How to Prevent Injury-What is a Movement Map?

Alright everyone, let’s put on our neuroscience caps here for just a second and look at injury prevention as more than just not going outside when it’s icy. Let’s ponder for a second why it is that some folks can take world class falls such as parkour athlete leaping several stories and landing unscathed like a ninja while others will blow out there hip watching a wiffle ball game. Is this just a genetic phenomenon or does anyone have the potential to be fall proof. I undoubtedly agree with the latter…

Our brains and bodies are mapped out and continually communicating signals as to where all of our pieces are located in relation to each other and our environment. Simple enough right? Where it becomes fun is the fact that 100% of the time our maps are being written dependent upon our movement and thought decisions.

That’s correct, right now your body is recording the position you are in as you read this and writing the software for how you will move in the future. Our bodies are incredible interpreters of information and working full time to make sense of the messages we send them via movement. The fancy word of the day for this interpretation process is called mechanotransduction and you can use that any time you want to impress your biology professor. For our purposes, you probably don’t care so much about polysyllabic words like this so let’s simplify shall we.

Literally every cell in our whole entire body is processing and transmitting new signals depending upon our movement/thought decisions. This is incredible news and should be taken full advantage of! This means you are not stuck in any random human predicament of being in crumby shape, poor reflexes, anxiety, cardiovascular disease or ANYTHING for that matter. All of these conditions are a product of misguided cells and all they need is a helping hand to get them back on track. You are doing it right now by reading this, kudos for the effort and intention.

To prevent injury and wire our bodies effectively, we must begin by hacking away the imbalances.

It is about decrease, not increase. Hack away the unessential. ~Bruce Lee

The tricky part is it not just about movement like most people say. It is in fact about functional and dynamic movement. You see, if we move dysfunctionally, we deepen broken patterns into our system which eventually will lead to an injury and or chronic pain. Adding weight to these patterns acts as a pattern accelerator and amplifier, essentially meaning you begin digging your rut even faster and deeper. Once again great news, because this means we can fill in ruts and create new more functional patterns with this same speed when we add a little weight and intention to the program.

Everyone should be doing these staple foundation exercises to fill in dysfunctional ruts and reintegrate balance and integration to the system.

1)Dead Lift-AKA functionally practice picking heavy stuff up off the ground.

2)Squat-AKA be able to poop in the woods and eat in thailand

The third I wish I could say everyone should be doing this but some folks may have injuries or imbalances that need assessed, repaired and integrated before a full safe sprint will be possible. Make it a goal if it is not possible today!

3)Sprint-AKA be prepared to escape a zombie attack. Jogging often times ends up being the repetition of heinous movement patterns for an hour straight. If you love jogging, make sure you make every step intentional and powerful. Running is a skill just like juggling. Learn how to do it effectively before you start juggling chain saws or running marathons in this case.

Sprinting or running fast may be long journey for some and I suggest getting a coach or someone that knows what they are looking at to run with you and get you moving in the right path. Start playing with interval training of walking for 30 seconds and sprinting for 10-15 for 10 repetitions in place of jogging on pavement. Trail running is significantly better for the body and mind due to the adaptation to various ground contours and environments…

Next, implement these same movement baselines of functional squatting and deadlifting into every aspect of your day. Never again will you pick something off the ground dysfunctionally. No excuses, it’s very simple and will change your life. Make an effort to be in a functional deep squat position at least 5 total minutes of every single day and start thinking about raising your arms over your head as you squat as well. Practice getting up from the ground functionally and powerfully everyday for the rest of your life and you are sure to never be a victim in your own body. Explore and have fun with this!