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Accident
Claims
General
Articles ________________________________________________________________
Aches,
Pains, and Injuries
by
Jesse Cannone CFT, CPRS, SPN
Being a Personal Fitness Professional, I hear from many
people who are suffering from various aches and pains, and
unfortunately are misinformed. One thing I am constantly
hearing from people is "I've got a bad back," or "just my
old tennis elbow acting up". This frustrates me because
these people are misled and are often suffering
unnecessarily.
My frustration is not with the person experiencing the
problem, but with the Health and Medical Industry as a
whole! Frequently, these people are diagnosed with
conditions they don't have such as Arthritis, Osteoporosis,
and many others. Nearly all of the aches, pains, and
Injuries people experience are caused by muscle imbalances!
The human body functions as a whole. The main reason people
experience these problems are because certain muscles are
pulling their body out of proper alignment. First, you must
understand some basic human anatomy. Most importantly, how
does a muscle function? Muscles are connected to bones in
two places, the insertion and the origin. In order for
movement to occur the muscles must contract or shorten,
which pulls on one end or attachment.
Two things can cause a muscle to pull too much when it is
not being asked to contract. The most common cause is poor
posture or positioning. An example of this would be how the
hip flexor muscles (the muscles in the top front of your
thigh that bring your leg forward) shorten while sitting.
The more time you spend sitting the more the hip flexor
muscles will tighten due to poor positioning. What's worse
is most of us spend a lot of time sitting! Whether it's
while driving, while at work, at home watching television,
or at home on the computer! This sets you up for a big
problem!
The other cause is a corresponding weakness, or lack of use
in the opposing muscle groups. For example, the hamstring
and gluteus muscles don't get worked nearly as often as the
hip flexors and quadriceps, unless of course one walked
backwards. The pull of these muscles directly affects the
positioning of the pelvis.
Think of a muscle imbalance as a tug of war. If one side is
stronger it will over power the other muscle group. The
tightening of the hip flexors pulls the front of the pelvis
downward causing the lower back to arch excessively. Serious
problem I This puts unnecessary pressure on the discs and
also the muscles of the lower back! This is the number one
cause of low back pain and injury!
Not only do muscle imbalances affect every joint of your
body; they also affect your internal organs! For example,
what do you think happens to the space between your internal
organs when your low back muscles are pulling you to right?
Your overall health is affected by muscle imbalances!
I've worked with hundreds of people who have been diagnosed
with so called conditions and are pain free with in just a
few weeks! In most cases, all I had them do was stretch the
muscles that were pulling too much and strengthen the ones
that weren't pulling enough!
Have you ever been to a Chiropractor, Physical Therapist, or
Orthopedic Surgeon? Did they explain what the cause of the
problem was? Did they explain to you, which muscles were
pulling too much? Did their treatment plan correct your
condition, or did they just treat the symptom? The major
problem is that most medical professionals don't look at the
body as a whole. They zoom in on your problem area
(symptom), in our example the low back. Well, the cause of
the problem is almost always the tightness of the hip
flexors and quadriceps muscles, which are in the front of
your body! Before you accept any diagnosis be sure that you
have looked at all the possibilities.
Figuring out what is causing the problem (or will cause one
in the future) is relatively easy. An extensive physical
evaluation can be performed, which includes testing of
muscular strength, flexibility, and function. Gait (walking)
and biomechanics should also be assessed to note any
deviations that are the result of current muscle imbalances
and ones that may cause future problems. Once you know which
muscles are too tight and which are too weak you can then
begin correcting those Imbalances. All it takes is some
stretching and strengthening in the right places, which can
take just a few minutes a day!
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Article by Jesse Cannone of http://www.losethebackpain.com.
Jesse is a certified personal fitness trainer and post-rehab
specialist and he has helped hundreds of individuals to
eliminate their back pain. Visit his site now and be sure to
sign up for his free email course on eliminating back pain.
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