Thinking of Muscle Tightness as Injury

Most of us suffer from muscle imbalances. These occur when overactive muscles shorten and cause lengthening of their antagonist muscles, leading to movement distortions, pain, and sometimes injury. Some causes of muscle imbalances are imbalanced workouts (both athletes and fitness beginners alike have this problem, though for different reasons), compensations after injury, or repetitive movements throughout the day. These repetitive movements can be obvious, such as a dockworker loading and unloading boxes, or they might be more subtle, such as sitting at a desk all day. That neck and back pain you feel when sitting in front of a computer is actually a signal that your muscles are suffering from pattern overload. The body treats the repeated overuse of the muscles involved in shoulder internal rotation and adduction (the movements involved in "hunching") as injury. Inflammation of the muscles causes spasms which lead to knots and a subsequent shortening of the overactive musculature. Not only can this lead to a cascade of muscle imbalances throughout the body, but both shortened and lengthened muscles are unable to produce optimal force. So, if you have muscle imbalances and are looking to increase your strength, you'll need to focus on corrective exercise first. SMR (self-myofascial release) and static stretching can both help to return shortened muscles to their proper length. Be sure to let them rest, just as you would injured muscle, until optimal function is restored. See my blog on proper SMR and static stretching techniques or contact me for further information.

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