Have you ever felt like your joints are squeaky/grindy/crunchy? Do you feel like the tin man walking around looking for your oil can? Are you tired of the aching in your joints?
We have so many patients who contact us wondering why they are not moving correctly. And, we also have many patients who start working with us who are wondering why we are so focused on getting your joints moving. In fact, getting your joints moving properly is the first step in our treatment plan!
And, the reason we are so focused on getting the joints, muscles, ligaments, and discs of your body moving normally is because:
Motion Is Lotion!
I know it sounds corny but it’s so very true. Every tissue in your body requires proper motion for proper healing. Nothing in your body can heal if it doesn’t move.
What does this include?
- 1All your joints – Your joints are all lined with cartilage. The cartilage works much like a sponge. When the joints are moving correctly they are able to soak up the nutrition. When the joints are compressed normally the waste products are eliminated from the cartilage. So, if the joint is not moving correctly then the waste products get stuck in the joint and they build up. This leads to the cartilage getting sticky which prevents the joint from moving correctly. It also affects the muscles.
- 2The muscles in your body cross one (or multiple!) joints – And since they do cross joints the muscles need the joints to be moving correctly so they can have normal motion. The muscles contract and relax. If the joints are not moving correctly then the muscles are not able to fully lengthen and shorten. When this happens, it leads to a build-up of “knots” in the muscles. Those knots are the painful areas that you can feel when you touch the muscle. You may even try massaging them out yourself. If you find yourself constantly massaging the same muscle then you are probably dealing with something that is not moving correctly. Proper movement of the muscle is also important because it puts the appropriate stress on the tendons.
- 3Tendons attach the muscle to the bone – These are very important because the tendons hold the muscle in the correct location and help the muscle to function in the way it is supposed to. If your tendons are not able to react normally to the muscle contraction they may tear. Have you ever had a friend have a sudden tendon rupture? Although the rupture may have been sudden, it indicates that the muscle and tendon have not been moving correctly for awhile. Tendons require the proper muscle pull in order to maintain their strength and flexibility.
- 4Discs need proper motion, too! – The discs in your spine require proper motion in order to maintain their nutrition. After the age of 20 years old, we no longer have a direct blood supply to the discs. This means that you have to get nutrition to the disc through a process called “imbibition”. This process is similar to what we discussed with the cartilage above. The disc needs to have proper motion so that it can get rid of waste products and soak up the fresh nutrition. This isn’t just required for proper healing, this is required to maintain healthy discs. If you have found that your disk suddenly “went out” when you reached over to pick something up off the floor then you had a disc that wasn’t getting proper nutrition before you reached over.
You see, motion is lotion!
Every tissue in your body does require proper motion for healing. Therefore, if you are not moving correctly then there is no way your body is truly going to be able to heal. Yes, you may be able to get rid of the pain for a short time but it will come back if you do not have the proper motion to truly heal the injured tissue.
This is why so many people who end up coming to work with us here at Physical Therapy for everyBODY have been let down by other PT’s before. Because the motion issue was not addressed enough (or at all!) to keep you moving normally and injury free long into the future. This is why we put proper motion at the beginning of our treatment plan.
If we do not ensure proper motion of the joint/muscle/tendon/disc that needs to be healed at the beginning then nothing else we do will matter. There is no point giving you 10 exercises to do every day if those exercises are not promoting the healing your body needs. And, more often than not, if you don’t have normal motion then those exercises will actually increase the problem and make it worse.
If you have been frustrated by not getting the results you want or if you are tired of constantly living in pain, then I encourage you to sign up for a Free Discovery Visit. During this visit we will hear your story and learn more about your journey. We can also see if what we offer here at Physical Therapy for everyBODY is a good fit for your body and your goals.
And, remember, Movement Is Life!
Dr. Amy Konvalin
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