Cumulative Injury Cycle
All systems contribute to every movement - it's a beautiful symphony! Imagine your muscular system as the orchestra, the skeletal system as the instruments, the nervous system as the conductor, and the fascia as the sheet music. Each component plays a crucial role. Every structure that crosses a joint, like a muscle or ligament, is like a note in the music. If one note is off-key, it throws off the entire harmony.
The ideal scenario is like a perfectly tuned orchestra. In the human body, this means having equal muscle lengths surrounding a joint. But when a muscle on one side gets tight and shortened (like a string pulled too taut), it pulls the joint out of alignment. This creates a domino effect:
The opposing muscle(s) become lengthened and weakened, like a slack string struggling to hold its pitch.
This "pull and hold" situation locks the joint in an altered position, restricting its natural range of motion.
Other muscles around the joint, desperate to maintain balance, take on more load than they can handle, like overworked instruments straining to compensate.
This imbalance is the root cause of many problems. It can lead to pain, injury, and even long-term issues like osteoarthritis. Think of it like a bad song on repeat. Because the body is interconnected, this "cumulative injury cycle" keeps playing throughout your system until you address the underlying imbalances.
That's why identifying and addressing these imbalances is the first step in my process. It's like tuning the orchestra. By correcting muscle tightness and weakness, we restore proper joint alignment and movement patterns. This not only reduces pain and injury risk, but also improves your overall posture – just like good posture makes you look and feel confident, it allows your body to move efficiently.
We'll keep progressing your workout plan as your "movement symphony" improves. We'll revisit these assessments periodically so you can witness the beautiful music your body can create when everything is in perfect harmony.
Here is a great video explaining this concept in greater detail: