Pain

Most of us are accustomed to pain at some level, whether it’s a dull ache or a sharp debilitating pain. Sometimes we feel it during day to day activity, specific exercises, or worse, it keeps us up at night. We seek relief from our doctor and they usually refer us to a physical therapist and we get some relief but as time goes on we find out that the relief is only temporary. We begin battling the same pain and discomfort, so we start reaching for the Advil or the Extra Strength Tylenol even though we know that’s like putting a Band Aid on a broken finger, and our problem doesn’t get fixed. The good news is that we have a solution to chronic problems like lower back pain, knee pain, and shoulder pain.

What sets us apart from traditional remedies like physical therapy, massage, chiropractic, and other methods of personal training is that we implement exercise according to how individual muscles work in harmony with the other muscles in your body and the requirements necessary to translate those exercises to sustain pain-free movement in life outside of the gym. We aren’t saying that those other remedies don’t work or that you shouldn’t try them but if you have tried them and haven’t had any long term relief then you should consider implementing our practices. We aren’t like most gyms, we spend our first few sessions drilling in the basics to establish a firm foundation to operate from. “Basics” meaning, breathing, posture, and proper body mechanics to enhance the way we exercise and improve the way we live.

While other methods look to the area that’s feeling pain to fix the problem sometimes that’s not looking deep enough. By understanding how the muscles in your body connect and what optimal movement should look like we can decode why you experience knee pain every time you take a step. For example, when we walk our torso should rotate to connect our upper body to our lower body, if we aren’t rotating the trunk when we walk then our body compensates in the hip, knee, or ankle joint down the kinetic chain, or into the shoulder joint up the kinetic chain. We analyze the way you walk and move to determine if your body is compensating in one area resulting in pain in another area. Our goal is to get to the source of your pain not simply treat the symptom because that may not be the cause, and if you never get to the real cause you never find long term relief.

Our methods don’t stop there, once we have your pain managed and your foundation established we begin to introduce exercises to retrain your body to hold proper muscle activations. That way when you move your muscles are doing the work and not your joints, so the pain you once experienced doesn’t return.

We’re here to tell you that you don’t have to live with your pain! If you’d like to learn more about how we do what we do and specifics about how we can help your individual needs then please contact us to set up a free phone consultation!

 

 

Muscle Isolation vs. Integration

Exercises should connect muscles in the body the way muscles connect the body in the real world, in order to program proper movement. Primarily when we walk, run, and throw but also any type of athletic movement or daily function. If your body’s hurting, you can’t move as well as you used to, or your quality of life is limited then your body may be disconnected. Possibly from lack of exercise, prioritizing the wrong kinds of exercises, or old injuries that need to be rehabilitated with the correct kinds of exercises. Exercises that train your body for a specific purpose… not just to chase after that pump.

Muscles in our body connect and work together with other muscles to coordinate movement. If we only isolate muscles when we workout then we are “disconnecting” their coordination ability with other muscles. This sends the wrong signal to the brain, that it’s okay to use this muscle independently and then our body adapts to complete a movement with the wrong muscles. These adaptations throw off our alignment and we start to create imbalances that manifest as an ache, pain, or injury because are muscles no longer work in harmony with each other.

In the real world our body in connected from head to toe every time it moves. For example, we can’t use our glute to take a step without the hamstring and calf participating in the movement. Exercise should replicate as much of a real world scenario as it can, in order to be as effective as it can at improving ones ability to function. Specifically, creating muscle activation in multiple muscles at once in a way that the muscles are utilized in reality- back to the glute, hamstring, and calf example when we walk. We should concern ourselves with how the calf functions every time we take a step, rather than how big our calf looks, and how the calf synchronizes with the rest of the muscles to properly move our body. Therefore, true functional fitness isn’t as simple as using kettle bells instead of a machine when you workout, but how that workout is going to strategically make your body function better, in scenarios your body encounters in life outside of the gym.

If you want to move well, perform better, improve your posture, limit joint pain, and take control of your life then send us an email with any questions or concerns and find out how we’re here to help!

Body. Brain. Let’s Connect

A picture is worth a 1,000 words… this picture says a lot because a lot is going on during this exercise, physically and mentally. John is incorporating thoracic rotation by connecting his Left lat to his Right glute & his Right shoulder to his Left hip via a deep connection of muscle groups known as the myofascial slings. These slings connect the upper body with the lower body- an important connection for quality movement. We’re taking it a step further with this exercise and integrating the movement at a nueromuscular level to make this sling connection a sub conscious action. If you want to move pain free the rest of your life, the way all your muscles work in unison with each other has to happen at a sub-conscious, automatic level. 

During this exercise John’s left glute is on fire and the deep core musculature is engaging as the left lat pulls and right arm punches connecting with the obliques to help rotate his ribcage and thus the myofascial slings are engaged and connecting John’s upper body with his lower body. The action during this exercise replicates a way our muscles connect with each other in life outside of the gym. It’s important to connect the body in the right way if you want to move better in day to day life and move better during exercise, both which lead to less overall aches and pains in the body. 

This exercise was all about getting John’s body in the correct position to automatically activate the correct muscles at the correct time so his joints didn’t do the muscles job, aka no more joint pain when he is out functioning in the real world! When your muscles work correctly this means less wear and tear on your joints, the key to sustaining an active lifestyle well past your prime!

If you’d like to learn how you can optimize your lifestyle, we’re here to help!

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