It’s all in the Technique….

For anyone who has been to our clinic, I’m sure you’ve heard at least one of the physios preach about technique and the importance of moving properly. You may be wondering what the difference is between such a small and seemingly insignificant movement when performing the exercises; but the truth of it is:

“practice makes permanent”

The best way this can be explained is, that over time our brain and body develop blueprints for the movements and sequences of movement we perform; the muscles we activate and the order in which they are activated.

These blueprints are our bodies “go to” mechanisms that require minimal to no conscious effort; be it something as simple as picking up an object off the floor. If this saved blueprint is in an inefficient or dangerous movement pattern, then with time the chance for injury increases.

This is one small, but modifiable factor that we are all capable of; yet none of us are ever really taught ‘proper technique’ for many of our everyday movements.

Alternatively, we had a proper movement pattern but became injured and never saw anyone about it. Over time our bodies adapted and created a new movement pattern to protect the injured tissue. In many cases the tissue will heal and be fully functioning, however our body will not revert to its healthy movement pattern.

Instead, we maintain the debilitating pattern which in turn causes us issues down the line.

When our body goes into a protective blueprint certain tissues tighten and become stiff and ‘shorter’, while the tissues on the other side of the body become lengthened. An example of this is if our low back becomes stiff and tight, we normally find it harder to bend forward, whereas bending back (extending) may not cause us any issues at all (this is not always the case). When tissues are in either position (too long or to short), they become inefficient and lose their strength. Additionally, the joints beneath the soft tissue (muscles, tendons, etc) become stiff and can become irritated by movement.

By correcting technique and returning the body to its ‘normal’ and ‘neutral’ position the underlying tissue generally becomes mobile and stiffness begins to dissipate. Additionally, if there was any kind of impingement (muscle pressing against a nerve), the symptoms will usually start to subside as well.

So, the next time you come in to see a physio and they are preaching the importance of technique, just remember practice makes permanent and correcting your movement blueprints may help reduce the visits to your friendly neighbourhood physio.

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Brid Walsh

Brid qualified in 2004 with a BSC Honours Degree in Sports and Exercise Science from the University of Limerick, Ireland. In evaluating her future path, she spent a summer in Alaska with the Hope Foundation supporting disabilities of various sorts. Her further work experience in the Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin convinced her that Physiotherapy was the direction she wished to specialise in. In 2007 she subsequently qualified from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen with an MSC in Physiotherapy.

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