Movement cancer
It starts small.
An ankle sprain when you’re twenty.
After three weeks, it feels better so you move on, but with an almost imperceptible decrease of 10° in dorsiflexion.
Every cycle of three weeks thereafter comes another layer of the compensation as the nervous system adapts to the altered ground reaction forces. A neuroplastic adaptation to life with an ankle that limits full motion, absorbs energy locally, and lacks awareness of the architecture of the whole body.
Decreased ankle dorsiflexion leads to…
Decreased hip extension and internal rotation in gait.
Decreased pelvis-hip disassociation.
Decreased dynamic lumbar stabilization partially due to decreased disassociation as well as inhibited ispilateral glute medius.
Decreased contralateral thoracic rotation in gait.
Every cycle of six weeks brings a strengthening of the muscular tissue that supports the compensation and a weakening of the muscles that are no longer in ideal tension states for mechanical advantage.
Weakening of the ipsilateral glute max.
Shortening and weakening of the ipsilateral iliopsoas.
Weakness and overuse of the ipsilateral glute medius.
Every cycle of six months brings a connective tissue overhaul and an acceptance of a “new normal”. Nature wants to conserve energy. Therefore, it will alter connective tissue form to store energy and release energy more efficiently based on the myofascial forces of the previous six months.
Shortening of spiral line.
Lateral translation of pelvis relative to base of support and rib cage.
Tendonitis of contralateral IT band.
Rotator cuff tendinitis in contralateral shoulder in overhead athletes due to postur distortion, especially affecting the scapula, ribcage and spine.
The trauma and altered function starts small.
An sprain. But six months later… it’s knee pain. Then back pain. Then degeneration. Then mood changes to frustration. Then accepting that you can’t do the things that you want from “unexplainable” pain.
It’s too common.
If an injury is not addressed completely, and full range of motion is not restored, the compensation metastasizes to the rest of the body and it becomes harder and harder to return to an ideal tension state.