Is your body ready for the couch AND new exercise?

Tis’ the season for injuries related to sitting on the couch or ‘working’ on the phone/computer AND return to the gym and fitness classes.  This combination can potentially be a problem.

Both activities are good as long as we don’t them too much-too soon.  Ideally however, we don’t build endurance for screen time!

I treat both ‘couch-ouch’ and ‘gym-limb’ (and other body parts) injuries daily. I have noticed a strong link between the muscles that shorten and tighten from sustained (particularly sitting) postures and the muscles and tendons that get overuse injuries (repetitive strain) during exercise.
If and when muscles and tendons (and fascia/ligaments) tighten and shorten into the positions sustained during prolonged sitting etc. postures, these same muscles are not only tight but pre-activated to overtrain relative to other muscles during exercise.

For example:

  1. A runner, cyclist or triathlete who has shortened their hip flexors and hamstrings/calves from sitting most of the day/evening is much more likely to strain or overuse these muscles. These muscles are pre-activated and overcompensate during the run, bike or swim and at the gym INSTEAD of using some of the other muscles that we want to train for strength, injury prevention and proper running, swimming and cycling technique (such as the glutes, quads, core and other stability muscles).
  2. Often, I can spot a runner who is has brought bad postural tendencies to the run or gym such as:
  • bent too far forward (tight hip flexors)
  • rounded shoulders and head jutted forward (tight pecs/upper traps/lats)
  • pulling excessively with their hamstrings
  • excessive calf use (vertical displacement)

 

  1. A golf, tennis or pickleball player with tight hips (decrease extension and rotation) and lower back muscles often start their sport or exercise with these imbalances.
  • As soon as we pick up a paddle, racket, club or weight at the gym, these postural imbalances take over. This potentially enhances posture problems leading to overuse and repetitive strain injuries.
  1. A trip to the gym or fitness class can increase the level of tension in our upper traps (base of our neck to back of head) muscle. This muscle (among others) is one of our biggest helper muscles.  Please stop helping.  It is not really helping.
  • When the upper traps muscle is short/tight or overused, it can contribute to forward head posture, rounded shoulders, headaches, neck strains and neck ‘kinks’ as well as ribs pulling or feeling ‘out’.
  1. Train your core: I also see hip flexor and lower back injuries when the goal of training our core (or for the mythical pursuit of the ab-flab reduction) leads to overtraining of these muscles instead.

Break the couch-exercise cycle!
Yes, it is good to strengthen all of these muscles so that they can tolerate the postural loads put on them. It is equally important to pre-stretch/release these muscles before a workout and take micro-breaks every 1-2 hours to stretch and mobilize tight postural muscles throughout the day.

A few key culprits that you want might to warm up and stretch for 3-5 seconds stretches during the day and/or before your exercise session (or do light dynamic movements) include:

1. Hamstrings* (*see below for stretch/mobs descriptions)
2. Hip flexors*
3. Lower back*
4. Upper traps*
5. Calves*
6. Pecs*

Other postural and strength/exercise strategies include:

*Lumbar AND elbow support when seated
*Return or start with 15 or 30 minutes if higher intensity.
*Strength: Keep your workouts relatively brief and work out no more than three times per week on non-consecutive days, or even less frequently if your body requires longer to fully recover and adapt between workouts

 

  1. Hamstrings: (shorten in a seated position): back straight, butt out, foot flat and knee relaxed and bend forward at the waste until a stretch is felt, ideally in the middle of the back of the upper leg (hamstring belly).
  2. Hip flexors: (shorten in a seated position): in a tall lunge position, squeeze glutes and tuck pelvis under and forwards until a light stretch is felt in anterior hip. You can lean slightly to opposite side to feel higher or more deeply.
  3. Lower back: These muscles reflexively tighten when deep stabilizing muscles are inhibited and can even become fibrotic over time) by sitting. You can do standing pelvis tilts x10 (if no pain, referral or recent injury).
  4. Upper traps: neck extensors: chin tuck, then flex in semi-circle from side, down to front and up to other side (while maintaining chin tuck)
  5. Calves: stretch with bent and straight knee
  6. Pecs: place your forearm down a door frame around shoulder height.
    Keeping your forearm on the wall, take one step forward on the leg closest to the wall and slowly rotate your chest away until you feel a stretch across your chest.
    Be careful not to allow the shoulder to hunch.