Optimal Musculoskeletal Health for Those that Dont Know What the Hell I Am Talking About

  Optimal Musculoskeletal health is a primary concern of many good fitness pros. In layman's terms it is having pain free and functional musculoskeletal system (MS). It is the foundation to build upon. Knowledgeable pros and practitioners will qualify muscle conditions through assessments that mainly deal with posture and joint motion.  On the opposite side, there are many folks who really don't understand the importance of this concept. Some will just think being active will resolve MS related issues. So activities such as very deep style stretching and long distance jogging become very popular ideas to get to optimal health. If there are issues concerning MS, the idea of just "picking up a sport or default fitness class" does not clean up the issues. Many times this will amplify the trouble. Getting a firm grasp of basic movement patterns and eliminating pain and impairments due to incorrect movements, is the best first step to optimal MS.

 The the muscular system of the body responds rapidly to whatever demand are put upon it. Changes in strength can be very good but can also be bad and problematic. For instance, strength gained in an environment where the wrong muscles compensate for the muscle that is supposed to be handling the task will lead to complications and impairments in the future. A lot of these changes are made with improper fitness posture and during the frequent daily activities. Being able to identify and fix these problems is the most important action. When I say activities I am not isolating the dynamic activities but also include static. So the amount of times a person is seated or standing still and so on also makes a major impact on health of the MS.  As Dr. Stuart McGill points out, sedentary lifestyles can be just as damaging as active lifestyles. If we look closer at a sedentary posture assumed while in an office environment. We can easily notice a standard forward and "slumped" position of the upper body tightening those muscles in the front and creating a dominant pattern for the muscles to adapt to. Also there is a lot of twisting and tilting through the lower back. A person will likely not stand up and grab items around him, but rather "reach" from the seated position to quickly get to a particular item. The lower back area is already over stretched and the upper back muscles are weakened from the sedentary pattern, so stretching these muscles for relief can be damaging instead of therapeutic. The best way forward to correct these problems is to identify the dysfunctional static and motion patterns and reverse or at least counter the patterns with corrective exercises.

   Even elite athletes suffer from daily improper or just over abundant movement patterns and posture. As the sedentary person holds a certain posture and does certain motion throughout the day, so an elite athlete will also have daily activities that can commonly hinder optimal and pain free MS. Having a really smart strength and conditioning coach is an invaluable asset for them.


  Because this is aimed mainly at people who do not have access to smart fitness pros, and very new trainers beginning their fitness career,  I will give some simple advice. One of the easiest ways to self asses MS issues is drastically slowing down the tempo of a training program. Also the program should highlight the basic exercises that all other exercises come from (pushup, squat, deadlift, chinup, dip and lunge). At this stage it is also best to eliminate plyometric and explosive type exercises.  Mel Siff's "Super Training" is a great book to get into. More specifically, his A.P.R.E. training system, which is a form of training derived from physical therapist system D.A.P.R.E. I give a brief overview on how it works and how to apply it in this article, Mel Siff's APRE. For the full system, buy or borrow a copy of Super Strength. Adding on to this Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson have put together a great and easy to use mobility training Magnificent Mobility .

  Also for trainers and fitness enthusiasts who need a valid and reliable way to assess, without the prerequisite of human anatomy, kinesiology and biomechanics, use FMS for screening and introducing proper exercises to counter issues. Once again, it is quite easy to implement and learn from. It is very important for a fitness professional to have a good grasp on the subjects above, but the Gray Cook FMS can help "fill in the gaps" until you get where you need to be with strength and conditioning.

 Finally just a few tips to get you moving forward:

 - A lifestyle change is needed for real change. Commercial training programs and popular quick fix diets may or may not help, correct the issues. Directly analyzing what "bad habits" a person has active or not and seeking to fix them specifically is much wiser. An example, a sedentary person who suffers from weak gluteus (butt) muscles, less than desirable body fat percentage, and over stretched upper and lower back muscles; will need to counter sedentary posture with standing posture (standing straight like your momma' told you). Use exercise programs that emphasis core strengthening and especially the core "stiffening"  the lumbar spine (not to be confused with overstretching) and hip dominate exercises. Known aerobic activities will need to be used. Seek out aerobics where the joints go through FULL ROM (range of motion). So if running is a must. Then run quickly with full leg swing and arm swing (fast running not sprinting which has more technical aspects). If there is any pain felt or tension, do NOT run. Learn to walk without impairments and build up.

- Seek out a qualified fitness professional. You will need one who can assess your bodies movement pattern and lifestyle BEFORE prescribing a program. Your health is of high value to you and should be treated accordingly.

 I once heard a great quote that sums this up well:
"Practice does not make perfect...Perfect Practice makes perfect."