Hello habitual patterns!!

After an injury, or even if we have random transient pain, our bodies are incredibly good at adapting to make up for any deficits we are experiencing. We call these compensation patterns. Example 1: If I can’t lift my arm fully overhead to reach the highest shelf, maybe I lean back with my upper body so the arm doesn’t actually have to lift so high. My compensation for limited shoulder flexion is back extension and and elbow flexion. 

Example 2: If I can’t role through my big toe while walking without causing it pain, maybe I turn my foot out to avoid having to push through pain (because it demands less range of the big toe). My compensation pattern for limited great toe extension (toe lifted toward your head) is rotating the foot out. 

Compensation patterns are an incredibly handy mechanism to help us get on with life/going to work/playing with kids/going to the gym, but if our pain lingers on, we can quite quickly and complacently take on a new way of moving. It’s one of the beauties of the way the body works to keep on keeping on! But what happens if the pain goes away and we keep the pattern?

As a physical therapist, one of the things I’m assessing for is if you can get those motions back pain free. With example # 1 above, maybe we need to work on exercises for better strength and stability so that it’s not painful to go into high ranges of shoulder flexion. Or maybe we need to work on length or mobility of tissue to allow the arm to go higher.  Sometimes we need to start with less resistance in a pain-free range and work up progressively, and other times we need to change up the way we even approach an exercise - instead of standing, how about lying on your side, or on your back? 

But another thing I’m looking for is can you do it and you just don’t know it? By “you” I mean, consciously did you just not realize this, but also SUBconsciously, did your brain just go on autopilot and forget there were other options? And it’s amazing how often this happens - whether you’re young/old, sedentary/professional athlete! The puzzle is all about what is possible at this time, and how do we encourage that and improve upon it so you can do the activities you want to do! As my dad would say, “hello habitual patterns!”