Are we over thinking biomechanics?

An analysis of movement of locomotion, that is what biomechanics is.

Through studying the locomotion of thousands of individuals sports scientists have established set criteria that the bones and muscles of the body need to do effectively and efficiently to move optimally.

If person cannot squat efficiently is that a worry- yes, but if they can squat with ninety percent efficiency and do it consistently and pain free is that a worry – for me no. If this person was an Olympic athlete, well then yes, absolutely, but for much of the general population having little deviations in biomechanics is normal.

Basically, biomechanics bothers me when it needs to, but most often it doesn’t and when you think about anatomy that makes more sense. 

We are all different, every anatomy book lists muscles their origin and insertion points and as a therapist we learn these off religiously. In reality however people don’t reflect anatomy books. For instance, everyone’s trapezius muscle will not insert into their 12th rib, for some it might be the 11th, some people have an extra hip flexor muscle, the psoas minor, the sciatic nerve in some people runs above a muscle called piriformis, it runs below the muscle and even through the muscle in others. My belief is that we are all built a little differently therefore we all move a little differently. 

In what I do my aim is to assess how someone’s pain or issue is affecting their movements of daily activity that might include, sitting on a chair, hanging up the washing, picking up a child for others it might include a sports movement, swinging a golf club, shooting a basketball, kicking a football. My aim is to assist the client in returning to do the things that are important to them, pain free and as efficiently as possible.

My aim is to improve and eliminate the issue- without getting into the nitty gritty of biomechanics. I place a little more trust in the body knowing through evolution how to move to execute movements, I just need to remind and redirect the nervous system back through its most suitable pathway. This is achieved by assessing the muscle to see if the nervous system is cooperating with it through testing. When muscles become overactive or inhibited, they have altered their connection with the nervous system, which has in turned changed its pathway to activate muscles needed to perform a movement or action. This new pathway is not the ideal pathway and so a person will eventually start to experience pain or notice a change in their movement in one form or another.

An example of this is movement through a squat.  A regular gym goer who used to squat (with pretty good form) twice a week with a job that involves standing and walking has taken up a new job driving for eight hours a day. The demand of the job means the client has stopped going to the gym, instead coming home to the couch for the evening. The glute muscles that were being giving constant neural input through squatting and walking are now being recruited less. After a few weeks the client returns to the gym and to squatting. They find it hard to lift their previous weight but power on and do it anyway, although their squat depth (form) is not the same. They wake up the next day with lower back pain. A probable cause- the glute muscles are inhibited, they almost switched off because the persons daily movement has changed so the nervous system had to recruit different muscles in order to execute the squat movement- the quadratus lumborum (QL) and iliocostalis etc. (lower back muscles) took over. In other words the muscles pathway of working has been changes and altered.

Client visits my clinic, I’ll assess their posture, look at their squat (if they can execute the movement pain free) then assess the muscles. Apply hands on treatment to reignite nervous input to the glutes, and release trigger points in the overactive QL muscles (basiclly correct whatever pathway issues present). I’ll follow this with a graded expose plan to reintroduce the client to executing the squat movement and tolerating load again.  I will also equip the client with a full body mobility plan (because the person is driving and stationary for so much of the day).

That for me is what biomechanics is all about. I’ll help them return to their optimal movement, they might still have little deviations in their squat form but if its ninety percent good, if its not going to potentially cause them an injury and if they are back doing what they love pain free then I’m not going to be bothering them and annoying them with overcomplicated biomechanical lingo.

I will not have a client leave the clinic saying, “yeah I feel better I’m squatting again pain free but I’m squatting wrong, she said I should have 7% more extension in the first phase of the downward movement”. Essentially the client has left feeling like they have taken, two steps forward and three steps back and that’s not what I am about.

So if you are moving fairly optimally, you are of the general population who has no major aspirations to beat Usain bolts 100m record, allow yourself to have those unique little movement deviations as long as they are not causing you issues.