Why does it matter that a fitness professional understands the structure and function of each and every one of their joints......

So many of our potential clients come in for a consultation and ask a lot of questions. Those questions can range from the details of our training programs to why our approach is so different. One question that I often hear is, "Why does it matter that a fitness professional understands the structure and function of each and every one of their joints."

Sitting on the outside reading this you might think that is a no-brainer.  Why would you want to work with someone that does not understand the inner workings of each and every joint in our body if this person was going to be responsible for loading those structures (ie. putting a weight in their hand)? Well, it is unfortunate that the industry today focuses on the outward signs of health and fitness and totally neglects the importance of having knowledge of the inner working parts.

My analogy of the industry today is one that plays out like this... 

You know that great pair of shoes you have, maybe heels, that just look amazing.....BUT are painful to walk in and leave your body feeling like a train hit you? But so what, because they look amazing, right?  Or for my car fans out there, you have all seen one of those cars that looks just pristine on the outside but when you look under the hood they are a total wreck and hardly run.  But so what, the care turns heads, right? That is how most approach the fitness industry... Darn I look good!!! BUT wait, I cant pick up my kids or put on my shoes with out pain, but darn I look good!  This is sad but true for many people.

So here it is, why it is important to understand the inner workings of your joints and muscles?

You only have one body to spend the rest of your life in.  If you break this one you are stuck in it.

Think of your joints this way, like doors. Yes, doors with hinges. All doors are designed to open and close, as are most of the joints in your body. But that doesn't mean you want your fitness professional loading all the joints in your body like french doors.

Take a look at this picture of a french door. The hinge highlighted with a black line, is the point around which a motion occurs in a french door. It is a predetermined path that must be followed in order for joint integrity to be maintained. ie to not break the door! 

Now take a look at a sliding glass door. The black lines represent the plane of motion. As you can see it moves a little different than a french door.

Now lets do this try and move that glass door the same way you would a french door. What happens.....O it would break! Well the same thing happens to your joints when you ask a knee joint to move like a shoulder, or an elbow to move like a joint in the foot. This is how 90% of the industry approaches your body. The first time this happens to your joints there probably wont be a problem. However with each reoccurrence of the improper joint loading the joint will become more and more damaged...Until at some point in the future you will have pain show up. Unfortunately there is not a little red light that goes off in our body when we violate a joints design and cause damage. Because there is not warning light, or pain, fitness and rehab professionals are often able to cause excessive damage to their clients joints without the client knowing.....until it is to late years later.

Buyer beware, do your homework. We are here to help in any way we can. Feel free to send question directly to me, Kevin@fitness-tek.com

Yours in health,

Kevin

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