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It is also important to understand that the
nervous system is all one piece, as is the
blood system. So if a nerve is not sliding
and gliding within its tissue, it will pull
and distort the shape of the entire nervous
system, just like a boulder that is sitting on
a sapling’s root will alter the growth of the
tree.
Even muscles don’t really begin and end.
One can think of muscles like sausage
links, each attached to the next via the
sausage casing. If one were to start peeling
the muscles starting at the bottom of the
toes, one could peel the foot sausage, calf
sausage, hamstring sausage links and on up
the back, neck, over the top of the scalp to
the eyebrows, and it would come off all in
one long sausage-link-like piece.
When the sausage chains that sit next to
each other are stuck together – the quad
muscles are stuck to each other – and
can’t slide and glide independently, it
changes the force vectors on the joints. In
the example of the knee, the kneecap is
potentially pulled more to one side rather
than remaining even within the centre of
the groove formed by the thigh bone.
I think adjacent muscles that are stuck
together will limit flexibility more than
muscles just not being long enough.
Adhesions are problematic as they remove
slack in the system, decreasing range of
motion, and resulting in uneven tension
throughout the web. That can create pain
and tightness, so restoring slide and glide
between adjacent muscles is very helpful to
reduce pain and improve function.
VRENI GURD
An adhesion can create pain surprisingly
far away. For example, an appendix scar
might cause one to stand and sit slightly
bent to the right side in order to keep some
slack in the area. This might be the root
cause of back, neck, or shoulder pain, or
the scar itself might snag nerves or blood
vessels heading into the leg, resulting in a
knee problem.
As we live our lives and stuff happens to
us, we slowly get tethered up, as various
injuries stack upon each other. But that
does not mean we can’t reverse the trend.
There are two main things that we can do
to turn things around.
1. Seek regular treatment that can help
improve the slide and glide between
tissues, make sure scars are mobile, and
make sure joints are working optimally.
Manual therapy can make a huge
difference through massage therapists,
physiotherapists, osteopathic manual
practitioners and chiropractors.
So, stand up nice and tall, feet hip distance
apart so you feel stable. Let your arms
dangle. Go ahead and twist gently to
one side looking as far as you can in that
direction. Once you hit the end, twist the
other way. Let momentum do most of the
work. Go back and forth 15 to 30 times
with no forcing, barely any effort at all, and
certainly no pain. Do this every day. If you
get dizzy, just look straight ahead and turn
your body only.
This simple exercise will cause pretty much
every structure in your body, from the feet
and ankles up to the head to move through
its range of motion, sliding and gliding
each tissue in both directions in relation to
its neighbour. With time and consistency,
things will begin to improve.
2. Stretch and mobilize your body every
day. Particularly twists.
Turning over from back to front, and
front to back were the first movements we
learned as babies, and for good reason, as
twists underlie almost all our movement.
We twist when we walk, run, throw, golf,
play tennis and any other racquet sport,
and we also need to twist to shoulder check
when driving. Being able to look behind
while moving forward kept us safe for
millions of years.
The beauty of twists is they create the slide
and glide between adjacent structures,
which can break up adhesions. They cause
one structure to move in one direction
while the adjacent structure moves
relatively in the opposite direction. For this
reason, twisting side to side is powerful.
Play with twisting different body parts. Sit
tall on the bed with your legs outstretched
and spread apart until you feel the slightest
inner-thigh stretch and turn your legs like
windshield wipers. Or bring more focus
to the spine by sitting tall on a chair with
a pillow or ball between the legs, putting
your fists on your breastbone and then
turning side to side.
Your imagination is your limit. Just keep it
gentle with no pain, and turn one way, then
the other to keep the tissues moving. Turn,
turn, turn, and over the months feel your
body improve.
w a s t h e t o p g r a d u a t i n g s t u d e n t i n P H E f r o m t h e Un i v e r s i t y o f To r o n t o
in 1992, and is continually furthering her education in exercise, nutrition and
h e a l t h . A s a C . H . E . K . 3 p r a c t i t i o n e r a n d h o l i s t i c l i f e s t y l e c o n s u l t a n t , Vr e n i ’ s c u r r e n t
Va n c o u v e r p r a c t i c e i n v o l v e s h e l p i n g c l i e n t s f e e l b e t t e r t h r o u g h p o s t u r e c o r r e c t i o n ,
corrective exercise, metabolic typing, and nutrition and lifestyle counseling.
Movement for Living
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movementforliving.ca
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Vr e n i @ m o v e m e n t f o r l i v i n g . c a
604-728-1203
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