{"id":23644,"date":"2019-02-27T08:43:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T16:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/?p=23644"},"modified":"2019-02-18T08:55:39","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:55:39","slug":"exercise-not-helping-back-pain-not-strategy-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/exercise-not-helping-back-pain-not-strategy-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise Not Helping Your Back Pain? It\u2019s Not you, It\u2019s Your Strategy! | Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is part 2 in a series. Click here<\/a> to read part 1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the dilemma of back pain that persists despite your persistent efforts to solve the problem. You\u2019ve been prescribed medication, exercise, and a myriad of methods to \u201cstretch\u201d and \u201cloosen\u201d your muscles, but no avail. You must be a lost cause . . . right?<\/p>\n

Maybe not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not your effort that\u2019s lacking; perhaps it\u2019s your strategy <\/em>of solving the problem that\u2019s in need of some tweaking.<\/p>\n

In Part 1<\/u> we established that the body operates as a system<\/strong>: an interconnected, interacting<\/em>, interdependent<\/em> set of parts designed to achieve a goal\u2013 and in the case of the human body, the goal is production of high-quality movement for the sake of survival. Part of its genius, in my opinion, is in its sophisticated setup for communication within itself: <\/em>the body is one continuous, cohesive system with a built-in mechanism that allows for every part to be aware of, and work with, the other parts to achieve the goal of operating efficiently. The human body is a truly amazing system!<\/p>\n

Every body movement is a whole-body task<\/em> that requires an internal, whole-body solution<\/em>. Your muscles are an interconnected, interacting, interdependent system, constantly communicating back and forth, working together to create and control movement. All of your muscles are involved in one way or another in any bodily event.<\/p>\n

Conversely, an issue with low-quality muscle function in any area of your system has the inherent potential to affect the performance quality\u2014and your brain\u2019s conclusion about how you feel\u2013 in any other area of your system.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Let\u2019s apply this Systems Approach to form a new strategy to address your back pain.<\/p>\n

Solving Your Body\u2019s Problems Using the Systems Approach<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The fact that your back is where you feel muscle pain and tightness doesn\u2019t necessarily mean your back itself is the problem. The standard Western medicine approach subscribes to the philosophy of \u201cLocal pain means a local problem, which requires a local solution\u201d, but this isn\u2019t always the case.<\/p>\n

Imagine you start your car in the morning, and the \u201ccheck engine\u201d light pops up. What\u2019s wrong with your car? Is the \u201ccheck engine\u201d light itself the problem? No\u2013 the \u201ccheck engine\u201d light is an indicator, a safety mechanism built into your car\u2019s system to alert you of a problem somewhere in the car\u2019s system that needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n

Likewise, pain you experience with movement is simply an indicator that there\u2019s low-quality function somewhere in your muscle system . . . but not necessarily at the specific location you feel the pain. The pain is just symptom, the downstream result of poor quality. The pain itself is not the problem to be solved; the low-quality control<\/em> is the problem! Instead of focusing directly on the part where you feel pain, my work focus is on the quality of your position control<\/em>. Any area of the body with low-quality muscular control can contribute to a problem with movement, pain, tightness, or discomfort you are experiencing in any other area of their body.<\/p>\n

While the work of a Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122 and the work of a physical therapist may look similar, the philosophy and thought process differ greatly. Physical therapy generally focuses on a patient\u2019s complaint of pain or tightness, and as a result the therapy is almost always performed on or around the area of the patient\u2019s pain. The physical therapy approach often subscribes to the philosophy of \u201clocal problem, local solution\u201d we discussed earlier.<\/p>\n

The same goes for massage therapy, stretching, chiropractic, pain medication, and other traditional options for treatment of muscle pain and tightness. The \u201clocal problem, local solution\u201d approach focuses on the pain instead of on the quality of your muscle function as a cohesive, dynamic system. Chasing \u201cthe pain\u201d is rarely an effective problem-solving method. This is the reason why using generic protocols and pre-packaged plans to \u201ctreat back pain\u201d are not effective. This is also why \u201cstrengthen your core\u201d isn\u2019t always the panacea for back pain we\u2019re led to believe https:\/\/thefitnessequation.com\/soma-carisoprodol\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So . . . you\u2019ve completed physical therapy, diligently taken your medication, foam rolled the \u201ctight\u201d area every day . . . but your \u201ccheck engine\u201d light is still on. So, how can you understand what your system needs to turn it off?<\/p>\n

Find a \u201csystems mechanic\u201d for your muscle system.<\/p>\n

Work with a practitioner who is able to look under the hood, run a battery of diagnostics, find areas of low-quality function throughout your muscle system, and prescribe a system-wide plan to remedy the problem and put into place an ongoing maintenance process (like getting regular oil changes and maintenance on your car) so you can keep your system running at its optimal operating potential.<\/p>\n

This is the role of a Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122\u2013 we\u2019re muscle system mechanics! As we help you improve control throughout your system, we can elicit a significant, positive effect on how your entire body feels and moves. Our clients are often surprised that improving muscle control in an area can lessen pain they were experiencing at a different location of their body!<\/p>\n

So the next time you\u2019re feeling muscle pain and tightness\u2014or any change in the quality of how your muscles move and feel\u2013 remember that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The strategy<\/em> you\u2019re using to take care of your system <\/em>matters!<\/p>\n

About the Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"If you\u2019re interested in learning more about how a Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122 can help you move better, feel better, and live better, click here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

To find a Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122 near you, see our list of practitioners<\/u><\/a> throughout the U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a fitness practitioner who is interested in learning more about how to become a Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122, visit us at www.exerciseproed.com<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Originally published on Physicians Fitness. Republished with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Jessica Cahen, M.S., CMSS, ACE-CMES, RTS is a Course Facilitator for Exercise Professional Education<\/a>, a rapidly-growing Continuing Education company for exercise professionals, offering the Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122 course as well as custom-tailored CEC courses for groups upon request. <\/em><\/p>\n

Jessica holds a Masters Degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and the Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122 designation. She has also earned the distinction of being one of only a handful of ACE Certified Medical Exercise Specialists in the Midwest. She practices as a Certified Muscle System Specialist\u2122 at Physicians Fitness<\/a> in Columbus, OH.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is part 2 in a series. Click here to read part 1. In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the dilemma of back pain that persists despite your persistent efforts to solve the problem. You\u2019ve been prescribed medication, exercise, and a myriad of methods to \u201cstretch\u201d and \u201cloosen\u201d your muscles, but no avail. You must be a lost cause . . . right? Maybe not. It\u2019s not your effort that\u2019s lacking; perhaps it\u2019s your strategy of solving the problem that\u2019s in need of some tweaking. In Part 1 we established that the body operates as a system: an interconnected, interacting, interdependent set of parts designed to achieve a goal\u2013 and in the case of the human body, the goal is production of high-quality movement for the sake of survival. Part of its genius, in my opinion, is in its sophisticated setup for communication within itself: the body is one continuous, cohesive system with a built-in mechanism that allows for every part to be aware of, and work with, the other parts to achieve the goal of operating efficiently. The human body is a truly amazing system! Every body movement is a whole-body task that requires an internal, whole-body […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[172,54,134,193],"class_list":["post-23644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-chronic-pain","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-healthy-aging"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/278"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23644\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}