When to strengthen & when NOT to strengthen

Before you head out today on a walk or bike ride, into the garden, to work,
or to any other activity where full strength in your muscles is necessary, I want to share a story from one of our new clients, Denise.

Denise complained of weakness in her right hip and an inability to lift her leg.

She was too weak to be able to raise her leg on a step,

or to get in her car,

or to get on the treatment table without lifting her leg with her hands.

She also had back pain.


Denise asked what the causes of these issues were, and why strengthening of the hip with previous practitioners hadn't worked to make the hip stronger, or to relieve her back pain.

When I test muscle weakness in a client, I’ve found that in nearly all cases where pain or injury are involved the weakness is because of muscle inhibition (more on this below!), rather than lack of strengthening.


During Denise’s appointment we released strain to the main problem in this client's body.

By the end of the appointment, Denise could lift her leg with full strength and no pain.

This improvement was long lasting.


What is muscle inhibition?

And why was the inhibition there in the first place?


Inhibition occurs when the nervous system sends too few electrical signals to the muscles. As a result, the muscles do not contract hard enough to provide the force required, in this case, to lift the leg.

I see inhibition as one of the nervous system’s ways of protecting strain in our bodies. Typically, strain builds up in our muscles and joints
gradually (imperceptibly) over time as a result of unhelpful habits, like poor posture. The good news is that when strain is released the strength immediately returns. When I say immediately, I mean within 300 milliseconds (to be technical!).

The strength returns rapidly because as soon as the nervous system has less reason to protect, it starts sending more electrical signals to contract the muscle, thus providing more force (to lift the leg in this case).


If we are in pain or have an injury what can we do?

Until you can get the Youngify team to reduce the strain, please avoid aggravating movements like limping (if it's back or leg pain, use crutches so you can prevent putting weight on the injury). Movements like limping aggravate the main problem and tend to reinforce the nervous system's reaction to protect.


"Attempting to strengthen an inhibited muscle may cause a substitution pattern that only reinforces a painful movement pattern." - Spine-Health.com

You are welcome to reply to this email to learn more or book online to experience this release of strain and return of strength for yourself.