Joint Pain Relief Through Full Range Of Motion

This episode is for runners who have tried everything to free themselves from chronic joint pain, such as shin splints or arthritic pain. If that describes you, the solution may be a strength training technique known as end range loading.

When you have the benefit of full range mobility, you have free and full control of your capabilities through the joint’s full range of motion. When this full range is compromised, chronic but mild pain is the primary symptom.

Understanding the cause of this will help you better implement the solution.

The challenge with regaining strength and mobility through a joint’s full range of motion is not age, but a mechanism that safeguards us from overreaching. It’s known as the muscle spindle reflex, and one of its signals is tension and mild pain that resists your efforts to regain the mobility you once enjoyed.  

End-range loading means applying controlled weight or load at the outer limit of your current range of motion — such as the deepest portion of your squat. This is often accomplished using gradual and supported loading for safety. 

When you load tissue in this way:

1. You build trust – You retrain the nervous system to recognize the full range of mobility as safe, reducing the inhibitory muscle-spindle reflex.

2. You build strength – You are weakest at any point of resistance or pain. So, it’s essential to gradually extend beyond that point (of flexion or dorsiflexion) to achieve lasting, full-range results.

3. You erase pain – By increasing passive range of motion and converting it into active range of motion strength, you establish new, pain-free range of motion limits.

Check out this episode to learn how this works in practice. 

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Be safe out there and enjoy your next run!