UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BODY
Life after high school involves a constant struggle to maintain balance. Juggling social life, career, family time, and more. This struggle leads to setting priorities, often pushing health further down the list. In youth, health seems like an "older person" issue, yet maintaining health is crucial at any age. Balance is vital in both life and health. As time progresses, achieving this balance becomes more challenging due to the body's remarkable ability to maintain homeostasis.
Homeostasis refers to the state of equilibrium that living organisms maintain within their internal physical and chemical conditions. Essentially, the human body continuously adjusts to stay balanced. The chemical aspect can relate to our mental mood and emotional health, but we'll save that for another discussion. The internal physical aspect can lead to discouragement and potential injuries.
As we transition into adulthood, work takes precedence, followed by social interactions and family time. This shift results in decreased movement and increased inactivity. In our youth, we had recess, walked in parks with friends, perhaps skateboarded or surfed, but adulthood tends to slow us down. Our bodies adapt to this new lifestyle, leading to potential issues. We've all seen extraordinary individuals performing seemingly impossible feats. One memorable example is the woman who can accurately shoot a bow with her feet. This impressive adaptation illustrates how homeostasis functions. Initially, she might have tried this skill with limited success. Through practice and consistent training, her body perfected this skill thanks to its adaptability. The mind directs the body, and the body adapts accordingly.
Returning to adult life and the risk of injuries, reduced movement and mobility cause the body to adapt to a sedentary lifestyle. As homeostasis adjusts to this lack of movement, muscles weaken. Stabilizer and synergist muscles are the first to deteriorate. Synergists are smaller muscles that assist the primary mover muscles or agonists. These muscles can be maintained through simple movements, keeping them active. Prolonged inactivity results in a rapid decline in their strength, which can lead to problems.
In the military, basketball is the leading cause of injuries outside combat operations. You might wonder, "How do Soldiers who train daily sustain so many basketball injuries?" The answer lies in homeostasis. Military training focuses on specific "planes" of movement, neglecting those needed for basketball. There are three planes of movement: sagittal, frontal, and transverse. The military primarily trains in the frontal plane (running, push-ups, pull-ups, etc.). Basketball involves all planes but mainly the sagittal plane (side-to-side movement, quick direction changes). This leads to injuries because Soldiers, despite being fit, remember playing basketball in their youth and push themselves to play intensely. Homeostasis has adapted their movement patterns to daily frontal plane activities, neglecting the development of synergists needed for optimal performance in the sagittal plane. This is similar to what happens as we enter adulthood.
As we join the workforce and reduce our activity, our bodies conserve energy for essential daily functions, neglecting unneeded aspects. If you're sitting in an office chair, small stabilizers develop to support your lower core during prolonged sitting. The same development isn't needed for standing muscles. Injuries occur because larger muscles don't deteriorate as quickly. As holidays and long hours impact our energy and waistlines, we aim to get healthy and lose weight. Activities we once found easy now seem daunting because our bodies aren't prepared.
I used to bowl competitively, sometimes playing 30 games a day. I used a 16-pound ball and frequently contended for tournament wins. After joining the military, I didn't bowl for years. When I finally returned to bowling with friends, my major muscles could handle the 16-pound ball, but I lacked the stamina for more than four games, leaving me sore the next day. The expression "I'm sore in places I didn't even know I had" rings true. These small muscle groups are vital for balance. Without training the synergists, movements rely more on primary movers and tendons/ligaments for stability. THIS IS THE ISSUE. People experience ligament or tendon tears after engaging in activities like bowling, tennis, or running, which they previously enjoyed, only to encounter pain or discomfort.
HOW TO COMBAT POSSIBLE INJURIES
Understanding how our bodies adapt is crucial for re-entering an active lifestyle. Staying active is key to preventing injuries. Continuously varying movement patterns and challenging our bodies helps prevent deterioration. If you've been in active for a while, starting a new activity or workout plan may initially be exciting but can become discouraging after about two weeks. This discouragement may stem from mental aspects or physical soreness. The discomfort arises because your body suggests these activities aren't necessary for your current lifestyle. Your muscles will be sore, and your mind may resist using "unneeded" energy. Just push through it! Your body will adapt, and homeostasis will adjust to the new changes.
If homeostasis has already led you to a sedentary lifestyle, consider hiring a personal trainer to help you train safely and fully enjoy life. As humans, movement is essential regardless of what brings you joy. Even activities like puzzles or video games require energy and effort. Imagine being unable to easily get up to charge your devices or grab a soda. What if your excitement from winning a game or completing a puzzle led to an enthusiastic celebration, only to injure your knee upon landing? This could occur if your body isn't prepared for such activity. Quick fix: celebrate with unique aerial outbursts more often. A more realistic solution: constantly change your body's habits and engage as many synergists as possible. This approach combats homeostasis.
PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
This blog emphasizes the importance of avoiding prolonged patterns. Training takes various forms, and performing new tasks requires preparation. A saying I love is, "If you stay ready, you never have to get ready." Remember this as it's central to injury prevention. We can't predict what life will bring or what will capture our interest daily. I don't want mobility issues or potential injuries to limit your life. The goal of this blog is to help you do what you love for as long as possible. I offer pre-made plans to assist you in your mobility journey, aiming to help you "move" forward longer. I want to spread awareness of how easy it is to maintain movement.
For more questions, explore my site for information on other topics. This explanation aims to raise awareness of the human body's remarkable adaptability. It's not a comprehensive explanation but a conversation starter. I have a full-length video further explaining this concept with ways to continue movement linked below. Please leave a comment if you have further questions and have an amazing day. As always, stay happy and helpful.
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