A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how my knee went out on a run, how tempting it was to just stop the run and go home, but how I worked through the issue by problem solving with my dear friend and rehabilitative fitness guru, Laura Coleman. (It’s a great post. You should read it.)
At the peak injury point, I explained how I went right back to the basics – building my strength and balance foundation from the ground up. Well, what I did was a series of primal movements, and they are so important and foundational Laura and I have decided to do a whole series on them so that you can have these great tools, too.
When we talk about “Primal Movements”, we’re talking about those movements that we first do as babies. When babies rock, twist, crawl, and otherwise progress through the basic set of early movements, they aren’t just figuring out the world and how their muscles work. They’re laying down critical neural pathways that allow them to access and strengthen these most important stabilizing muscles.
I’ve written before about how I didn’t crawl as a baby and how after years of chronic knee, back, hip, and ankle issues, Laura took one look at me walking and guessed as much. (I’ve told you, she’s good.) Well it turns out that because I hadn’t crawled, I had never fully developed my hip flexors, which are critical stabilizing muscles. Once I got those working, everything worked better and most of my joint issues resolved.
If you’ve got stubborn injuries that seem to always reappear, there’s a good chance you don’t have access to all your muscles. Working through this can be a process of peeling back the layers, but it’s always a good idea to start back with the basics. And this movement – rocking – is the first one.
Laura Coleman rocked my world a few years back when she helped me get to the root of all the knee and lower-back issues I’d had since my teens. In just a couple of sessions, Laura put me on a simple program of rehab exercises (unlike any I’d ever seen before) that brought my body back into alignment and actually fixed the problem that no physiotherapist, massage therapist, or chiropractor had ever been able to solve. I was hooked! We’ve been terrific friends and shared many clients since, and I’m delighted that she has offered to share her wisdom with all of you via this Fitness Friday video series. Laura lives in Portland, OR with her two gorgeous daughters. She works her magic at Club Sport and with clients all over the continent via the magic of technology (aka Skype). Check out her blog and website here.
