How Can Corrective Exercise Help You?

This past week I have been fervently studying for my Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) exam. Needless to say, I haven’t had much time to research for blog writing this week, so I thought why not make a post on corrective exercise?! We all have muscles that are overactive and underactive and this topic can pertain to everyone. This blog post will speak on the following:

• What is corrective exercise?

• The principles of corrective exercise

• Common muscle imbalances seen in the general population

• Is corrective exercise right for me?

What is corrective exercise?

I’m writing this, noticing that my shoulders are hunched and my head is jutted forward. This is common with individuals that have desk jobs and are looking at the computer a majority of the day. Take note of how you’re sitting at this moment reading this – you may not even realize that this is the position your body is in!

Our bodies are smart, and they want to do the least amount of work possible. In order to sit up straight, the muscles in our middle back need to be strong, and for many people they are not. When we sit hunched over these muscles are lengthened, and they want to stay lengthened since that is the path of least resistance. In order to reduce the risk of pain and injury, these muscles need to be strengthened and our front muscles need to be loosened.

Per NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) corrective exercise is, “The systematic process of identifying a neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction, developing a plan of action, and implementing an integrated corrective strategy.” Corrective exercise helps optimize movement patterns as well as the quality of movement.

*Want to know how exercise can make you happier in general? Check out our past blog post here.

The principles of corrective exercise

There are four steps in the corrective exercise continuum:

1. Inhibit

2. Lengthen

3. Activate

4. Integrate

If you only want the cliff notes version

Inhibit and lengthen focuses on overactive muscles, activate focuses on underactive muscles and integrate focuses on putting it all together.

Inhibit

Inhibitory techniques are those that can decrease overactive tissues in the body using myofascial release. A common inhibitory technique is foam rolling.

Lengthen

Lengthening techniques are just that – techniques to help lengthen tissues in the body (AKA stretching).

Now, I know everyone doesn’t love to foam roll or stretch. I’ve heard, “It doesn’t do anything for me,” or “I don’t want to spend time on it.” I get it! I would rather spend my time doing something with more intensity, however my body in the long run will thank me for putting the time into inhibiting and stretching my muscles. This will lead to decreased injury risk moving forward (and that’s just one benefit!)

Activate

Activation is strengthening specific body parts that are deemed to be underactive. These exercises are not complex. For example, to strengthen your gluteus medius you may do a floor bridge or a wall slide.

Wall Slide Beginning

Wall Slide End

Integrate

Integration is putting it all together and using underactive and overactive muscles in the right ratio.

Why this order? Well, like I said before, our bodies want to do what is easiest. If I were to squat and had tight hip flexors and didn’t stretch these beforehand, they may continue to take over in the squat. However, if I were to inhibit and lengthen my hip flexors and then activate my glutes, my body would be more inclined to use my glute muscles (which is the proper muscle group to use!)

Common muscle imbalances seen in the general population

There are two postures that are commonly seen in the population today. They are lower crossed syndrome and upper crossed syndrome.

Lower crossed syndrome

Lower crossed syndrome is common in individuals who sit a lot. Our backs normally have a curvature in the lower spine, however notice how excessive the curve is in my lower spine. This excessive curvature pulls my hips down into what is known as an anterior pelvic tilt (yes, it’s a little exaggerated, however, this is something that I personally struggle with!) Low back pain is common in individuals with this type of posture (did you know that low back pain is projected to effect 80% of the American population at some point in their lives per Medscape?!) There are muscle imbalances occurring in my body and these include the following:

Overactive

• Hip flexors

• Lumbar extensors

• Calf muscles

Underactive

• Abdominals

• Glute muscles

• Hamstrings

Hot tip: It is common for pregnant women to develop lower crossed syndrome as their belly grows. It is important to try to keep a neutral pelvis at the top of mind. This can decrease the incidence of low back pain.

Upper crossed syndrome

Upper crossed syndrome is common in individuals who use a computer and/or write during the day. Tell tale signs of upper crossed syndrome include a forward head with rounded shoulders. The muscle imbalances occurring in my body in the picture to the side include the following:

Overactive

• Cervical extensors

• Pectorals

• Upper trapezius

• Levator scapulae

Underactive

• Deep neck flexors

• Rhomboids

• Middle/lower trapezius

• Serratus anterior

By working on corrective exercise, an individual can focus on rebalancing the correct muscle length/tension relationships. It takes work, however in the long run will lead to less aches and pains!

Now you may be wondering, is corrective exercise right for me?

If you can say yes to any of the below questions, a corrective exercise program would be beneficial!

• Do you have pain in a particular body area?

• Does your body feel out of alignment?

• Do you have issues with posture and balance?

• Do you feel unstable when moving or standing still?

• Do you want improved coordination?

• Do you want to have decreased risk of injury while continuing to participate in your current activities?

• Do you want to see performance benefits in your sports/activities?

• Do you want to be able to grow old and continue to partake in the activities you currently participate in?

I know I can say yes to more than one of the above statements!

Just one paragraph left!

I’m proud to say that at the time of finishing this blog post I have successfully passed my CES exam. Kim is working on this as well! As professionals, it is our job to determine which muscles are overactive and underactive in clients and make a specific program to address these concerns. We would love to help you with any exercise needs you may have! Feel free to reach out here.

Do you have questions about corrective exercise? Be sure to put them in our comments section!