Injury Rehabilitation – Train Movement, Not Muscles

Getting injured is always a frustrating experience but taking the right steps after it happens can help to speed up recovery and also help prevent it happening again.   In my experience working as a physiotherapist, while some injuries can be put down to bad luck or a twist of fate, most are avoidable, especially when they are recurrences of a previous injury.

When it comes to rehabilitation we must address all the issues that have contributed to the injury. The first thing to understand is that muscles never work in isolation so focusing on a single muscle is fruitless if we want to get the right outcome. There is an old saying in the world of athletic training that goes ‘Train movement, Not muscles’ and it sums up what you should experience in a rehabilitation setting. Train movement, not muscles pays respect to the fact that practically every physical action we make requires input from the brain, nervous system, multiple joints, and a chain of muscles all working together to safely execute that action.  With this in mind, if someone presents with a knee injury we must assess what is happening not only in the muscles around the knee but also what is going on at the hip and ankle joints above and below, among others, otherwise, we are only taking care of the victim while we let the culprit off scot-free, allowing him to cause more problems down the line.

So, what does it look like to train movements, not muscles?

Basically, there are six movements that we perform either on their own or as a combination with every action we take;

• Squat – Push with the lower body
• Lunge – Locomote
• Deadlift – Pull with the lower body
• Push – Upper body
• Pull – Upper body
• Rotate – Twist

As a physiotherapist, we look at these movement patterns assessing mobility, control, strength and symmetry with reference to how these variables apply to your injury or chosen activity/sports and determine ways to address deficiencies as applicable to your needs.  It’s also important that other extrinsic factors are considered such as training history, energy system demands, or recent changes in activity to get a full picture of what has led to the injury and best guide us in the rehabilitation process.

With a clear picture of all the relevant factors which led to the injury, we can put a plan in place to improve and speed up recovery and also reduce the possibilities of another breakdown.