Movement is Medicine: Too Much Linear Movement?
Much of our daily lives are spent moving. And the majority of that movement is in a forward direction. Taking this thought one step further we typically move in a relatively straight or linear manner.
When was the last you performed side stepping or walked backwards or took a step to the side and changed direction quickly? Unless you are active in recreational or a leisure time activity that requires non-linear movement most people go through their daily lives in a very linear fashion. And the older we get, the more linear we get.
WHY is linear movement a problem?
If we stay on this course with most of our movement being linear, we begin to see a breakdown in joint range of motion, muscle flexibility, strength, and dynamic balance. We are not moving our joints through their full natural motion, not stretching or challenging the muscles through full range and not challenging our dynamic balance mechanisms to make adjustments. “Move it or lose it.”
This lack of multidirectional movement is a major contributor to falls with each piece of the joint-muscle-dynamic balance system contributing. If one of these contributors are lacking then the whole system will compensate. The more we compensate, the more we will limit or change the contributions from each system, resulting in more and more compensation.
Maintaining and regaining non-linear movement is easier than you think.
Start with small activities such as side stepping at slow to medium speeds on a firm flat surface. As you improve there are many ways to progress the activity. You can perform these lateral movements on a more challenging surface such as grass or gravel. You can alter the change in direction so that your side to side movements do not become linear. One time move directly side to side and the next time move at different angle yet still moving sideways. As you improve, speed can be added or you can make quicker changes in direction. Again as you improve you can add more variables.
Side to side is not the only direction we need to improve to become less linear. We need to also be able to move backward.
Backward is not a movement we do naturally so can be more challenging. Work into backward walking slowly and add speed very cautiously. As you begin to move backward more easily and with better balance you can begin to add more variables as we did with side to side movements.
Once you are moving more comfortably in all directions mix it up and challenging your system by randomly moving in different directions. You can practice non-linear movement in simple ways too. Like not walking in a straight line into the grocery store. Spending as little as 5-10 minutes a day will make a big difference.
If you are an active person and want to learn how to improve your ability to move in different directions and maintain joint, muscle, and dynamic balance go see your local physical therapist for a movement and agility screen. They will be able to identify and create a program to help you move more efficiently.
If you are having difficulty due to stiff joints, tight or weak muscles, and loss of balance get in to see your physical therapist sooner versus later. We do not want you to fall!
And don’t forget you can go directly to your physical therapist without a prescription from your doctor.
