Why an Office Workout?

As technology becomes greater, our fitness levels become weaker. Today, most of our labor force is working in front of a computer, which can lead to success for your career but problems with your body. Working in an office can be very stressful and can keep you away from the gym. This can and will lead to even bigger problems down the road. Some of the biggest problems that occur when sitting in a desk day in and day out can take time to manifest, but when it happens, it can make everyday life very uncomfortable. Two of the biggest problems that will occur due to prolonged sitting and poor posture are neck pain and tension headaches.

Neck Pain

“Most people will have a minor neck problem at one time or another. Our body movements usually do not cause problems, but it's not surprising that symptoms develop from everyday wear and tear, overuse or injury. Neck problems and injuries most commonly occur during sports or recreational activities, work-related tasks, projects around the home OR POOR POSTURE,” according to Dr. William M. Green.

Neck pain may feel like a kink, stiffness or severe pain. Pain may spread to the shoulders, upper back or arms, and it can cause headaches. Neck movement may be limited, usually more to one side than the other. Neck pain refers to pain anywhere from the area at the base of the skull into the shoulders.

Sitting at your desk everyday for eight hours leaning over with your head forward puts a severe amount of stress on your cervical vertebrae. Every inch your head is over the mid-line (head mid-line is the imagery line from your ear to your shoulder) is eight pounds of pressure on your neck. Over time, this will cause problems, in some cases very dangerous problems. Below is a picture of the spine and how pulling from the cervical spine can cause pain all the way down the lumbar spine.

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches are one of the most frequent types of headaches. They can be triggered by stress, anxiety, depression, hunger, anger, fatigue, overexertion, poor posture and muscle strain. Tension headaches may come on suddenly or gradually. Prolonged sitting, poor posture or eyestrain can also trigger tension headaches.

Tension headaches are the most common problem associated with working at a desk for long periods of time.

As society becomes more dependent on technology, our employees will spend more time in chairs and less time in the gym. These problems will just continue to get worse, not to mention the increase in obesity and everything that comes with it. In society today, it’s hard enough to find time to relax let alone find time to workout, so the only thing we can do is bring the gym to your workplace by using equipment around the office.

Working the correct muscles will help these issues, but we must also perform our daily activates correctly as well. Most people sit leaning forward at their desk with their shoulders rolled forward, causing a rounding of the thoracic-lumbar spine. The issues can be addressed by just sitting correctly at your desk and strengthening and stretching the correct muscles. Pictured below is the incorrect (left) and correct (right) way to sit at your desk, followed by a workout all office employees can do on a daily basis to correct poor posture.

Office Workout

Push Ups on a Chair

• Place your hands on the armrest of the chair slowly flex your elbows, lowering your chest toward the center of the chair.
• Allow the elbows to open to the sides so that the shoulders move through horizontal abduction.
• Maintain an aligned position from the ankles through the ears, everything straight and core tight. Avoid the hips from falling or lifting.
• Pause at the bottom of the movement, then slowly extend the elbows and press back up to the starting position.

Single Leg (Split) Squats

• Place one foot on the chair and the other firmly on the ground.
• Flex the front leg lowering your self into a deep squat; maintain good posture with your shoulders back and your spine in anatomical position.
• Make sure the knee does not pass over the toes, pause at the bottom
• Contract your gluteus the straighten the leg to the starting position.

Scap Activation

• Stand as you would as if you wore performing a bent-over row.
• Arms should be hanging straight down just slightly in front of your feet, rotate the hands outward with thumbs pointed away from midline.
• With a slight bend in the arms, perform a shoulder abduction, contracting the muscles between the scapula (i.e., rhomboids).

Shoulder Push Press

• Angle you body in a 45 degree angle from the floor to the wall (as seen in the picture).
• Keep everything in perfect aliment, with the core tight.
• Slowly flex your elbow, making sure elbow flexion is towards the floor.
• Pause at the end point and then straighten your arm and return to the stating position (the closer your shoulders get to the wall, the harder the exercise becomes).

Triceps Push Ups

• Set your body up just like you would in the normal push-up but place your hands on the seat it self instead of arm rest.
• Slowly flex your slowly lowering your body toward the center of the chair.
• Make sure when you bend your elbows that bend towards your hips.
• Maintain an aligned position from the ankles through the ears, keep everything straight and core tight. Avoid the hips from falling or lifting.

Isometric Towel Curls

• Start by weighting your chair down (so that you can not lift it).
• Wrap a towel around one of the armrest of the chair.
• Grab the towel and squat down about six to 12 inches and then pull the towel, causing a contraction in the bicep.
• This is not your traditional curl, but you’ll feel a burn in both the bicep and forearm (this is also great for someone who has weak wrists or carpal tunnel syndrome).

Abdominal Leg Lifts

• Sit on the chair like you normally would with your hands on the armrest, then slide to the end of the chair and lean back, while elevating your feet.
• Keeping your shoulders back and core tight, raise you legs by only allowing movement in the hips; do not allow movement in the knees to occur.

Office Stretches

Each stretch needs to be performed once every two hours and held for 30 seconds each (should be completed after every workout).

Chest

• Stand tall with core drawn in and gluteus contracted.
• Grab the towel used to perform the curls.
• Hold the towel out in front of you with your arms slightly bend.
• Take your hands over your head and stretch the chest.
• Maintain perfect posture.

Shoulder (Standing)

• Start in anatomical position, with your shoulders back and shoulders blades retracted and depressed.
• Make sure your core is tight and engaged.
• Bring an arm across the body with the hand turned towards the body.
• With the other hand, grab the arm and pull it towards your body.

Shoulder (Seated)

• Start by sitting normal in your chair and place your hands on your desk with your shoulders back.
• Place right hand supinated (palm up) underneath left hand.
• Slowly lean forward in your chair.
• Allow the head to turn in the direction of the stretch.
• Repeat entire movement for the opposite side.

Legs 1

• Position yourself with one leg elevated on your chair or desk.
• Slowly lean forward and stretch your hamstring.

Leg 2

• Stand tall with perfect posture, flex the knee and grab your ankle with the same hand.
• Slowly pull on your ankle and perform a posterior pelvic tilt that will stretch the quadriceps.

Calves

• Stand near a wall or sturdy object.
• Bring one leg forward for support; use your upper body to lean against wall.
• Your outstretched leg should form one straight line, and press the heel into the ground to feel the stretch.

Wrist/Forearm

• Start in anatomical position, with shoulders back.
• With one hand, grab the other around the finger and slowly pull the hand back towards the body and hold. Repeat.
• After performing twice, perform the same stretch with the other hand.

This workout will not make you the next Mr. Universe, but it will keep you active and help you combat the symptoms associated with sitting for prolonged periods of time (i.e., poor posture!). Performing the above exercises and stretches will keep your spine in alignment and prevent some of the dreaded side effects of having an office job, such as tension headaches, eye strain and neck pain, therefore making you a more productive and happy employee.

References:

1. http://www.webmb.com/neck-pain; Primary Medical Reviewer: William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine Specialist Medical Reviewer: Robert B. Keller, MD – Orthopedics: WebMD WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise 2. by Michael Greenhouse
   

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

'New Pilates 4 Weight-loss'

Converting the “Non-Believer”

While the popularity of mainstream Pilates continues to increase, there are still people who view the stated benefits of Pilates with a degree of skepticism – especially in terms of integrating Pilates into their training or workout regimen. Are they missing out? Absolutely!

Dear Friends,

We’ve all encountered them – people, often those with a particular focus in mind such as weight loss, toning or building muscle mass, who think that Pilates will not help them achieve their goals. Additionally, people used to high-adrenalin classes or activities may feel that Pilates does not offer enough of a challenge. Regardless of the reason for not trying Pilates, these potential clients are missing out. Why? Because Pilates can help improve performance, reduce injury, and relieve stress. The challenge is getting them to give it a try. Our first page shares some key points to remember when discussing Pilates with a potential client. We hope you find this information helpful. Check back often for educational content, programming inspiration, fitness tips and more.

Here are some key points to remember when discussing Pilates with a potential client:

1. Mass Appeal
Regardless of the fitness level of a client, Pilates offers something for everyone – sports fanatics looking to build core strength and improve their golf drive; elite athletes who want to prevent or attend to injuries; rehab and prenatal clients who want to enhance their fitness ability; new moms who want to get their pre-baby shape back; or mature adults who simply want to make getting out of bed easier. Every exerciser can reap the benefits of this form of exercise – and get a good workout at the same time.

2. Real Men do Pilates
Some of your male clients may think that Pilates is only a woman's workout – it’s not. The reason why so many elite athletes are incorporating Pilates into their training regimens today is because this method of exercise has evolved over time and is now focusing on the modern day biomechanics of the body bolstered by essential scientific research. More and more men are finding that by incorporating Pilates into their exercise and athletic regiment they have experienced increased flexibility, power, strength and mobility.

3. Pilates Incorporates Key Performance Factors
Many people know that Pilates helps build strong, healthy muscles, improves blood flow, and engages all the muscles at the right time. What they might not know is that Pilates also addresses all seven of the key performance factors cited by experts as having great significance in terms of contributing to an athlete’s overall conditioning and rehabilitation exercise and sport-related injuries. What are these factors? Posture, balance, mobility / flexibility, stability, coordination, functional strength and endurance.

4. Athlete’s Choice – Pilates!
Athletes in a variety of sports have discovered the benefit of integrating Pilates into their training and exercise regiment. In addition to helping athletes develop core strength and increase flexibility, Pilates creates balance throughout the entire body. Many sports are one-sided and create muscle imbalances throughout the body. Pilates can help address these imbalances and create more symmetry overall. Pilates has been utilized for rehabilitation after injury for many years and continues to be an important factor in injury prevention and recovery. As a result, athletes can withstand rigorous training regimes and ultimately improve their golf drive or baseball pitch, as well as maintain an optimal weight for their sport or activity of choice.

To Yours In Health & Fitness,

Natalie Pyles

"Discoveries Of Scientific Balance Training - Part 1"

"Discoveries Of Scientific Balance Training - Part 1"



I’m not going to lie to you. This is a technical series of articles that will challenge many readers for a variety of reasons. Some may be challenged by the anatomy, some may be challenged by the concepts and others may find the realities of balance training and how it relates to fitness professionals a bit alarming. The goal was not just to write an article on balance training and show the reader a few of exercises they could do with their clients. Rather, we were interested in showing you the science behind balance training and to provide a structural approach.

Today’s population is more unhealthy than ever before in history, including a large number of people suffering from a variety of orthopaedic dysfunctions. How does this relate to you? Many of these people are your clients, and if you don’t have a solid grasp of what you are doing when prescribing exercises to them, you may be doing far more harm to them than good!

When reading this article, we recommend you spend some time going through it more than once. A good anatomy textbook and a highlighter may prove to be valuable in later parts of this article especially. More than anything, we want to show you that balance training is not as simple as some make it out to be and that there is much more to balance training than meets the eye. Our hope is that this article series will provide you with the tools necessary to start prescribing smart exercise programs and helping your clients far beyond their expectations!

Introduction

Balance training is needed today more than ever! It is projected that by the year 2045, there will be 77 million people older than the age of 65, and one out of every five people will be age 85 or older! Almost half the population over age 74 has difficulty with common functional activities, such as lifting, climbing stairs, walking, standing, bending, reaching and grasping, and it is well known that the most common orthopaedic injury among the elderly are hip fractures.

To address the growing numbers of elderly members joining gyms and health clubs, emphasis will need to be placed on exercises that improve key biomotor abilities such as strength, endurance, balance, agility, coordination and flexibility. Accomplishing these objectives requires greater emphasis on functional exercise programs, including Tai Chi, Yoga, Swiss ball training and free weight training, and a greater emphasis will need to be put on the skillful use of tools such as the Fitter, balance boards and BOSU balls. Notice I said skillful use of balance tools... that will be part of my focus in this article series.

Tai Chi has been shown to positively augment physical therapy programs aimed at improving balance, posture, coordination and integration of movement, endurance, strength, flexibility and relaxation. Swiss ball training has been shown to improve balance in a controlled study and has been used as a key modality in the treatment of neurologically impaired patients for over 30 years. Effective implementation of these functional exercise programs will require a more structured approach to balance training than is currently being used, and it will require that gyms provide the space for these types of exercise, particularly in the free weight area.

The topic of balance training is exceedingly complex. Though much more could be written on the subject than I am including here, it is my intention to give the reader a better understanding of the science behind balance training and to show you it’s not quite as easy as simply putting someone on a balance board or foam roller. That being said, here are the objectives for this series of balance training articles:

* Understand the relationships between segmental and gross stabilization and posture and the development of balance skills
* Learn to prescribe specific balance training exercises based on the individual needs of your client’s environmental demands - not the latest F.A.D. (Forthcoming Anatomical Dysfunction) training methods!
* Appreciate that balancing is a skill and that because someone can perform complex balancing acts does not assure they have intrinsic balance, segmental stability, nor does it correlate with a reduced incidence of musculoskeletal dysfunction.

We will be covering the first of these objectives in this part of the series.

HOW STABILITY AND POSTURE RELATE TO BALANCE

While the terms stability and posture may appear to be two distinct terms at first glance, they are intimately related to one another - especially with regard to balance and the related functional applications of such training.

SEGMENTAL STABILITY

The ability for any joint complex in the human body to function without internal derangement during normal human activities requires the maintenance of an Optimal Instantaneous Axis of Rotation (OIAR). While there a variety of joint types in the human body, joint movement can be broken down into the following: surface gliding, linear gliding, rocking or rolling motion, rocking combined with gliding motions and/or axial rotation. All joints in the human body are under the influence of segmental stabilizers (muscles crossing that joint only) and gross stabilizers (muscles crossing multiple joints). For example, the shoulder joint receives segmental stability from the rotator cuff musculature, while larger muscles like the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi serve as gross stabilizers. Assisting with joint stabilization are ligaments, joint capsules and fascial structures such as the iliotibial band.

Every joint complex in the body is richly innervated with mechanoreceptors or nerve endings highly sensitive to motion that provide information regarding joint position, pressure, tension and pain (Table 1). When the active and passive systems of the body effectively stabilize a given joint and maintain an OIAR, normal neuromechanical relationships allow pain free function.

Figure 1. Segmental Stability

A. Maintenance of an optimal instantaneous axis of rotation (OIAR) results in physiological mechanoreceptor response and joint health.

B. Loss of an OIAR results in capsule and ligament stress, strain and/or injury. Due to mechanoreceptor influences on tonic and phasic musculature, locally and globally, faulty recruitment patterns may disrupt recruitment of gross stabilizers and balance!

However, in the presence of a muscle imbalance or faulty recruitment of stabilizer muscles, the chances of maintaining segmental stability and an OIAR are significantly diminished. This will likely result in aberrant strain in the capsular and ligamentous structures of the joint complex and may cause faulty proprioceptive information to be sent to the spinal cord and brain (Figure 1-B). Additionally, there will be compensatory facilitation of key muscles around the involved joint complex and possibly other areas of the body.

Because the Type I mechanoreceptors are located in the most superficial portions of a joint capsule, they are the first to be damaged any time there is of a loss of an OIAR that induces non-physiological loading of the joint capsule and ligaments. If the joint structure is damaged enough to traumatize the deeper fibers of the capsule, there will also be destruction of Type II mechanoreceptors.

JOINT RECEPTORS


FUNCTION

Type I


Low threshold, slowly adapting static and dynamic mechanoreceptors. Tonic reflexogenic effects on neck, limb, jaw and eye muscles. Postural and kinesthetic sensation. Pain suppression. Facilitate the tonic muscle system.

Type II


Fast adapting, low threshold dynamic mechanoreceptors. Phasic reflexogenic effects on the neck, limb, jaw, and eye muscles as well as pain suppression. Facilitate the phasic muscle system.

Type III


High threshold, very slow adapting receptors. Have the same characteristics as a golgi tendon organ.

Type IV


High threshold, non-adapting pain provoking nerve fibers. These fibers have tonic reflexogenic effects on the neck, limb, jaw and eye muscles. They also induce cardiovascular reflexogenic effects. Facilitation can cause guarding in the tonic muscle system.

TABLE 1. Joint Mechanoreceptors

Another important aspect to understand is that the Type I mechanoreceptors communicate directly with the tonic muscles of the body and the Type II mechanoreceptors communicate with the phasic muscles of the body. For a better understanding of tonic and phasic muscles, please refer to Table 2.

Predominantly Tonic Muscles


Predominantly Phasic Muscles

Prone to Hyperactivity


Prone to Inhibition

Function

Posture


Movement

Susceptibility to Fatigue

Late


Early

Reaction to Faulty Loading

Shortening


Weakening

Shoulder Girdle - Arm

Pectoralis Major & Minor
Levator Scapulae
Trapezius (upper)
Biceps Brachii
Scalenes
Subscapularis
Sternocleidomastoids
Masticatory
Forearm Flexors


Rhomboids
Trapezius (middle)
Trapezius (lower)
Triceps Brachii
Deep Neck Flexors
Forearm Extensors
Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Serratus lateralis
Deltoid

Trunk

Lumbar and Cervical Erectors
Quadratus Lumborum


Thoracic Erectors
Rectus Abdominis

Pelvis – Thigh

Hamstrings

Iliopsoas

Rectus Femoris

Thigh Adductors

Piriformis

Tensor Fasciae Latae


Vastus Lateralis

Vastus Medialis

Gluteal Muscles

Lower Leg - Foot

Gastrocnemius
Soleus


Anterior Tibialis
Peroneals
Extensors of the toes
Table 2. Properties of Tonic and Phasic Musculature

Modified from (7) and (8).

When capsule and ligament structures become overloaded and damaged, the resulting tonic muscle facilitation commonly leads to characteristic holding patterns and faulty movement sequences. A classic example of this is seen in a postural holding pattern demonstrated by an elevated, forward-rounded shoulder with increased tone in the biceps, or increased postural elbow flexion. When someone has this holding pattern and they perform movements such as lat pull downs, chin ups, rows and shoulder abductions, the movement is usually initiated from the upper trapezius, evidenced by a shoulder-hiking action. During shoulder abduction, there is often increased effort from the upper trapezius at the beginning of the motion to carry the arm through mid and upper ranges of abduction; there may also be an associated pain with this movement.

How does this pertain to balance training? When practicing any balance exercise or drill, such compensatory recruitment patterns are commonly accompanied with posture that is not conducive to optimal skills development or maintenance of one’s center of gravity over their own base of support. For instance, many protective patterns resulting from joint instabilities in the body result in gradual pronation of one’s entire body. From a postural perspective, this constitutes forward head posture, increased pronation of the extremities and a reduced ability to support the body against gravity and kinetic loading.

Poor posture is detrimental to learning or maintaining a balance skill because any environment requiring maintenance of balance also requires three-dimentional freedom of motion in the spine in order to right oneself. Because extremity motions required to right oneself are generally acyclical, the ability to rotate the spine efficiently and effectively is essential to preventing unwanted falls. As you can see from Figure 2, anytime someone’s thoracic kyphosis is increased and/or they have forward migration of the head, rotational capacity and rotational efficiency will be reduced, thus reducing one’s ability to right themselves or balance!

The problem of muscle imbalance and faulty joint motion is not just localized to a “dysfunctional joint complex.” Clinical experience demonstrates that such clients not only have an increased risk of injury while learning new and unfamiliar balance skills, but they may also complain of “abnormal nagging pains” of an unknown origin while learning or practicing such exercises. This is likely to result from faulty motor recruitment of muscles at distant locations.

In support of this contention, Dvorak and Dvorak have demonstrated something they refer to as a spondylogenic reflex syndrome. While under cervical traction, the researchers electrically stimulated mechanoreceptors at the C3-4 level and were able to record significant EMG (electrical activity) responses in muscles certain muscles including the sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, digastric, scalenes, triceps, rectus femoris and biceps femoris! These findings strongly suggest that the electrical messages sent to the brain may make it respond as if a corresponding preprogrammed pattern of motion were taking place. Dvorak and Dvorak identified this phenomenon as a distant recruitment pattern.

This relates to the fitness professional because any individual suffering from a muscle imbalance and an inability to maintain OIAR during a challenging balance skill may develop an idiopathic hamstring strain, groin strain, muscle tear or spasm in a seemingly unrelated region relative to the problematic joint. In other words, you could injure a client that has a muscle imbalance if you give them an ill-prescribed balance exercise!

Additionally, balance training drills in the presence of intrinsic imbalance are likely to predispose your client to injury outside the gym, secondary to facilitation of faulty motor sequencing.

GROSS STABILITY, MUSCLE CHAINS AND BALANCE

The body knows nothing of muscles, only of movement. During the continual changes that take place to preserve our equilibrium while moving, the body is constantly activating an array of muscles in patterns of coordination that causes muscles to lose their identity. When we train people using balance exercises, we are training hundreds of muscles at once.

Current research by Serge Gracovetsky and Andre Vleeming et.al. expands on previous knowledge of muscle chains presented by such anatomy experts as Raymond A. Dart. In Figures 3-6, specific chains of muscle are now referred to as outer unit muscle systems by these and other researchers. The outer unit muscle chains work synergistically with inner unit muscle systems to carry out motor commands from the CNS. (For more detailed information, please read my articles on The Inner Unit and The Outer Unit.)

An understanding of outer unit systems and their working relationship with inner unit systems is necessary to understand how an individual or an athlete, such as a gymnast, can display impressive feats of balance (above) yet suffer from chronic musculoskeletal pain. In many cases they are predisposing themselves to injury by performing various balance acts while their body is out of balance at a segmental or gross level. Just because they can perform acrobatic feats of balance doesn’t mean they have inner structural balance, nor does it mean that repetitive exposure to further balance training is optimal for long term progress!

To appreciate how this works a little better, first consider that the small segmental stabilizer muscles have a profound influence on the recruitment of the larger outer unit muscles. For example, spindle cell counts of small muscles such as the suboccipital muscles in the anterior and posterior cervical region, and the intertransvarii and interspinales of the cervical and lumbar spine, have as many as 200-500 spindle cells per gram of muscle tissue! Using this information it becomes evident that one of their primary roles is to inform the CNS of joint position. As these position sensitive muscles discharge through the gamma nervous system they, along with local mechanoreceptors, have a profound influence on the alpha motor neurons of the larger muscles, which have the capacity to alleviate compression, torsion and sheer forces acting on any joint experiencing threshold limits of motion.

Problems arise in these systems when athletes become more experienced at exerting themselves and therefore become progressively more able to ignore warning signals coming from within. Examples of this are Golgi inhibition override by experienced Power Lifters, and the fact that many gymnasts and martial artists are capable of performing amazing feats in the presence of intrinsic pain and dysfunction.

It must be remembered that pain is the most powerful and effective re-programming agent of the CNS and anytime you are learning a balance skill at the expense of segmental stability or in the presence of muscle imbalance syndromes, you are retarding the ability to effectively utilize the segmental and gross stabilizers of the body. More importantly, you are teaching the body to move in an environment in which pain avoidance is the primary goal, not optimal motor learning!

As a clinician, I have had to treat scores of elite athletes in sports requiring exquisite balance skills, including motocross, skate boarding, ice skating, gymnastics, equestrian, hockey, skiing, surfing and martial arts. All of the athletes in these sports could perform amazing balance acts, yet they all came to me because they were in pain! To restore an athlete or individual’s ability to train for and participate in these sports, muscle balance and segmental stability training must precede balance skills development if long-term performance and injury prevention are the goals!

POSTURE AND BALANCE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

The topic of posture is a complex one, but my goal here is to merely show you the intimate relationship between posture and balance training. To begin, I would like to point out that in nature, where animals function naturally, poor posture and poor balance are virtually unheard of (below).

Simply stated, posture is the sum total, or static and dynamic expression, of segmental and gross stability. At the segmental level, each joint complex maintains it’s own balance as expressed by the maintenance of an OIAR and must maintain a balanced working relationship with one another.

In an individual with poor posture (above, B), attempting to learn balance skills will only reinforce poor posture if they are unable to achieve optimal alignment and stability during the exercise! Ultimately, balance training in the absence of postural training and segmental stability perpetuates postural, joint and soft tissue dysfunction - the tonic muscles become progressively more facilitated while the phasic antagonists become progressively more inhibited, further degenerating length/force relationships. This is very important to remember because the body always moves toward its position of strength. Therefore, anytime you learn a new skill from a position of poor posture (balance skill or otherwise), you are merely reinforcing faulty biomechanical relationships and faulty motor skills development! In this case, the brain now seeks to generate an equilibrium reaction or to generate force from a position of poor posture (below).



Your client with poor static posture will demonstrate poor dynamic posture if therapeutic intervention and postural training are not implemented prior to structural adaptation taking place. For example, notice the kypholordotic posture presented by this roofer carrying a sheet of plywood across a rooftop, a situation that naturally requires axial extension or lengthening of the spine for optimal performance and injury prevention! It is important to have an appreciation for static vs. dynamic posture when attempting to improve balance in your client.
Part 2 of this article series takes a look at the basic reflexes of Righting and Equilibrium that we use during balance activities, and it will give us practical tools for building the right type of balance in our clients, from sedentary to elite level athletes.

References: Paul Chek

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For Your FREE Consultation Today! 1-800-681-9894 or e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com

"Corrective Exercise Is Functional" - Part 1

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." - Albert Einstein


As the evolution of the fitness industry continues, perhaps one of the greatest benefits to emerge is the “discussions” it has generated. With all of the gains in research that have expanded our understanding of human anatomy and physiology, there are still vast differences in the interpretation and application of the available information. And this is understandable, since that is the nature of research meeting practical application.

Perhaps no other topic has created more “discussion” than that of function and functional training. And with the overwhelming varieties in human bodies and what they are used for, is it any wonder?

Corrective exercises are of growing interest in the fitness industry, and they are part of this discussion on function. This three part article will attempt to provide a clear understanding of what corrective exercises are and demonstrate the vital role they play in the functional continuum.

The approach and application of corrective exercises I use and teach are often quite different than the perception many professionals have on the topic. This article will further differentiate the functional contribution this approach and application has to optimal health and performance.

I am a proponent of and use all forms of what most consider functional training. This includes but is not limited to multiplanar movements using multiple segments as well as unstable surfaces. But perhaps instead of calling it functional training, we should call it training for function since function is ultimately defined by the individual. This may seem like pure semantics, but it is not. Functional training implies a specific mode of training. Training for function implies an objective.

Corrective Exercise vs. Post Rehab Exercise

It may be useful to first draw a distinction between corrective exercise and post rehabilitative exercise. Corrective exercises are not dictated by symptoms or a current pathology. They are based purely on positively influencing the neuromusculoskeletal system. Exercises will always involve areas of the body far removed from the site of pain or past injury. In a symptomatic client such as those I work with, the symptoms do not dictate what we do. They only place certain limitations on what we do because we do not want to exacerbate the symptom(s).

Post rehabilitation exercises are dictated by a specific objective related to prior treatments by a licensed medical provider following an injury or medical intervention (e.g., surgery). Technically, a fitness professional should not be doing post rehab without directives from the treating professional. Post rehab is most commonly a continuation of the medical providers’ treatment plan.

Post rehabilitative exercises are often body part or quadrant specific. For example, post rehabilitative exercises for a knee procedure would include attention to the quadriceps and hamstrings. And then ideally, it would include the joints above and below the effected knee (ankle and hip).

As the outcomes of the post rehab plan are met, it would be prudent to move on to a more global corrective exercise strategy, realizing that any disruption to the motor system will have consequences far removed from the site of the procedure or pathology.

Whose Function?

Two questions that always drive my training paradigm are: “For whom?” and “For what?” When we ask these two questions, differing philosophies on function inevitably move closer to common ground. Once we’ve answered these two questions, in order for our training approach to be functional, it must be transferable to the unique characteristics and needs of that client/athlete.

To further expand and perhaps cloud the discussion on function, I’ll use one of my clients with chronic lower back pain as an example. This woman can not sit for more than 15 minutes and can no longer work. For her session, I dance around her in a dimly lit room waving incense and singing The Smiths’ song “Girlfriend in a Coma.” She finishes our session with no back pain and proceeds to drive for two hours to Los Angeles still pain free. Was that a functional training session? If you asked my client, she wouldn’t care. She had a functional outcome.

And that may be a critical point: function is determined by output and not necessarily input. In the hypothetical example, the client’s back pain would not be gone long unless it was completely psychosomatic. Therefore, an appropriate functional exercise program would follow.

But what is functional for this client and at this point in her progression? Here is where the divergence occurs in philosophies. One end of the spectrum might involve floor work that is purely cognitive driven motor re-education. We’ll call this the Far Left (FL) of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum would include completely vertically loaded multi planar exercise including squats and lunges. We’ll call this the Far Right (FR) of the spectrum. Which is “right” or more effective?

I believe they both are. I believe that they are not mutually exclusive and are both in fact part of the total functional continuum. The goal ultimately is to minimize cognitive input and move to the far right of the continuum as quickly as the client is capable. “Capable” means the client has demonstrated a level of competency (quality of movement, stability, endurance, etc.) that justifies moving her to the next stage in the continuum.

There are many practitioners who would agree with me on this, and this approach is supported by many researchers (including McGill, O’Sullivan and Lee) in the area of spinal rehabilitation. But what many practitioners don’t realize is that the continuum I am speaking of does not necessarily span weeks or months. It spans minutes.

Why Corrective Exercise?

When used with specific functional objectives in mind, corrective exercises can be progressed to multiplanar and/or proprioceptively challenging exercises within a given one hour session. This is what I do every day. I use corrective exercises to create an environment where the client can be most successful, performing exercises that are vertically loaded, multiplanar and/or on labile surfaces.

The body is cued to move differently through the stimulus of the corrective exercises. The corrective exercises are ascended, progressively linking together more complex movements. Even as the program is progressed to movements of the FR, we continue to apply exercises that challenge the client’s individual functional needs versus generic multi planar exercises. By following this programming strategy, we facilitate changes to the individual’s biomechanical constraints and motor control strategies.

Corrective exercises are applicable to every client and athlete. They are not limited to clients currently experiencing pain. We can be reasonably confident that most, if not all, of your clients have been in pain at some point in their lives. Show me a client or athlete older than 15 years of age who has never had an injury that created pain avoidance, and I’ll show you someone with a very short memory.

Pain is the single greatest stimulus to enter our body. Through resulting changes in the central nervous system (CNS), the influence of pain is reflected in biomechanical characteristics. Even if pain is no longer present, its effects are. To quote Doctor Janet Travell, the former White House physician and pioneer in trigger point work: “Tissues heal, but muscles learn. They readily develop habits of guarding that long outlast the pain.”

Pathological or disrupted proprioceptive information from the periphery (skin, muscles, joints, tendons, connective tissue) results in functional, adaptive processes through the whole motor system. The symptoms might be felt locally, but the response is experienced globally.

Far Right (FR) on the Functional Continuum

The FR approach has its basis in stimulating the proprioceptive system through “natural” movements that most often require eccentrically controlling gravitational forces. This elicits an appropriate concentric contraction to overcome gravitational forces such as in walking or to produce acceleration and power for a movement such as throwing. The mass and momentum of various body segments are manipulated through verbal instruction from the trainer or therapist to dynamically produce desirable biomechanical reactions of other muscles and joints. For example, changing the orientation of the trunk in a lunge relative to the gravity vector will alter the muscular and joint responses throughout the body.

For these reasons, the FR approach elicits a more integrated and higher level of musculoskeletal function than a floor based, cognitive approach that is to the far left (FL) of the continuum. Assuming the client’s existing biomechanical constraints have responded to the designed stimulus (exercises), the CNS is able to assimilate a more comprehensive catalog of improved movement strategies.

The FR approach assumes, however, that the proprioceptive system will respond in a predictable manner and thereby produce the desired biomechanical response. In the case of the client currently experiencing pain or with pain events in her health history, the proprioceptive system may be “rewired.” And even in cases where the dysfunction is pre-pathological, adaptations/compensations are already underway that will eventually lead to exceeding tissue tolerance and manifesting as regional symptoms.

It can also be argued that exercises from the FR actually use more cognitive processing than the appropriate application of corrective exercises. The complexities of many of the multiplanar, multi joint exercises are completely foreign to many people’s motor systems and are therefore novel movements. This unfamiliar exercise requires a higher level of cognitive processing to both understand and execute than a corrective exercise would. The more complex the unfamiliar movement is, the more likely it will initially produce inefficient co-contractions at many joints, potentially blocking degrees of freedom at those joints. This results in stiff and awkward movement patterns.

Even if the desired proprioceptive response is produced in the CNS, the body must still deal with any possible biomechanical constraints (myofascial adhesions, trigger points, scar tissue, osseous obstructions, etc.). Excitation of the motor nerve from the spinal cord determines how frequently the muscle is excited, but how it actually contracts and relaxes is determined by the properties of the muscle tissue.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this fascinating series... coming soon!

References:

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Forwarded By Anthony Carey

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Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

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