Three months...for three months I couldn't run. I felt like I was in prison. I didn't know it at the time but I had a torn soleus calf muscle and some other weird strain I'd never hear of.
I gave my doctors holy hell and my physical therapist too. I whined like a baby to anyone who'd listen to my woes.
I'd show up for physical therapy and they'd ask me "How do you feel?", and I'd reply with "I just tried to run and it hurt so bad I had to stop". Good god if you only heard their scolding "YOU DID WHAT?, YOU KNOW YOU ARENT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT,WHAT IN GODS NAME ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH YOU?" Week after week I kept trying.
I was pathetic!
I even went as far as locating an anti gravity treadmill to try and run on it and get the much needed release running gave me. It didn't work..Ugh that was a very long drive.
I'm a very determined girl...and i am using the word "very" in a awfully big way.
One day while hunting for seaglass on a local beach I started walking fast and then tried to do a very slow exaggerated run form just to see if it would hurt like all the other surfaces I'd run on. I couldn't believe I was finally running. I cried like a big baby and shouted out as loud as I could.."I CAN RUN AGAIN! I CAN RUN AGAIN!" Well I got as far as a quarter of a mile before the pain set in. But I didn't care, I "felt" the run in me and it felt amazing! And of all the surfaces to run on, the one I liked least helped me the most!
So later that night I walked back into my physical therapists office and said "Okay, I'll listen now" I told them I just needed to know that someday I will run again. They responded with a "Sentence" of two long weeks of no running, no physical activities period. And that's a story I'll share another day... :)
The words my physical therapist said to me once make me smile every time I remember them...
"You know...you runners are a really strange breed, a breed like no other". Yep that's me, that's us :)
The Human Body is a mechanical work of art. By design it is capable of a ridiculous amount of movement patterns, all at different degrees of intensity, from slow and steady to explosive and short. The ability to crawl, walk, run, jump, and climb each require an amazingly sophisticated movement system. This system sets us apart from all other species on the planet. But there is one catch… If you don’t use it you literally lose it.
Why you lose it One of the reasons your body is so special is its ability to heal itself. Within your fascial tissueare cells that create fascial adhesions around an injury to provide extra stability and restrict painful movement while the damaged tissue is repaired. The restricted movement is just enough to facilitate the healing process while at the same time allowing you some freedom to move. In the ancient world where the human body was forged, this healing process took place over the course of a few days or weeks. Movement was a necessary and key factor in the healing process. Early man did not have the luxury to spend a few days in bed to fully recover. He had to move to survive, and so he had to heal while moving, which is why this process of building fascial adhesions is so special. Movement works in unison with the circulatory system as a secondary mechanical pump and flushes the injured tissue with fresh blood. This flush of blood flow removes waste by-products, brings in fresh nutrients and speeds up the healing process dramatically. As the injured area recovers, the body once again is able to utilize full, pain free, movement patterns that completely break down the fascial adhesions.
Today we have a problem: we no longer live in that ancient world. Our cultural landscape has dramatically changed our lifestyle over the past 100 years – especially in the last 20. Instead of hunting, gathering, and harvesting our food, utilizing our body in daily acts of survival, we spend most of our time sitting, in front of a computer or in a car. Compared to a mere couple hundred years ago, the lifestyle of even the most active person in any industrialized country today would be considered relatively sedentary.
When you do not get adequate functional movement, you no longer put your mechanical pump to use. This slows down the healing process as restrictive adhesionsdo not get broken down. Instead, lack of movement communicates to your body that you are still injured and so it continues to build up even more adhesions to further stabilize and restrict motion around the supposedly injured areas. Over time, thesefascial adhesions become so thick and strong that you permanently lose your full range of motion and function. Examples are: losing the ability to fully turn your head in one or both directions to see behind yourself while walking or driving; the ability to raise your arms fully over your head while maintaining a stable spine and scapula; the ability to do a deep squat with your feet flat on the floor; the ability to walk, run or sprint without pain. Without enough functional movement your body assumes you are in a continual state of injury. Eventually this becomes a full-time reality. This is the primary reason that I find deep tissue massage therapy, such as myofascial release, to be so important. I can manually break down fascial adhesions and increase functional range of motion. I can prime the mechanical pump, facilitating waste product removal and nutrient delivery back into the tissue. In essence this removes years of fascial buildup and facilitates a speedy return to functional movement.
Not Just Any Movement, What you need is Functional Movement A sedentary lifestyle means we do not use our bodies the way a human body was designed to move. This has become the reality of our lives. On a daily basis, we fail to utilize the vast array of movement patterns that are possible. Plus the intensity of our movements has softened. All kinds of technologies have made our lives much easier in most regards. This means that we must go out of our way to move our body the way it must functionally move.
Functional movement training is vital. You cannot not get the movement your body needs to maintain pain-free health and vitality by sitting in front of a computer. You must move. I am not talking about the traditional types of exercises that are likely coming to your mind. I’m not talking about running for hours on end on pavement in a straight line. I’m not talking about lifting weights while sitting on a nice cushioned bench or using a machine. Your body needs functional movement. It needs to move the way it was designed to move. Running and traditional weight training are small portion of functional training and tend to be overly repetitious in very specific movement patterns. They do not utilize the postural stabilization and functional movement patterns your body craves. To your body not using a functional movement pattern is almost the same as not moving. And as I said earlier, if you don’t use it, you lose it. Even if you run or lift weights 7 days a week, if you do not lift your arm over your head, over time you will lose the ability to do so. Your body recognizes this as an injury and begins the healing process discussed above, but now to your detriment.
What is Functional Movement? My definition is simple. You have a body for a reason. Functional movement is what happens when you use your body to meet all of its designed purposes: flexing, extending, pulling, pushing, rotating, changing directions, running, walking, jumping, sprinting and climbing. If you are designed to do it, then use your body to do it. If you don’t, you will eventually lose your ability to do it, which will lead to a higher risk ofchronic pain and injury in your life.
As a personal trainer and deep tissue massage therapist, my entire focus is on functional movement – no exceptions. From the start we make sure you have pain free, functional range of motion with a stable posture. We make use of deep tissue massage, flexibility and corrective exercises (you can see examples of corrective exercises here, here and here) to open up your neck, chest, and shoulders so you can turn your neck to check your blind spot, or lift a box overhead without pain or injury. We increase flexibility in your hips so you can easily squat deeply without knee or back pain. We get you to walk and run comfortably again – no more dread of a painful trip up the stairs, to the mailbox, or to the car.
Once your functional range of motion and postural stability are improved you get to start having some real fun. In these workouts you fine tune this high performance machine that is your body by working it to meet all of its designed purposes. You will sweat, burn calories, build muscle, get stronger, move better, have more energy, become more capable and productive in your life, look better, reduce body fat, reduce stress, pain and injury, and most importantly: you will feel better in your body.
Last week I demonstrated that the foot is the foundation of your posture (see: Injury Prevention Begins at your Foot). In the article I discussed the role of the feet in providing stability and mobility for the body and gave examples of corrective exercises to build strength, stabilization, and mobility in the foot. Today I will talk about the hips.
If the foot is the foundation of your posture, the hips are the ballast. The hips provide stabilization, counterbalance, and mobility with an incredible range of movements such as squatting, lunging, jumping, running, walking and climbing stairs.
I discussed a couple of weeks ago that we no longer move the way we were designed to move. We spend hours and hours each week sitting: in front of the computer, in our cars, and in front of the television. The position of sitting places the hips in flexion, or a forward bend, and effectively turns off the postural muscles of the lower core. When the postural muscles turn off they no longer provide stabilization of the hips and low back.
Again, going back to a few weeks ago: When it comes to movement and injury prevention, stability is king. Since stability is so important to movement, when your postural muscles lose their ability to function, your body MUST do something about it. When it comes to the hips, your body recruits stability from the gluteals and hip flexors, both movement muscles. The hip flexors and gluteals take over stability control of the pelvis. In doing so, they are weakened, atrophy and lose functional ability as mobile muscles placing greater stress on the hamstrings and low back. This leads to significant reductions in the range of motion of the hips and secondarily to the shoulders, knees, and feet. It also leads to the saggy bottom phenomena which plagues both men and women. Reduced range of motion causes imbalances throughout the body, which ultimately leads to dysfunction, pain, and injury.
The gluteals are especially important when it comes to posture. Remember, the hips are the ballast of the body, with most of the stability and counterbalance generated through the gluteals, and more specifically the gluteus maximus. The gluteus maximus is the most powerful muscle in the body providing the necessary leverage that sets our species apart from all others – the ability to stand up-right. As I mentioned above, sitting causes the gluteals to lose functional ability, which affects our ability to stand with a well developed up-right posture. Turning the gluteals back on is vital to re-establishing a strong stable posture and developing a nice powerfully round bubble butt.
In order to balance your hips, it is important to flip the switch back on in the postural muscles around your pelvis to remind them to provide for stabilization, and to recruit the mobile muscles to do less stabilization and more mobilization. This can be accomplished through the use of deep tissue massage therapy with a focus on the fascial system, self-massage using a foam roller, flexibility training, corrective exercise, functional strength training, and barefoot or minimalist walking and running.
Below are examples of corrective exercises to help establish functional range of motion, stability and mobility of the hips. I recommend performing these (in combination with the exercises in Injury Prevention Begins at your Foot and next weeks blog on the shoulder) 2-3 times a week for 4-8 weeks. This will establish a balanced and stable posture preparing your body for more functional exercise.
Balancing on one foot, tap your toe in three spots for one minute on each leg.
Hip Bridge
Lie on your back. Drive your elbows and shoulders into the floor, with your heels pulled up close to your glutes.
With your feet flat on the ground, press through your heels, lift your hips up towards the ceiling, and engage your glutes at the top. Hold for 30-60 seconds.
Single Leg Hip Bridge
This is a more challenging progression to the hip bridge.
Bridge or Plank
Lie on your stomach. Place your elbows directly under your shoulders. Push yourself off the floor keeping your hips straight. Focus on keeping your spine lengthened through the top of your head. Beginners: lift your feet up towards the ceiling with your knees on the floor. Intermediate: Lift your knees off the ground with weight through your toes. Hold as long as you can beginning with 10 or 15 and working towards a minute.
Lie on your stomach. Place your elbows directly under your shoulders. Push yourself off the floor keeping your hips straight. Focus on keeping your spine lengthened through the top of your head. Beginners: lift your feet up towards the ceiling with your knees on the floor. Intermediate: Lift your knees off the ground with weight through your toes. Hold as long as you can beginning with 10 or 15 and working towards a minute.
Side Bridge or Plank
Lie on your side, with your elbow directly beneath your shoulder, and feet stacked. Lift your hip off the ground keeping your spine lengthened through the top of your head. Beginners: bend and hold plank position from your knees. Hold as long as you can beginning with 10 or 15 and working towards a minute. Repeat on opposite side.
Lie on your side, with your elbow directly beneath your shoulder, and feet stacked. Lift your hip off the ground keeping your spine lengthened through the top of your head. Beginners: bend and hold plank position from your knees. Hold as long as you can beginning with 10 or 15 and working towards a minute. Repeat on opposite side.
Same starting position as the hip bridge. Instead of holding the position, you will do presses, raising and lowing your hips off the ground. Make sure to press through the heels of your feet (keeping feet flat), and squeeze through the glutes at the top. 20 repetitions.
Over the past couple of weeks, I talked about What is Posture - the fundamental need for stabilization to provide healthy movement; and You Cannot Control Your Posture - postural control does not come from conscious thought. This brings up an obvious question. How do you train postural control? The answer is by integrating a full body, holistic approach to health and fitness. The program I use with my clients involves deep tissue massage therapy with a focus on the fascial system, self-massage using a foam roller, flexibility training, corrective exercise, functional strength training, and barefoot or minimalist walking and running. In today’s post, I will take you through the first steps (pun intended) of this process.
IT STARTS WITH THE FEET
The feet are your connection to the Earth. They are the foundation of your posture and the platform from which you move. In Architecture, the foundation of a building provides a base of stabilization that supports the entire structure. A weak foundation leads to collapse. The same is true for your feet, with a very significant difference… you move! Your feet have thechallenging responsibility of providingstrength and stability while maintaining flexibility and mobility to aid in themovement of the entire body structure. Not a simple task!
THE FEET ARE YOUR FOUNDATION
With a strong healthy posture, the body aligns over the feet. This is what provides the incredible stability from which healthy movement is derived. Just like the foundation of a building must be stable to support walls and a roof, the feet must be stable to support the legs, torso, spine and head. If your feet are weak, they are unstable. This is equivalent to building a house upon a bed of sand. The feet become misaligned and the ankles, knees, hips, back, and shoulders follow. Misalignment creates dysfunctional movement which causes pain and injury. A healthy foot is fundamental to good posture.
HOW DO WE GET THERE?
What should you do if your goal is healthy feet and good posture? Focus on developingstrength, stability and mobility while staying grounded and connected to the Earth. A great way to do this is to take your shoes off. You can read more on why I am an advocate of making the transition to barefoot or minimalist footwear in Free Your Feet, and how shoes affect running and walking gait patterns. But before you toss your shoes and fully convert to a barefoot lifestyle there is an important step you must take. It is vital that you rebuild the strength and stabilization of the muscles of your lower leg and feet – they are likely weak from decades of neglect.
Remember: the feet you walk on are the very foundation of your posture. The healthier your foot care is the better your body will move and feel. Below are exercises to build strength, balance and stability in your feet and lower legs.
The following exercises will help strengthen the intrinsic muscles of your foot and leg, challenge postural muscles, and train your foot and lower leg to stabilize providing healthy movement for your entire body. I recommend doing these exercises two to three times a week for eight to twelve weeks. As your foot gets stronger you can continue to perform these exercises for maintenance on a weekly basis.
By performing self-myofascial release techniques using a foam roller or ball, you canreduce trigger points, decrease tissue tension, and break down scar tissue adhesions in injured myofascial tissue (muscle and fascia) formed by a combination of acute trauma, poor posture, repetitive movement, over-training, or inadequate sleep. The goal of self-myofascial release is to speed up the healing and recovery process, reduce pain, improve joint range of motion, balance the body, and prevent injury.
Stand on each foot for one minute. Try to keep the inside ball, outside ball, and heel of the foot in contact with the ground for the entire minute. Do not stabilize with your opposite leg.
Stand on a stability disc with each foot for one minute. Do not stabilize with your opposite leg.
From a seated or standing position, lay a towel on the floor beneath your foot. Using your toes, grab the towel and hold it for a few seconds and release. Repeat 20 times on each foot.
Standing with your forefoot on a platform, press through the ball of your foot lifting your heel as high as you can
Drop our heel. Make sure as you press, you don’t roll to the outside of the foot. Do 2-3 sets of 12-15.
Foot Circles
From a seated or standing position, clench your toes and do 30 circles in each direction.
Single Leg Deadlift
Balancing on one leg, lift opposite heel towards the ceiling. Try to keep the inside ball, outside ball, and heel of the foot in contact with the ground. Keep your hips and shoulders parallel to the ground, don’t let your hip rotate up towards the ceiling. Do 12 on each leg.
The Twelve Walks
Walk using each foot position making a 10 foot circle in each direction. Example, walk on the outside of your forefoot to your left, making a 10 foot circle, then turn around and make the same 10 foot circle to your right before switching to the inside ball of your foot. There are six foot positions walked in each direction making The Twelve Walks.
How did we get here? The human body is awe-inspiring. It is capable of moving with speed, power, agility, stamina, and grace — in an amazingly wide range of motions. It is also capable of adapting to the demands that are placed upon it. Unfortunately, most of us no longer move the way our body was designed to move. We weren’t trained to. The training grounds that once shaped The Human Body no longer exist. What we have instead are cars, couches, computers and ergonomic chairs. These are the new “training grounds” and our body has adapted to them well. For many, it has adapted too well. In this training we sit for long hours each day. We do not utilize movement that engages our postural system the way it was designed to be engaged. Over time, these muscles become weak. They atrophy. They fall asleep and quit functioning. They no longer provide the essential stabilization that is so important to movement. In time, our body adapts to this new environment and develops bad habits. The most prominent example is the recruitment of mobile muscles to provide stability. Let’s revisit the analogy of driving your car with the brakes and the gas pedals pressed down at the same time. How well would your car move? Not well at all. Driving like this is extremely damaging to the car. The same is true for your body. The pain you feel in your body is the indicator light telling you “stop driving and visit a mechanic.” A mechanic in this sense would be a “body” mechanic, a deep tissue massage therapist, postural movement coach, or physical therapist. I recommend somebody with advanced knowledge and experience with the fascial system and how it relates to pain.
What is next? Before you can sit up straight or intentionally hold your body “in good posture,” you must re-teach your body to stabilize, but how is this accomplished? You have heard the phrase, “stand up straight and pull your shoulders back.” For most of us this is our cue to establish “good” posture. There is something inherently wrong with this method and it lies in a concept that we have conscious control over our posture, when in fact we do not.
Postural Control
You do not have conscious control over your postural muscles. Your postural muscles are controlled by a part of your sub-conscious system. If you had conscious control over your posture you would be unable to do anything else. For example, while you are reading this, you probably aren’t consciously thinking about holding your head off your chest, or keeping your body from collapsing to the ground. The reason is… you don’t have to. Your nervous system does the job of maintaining your posture naturally - without you even thinking about it.
Regardless of this natural ability, we are taught to think or be mindful about our posture. We are told to hold our heads up, have our shoulders pulled down and back, and our abs pulled in tight. But since we do not have conscious control over our postural muscles, the act of consciously engaging our muscles to provide postural support activates the mobile muscles that we do have conscious control over. Over time, these movement muscles become neurologically trained to function as stabilizing postural muscles. This is not what they were designed to do. As our movement muscles are re-programed to provide postural stability, they become less efficient at providing movement. All this happens and our postural muscles remain inept. The result is the significant loss of range of motion which will lead to dysfunction, pain and injury…
Compared to five or ten years ago, how well can you fully open up your hips and chest; reach your hand behind your back as if to scratch an itch between your shoulder blades with both hands; or bend over at the waist to touch your toes?
Change in the ability to perform prior movement patterns is another indicator light signalling… Visit mechanic.
Pain If you are currently suffering from acute or chronic pain, the first step is to treat the pain. Pain prevents or changes movement. There is no such thing as healthy movement with pain. Pain is the signal that something is wrong and you need to see that mechanic.
What does this mean? It means you have to stop thinking and move. Your body needs to be retrained to move healthy. It means, on a regular basis, moving your body the way it is designed to move, every muscle, every joint, with full range of motion, in every direction, at all speeds, performed with agility, power and grace. You don’t want movement where you have to think about your posture. You must challenge and train your body to once again think for itself.
