ITIS’S (INFLAMMATION) ARE PREVENTABLE!
Bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, capsulitis, you name it, these terms tell us a joint and its’ surrounding soft tissues are functioning inefficiently and thus, creating an inflammatory process. The great news is that joint and soft tissue inflammation is preventable. Let’stalkbasics.A joint formswhentwobonesmeetandthere’saspace in which 3 dimensional movements can occur. When a joint moves, soft tissues respond to control that movement: muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, fascia, etc. There are three general scenarios in which a joint can move: • Joints move too little • Joints move too much • Joints move just right WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE MOVEMENT AT A JOINT IS TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE? When a joint moves in the way it was designed, that area is unlikely to become irritated and inflamed. However, when the amount of joint motion (limited or excessive) is altered, it affects the optimal timing and sequence in which bones move to create ideal movement actions andreactions. In turn, there is increasedstressand frictionat the joint whichover timebecomesagitatedandcreates inflammation–notonly at the joint itself, but in the surrounding soft tissues (bursa, tendon, capsule, etc)…and possibly all the way at the other end of the body! HOW DOES OPTIMAL JOINT MOTION BECOME ALTERED? Previous injuries,repetitivestresses, lackofmovement,and improper conditioningareafewcommoncausesofdysfunctional jointmovement. For instance, let’s say you sprain your ankle and as a result, you lose the ability to bend your ankle (dorsiflex). The reaction is considerably more complex than this but let’s just keep it simple here. The lack of motion at your ankle will now force nearby joints to move more than they were designed to (joints moving too little / too much). The joints moving too much become overloaded, which again, stress both the bones/joints and the surrounding soft tissues. As a result of this altered and excessive joint movement, you may develop plantar fasciitis. As you can see, this overload of the plantar fascia, has nothing to do with the plantar fascia itself, it’s simply an inflammatoryresponsetothesituationofa“bum”ankle.Thetraditional approach topainmanagementwill treat theplantar fasciabyputtinga booton itor limiting itsmovement insomeway,whicheffectivelytreats the site of pain, AND which ineffectively addresses the source of pain.
BUT HOW DO YOU IMPROVE IT? Here’s the deal (again, an oversimplification), the way you get a joint to move less is to make another joint move more. So, back to our ankle sprain example. If the limited motion at the ankle caused the excessivemotionattheplantar fascia,won’trestoringtheanklemotion simultaneouslyreduce theamountofmovement (stress) in theplantar fascia? Light bulb turns on …. SWEET! We have to realize that the human body is self-healing. Authentic, balanced movement is required at a joint for optimal function and recovery.Thingsdon’thurtbychance, there isalwaysareasonandwe need a different way of thinking about the whole body as opposed to gettingstuckonthepart.Yourbestbetatcreatingahealingenvironment within your body is to locate a Fellow of Applied Functional Science in your area. We have them at Trademark Performance. Contact us today at 219.319.0110 or www.trademarkpc.com to see how we can help you recover from your aches and pains. By: Michael Hornbuckle, MS, ATC, CWCE, FAFS, FMR
Michael Hornbuckle is a sports medicine professional with a wealth of athletic training and sports performance experience. He was the Head Athletic Trainer and Strength Coach for the Gary Steelheads, of the Continental Basketball Association. Hornbuckle was also theHeadAthleticTrainer for theChicagoFire. Hornbuckle has also been the athletic trainer for several professional basketball, football and soccer teams both at home and abroad. With highly educated and experienced staff, TradeMarkPerformance isthenewgeneration of Sports Medicine and Performance.
MICHAEL HORNBUCKLE, MS, ATC, CWCE, FAFS, FMR
YOU CAN BE FREE OF YOUR LEG PAIN! CALL TODAY OR VISIT US AT WWW.TRADEMARKPC.COM
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