subject: The seated cable row, spinal mechanics [print this page] Strategic Solutions for Improved Hip Function - Part IV
Welcome to this edition of FITNESS INSIDER - although this week's newsletter will be short and sweet it may be the most important in the 4 part series. Over the past three installments we have looked at a hip progression to improve centration of the hip by activating the deep rotators and local stabilizers.
This is key to both improving function in the hip and reducing the alarming increase in hip pain as our clients become more active in these warm summer months.
Regardless of your activation strategy, at some point the client needs to be progressed to functional movement patterns including squatting, lunging, and stepping because this is why clients come to see us - to improve their function in activities of daily life and recreational activities.
Unfortunately we sometimes make a faulty assumption that just by activating certain connections in the body that the nervous system will know how to integrate this into every day movements. In his classic work, The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge, MD discusses a concept that we need to pay particular attention to -
"Neurons that fire together, wire together. Neurons that fire apart, wire apart."
What does this mean to us as strength and conditioning specialists?
It means that just because we activate a particular muscle or movement sequence, it doesn't mean the client will be able to use it functionally if their nervous system is already programmed to do the movement improperly. Therefore we must be disciplined in our approach and teaching of optimal movement patterns so the proper neurological patterns occur when we ask our client to do a particular movement.
Check out this video to see how we use the recently activated abductors and rotators into a functional pattern. http://fitnesseducationseminars.com/hip_centration_4.htm
If you missed the previous videos, check them out before viewing this one.
CONCLUSION
Improving movement patterns often requires activating certain muscle synergists to help centrate the joint.
Once activated, these patterns must be integrated into functional movement patterns.
Remember the concept from Doidge when asking clients to perform a particular pattern - because their brain will engrain whatever pattern you ask it to do repetitively.
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