Movement Control

Injury often causes us to compensate with alternative ways of moving to avoid pain. This is very understandable in an effort to just ‘get on with life’ despite the short term disruption of injury. However, when the original injury heals, and pain fades, some people are left with patterns of movement that are still unnecessarily protecting the area of concern. This isn’t always obvious at first but can manifest in stiffness/injury elsewhere down the track.

Facts about how our bodies move:

• Even after the tissues (bone/muscles/tendon etc) have healed, the brain may need a refresher on how to move ‘normally’ and efficiently.

• Strength training, as important as it is, doesn’t address issues of control. For example, after a knee surgery, the knee may finally be able to straighten for the first time in years, and the quadriceps muscles may get much stronger as a result of being able to move more and having less pain, but the walking gait may still reflect the habits of ‘old’ ways.

• Physio’s can help identify and teach you to re-learn more suitable ways to move, so that you can return to normal, or perhaps even better than before.

Do you feel like you are still compensating from an injury or muscle stiffness? Book in to see a physiotherapist for an assessment of how your body moves!