Are You Moving Poorly?

Do you wake up in the morning feeling stiff? Do you feel that you need to foam roll and stretch prior to all workouts to “loosen up”? Perhaps you are unable to squat, deadlift, perform a pullup or lift something overhead without feeling like you are straining and compensating to do so.

Many clinicians will refer to an inefficient or restricted way of moving as a movement dysfunction. However, is there a wrong way to move?

There is no wrong way to move. Your body will restrict movements for a purpose and perhaps it is restricting motion to protect an area that is under increased stress. For a real-life example, imagine that you are walking on a tight rope. The body feels unstable so it contracts many different muscles simultaneously to create more stiffness and control on an unstable surface.

Perhaps a lack of mobility or stiffness is not your issue, but you notice that your movements are not very efficient. Your body is prioritizing your current movements and doing whatever it can to handle the current challenge. Your body will figure out an alternative way to press a barbell overhead or pick your child up off of the floor when you cannot maintain optimal technique to do so. This a natural survival strategy to deal with the most immediate concern and handle future implications at a later time.

This is not a wrong way to move as it allows you to get through the current moment, however, it is important to understand that you are allowing stress to accumulate which may have future implications. Furthermore, a lack of mobility or stiffness is occurring for a reason and it is important to discover why that is so that it can be addressed.

No way of moving is wrong, however, your standard way of moving should be efficient and fluid so that you are not constantly trying to survive the moment.

For this reason, it important to get assessed by a qualified clinician. For more information contact me at zacharyc@cohenhealth.com .

Standing Desks: What’s The Verdict?

Recently many companies have begun paying more attention to the health of their workers, specifically in regards to work station set ups. Great improvements have been made in this area and as such I am constantly asked whether a patient should get a standing desk.

My answer to this question is never as simple as “yes” or “no.” As with many questions, the answer is “it depends.”

Are you sitting all day? Then you likely could benefit from incorporating more standing into your day. In this case, a standing desk would be a good thing to look into.

Are you already changing positions between sitting and standing at work with greater frequency? Do you get up and walk to the water cooler every 20-30 minutes? If this is the case, a standing desk may not be your most immediate concern.

The human body enjoys variability. In other words, it flourishes when it can adapt in many different ways. Think of your heart rate. It rises when you are exercising and then lowers back down to the resting rate after you recover. A healthy heart is constantly adjusting to the demands of life. In the most basic sense, this is an example of cardiovascular variability.

Our movement system enjoys being variable as well. If you are sitting constantly then incorporating more standing can make you more resilient to continued stiffness and discomfort. In this case, a standing desk may provide you with more variability so that you can switch between sitting and standing.

However, a standing desk is just one tool to help to continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Check out the other Cohen Health and Performance blog posts to learn more useful tips and information!

What Do You Know About Your Pain?

What do you even know about pain?!

I am sure that you have experienced physical pain before. Maybe you injured your back lifting weights. Perhaps you hurt you shoulder when playing catch with your kids. You may even have irritated your knee when training for that marathon you are preparing for.

However, do you really understand your pain?

Pain is a difficult thing to conceptualize as there are so many factors that influence it. When looking at a cadaver we cannot see pain. Pain is something the brain senses, processes and ultimately creates a response to.

The human brain is a pretty amazing thing.

The brain is constantly making predictions allowing us to function effectively. For example, imagine that you are climbing down a flight of stairs at night. Your brain is expecting the next step to appear at exactly the same distance from the previous step. However, as I’m sure many of you have experienced, we often misjudge when the last step will appear. We become startled when our foot hits the floor in a different manner than our brain predicted.

Pain is also a prediction. As pain continuously occurs during a movement or activity, the brain will learn to expect it. This expectation eventually must dissipate for pain to ultimately disappear during the aggravating activities.

Imagine that you have lower back pain every time that you attempt to lift something off of the floor such as deadlifting a barbell in the gym or emptying dishes out of the dishwasher. There is not one “cookie cutter” back pain treatment for this.

The brain has an expectation that this bent over position will hurt. Therefore, similar positions must be explored in treatment where pain is not present to provide an unexpected result.

The brain will learn not be threatened in these positions, ultimately decreasing pain when performing activities that involve these positions.

As I had discussed in previous blog posts, the root causes that lead to the pain must be addressed for pain to ultimately be resolved. However, the movements that result in pain must also be de-sensitized for a full and pain free return to sport, training or life.

Learn To Breakup Your Workday

Our most recent post was inspired by the wintry weather here in the Washington, DC region so it only makes sense that the next post is inspired by a beautiful and sunny 65 degree day. There are many people running past me and enjoying the weather as I sit outside writing this blog. It is currently lunch time on this pleasant Monday and I can’t help but wonder how many of these runners are exercising on their lunch break.

Breaking up the workday with exercise is a fantastic idea for many reasons. The body will always adapt to its surroundings which includes sitting at a desk or staring at a computer screen all morning. The day thus far has largely been spent staring at the computer and typing on a keyboard. This causes the brain to increase tension of the muscles proximally (closer to the center) so that it can provide more control/stiffness for continued focus on such a relatively small screen.

A midday run breaks up this cycle and all of a sudden the body is experiencing the world around it. The brain no longer will be stimulated to increase tension of muscles in order to enhance fine motor control of the finger tips and focus of the head/eyes. Instead, our senses are perceiving the surrounding environment. We hear birds chirping and can see far into the distance rather than stare closely at a computer screen.

After escaping the office on a midday run, the body should feel more refreshed and many of the negative effects of prolonged sitting can be negated. However, many people cannot get out of the office for a run in the middle of the day.

Simply take a long walk outside or make a point of picking your head up off of your computer screen throughout the day and take in the world around you.

As I write this, I am aware of the runners, construction down the street, and a flock of birds flying overhead. Are you continuously aware of the world around you? What can you see? What sounds are present?

Being aware of your surroundings does an incredible deal of good so that you are not sucked into the world of your computer. This is will allow you to be more productive throughout the day and more importantly, will benefit your health.

What Can Walking On Ice Teach Us About Movement?

The weather in the Washington, DC area fluctuates drastically at times. A couple of weeks ago it was 75 degrees and sunny. This week there was snow which became icy overnight.

Road conditions were not problematic for long however many sidewalks and walkways remained slippery.

Imagine walking on an icy sidewalk. Reflexively the body becomes very stiff and rigid. Movement looks robotic as to prevent you from slipping and falling.

There is contraction of muscles surrounding the weight bearing joints. One example of this co-contraction is the hamstrings and quads at the knee. Rigidity of a joint, in this case the knee, is increased when muscles on opposite sides of a joint are contracting at the same time. This limits the joint’s freedom of movement.

In the situation of an icy sidewalk, this decrease in freedom of movement is a smart strategy as that provides less for the body to have to control to keep from falling.

You may have also felt the body using this strategy of maximal control when performing an activity such as weight training for the first time.

Lets imagine someone performing a back squat for the very first time. It may look like the individual is walking on ice when first lifting the barbell off of the rack. The body moves very robotic and rigid as the person attempts to learn the movement. However, the movement becomes much more fluid and efficient after practice through repetitions and training sessions. The body is more comfortable and the “reward” is more freedom of movement.

The body will also similarly protect us by limiting freedom of movement as if we are on ice. Muscles will be made stiff and joint motion will become limited if our bodies are perceiving something as threatening.

This is one reason that you may “carry your stress in your neck.” Perhaps you have stiff hamstrings, ankles or shoulders. Regardless of the source of your discomfort or stiffness, the body will attempt to become rigid to better handle the current stressors. These stressors include overtraining, poor sleep, poor nutrition, excessive time spent in front of a computer/phone, and a variety of factors that affect emotional health.

So the next time that you feel that a muscle is “tight” or your mobility is limited, ask yourself, “Is my body trying not to slip and fall?”

For more information reach out to me at zacharyc@cohenhealth.com or (240) 686-5609.

Why Is Your Mobility Limited?

Do you feel limited in your hips when attempting a squat like the gentleman above? Or perhaps your shoulders feel stiff when you try to raise your arms overhead? Maybe it’s your ankle mobility that’s holding you back?

No matter where your mobility issues arise, it’s actually your body—more specifically, your brain—that’s intentionally causing this. You might feel tightness in a muscle, tendon, or joint, but this is simply your body’s way of creating more rigidity to better handle the physical demands you place on it regularly.

I often reflect on the many players I’ve worked with in the National Football League. A significant number of them had restricted ankle mobility, particularly in dorsiflexion (the ability to pull the top of the foot upward). These athletes were constantly sprinting, pushing, cutting, and accelerating, which required them to stay on the balls of their feet. Their heels rarely touched the ground, leading their calves and Achilles tendons to operate in a consistently shortened position. The brain smartly adapted to this by creating stiffness in the calves, which enhanced the elastic, spring-like properties of the muscle. This adaptation allowed them to use less energy and push off more quickly since they were already close to the starting position.

While this adaptation was beneficial for performance, it often led to imbalances when left unchecked, putting them at risk for various injuries. Their bodies essentially “forgot” how to move in a more controlled, less extreme manner. This “all or nothing” movement pattern works well for the high-intensity demands of sports but can become problematic when relied upon off the field.

This concept applies to all of us. Our brains will adapt and limit mobility in different areas if we continuously train our bodies in only one way.

Don’t get me wrong—our bodies need to know how to generate power for sports or training. However, we also need to ensure that we’re not overly reliant on these patterns and that we can move in various ways.

That’s why I often encourage athletes and patients to include exercises in their training that don’t require excessive strain. You shouldn’t need to grit your teeth or tense every muscle in your body to accomplish a task. If you do, it indicates a lack of movement efficiency.

Stretching alone won’t resolve this issue because we cannot overpower the nervous system. Instead, the best approach is to address the root cause of mobility restrictions by incorporating the strategies mentioned above.