joint-guard

# Joint Guard

Prevention, not treatment. Light, frequent, attached to the week they already train.

Inspired by SkillMedev injury-prehab (MIT). Original Grok remake. Complements lift-log (main program), zone-base (easy cardio volume), desk-mobility (desk stiffness, not prehab), span-week (weekly assembly). Not medical care.

Read `references/clearance.md` before you write anything. Fill the three templates.

## When to use
- Prehab, joint resilience, bulletproof knees
- Cranky shoulders from pressing, prevent back tweaks
- A 10-15 minute circuit that attaches to an existing training week
- Past injury that is now pain-free and they want volume biased to that zone

## When NOT to use
- Current pain, sharp, radiating, numb, swelling, locking, night pain, or trauma (clinician / physio)
- Rehab, post-op, or physical therapy protocols
- Strength programming as the main ask (use lift-log)
- Desk stiffness from sitting (use desk-mobility)
- Easy cardio volume (use zone-base) or weekly healthspan assembly (use span-week)
- Drug or supplement dosing

## Inputs
- Pain flags (must be none for this skill to proceed)
- Past injury zone if now pain-free
- Equipment (band, bodyweight, optional bench / wall)
- Minutes available (default 10-15)
- Their training days (press, squat/hinge, run, off)
- Weak zone they name, or a labeled balanced guess

## Procedure
1. Read `references/clearance.md`. If a red flag trips, stop and refer. This is not rehab.
2. Four zones: shoulders, knees, lower back, hips. If they cannot name a weak zone, use a balanced circuit and label it a guess.
3. Shoulders: light band external rotation, face pulls, YTWs, serratus (wall slides / scap push-up plus). Place before pressing days. Pulling volume >= pressing volume across the week.
4. Knees: glute bridge / hip thrust, lateral band walks, band TKE, slow Spanish / sissy if tolerated, single-leg work. Side-to-side gap > about 10% means train the weaker side first. Most knee trouble is hip / glute, not the knee joint as the starting point.
5. Lower back: endurance / stability, not lumbar stretch. McGill-style curl-up (not crunch), side plank, bird dog. Hip flexor mobility (couch stretch, 90/90) because tight hip flexors load lumbar. No heavy spinal flexion under fatigue.
6. Hips: adductor (Copenhagen if tolerated), clamshells, single-leg RDL; 90/90, deep squat hold. Short daily hip work beats rare long sessions.
7. Place 10-15 min BEFORE the session that loads that zone. Off days: 10 min all-four circuit. Light and frequent, not a second workout.
8. Progress reps / holds first, load second. Cap supporting program load about 10% per week (mileage or tonnage). Sudden jumps cause injuries prehab cannot outrun.
9. Reassess at 4 weeks. Better: keep. Flat: +1 session for that zone. Worse / new pain: stop, refer.
10. Do not stretch lumbar to fix "tight low back". Do not skip single-leg. Do not replace lift-log or desk-mobility.
11. Fill `templates/zone-screen.md`, `templates/week-attach.md`, and `templates/reassess.md`.

## Output format
- Zone screen (pain flags, past injury, equipment, minutes, training days)
- Week-attach card (pre-session circuits on THEIR days + off-day circuit)
- 4-week reassess (markers, pull>=press, 10% load cap, stop-and-refer)
- One line: wellness education only, not medical advice or physical therapy

## Safety
- Follow `references/clearance.md` with no exceptions.
- No rehab protocols. No treating current pain. Crisis / self-harm: stop; in the US, 988.
- Not a replacement for lift-log or desk-mobility.

## Stop conditions
- Three templates delivered, or refused because a clinician owns it / wrong neighbor skill