was right up my alley of interest: movement from the brain's perspective, developmental patterns and sequence, the science of pain, etc. This part was all phenomenal and I couldn't put it down. My only issue comes from the later part of the book, something I was excited to read at first, which were the 25 Movement Lessons. I found that, personally, I couldn't get through them. There are sometimes upwards of 25 steps within a single lesson, and stopping what I'm trying to mimic to go and read the next section felt cumbersome. Also, as I am a strongly visual learner, it was difficult to picture what the author was describing all the time. Could have benefitted from more pics or some links to audio versions of the lessons being read to you by the author himself.
October 2, 2015
Really cool book for everyone. Not only for chronic pain patiens and physioterapeuts.
Carefully captured pictures - so you really know what you should do.
well done!
Carefully captured pictures - so you really know what you should do.
well done!
February 22, 2015
Learning to listen to the body is a path well worth traveling.
All intelligent animals play. The more intelligent, the more it plays. Chimps, dolphins, and dogs play more than snakes, turtles and bugs. Humans are the smartest animals and play the most.
Efficiency in movement = ratio of useful work performed compared to the cost required to perform it.
Charlie Francis considered relaxation to be the #1 secret to greater speed.
Parasitic tension (eg stress of work): unwanted and unnecessary contractions in shoulders, neck, jaw.
Moving from novice to expert in implies releasing degrees of freedom at the joints through relaxation of muscular tension.
Way to test balance at any particular point on a movement path is to see if you can change direction, even in the opposite direction. (~play w/ this in locomotion patterns; deep squat as transit)
=> reversibility as a test of movement quality
Good movement = adaptability and responsiveness to a changing environment.
Posture is a dynamic thing.
Difference in posture does not predict difference in chronic pain levels.
If movement is a skill that can be improved, it can also be a habit that's hard to break.
Unlike sensation, perception is a skill that improves with practice (eg elite athlete better perception than beginner, sensation same; perception trained)
Focused attention = key requirement for practice that maximizes neuroplasticity and associated motor learning. Tunnel vision.
External cues/focus promotes faster motor learning. (eg push feet in floor vs extend hips and knees)
Almost any intervention intended to treat pain and improve quality of movement involves novel stimulus.
=> only causes long term changes if it improves function, if not temporary
=> focus on active movement based therapy that helps the brain create better function
Use pregnancy rule: impose constraint on movement that will make difference between R/W more obvious.
Various forms of learning and memorization are improved after a bout of exercise. (STEPHEN FUCKING JEPSON)
Play can speed learning.
Developmental movements:
breathing
head control
reaching
squatting
rolling
crawling
creeping
=> adults who use this will retrieve and brush up on some primal movement patterns that might be neglected
(TEST Dr. Mark Cheng zijn Sphinx positie stuff)
Developmental position can reduce protective activity; facilitate recovery of motor patterns.
=> Improve movement by limiting movement options. (Isolation, integration)
"As soon as your body thinks it has all the answers, you need to start asking different questions."
Spend more time sitting on the floor.
Pain is a conscious experience created by the brain, not a damaged condition of the body.
Nociception: sensory signaling indicating danger to the tissues of the body.
When the brain receives a danger signal from the body, it will need to ask: "how dangerous is this really" To answer it draws in every piece of info available related to threat: sensory cues, past memories, emotions.
Thoughts and expectations affect pain (WUSHU RELAX!!!).
Pain is real. Pain is a real FEELING, but that feeling does not necessarily reflect real damage in the body.
On MRI's:
almost no matter where you point an MRI on an adult body, you can find something wrong there, even parts that are completely free of pain.
Why pain is not an accurate indicator of tissue damage:
1. Purpose is not to measure tissue damage, but to encourage protective behaviors
2. Pain protects against PERCEIVED threat, not actual threat, and the brain's perceptions in this regard can simply be incorrect
Pain is an action signal, not damage meter.
Some individuals are prone to maintaining sensitization even after tissue damage has healed.
Pain becomes like habit that's hard to break.
If you have pain for >3 months: changes in the way your nervous system processes danger signals from the painful area.
Nocebo - when thoughts can make pain worse. (eg guy with the needle in boot)
Chronic pain people have difficulty with control of the pelvis and low back (peel aways on the floor, body line work with ant/post tilt/wall work/...)
Graded exposure: progressive introduction of threatening movements or other stimuli, in appropriate dosage and timing, to cause nervous system to become less threatened by the movements.
Learning about pain physiology improves pain.
Chronic low back pain => improve motor control is most effective method.
Sensory gating: give body competing sense information => hitting/rubbing injured area.
Should feel like a "good pain."
NO PAIN FACE:
One limiting factor in reaching your physical potential is the extent to which your nervous system is in protective mode.
(Brain's perception of threat should be low bro)
On flexibility:
contracting stretched muscle shows the nervous system that it can safely return the joint to neutral
Fatigue is not a physical state, but emotion used by brain to regulate exercise stress.
Quickest way to increase performance is reduce perceived threat related to movement. => graded exposure in everything
There's not isolated emotion, thought, movement or isolation. Each mental output involves elements of the other three. Every thought has associated movement, sensation, and emotion.
"think good thoughts" vs "moving happy moves" => it works both ways my friend
Practicing control of movement to practice control of emotion.
Metacognition (mindfulness): ability to look at thoughts, perceptions and emotions in non-judgmental way.
=> difference between wise self-knowledge and neurotic self-consciousness
Better interoceptive awareness =>better strategies for emotional and physiological regulation
(sensory information form the viscera and other organs that indicate body's physiological state: HR, PH, blood pressure, oxygenation of lungs (Wim Hof), fullness stomach (Yojokun)
Find ways of moving that might normally be uncomfortable but will feel good with novel modifications.
"Make the impossible possible, the hard easy, and the easy elegant."
- Moshé Feldenkrais
All intelligent animals play. The more intelligent, the more it plays. Chimps, dolphins, and dogs play more than snakes, turtles and bugs. Humans are the smartest animals and play the most.
Efficiency in movement = ratio of useful work performed compared to the cost required to perform it.
Charlie Francis considered relaxation to be the #1 secret to greater speed.
Parasitic tension (eg stress of work): unwanted and unnecessary contractions in shoulders, neck, jaw.
Moving from novice to expert in implies releasing degrees of freedom at the joints through relaxation of muscular tension.
Way to test balance at any particular point on a movement path is to see if you can change direction, even in the opposite direction. (~play w/ this in locomotion patterns; deep squat as transit)
=> reversibility as a test of movement quality
Good movement = adaptability and responsiveness to a changing environment.
Posture is a dynamic thing.
Difference in posture does not predict difference in chronic pain levels.
If movement is a skill that can be improved, it can also be a habit that's hard to break.
Unlike sensation, perception is a skill that improves with practice (eg elite athlete better perception than beginner, sensation same; perception trained)
Focused attention = key requirement for practice that maximizes neuroplasticity and associated motor learning. Tunnel vision.
External cues/focus promotes faster motor learning. (eg push feet in floor vs extend hips and knees)
Almost any intervention intended to treat pain and improve quality of movement involves novel stimulus.
=> only causes long term changes if it improves function, if not temporary
=> focus on active movement based therapy that helps the brain create better function
Use pregnancy rule: impose constraint on movement that will make difference between R/W more obvious.
Various forms of learning and memorization are improved after a bout of exercise. (STEPHEN FUCKING JEPSON)
Play can speed learning.
Developmental movements:
breathing
head control
reaching
squatting
rolling
crawling
creeping
=> adults who use this will retrieve and brush up on some primal movement patterns that might be neglected
(TEST Dr. Mark Cheng zijn Sphinx positie stuff)
Developmental position can reduce protective activity; facilitate recovery of motor patterns.
=> Improve movement by limiting movement options. (Isolation, integration)
"As soon as your body thinks it has all the answers, you need to start asking different questions."
Spend more time sitting on the floor.
Pain is a conscious experience created by the brain, not a damaged condition of the body.
Nociception: sensory signaling indicating danger to the tissues of the body.
When the brain receives a danger signal from the body, it will need to ask: "how dangerous is this really" To answer it draws in every piece of info available related to threat: sensory cues, past memories, emotions.
Thoughts and expectations affect pain (WUSHU RELAX!!!).
Pain is real. Pain is a real FEELING, but that feeling does not necessarily reflect real damage in the body.
On MRI's:
almost no matter where you point an MRI on an adult body, you can find something wrong there, even parts that are completely free of pain.
Why pain is not an accurate indicator of tissue damage:
1. Purpose is not to measure tissue damage, but to encourage protective behaviors
2. Pain protects against PERCEIVED threat, not actual threat, and the brain's perceptions in this regard can simply be incorrect
Pain is an action signal, not damage meter.
Some individuals are prone to maintaining sensitization even after tissue damage has healed.
Pain becomes like habit that's hard to break.
If you have pain for >3 months: changes in the way your nervous system processes danger signals from the painful area.
Nocebo - when thoughts can make pain worse. (eg guy with the needle in boot)
Chronic pain people have difficulty with control of the pelvis and low back (peel aways on the floor, body line work with ant/post tilt/wall work/...)
Graded exposure: progressive introduction of threatening movements or other stimuli, in appropriate dosage and timing, to cause nervous system to become less threatened by the movements.
Learning about pain physiology improves pain.
Chronic low back pain => improve motor control is most effective method.
Sensory gating: give body competing sense information => hitting/rubbing injured area.
Should feel like a "good pain."
NO PAIN FACE:
One limiting factor in reaching your physical potential is the extent to which your nervous system is in protective mode.
(Brain's perception of threat should be low bro)
On flexibility:
contracting stretched muscle shows the nervous system that it can safely return the joint to neutral
Fatigue is not a physical state, but emotion used by brain to regulate exercise stress.
Quickest way to increase performance is reduce perceived threat related to movement. => graded exposure in everything
There's not isolated emotion, thought, movement or isolation. Each mental output involves elements of the other three. Every thought has associated movement, sensation, and emotion.
"think good thoughts" vs "moving happy moves" => it works both ways my friend
Practicing control of movement to practice control of emotion.
Metacognition (mindfulness): ability to look at thoughts, perceptions and emotions in non-judgmental way.
=> difference between wise self-knowledge and neurotic self-consciousness
Better interoceptive awareness =>better strategies for emotional and physiological regulation
(sensory information form the viscera and other organs that indicate body's physiological state: HR, PH, blood pressure, oxygenation of lungs (Wim Hof), fullness stomach (Yojokun)
Find ways of moving that might normally be uncomfortable but will feel good with novel modifications.
"Make the impossible possible, the hard easy, and the easy elegant."
- Moshé Feldenkrais
December 10, 2016
I first found out about Todd Hargrove's work through an interview by Justin Goodhart in the "Move Smart" podcast (Wellrounded Athlete). I listen to these - and the "Liberated Body" podcasts - during my runs. Most of them are great and I often search for more info about the guests afterwards, but this was the first time I couldn't wait to get back home just to order the book. It didn't disappoint me. Lately, I've become a bit annoyed at some body workers who put it ALL down to biomechanics and this neurological approach was exactly what I was hankering for.
A large part of the book are exercises that train your proprioception (and not only that). They were a real challenge (especially since I didn't find it easy to read the instructions in the book while trying to perform the movements), but many of them felt useful even after only going through them once. I will certainly go back to several of them!
This is a great book that I would recommend to all body nerds and anyone in pain!
A large part of the book are exercises that train your proprioception (and not only that). They were a real challenge (especially since I didn't find it easy to read the instructions in the book while trying to perform the movements), but many of them felt useful even after only going through them once. I will certainly go back to several of them!
This is a great book that I would recommend to all body nerds and anyone in pain!
March 6, 2015
Book of the year. Αυτό που λατρεύω σε ανάλογα βιβλία, είναι ότι αποτελούν έναν διάλογο για να σε εμπνεύσουν να ψάξεις ακόμα περισσότερα θέματα. Ο Todd δίνει προτάσεις και δεν στηρίζεται μόνο σε ότι έχει δει στην έρευνα ή μόνο σε ότι έχει δει με την πρακτική του εμπειρία. Φροντίζει να κοιτάξει και τους δύο κόσμους και να προσφέρει ένα βιβλίο που να κάνει τον αναγνώστη να το διαβάζει ξανά και ξανά.
January 20, 2020
A demanding and occasionally difficult read, because the material is so complex. But so worth the painstaking attention. Almost every page has gems of insights and glorious "Aha" moments. Definitely one of the best and most riveting books I have ever read about this subject.
April 18, 2024
I wanted to read this book because of the connection between the brain and pain. I am a quadriplegic, so I was less interested in the parts about movement. They were Interesting, though, as well as the parts about pain.
Because I suffer chronic pain due to my paralysis, I wanted to hear about how the brain is involved in determining pain levels and where pain exists. Mine is related to neuropathy, but this book did not disappoint in explaining how pain, the nervous system, and the brain are so related.
I thoroughly enjoyed the middle part of the book where these principles and applications were explained. The author did a wonderful job in clear and giving scientific terminology a fresh look. I learned a lot about how these parts of your body work together, often protecting yourself from the wrong movements.
It was enlightening for me to understand how pain works and why I experience it. The rest of the book was good as it gave specific exercises a person can do to train their brain and body to work better. If you're an athlete, someone who deals with pain or wonders why your body feels pain when you move a certain way, this is a great book to read. It will be as illuminating for you as it was for me.
Because I suffer chronic pain due to my paralysis, I wanted to hear about how the brain is involved in determining pain levels and where pain exists. Mine is related to neuropathy, but this book did not disappoint in explaining how pain, the nervous system, and the brain are so related.
I thoroughly enjoyed the middle part of the book where these principles and applications were explained. The author did a wonderful job in clear and giving scientific terminology a fresh look. I learned a lot about how these parts of your body work together, often protecting yourself from the wrong movements.
It was enlightening for me to understand how pain works and why I experience it. The rest of the book was good as it gave specific exercises a person can do to train their brain and body to work better. If you're an athlete, someone who deals with pain or wonders why your body feels pain when you move a certain way, this is a great book to read. It will be as illuminating for you as it was for me.
April 20, 2025
This book helped me understand why physical therapy has only been successful in helping me with some of my rehabilitation efforts. As I ramp up my seasonal training for triathlon and trail running in the coming months I will utilize some of what I learned from this book for specification training as well as continuing rehabilitation of painful joints and tissue. Good book; important book. I will re-read this book again sometime soon.
March 5, 2018
Very nicely detailed/depicted exercises. I am not sure how I feel about the text that portion of the book didn't really grab me.
June 8, 2023
Note: I listened to the audiobook.
This might be useful to physical therapists but I was uninspired.
This might be useful to physical therapists but I was uninspired.
August 10, 2024
Ended up buying a physical copy of this and keeping it at work bc I like to reference it so much.
September 5, 2022
Loved everything about this book. Written in (mostly) layman language, it is easy to read and understand. Highly recommended!
July 14, 2019
A long road of pain and now freedom
This book has helped me to integrate the different parts of my body to work together so as to free up the over used muscles, thus less pain. It’s great to feel the new connections and relaxed mobility of the body. Best of luck and mobility on your path of travel.
This book has helped me to integrate the different parts of my body to work together so as to free up the over used muscles, thus less pain. It’s great to feel the new connections and relaxed mobility of the body. Best of luck and mobility on your path of travel.
July 7, 2015
Loved everything about this book. Written in (mostly) layman language, it is easy to read and understand. Highly recommended!
December 18, 2017
Very insightful and helpful.
Gives you (the practitioner) a new approach (the Feldenkrais method) to better help and guide your patients towards more awareness about the way they move.
Gives you (the practitioner) a new approach (the Feldenkrais method) to better help and guide your patients towards more awareness about the way they move.
December 21, 2019
This book got me off my ass and walking 7000 steps a day. It changed my life. Read it if you’re in pain.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews