Joint health (2) | ||
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The danger with ignoring your body is that problems usually don't
go away.
Pretending is easier than changing.
If the pain gets bad enough, people make it the
doctor's problem.
By then it is often far too late.
Shoulders
Shoulder and neck tension can occur from stooping, leaning the
head forward/craning the neck and from exerting with the arms.
The muscles supporting the shoulder are not very strong when you compare
them to the enormous muscles of the legs and
buttocks.
Poor use of scapula and limited
core
strength lead to misuse of the shoulder.
Gym shoulders
Many modern people have
unhealthy shoulders.
Frequently the shoulders are rounded forward, frozen, suffer a rotator cuff
injury or shortened trapezius muscles (gym shoulders).
Most of these problems are the outcome of lifestyle
choices and bad habits.
Elbows
The elbow is not a weight bearing joint.
People forget that the arm consists of the hand, wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm,
shoulder joint, shoulder blade and collar bone.
Good usage necessitates reducing stress/workload placed upon both the elbow and
shoulder joints.
Sacroiliac
Many people have no idea what the sacroiliac is or what it does.
Often the joint is frozen and other joints are required to compensate for the
lack of movement.
Frequently the knees are tasked to do the work of the lower back.
In some runners, you can see the work of the
sacroiliac being done by the ribcage; this is severely unhealthy and will
lead to spine problems.
Hips
The hips are connected to the pelvis and the pelvis can only rotate so far
before the knees are adversely affected.
Pelvic stability and alignment is the main theme of 'core stability' - in
contrast with 'core strength' - which is a different but related concern.
Good use of the pelvis and freedom in the hips and groin facilitates good footwork,
healthy knees and improved balance.
Knees
The problem often lies with the
way in which
the knee is being used.
Often they are locked straight, bent back (flamingo knees) or bent
too deeply.
None of these are good for joint health.
Your knees simply need to be
relaxed... Not
straight, not bent. Just relaxed.
Feet
When students are asked to adjust a
badly positioned foot, they typically
respond, "But that is the way it has grown - it just goes like this."
They are of course correct, but that does not mean that the habitual position is
healthy.
The muscles of the legs and feet are responsible for the placement of the bones,
and faulty muscle use can be corrected; slowly and
patiently.
Stride
People usually over-reach when they step - they place too much weight in the
stepping leg.
This makes you vulnerable and off-balance; it causes the spine to lean
forwards and tilts the pelvis unnecessarily.
In our tai chi class, the spine must remain
upright when you step.
The hip must be allowed to move without affecting your vertical alignment
and the stepping leg must have no more weight in it than the weight of the
leg itself.
This enables you to retract the stepping foot without first needing to shift
your weight.
Invest the
time
Most joint problems are the outcome of neglect.
The only solution is regular on-going, careful attention.
Exercise little and
often.
Develop a regular, logical, systematic routine.
Pay close attention to how you
use your body
throughout the day, especially if you typically sit down a lot.
Cultivate the habit of
getting up and moving around a lot more.
Do not be lazy.
Weight training
In principle, weight training can be useful if your joints are not very
mobile.
If you use a light weight and perform the exercises slowly, you
will improve muscle tone and range of movement providing you are performing
the exercises correctly.
This type of exercise requires research, supervision and caution.
Many people are too ambitious or naive and make matters worse through
impatience.
Lower grades
Weight training is most appropriate for students who are not very
experienced with the art.
Gross movements, overt hinging of the joints and muscular development are useful
for people who have a limited grasp of tai chi.
If you are wondering whether you are 'experienced' or not, look at the
syllabus. How many
forms do you know (and at what
level),
applications, drills, neigong?
It is important to keep muscles as strong as
possible because the stronger the muscles and tissues around joints are, the
better they will be able to support and protect those joints.
If people do not exercise, their muscles become weaker,
and their bones can become osteoporotic.
Exercise pumps blood and body fluid through to the muscles, tendons and the
joints,
which will facilitate healing.
(Dr Paul Lam)
Arms back problems feet hands hip & Groin joint health Knees legs pelvis shoulders
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023