Flossing and Voodoo Bands

[Klaudius Petrulis]

Hey Guys,

 

I was wondering if y'all had opinions or experience with flossing. I've ordered a couple of different bands from Rogue and I can't wait to try them out!

 

http://www.roguecanada.ca/voodoo-floss-bands.php

 

[Keilani Gutierrez]

hmm...sounds like something I could use.

 

sometimes I get a small "pop" from my elbows when i do pushups and a few minutes ago from doing a set of xiaopeng forward and backwards. 

 

I think it's on the outside but it's also happened on the inside of my elbow. 

[Klaudius Petrulis]

Interesting! That video sold me on the bands, because I have tendinitis from doing pull-ups, which isn't rare but it is a recurring issue. Hopefully these will help assist in my rehab.

[Blairbob]

 Helped a lot after I wracked my wrists in a missed clean last September. Sessions prelifting helped a lot and I ended up using the bands as wrist supports (but wrapped much lighter).

 At the gym we often use them on our knees pre-lift amongst us lifters.

[Zachary Daniel]

I just got mine today.  Wrapped my wrists and went through some light drills before H1 today.....felt great!

[yuri marmerstein]

I use the jumpstretch compression band fairly regularly, especially if I tweak something it is one my first lines of defense. 

[Joshua Naterman]

Nerve gliding/flossing is a very good idea. This helps me quite a bit, personally.

 

I haven't watched the video yet, no time right now, so I can't specifically comment on it yet. Will edit this later on.

[Kenneth Dudley]

Just to tag my experience onto an old(ish) post. I've been using the voodoo band (as explained in the above video) to keep my burgeoning tennis elbow in check. It's working like a charm. With daily (sometimes 3-times daily) use over about 1 month, I'm finally getting on top of the problem. It's also a neat way to get rid of any lingering pain almost instantly. I mainly use it whenever I feel any building tension in my elbows (usually just after some pull-ups). You can also use a cut up bike-tire-tube, though it would likely be more uncomfortable.

[Joshua Naterman]

So, there is research showing that short durations of ischemia (up to 10 minutes) helps with healing injuries in the distal portions (areas with reduced blood flow due to the band or a blood pressure cuff). If you choose to do something like this, you need to use a timer. Going for too long can cause irreversible damage.

 

There is research showing that we are not causing one muscle to slide past another, or anything of the sort. Kstar is behind the times in his explanations. Ischemia and possible adjustment of how the nervous system perceives the muscle's movements are the two most likely explanations for how, and why, this works.

 

For that book, keep in mind that pretty much everything in there that pertains to gymnastic movements is either partially or totally wrong, and I have heard from my friends who are into O-lifting that those portions are also sub-par. Keep in mind that this book is written for the Cross-fit community, and as such it is absolutely full of Bro-ish sayings and explanations.

 

The self-therapy stuff is useful, and is the primary reason why I think the book is worth the money. Try not to get caught up in the rest.

[Samuli Jyrkinen]

I tried this and felt awesome. But I don't think it is worth to buy the crazy expensive "voodoo-band". Did the same with 4$ elastic band and worked like a charm.

 

I have had a cranky right elbow for 6 months... tried this and my elbow got sore for couple of days but after it healed it is better than before. Seems like the elbow tendons couldn't get sufficient blood flow and this opened it somehow. Previously I had to click/pop my elbow in the warm-up or otherwise I felt pressure/pain with some movements but after the warm-up click/pop no pain whatsoever. Got the cranky elbow syndrome from pattern overuse - jabbing with the maximal speed(tension + relax). My right elbow still gets sore if I dare to do lighting speed jabs which is unfortunate.

 

 

I was personally quite disappointed in Supple Leopard book. Teaches good basics for the basic stuff(push-ups, squats etc.) but if you are a gymnast or martial artist, this book will barely help you unless you don't know the very basics of strength exercises. I really like Kelly Starrett though, have listened many podcasts featuring him and he is an awesome guy. He doesn't like stretching one bit, and according to him proper execution of training will be more than enough for the flexibility. As a result when you see him squat or perform anything else, he is not very flexible at all... so at least it seems not to be working very well for him. 

[Joshua Naterman]

Samui, you shouldn't be throwing jabs to full extension. That is probably the main issue that led to your elbow problems. That is called reaching, and is a bad idea because it causes the problems you have experienced. I don't know if you realized that you were doing this, but I was incredibly fast with my jabs, and I used them WAY more than I ever used anything else, but I had no problems because I learned to stop at 90% of full extension.

 

I will suggest that you learn the same thing, and start slow. It will probably take 6-ish months for you to build back up to a quick jab that won't hurt.

 

I also advise that you do some specific elbow extension work, like french presses (skull crushers). I have always found that these make a big difference in elbow vulnerability. Diamond push ups are also good, but there is something that feels better about the french press in this regard. I like both, but I believe that the french press is more specific to what the elbow does during a punch since both are open chain.

[Blairbob]

Here is the tricky thing about Olympic WL. There are a few different camps out there so if you follow one camp of course another camp is wrong. The book goes over WL from the point of Triple Extension which is popular in CF due to Mike Burgener and a lot of other USAW coaches. However, the coach at the OTC, Zgymunt Smalcerz comes from Poland where the pull is straighter. There are a few Chinese influenced coaches out here in the US and you'll a different pull there and there is also the Glenn Pendlay/Don McCauley camp (maybe throw in Dan Bell in there too) and Greg Everett. So it all depends on whose camp you pray to. Diane Fu could be a bit more flexibile in her shoulders but she seems to land in a position very similar to other asian WLers.

 

The Gymnastics, which there isn't much of is decent as all of that comes from Carl Paoli. Strict MU, HeSPU, "Chinese" kipping PU as it's been called by Coach Sommer or Arch>Hollow and Pistol or deck squat.

 

K-Star himself approaches some stuff from a PL bias due to his work with Mark Bell and you'll see the LBBS of Rippetoe in there (old school PL).

 

K-Star has his own idea on stretching. He's actually alright at the splits surprisingly in his videos but static stretching isn't his only cup of tea as he likes to look for weak points. And it's not like many CrossFitters actually care much about doing a handbridge or the splits.

 

I swear by the voodoo band stuff but you're right I'm not going to buy a $25 band. Cheap bike tube works pretty well though I think they aren't quite long enough to wrap knees that well, especially for big guys. It may be a bit addictive because it feels good. Wrapping my knees is quite odd and makes them feel bionic but it's a fast easy way to get them warmed up fast (like my wrists).

[FREDERIC DUPONT]

Great show of erudition Blairbob

[Samuli Jyrkinen]

Samui, you shouldn't be throwing jabs to full extension. That is probably the main issue that led to your elbow problems. That is called reaching, and is a bad idea because it causes the problems you have experienced. I don't know if you realized that you were doing this, but I was incredibly fast with my jabs, and I used them WAY more than I ever used anything else, but I had no problems because I learned to stop at 90% of full extension.

 

I will suggest that you learn the same thing, and start slow. It will probably take 6-ish months for you to build back up to a quick jab that won't hurt.

 

I also advise that you do some specific elbow extension work, like french presses (skull crushers). I have always found that these make a big difference in elbow vulnerability. Diamond push ups are also good, but there is something that feels better about the french press in this regard. I like both, but I believe that the french press is more specific to what the elbow does during a punch since both are open chain.

 

Yeah, I now know that you shouldn't throw jabs to full extension :\. Thanks for the good tips. I cannot do skull crushers at all. Push-ups, dips, OHP etc. are no pain and all pulls as well except some shoulder adduction work(such as bulgarian pull-ups) sometimes cause pain. Skull crushers immediately cause pain. Tricep isolations such as kick backs and push downs are 100% fine. Been trying all kinds of treatments but pretty much this voodoo method is the only one which seems to help somehow. Even took a month of complete rest but didn't change a thing. I am just happy that I can do almost everything despite the cranky elbow. 

[Joshua Naterman]

 Skull crushers immediately cause pain. 

 

Even with 1 pound? It pays to microload, particularly when you have been injured.

[Samuli Jyrkinen]

Even with 1 pound? It pays to microload, particularly when you have been injured.

Doesn't require much. I think I can do them comfortably with less than 2 pounds. I tried micro loading elbow extension work for a few weeks but didn't stick with it. Do you think it would help? The pain in the same spot as in the student's elbow diagnose, in the Ulna I guess, no swelling but I can feel pain when pressing/massaging the bone hard enough. With movements the pain feels like pressure. Elbow extension skull crusher/overhead french press/BW tricep extension style is where the pain occurs. Can even do muscle-ups no pain. I have tried RICE, self-myofascial stuff, creams, daily rice bucket work, thick bar/forearm work, high omega 3 dieting, the same medication doctors order for tennis elbow, etc.