On this episode I spoke with Jeff Morton who is a physiotherapist Advanced Lower Limb Practitioner in the NHS in the UK and shares some great content on social media around movement science, biomechanics and complex systems theory with some cracking memes. 

You can find Jeff here: https://www.instagram.com/jmortonphysio/

We dived into a discussion about ecological dynamics, which considers the body as a complex system that interacts with its environment. 

Jeff shared some great insights including how he uses ecological dynamics in the clinic as well as some great examples of how he uses constraints to target key areas such as the quadriceps during ACL rehah. 

An outine of ecological dynamics follows:

Human movement can be viewed as the emergent result of the interaction between the athlete and its surrounding context. 

The athlete performs in a context that is shaped by three types of constraints 

1. Individual constraints 

2. Environmental constraints 

3. Task constraints 

Individual constraints 

• Height 

• Weight 

• Strength 

• Limb length 

• Fatigue 

• Anxiety 

Environmental constraints 

• Terrain 

• Light 

• Weather

• Boundaries of the field 

Task constraints 

• Goal of the task 

• Any rules such as for a sport

• Objects or rules that specify or constrain the athletes response dynamics, eg actions of other players 

 

Movement is not produced by an athlete in isolation, but emerges from a dynamic coupling between the athlete's characteristics, the stimulus-rich environment, and the desired actions (ie tasks). 

There is a non-linear relationship between changes in constraints and the produced movement. 

Self organized movement, perception and action are inherently coupled and cannot be studied in isolation. Expert athletes aren’t just proficient movers, they excel at perceiving information from the environment and executing actions accordingly. 

I really hope you gained as much from this episode as I did! 

Geoff.