How the Body Moves
by Dennis Gibbons, LMT
Dennis Gibbons, LMT
The premise of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® is to balance the structural tensegrity of the body. Tensegrity is the pull/push balance in which the skeletal system must remain in order to properly function. The muscle structure provides the continuous pull while the bones create the discontinuous push.
Movement begins with thought. As each movement is translated by the brain and the rules of engagement (click to read article) are set into motion, the tensegral pull changes on order for the discontinuous push to transpire at the dynamic force necessary to fulfill the movement. For this reason, at Chagrin Valley Wellness Center, all movement is considered from the inside out, because it actually happens from the inside out.
When an individual comes for therapy, our therapists look at the internal posture, or the imbalance of tensegrity. External posture exhibits the compensation that the body has adopted in order to keep the proper postural tensegrity. Does this mean that the compensation has brought about a correct tensegral posture? No. The compensation is what the brain has figured out to keep the body able to move. When our muscles are not able to adaptto compensate for the imbalance of tensegrity, the result is pain in movement. Generally it is at this point that a patient comes to CVWC.
Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ addresses the tensegral posture in the same format. By placing the body into a neutral position and using a Pilate’s machine to assist, our instructors train the brain to attempt to fire the correct muscles for proper movement to take place, sometimes for the first time in a long while. Because of the complexity of the movement process, our instructors will “pick their battles” as to what they will have the student focus on. This is why you may see different students doing the same exercises differently. Our instructors are trained to adapt each exercise to the needs of the student.
Of course, in any of our Pilates classes, breathing techniques are the first priority. All movement begins and ends with breath. Secondly, our instructors ensure that a student is able to access all 30 of the “core” muscles. Many individuals are interested in those rock hard abs. All rock hard abs will do is cause a forward lean to the posture, which will bring about an imbalance in tensegrity. The better exercise goal is to strengthen the whole “core” so the body stays in balance. The third step is to engage the proper joint by changing the tensegral pull on the skeleton. This is accomplished by allowing the unconscious brain to determine the movement, which is accomplished by engaging the joint in a proper manner. This engagement will send the proper message to the unconscious brain to stimulate the nerve pathways to begin the proper movement pattern. Step four in the process is to have the student complete the movement without intentionally contracting any particular muscles, so the brain commands the proper muscles to engage. To summarize, in proper movement the individual will continue to breathe and permit the proper neurological activity to command the internal motion so that a comfortable pattern ensues.
In both MRTh® and Fundamental Movement Pilates℠, the theory is to allow the suspended skeleton to move freely so as not to encumber the joints. Each joint needs to be decompressed in order to function at its peak. In order for the skeleton to remain in a format of suspension, the fascia or connective tissue system must be in balance. This is not accomplished just by performing Myofascial Release Techniques, but by truly balancing that posture within so that there is a proper pull/push balance. The fascia needs to allow the muscle fibers, nerves, and blood vessels to slide as they create and generate motion.
As I have studied and practiced, I have discovered that movement starts at the cellular level. It is important to understand movement at this most basic level. The large muscle fiber is comprised of many smaller fibers that actually generate the movement. These small fibers are the sliding mechanisms that allow proper movement. If these small fibers do not have the ability to slide, movement will be encumbered. In the picture below, the miniscule sliding mechanisms are shown on the left hand side. In the picture on the right we have the large muscle fiber, made up of those tiny sliding bands you see in the picture on the left.
 |  Sarcomere - the functional unit of skeletal muscle
- in contraction the thick and thin fibers retain the same length but slide past eachother. -The Sarcomeres shorten, and there is an overall shortening of the myofibril. -The projections or cross bridges of the myosin filament, engage the actin filaments and create a pulling force or bio-tensegrity. |
Ordinary individuals, who have worked to condition their muscles, will use no more than 20% of these large muscle fibers (the picture on the right). If you look closely, there are seven ropes, or sarcomere, within the large muscle fiber. A well-conditioned individual will use only 1.4 of those fibers, or 20%. The other ropes, or sarcomere, will atrophy if they are not required to be accessed. As a fiber becomes injured or unable to respond to the neurological impulse of movement the brain will access one of the other muscle fibers. If these other muscle fibers have atrophied enough, they will be unable to fulfill the dynamics required for movement. In other words, when these small fibers cannot slide across one another, pain and limited movement is the result. This is where CVWC can help. The combination of MRTh® and Fundamental Movement Pilates℠ continues to help relieve pain and retrain muscles.
To summarize this installment we as bipedal humans need to maintain a proper internal posture in order to move properly. In balanced movement the muscle structure will continue to strengthen itself within normal parameters. What the individual needs to do is to continue to strengthen these intricate fibers and permit continued stability. As we age and continue to compensate for ‘old’ injuries our body’s ability to move and strengthen itself diminishes. Understanding movement from within and maintaining that balance reduces the internal stress on not only the muscle system but also the skeleton, glandular and nervous systems of the body. So allowing the body to properly move will help us attain and maintain wellness within.
In the following months I will share with you more on this subject of movement and how it can help with issues such as Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, joint problems and many issues that people continue to take artificial means of comfort for. Enjoy and keep moving.
Peace and Blessings to all!
Dennis
To summarize this installment we as bipedal humans need to maintain a proper internal posture in order to move properly. In balanced movement the muscle structure will continue to strengthen itself within normal parameters. What the individual needs to do is to continue to strengthen these intricate fibers and permit continued stability. As we age and continue to compensate for ‘old’ injuries our body’s ability to move and strengthen itself diminishes. Understanding movement from within and maintaining that balance reduces the internal stress on not only the muscle system but also the skeleton, glandular and nervous systems of the body. So allowing the body to properly move will help us attain and maintain wellness within.
In the following months I will share with you more on this subject of movement and how it can help with issues such as Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, joint problems and many issues that people continue to take artificial means of comfort for. Enjoy and keep moving.
Peace and Blessings to all!
Dennis
