Body Awareness (continued)

Eh, I got already my next post, but it looks something always pops up.
Today, it was a visit to another Physical Therapist and friend, Heather.

http://www.therapeuticfusion.com/

Well, the good news. She kind of agreed on the diagnostic made that far. Tight hips, tight everything in fact, weak glutes ...
Hum, this one is new. You meant, non existent glutes, right ?

Now i am back on my back.

The big difference with Heather's approach to your normal PT, is she mixes a lot of "holistic", "fusion", "global" considerations in her work. Like Yoga. And Movement. And this is useful, because, stretching got its limits. The first one is you cannot stretch a muscle that is always contracted. 

Quoting a Somatic Expert:
"Yes, PT almost always diagnoses muscle problems as weakness, when in fact muscles are so tight that they can no longer function properly. Are they weak? Yes, in their functionality and control, but not always in their tonus and contractibility."

I am glad that my wife pushed me to meet Heather (they used to work together), because it gives another view to the same problem, and new tools. But in my guts, I was feeling something was not right, not complete with the PT work too. Like we are strengthening core, stretching all around, but not really dealing with real thing. I feel better for sure, but the pain and trigger are still there, sleeping.

Heather diagnostic was clear: Over-use of the hips and flexor, we need to reprogram the brain to use different (and for now weaker) muscles.

Kind of remind me of what I am playing with, right, you guessed it, Somatics.

Pandiculation

The only answer to learned, habituated muscle tightness is to actively re-set muscle length at the level of the central nervous system.  This means that the brain must be engaged in the action. 

Going back to the subject of this post. Body awareness. Next step, was a simple exercise, to strengthen the lateral hips.

Something like that.

Guess what. I was not using the right muscles to do it. This explaining the fact that this exercise was triggering intense pain every  time I tried it before. And I was not using the right muscle, because those muscles are so nonexistent at this point, that I cannot even trigger them voluntarily. Then, to trigger them automatically, as an habit, there is a leap. Not using the right muscles, over-use of the wrong one. Sounds simple ?

Remember the time I locked my shoulder after paddling. Not using my back. Ouch. That hurt. Still does. Thought I was going to get another tendinitis, this time at the shoulder. Not good.

Long, powerful strokes. Pull from the lats.

What's my point ? There is a technique for each movement, and if you do not do it correctly, using and feeling the correct muscles, you are doing way worst than any good. And If you try to "walk it off", you may end up hurting yourself. I know: I did it. I am still paying the price of this dumb mentality. Now I know how to feel after exercising : Soreness, Not Pain. And to make the distinction, I am trying to ...

LISTEN TO MY BODY 

As my friend said,

But do it CORRECTLY !