Corrective Exercise: Injury Prevention and Treatment
Welcome back!
So glad you are continuing your journey to a stronger life, mind, body, and spirit.
If you have missed any of the previous posts, you can hop right into them HERE.
Today, we are embarking on Corrective Exercise.
Don’t stop reading!!!!
Even if you don’t feel this applies to you right now, I promise it will be of value to a loved one AND you can save it for yourself for later.
Corrective exercise is a passion of mine and has been for over 12 years. I received my CE cert that long ago because I legitimately didn’t feel athletic enough at the time to get my performance coaching certification (true story). HOWEVER, I am forever grateful for corrective exercise because it enabled me to help many more people and approach training with a different mindset.
What can you learn from corrective exercise?
I have yet to meet a single person without some nagging pain, previous injury, or altered movement pattern. Not one.
These 3 things affect our overall movement; and as they are allowed to affect it, over time, they can cause severe issues that will contribute to chronic pain, inflammation, hormone disorders, weight gain, muscle loss, and a heap of musculoskeletal issues.
Knowing what causes these issues, and how to prevent them from overtaking your kinetic chain, will enable you to live a long, healthy, and active life.
Nagging Pains
Nagging pains are usually the most common ailment I hear
from people who do NOT work with me….or at least, they haven’t started
working with me yet Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
A nagging pain can be a low back ache, super tight hamstrings that lead to tight hips, achy joints, stiff muscles, inflexible wrists, odd shoulder pains, hurt feet, etc.
Experienced any of those?
The problem is that most of us blow these off and are told it’s just “AGE”. By the way, I hate the age lie and I don’t believe in it. Why? Because I have met 86 year olds far more mobile than 26 year olds…..it’s lifestyle and decisions, plain and simple.
Nagging pains are usually a precursor to something else, possibly something bigger. That nagging low back pain could very well be a warning sign that your core has clocked out and your back is in serious trouble.
Side note: My FAVORITE saying I have is “I never met a back problem that didn’t start in the front”. Get your core right and your back problems won’t be problems anymore.
Previous (or current) Injury
Self explanatory, but these are the nagging pains we ignored usually.
It’s the low back injury we incurred while picking up a pencil off the floor or pushing something out of the way with our foot.
It’s the chronically stiff hands and wrists from never balancing them out after forcing them to type, text, and drive all day long.
It’s the hips that feel like they’re stuck in cement because we spend over 1/2 the day sitting.
You feel the issues right?
Injuries, left untreated, will alter movement patterns.
NOTE: I am very much PRO DOCTOR. However, after doctor’s care it is extremely important to get proper care for rehabilitating and reintegrating the injured part of the body back into reality. Do your research and find a professional who specializes in this (OH, PICK ME!). Corrective exercise therapy is a great option as we typically will take you from doctor’s orders to integration in a shorter amount of time. A properly trained (check credentials please) physical or physio therapist is also a good bet, AND the great state of Texas no longer requires a prescription for therapy.
Altered Movement Patterns
Whether you’re injured OR if you’ve had a nagging pain for long enough, chances are you are dealing with altered movement patterns.
To put it simply, your brain has a TON of jobs to do. When you stub your toe, it will inadvertently insure that you limp a bit and put more weight on the opposite side of the foot to allow that toe (and your injured pride) to heal.
The larger problems come with longer lasting pain and injuries that were never reintegrated.
Let’s say you have a “BUM KNEE.”
Your knee doesn’t hurt all the time, but it does cause a bit of discomfort that can increase in certain scenarios.
If you sit for a long period of time, when you go to stand and walk your knee is having none of it. This will then translate to a slight limp thus shifting weight distribution so the injured knee can rest.
Guys, the human body is lazy as a whole. Given the opportunity, it will take the path of LEAST resistance and thus altered movement patterns are born.
If this pattern is allowed for long enough, your body takes it as gospel and you’re now shifting weight in the wrong way when you walk, run, stand, roll out of bed, hop down from your truck, etc. These altered movement patterns now set you up for further injury.
So, what does this have to do with lifting?
The pieces of your puzzle are about to fall together.
Let’s revisit the knee.
It’s just a nagging pain. It doesn’t keep you up at night. It doesn’t REALLY prevent you from living life and all of your friends say it’s just age.
You have been inspired to lift (glad I could help), you’ve got a program going and you’re hitting the gym.
Now, it is so subtle it is unknown to you, BUT your body slightly shifts left when you squat due to the knee. It also has trouble maintaining knee stability when lunging and stepping up, but you contribute to age and lack of balance.
NOW, you’re starting to really feel great and ramp up your squat game. You work your way up to the barbell, you follow your program to a T, you perform your reps and sets and you even watch yourself in the mirror to make sure your form is good.
Then, it happens. That darn knee starts “acting up.” You can’t add more weight to the bar. You find yourself walking less and less, and running is completely out of the question. You notice the knee swelling from time to time and sometimes you feel pain far worse than before.
You head to the doc where you’re put on anti-inflammatories and told to let it rest for a while. YAY, upper body only…..until your shoulder and elbow start to ache.
OH MY GOSH I FEEL SO OLD!
So what happened?
Your kinetic chain my friend.
Your entire body works synergistically to have you functioning at your highest capacity. That slightly nagging pain was a wrench in your tire, but it wasn’t large enough to cause a crash right off the bat.
How can I help myself?
First off, it is ALWAYS worth the investment to have a specialist take a look.
Unfortunately, not every personal trainer or physical therapist specializes in this, so do your homework.
Second, try videotaping yourself.
If your lower body is the culprit, video yourself doing a few squats. You can start with bodyweight squats and always make sure you film from the front, side and back.
If it’s your shoulder complex, you can video a pushup or bench press.
NOTE: If any joint is too sore for movement, see your doc and then book a session asap with a corrective therapist.
Bottom line.
You don’t have to live with pain. Period.
Yes, the body ages, but good therapists and trainers know how to integrate a proper program to keep your body supple, mobile, and moving well, no matter the age.
IF you are struggling with nagging pain, injuries, or altered movement patterns, I fully encourage you to reach out to me today. If you live close, I can evaluate you face to face. Live too far away? NO worries! Most of my clients use video to get the results they need.
You can be pain free….with a little help and knowledge Image may be NSFW.
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Michelle
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