Week 4

The more I learn about physical therapy, the more I realize how much people underestimate how complicated the practice is. So many things I took for granted are actually completely wrong. A lot of the concepts are counter-intuitive, but scientifically proven. I’d like to share a few examples.

            Everyone with two legs will tell you that they know how to walk. But 99% of them have a glitch in their movement. Most people assume it would be unhealthy to land on the front leg when it is completely straight. However, it is actually better to do so because the muscles perfectly protect the joints when they are all activated, which can only be accomplished in a straight leg. Also, most people don’t know how to fire their gluteus muscles when pushing off their back leg and fail to push their hips all the way over the planting leg.

            Another misconception is that people think the abdominal muscles should hunch the back forward when they are flexed. They see the Abercrombie models and push their chests forwards and down to try and match their appearance (do not pretend like you don’t do this in the mirror). The actual way the abdominals are supposed to be used is to elongate the spine. They should be sucked in, which you can feel when you suck in your stomach. Then they should be flexed against the spine, which you can feel lift your ribs up. Together with the gluteus muscles, abdominals most influence posture, and good posture prevents most back and neck injuries.

            The last example I would like to share is the idea that stiff muscles should be rested and painless muscles can handle increased work. Most patients assume these as truth during their treatment. They either end up overworking when they leave feeling good, and come back with pain, or they rest too much when they feel stiff and they build up scar tissue. At Synergy, patients are encouraged to stick to their prescribed exercises and stretches, as they are designed to either work out stiffness in tight muscles or build strength in loose muscles. Also, most doctors tell patients to avoid things that will cause pain. They want them to stop the daily activities that can potentially harm them. Vincent believes that instead we should prepare them to handle the activities they do so as not to change their lives too drastically. We train them by practicing what will cause pain, and when the pain comes, we treat them. After several repetitions of this routine, the patient is able to handle the tasks with ease and can return to their normal lives.