Firstly, thanks to all who have read my ramblings thus far. I really didn't expect anyone to read it!
I was going to write up an introduction on Myo (Muscle) Fascia, Self Myo Facial Release (SMFR) and the Hips, based on my understanding of these things so far, and I still am. But after re-reading my introductory post, I realised I talked a lot about causing dysfunction in my own body from sitting down a lot, at work, in the car, on my bike, etc, but I never really explained why sitting down for extended periods of time is not very good for our bodies, and that information is kind of important to really understand this blog going forward and the purpose of the corrective actions I am going to be taking to fix my body!
What is the problem with sitting down?
Well, quite simply, it is just not what our bodies were designed to do! The topic of evolution and the change in our movement patterns from four limbs onto two is a little beyond the scope of this blog, but it is very relevant. Basically, we evolved as a species to be able to stand and walk/run upright, supported and balanced on two limbs. It enabled us to move, hunt and gather much more efficiently and ultimately to survive! Sitting down was never part of the evolutionary process....well, not until the 20th century at least anyway!
So, what happens to our bodies when we sit? Well, being in a seated position, especially for extended periods, creates muscle imbalances in major muscle groups that connect to our hips. The first significant group of muscles to be affected is the hip flexors. The hip flexors are a group of muscles that directly attach to the pelvis and are responsible for 'flexing' the hip, i.e. bending our legs. I will be drilling down into the hip flexor complex later on as I start 'releasing' those muscles, but for now I will just refer to them collectively.
So when we sit at a desk, or in our cars, wherever, our hip flexors are active (over active in fact), they are constantly shortened and in a state of flexion as our legs are bent. Over time, this constant activation and shortening of the hip flexors starts to have lasting effects and the hip flexors become shorter/tighter in general, until your muscles can no longer fully extend and return to their full original length when you stand up. We are evolving to sit!
This tightness and shortening of the hip flexors will force a forward tilt in the pelvis (Anterior Pelvic Tilt) when your hips are extended and you are in a standing position, this then has the knock on effect of lengthening and over extending the lumbar spine, causing a slight curve, weakness and under activation of muscles groups in your lower back, predictably leading to lower back pain/discomfort. I forget which law exactly, but as Newton said, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" and in my mind these forces are certainly at play here!
There are of course other muscles at play (or not) when we sit, like the glutes, and abdominal muscles. Properly activated abdominal muscles are going to be absolutely key to maintaining a good posture, so that they can properly support the spine, but I'm just going to leave it there for now with the hip flexors. It all really starts at the hips and these muscles are going to be my initial focus.
I'll be spending quite a bit of time working on correcting my hip imbalances before I move on to the lower extremities. I'll get to the abs eventually, but there is a chain, a sequence if you like that I have to follow to unlock my body and properly address my postural deficiencies. This is a holistic system I am applying here and considers the whole body as an integrated system, nothing will be treated in isolation, everything is integrated and connected, so the sequence that I follow is very important. For example, it would be pretty pointless to start addressing imbalances in my calves and feet (which I certainly have), before I have fixed my hips!
I was going to write up an introduction on Myo (Muscle) Fascia, Self Myo Facial Release (SMFR) and the Hips, based on my understanding of these things so far, and I still am. But after re-reading my introductory post, I realised I talked a lot about causing dysfunction in my own body from sitting down a lot, at work, in the car, on my bike, etc, but I never really explained why sitting down for extended periods of time is not very good for our bodies, and that information is kind of important to really understand this blog going forward and the purpose of the corrective actions I am going to be taking to fix my body!
What is the problem with sitting down?
Well, quite simply, it is just not what our bodies were designed to do! The topic of evolution and the change in our movement patterns from four limbs onto two is a little beyond the scope of this blog, but it is very relevant. Basically, we evolved as a species to be able to stand and walk/run upright, supported and balanced on two limbs. It enabled us to move, hunt and gather much more efficiently and ultimately to survive! Sitting down was never part of the evolutionary process....well, not until the 20th century at least anyway!
So, what happens to our bodies when we sit? Well, being in a seated position, especially for extended periods, creates muscle imbalances in major muscle groups that connect to our hips. The first significant group of muscles to be affected is the hip flexors. The hip flexors are a group of muscles that directly attach to the pelvis and are responsible for 'flexing' the hip, i.e. bending our legs. I will be drilling down into the hip flexor complex later on as I start 'releasing' those muscles, but for now I will just refer to them collectively.
So when we sit at a desk, or in our cars, wherever, our hip flexors are active (over active in fact), they are constantly shortened and in a state of flexion as our legs are bent. Over time, this constant activation and shortening of the hip flexors starts to have lasting effects and the hip flexors become shorter/tighter in general, until your muscles can no longer fully extend and return to their full original length when you stand up. We are evolving to sit!
This tightness and shortening of the hip flexors will force a forward tilt in the pelvis (Anterior Pelvic Tilt) when your hips are extended and you are in a standing position, this then has the knock on effect of lengthening and over extending the lumbar spine, causing a slight curve, weakness and under activation of muscles groups in your lower back, predictably leading to lower back pain/discomfort. I forget which law exactly, but as Newton said, "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" and in my mind these forces are certainly at play here!
There are of course other muscles at play (or not) when we sit, like the glutes, and abdominal muscles. Properly activated abdominal muscles are going to be absolutely key to maintaining a good posture, so that they can properly support the spine, but I'm just going to leave it there for now with the hip flexors. It all really starts at the hips and these muscles are going to be my initial focus.
I'll be spending quite a bit of time working on correcting my hip imbalances before I move on to the lower extremities. I'll get to the abs eventually, but there is a chain, a sequence if you like that I have to follow to unlock my body and properly address my postural deficiencies. This is a holistic system I am applying here and considers the whole body as an integrated system, nothing will be treated in isolation, everything is integrated and connected, so the sequence that I follow is very important. For example, it would be pretty pointless to start addressing imbalances in my calves and feet (which I certainly have), before I have fixed my hips!
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