The Newsy Neighbour
January Issue #111
Article provided by:Samuel Down for the Bank Athletic Club
Tip 1: Move and move well
We were built and designed to move, yet in today’s
society, it is very easy for us to spend too much time sitting. Most of us
probably sit for work, or spend long hours in a car, and when we get home we
sit some more. The largest and most powerful muscle in our bodies is the
gluteus maximus (the big muscle of the bum). It is the biggest muscle in the
body, not to provide a cushion for us to sit on, but rather to enable us to
generate incredible amounts of force. Unfortunately, sitting on this muscle all
day every day actually just turns it off. When this happens, we get imbalanced,
certain muscles get tight, other muscles get long and weak. It then becomes
harder to move well. We are designed to bend, squat, lift a certain way. Moving
well and moving correctly helps keep us balanced, strong and pain free!
Tip 2: Strengthen
Nearly every single person I see in my clinic comes
to me because something is causing them pain. Without exception, every single
client I see has some kind of muscle weakness - muscles that need strengthening
to balance them out. When you are too strong in one muscle group and too weak
in the opposing muscle group, this leads to increased stress on joints and
their supporting tissues. I am yet to treat anyone for being too strong and
balanced. An example of a common weakness I see is weakness in the muscles that
control the shoulder blade. When these muscles are weak, there is less force
controlling the shoulder blade, keeping it where it needs to be. Because the
shoulder blade has a hook on it that extends above the arm bone, this weakness
often leads to shoulder impingement, bursitis and rotator cuff tears.
Tip 3: Mobilize
When thinking about mobilizing, we are thinking
about full range of motion in our joints. If we lose full range of motion in
any joint, other joints have to start compensating. Remember what we said about
moving well and correctly? It is hard to move well and correctly when you do
not have full range of motion in your joints. For example, to perform a squat
properly you need full range of motion in your hips, knees and ankles. If you
don’t have full range of motion you will have to compromise some how – this
usually means putting your lower back or knees into a poor and compromised
position. Some ways of mobilizing include: stretching, targeted foam rolling
and weighted movements through full range. A licensed therapist is also able to
effectively mobilize joints.
Tip 4: Develop Control
Tip 4 is really a combination of the first 3.
Having strength and full range of motion are good for nothing if we do not have
the control to move correctly through full range whilst performing day to day
movements. Once we have strength and full range, we need to develop the
strength and control throughout the whole range. For example, if you never
squat below 90 degrees in the gym, chances are you do not have the control to
control your spine, pelvis and hips past 90 degrees. We all squat, bend and
lift things all day long in our normal daily activities. Who do you think is most
likely to eventually hurt themselves – the person who can squat through full
range whilst controlling spine, pelvis and hips, or the person who can only
control their spine, pelvis and hips to a certain degree of available range?
Control through full range is crucial!
Tip 5: Develop Balance
Balance was a central theme of the first 4 tips.
Another thing I see time and time again in the clinic is people who are
completely unbalanced. Let’s return to the example of sitting – if you spend
hours and hours sitting day in and day out, the muscles at the front of the hip
adapt and get used to that position, they become short, whilst at the back of
the hip these muscles also adapt to this position and they lengthen out (and
often become quite weak). This muscle imbalance can play havoc on how your hip
joints move in their sockets, or where your pelvis’ resting position is, or how
much control you have of your spine, pelvis and hips through their range.
Ultimately, if you are imbalanced there is a good chance you are already
experiencing pain, and if you are not then it is unfortunately really only a
matter of time.
Tip 6: Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight
I recognise that this is easier said than done, but
any excess weight you are carrying round is just added stress on your joints
and can definitely be contributing to your pain. I have worked with a number of
people who have lost a significant amount of weight and every single time they
have reported decreased pain as a result of decreased weight. There are
obviously lots of factors involved in weight loss, but one of the most
important things is creating a calorie deficit. This means expending more
energy than you consume, so that your body has to access its fat stores to meet
the deficit. Part of that is controlling what you eat, but the other part is
consistent progressive cardiovascular exercise that gets you out of breath.
Not sure how to move correctly? Not sure which of
your muscles need strengthening? Not sure which joints need to be mobilized?
Not sure how to develop control through range? Need a muscle balance
assessment? A licensed physiotherapist can help you with all of these. Luckily,
with some targeted movement retraining, strengthening and mobilizing to correct
muscle imbalances, we can usually see a decrease in pain and symptoms fairly
quickly.
Written by:
Samuel Down
Physiotherapist and owner at Functional Strength
& Mobility Physiotherapy
www.fsmphysio.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment