Anatomy of the Human Body and the Kinetic Chain in Fitness and Athleticism.

Did you know, our dear readers, that the cause of chronic knee pain may be in tight thigh muscles? Or that chronic neck problems and migraines may be due to weakness in your pectoral muscles? You are probably asking: “How can this be? “Tightened muscles in one part of the body cause pain somewhere in a completely different part of the body?” The answer is insanely simple. In our body and the anatomy of the human body, everything is interconnected...

If one of its elements is weakened or damaged, another tries to smooth out and compensate for this circumstance. Any area of ​​our body is closely connected with another using a system called: kinetic chain. And the source of your pain cannot be so easily identified if you cannot understand how the interaction of your fascia and the kinetic chain anatomically occurs.

What is a kinetic chain from a physics point of view? Kinetics in another way is movement (you probably learned at school that kinetic energy is the energy resulting from the movement of bodies). Your kinetic chain is a complex system that allows your entire body, from your feet to your toes, to make all sorts of movements. It involves muscles, fascia and other connective tissues that maintain its integrity. Some elements of the system are oriented to maintain mobility, others to maintain stability. All parts interact as one whole and are closely dependent on each other. When any one part is weakened, the other tries to compensate for this weakness, and as a result, the operation of the entire system is disrupted. If an area that is supposed to be mobile does not perform its main functions, another one takes over, but the next link in this anatomical chain turns out to be significantly weakened. It is for this reason that you are only as strong and strong as your weakest link in your kinetic chain.

Stability is the organized action of muscles, ligaments and tendons to hold a joint in a fixed position.

The anatomy of the human body states that the best functioning of the kinetic chain is ensured through the qualitative interaction of two interrelated principles: mobility and mobility of the joint, including both its physical movement in the amplitude of given movements, and the ability of the muscles to produce such work.

Take a look at the picture. It shows how the kinetic chain works. Do you see a repeating sequence of elements? The circuit components must alternately demonstrate stability And mobility. And optimal action is possible only when one area supports and helps the other. Just like the 11 players of a good football team protect and support each other, effectively representing a single whole.

Anatomy of the Kinetic Chain in our body.

If one of the links in our chain is broken or significantly weakened, the body will be able to compensate, but you will feel pain. For example, when tight quadriceps weaken the mobility of your leg in the hip joint, your spine provides the missing mobility. If your foot lacks stability, it can affect your knees, hips, spine, and your entire body.

The six most common causes of all kinds of chronic pain

In our daily life there will always be factors that cause us all sorts of pain, although we may not even suspect it. All our fasciae are tightly intertwined with each other. Knowledge of the principles of their functioning alone can serve as a good weapon against pain, but in addition, we will give a couple of practical recommendations that will help counteract the most popular factors that destroy our body. What are these factors?

1. a) Accumulation of stress;
2. b) Sedentary lifestyle;
3. c) Limitation of movements in the hip joints;
4. d) Poorly selected training program;
5. e) Weak stretching;
6. f) Insufficient time for rest and recovery.

And now, in order...

1. Accumulation of stress. There are a couple of types of stress:
   1. eustress (positive);
   2. distress (negative).

   Yes, it turns out that there is “good” stress, and we need it for optimal performance, because, whatever one may say, stress goes hand in hand with any achievements. Remember how you played football as a child. After all, you are fighting with friends and thinking: “We need to hit this ball 100 pounds!” Here is an example of positive stress. It helps us overcome existing difficulties.

   Unlike positive stress, distress is purely negative. Excessively elevated levels can lead to illness. Some circumstances always give rise to negative stress (tight deadlines at work, illness of a child, quarrel with a wife or girlfriend, taxes, mortgage, etc.). And sometimes even positive stress becomes too much, and it transforms into negative.

   If you constantly live under stress, then feelings of anxiety, anger, rage, irritability, and disappointment arise. Such emotions trigger the “flight or fight” mechanism in our body. Stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are actively released into the blood, and the body falls out of balance. Blood pressure soars, breathing quickens, becomes shallow, and all muscles from the neck to the legs are tense. This tension creates discomfort and subsequently causes pain.

2. Passive lifestyle. Nowadays, very few people spend the entire day on their feet. Most people sit - at computers, in meetings, at lunch, in an armchair watching TV. You spend entire hours and even days in one position. At the same time, your pelvic muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps muscles are absolutely motionless. The gluteal muscles are forced to bear your entire body weight. The chest muscles contract and pull the shoulders forward. The neck, shoulders and back receive increased stress; you slouch and hunch over. You can immediately forget about correct posture, because prolonged sitting is one of the most negative postures for a person. Poor posture negatively affects the fascia and deprives them of elasticity, which is so necessary from an anatomical point of view. The consequence of this is constant pain.

3. Restricted mobility of the hip joints. Low mobility in the hip joints destroys the entire system. The pelvis is incredibly important for the performance and well-being of the entire body. When we talk about the hip joints, we firstly mean the muscles:
   1. rotating the leg outward (gluteal and piriform),
   2. inward (mainly the lumbar and pelvic floor muscles),
   3. as well as flexing the leg at the hip joint (mainly lumbar).

   The pelvic girdle is of paramount importance for overall body mobility. The cascading relationships between the muscles that flex and rotate the leg at the hip joint have a profound effect on dozens of small muscle groups in the pelvic floor that not only help flex and rotate the leg, but also stabilize the spine. All these muscles are connected to each other by fascia.

   In fact, you are depriving yourself of much-needed flexibility because you are not exercising. True, it can also be a lack of exercise or improperly organized physical training that creates a muscular imbalance (for example, if you pay more attention to the formation of the chest muscles than the back).

   Sometimes the problem is not at all a lack of flexibility or muscle tightness. Perhaps it's all about your fascia, or maybe it's about the instability of the muscles surrounding your spine. The result is a limitation in the range of motion. However, if you develop these muscles correctly, it will become much easier to move, and at the same time the lost flexibility will increase. Pay attention to your weak points and you will achieve success.

4. Poorly designed training program. Often the injury that ends the career of many athletes is the straw that breaks the camel's back. If you are reading these lines, you are probably working out at the gym. However, have you ever thought that the exercises you do may significantly worsen the condition causing your pain? Do you pump up your back muscles with the same zeal as your chest and abdominal muscles? We recommend that the ratio here be 1:1. This means that for every “push” movement there should be one “pull” movement. In the world of fitness and athleticism, there is an expression: “mirror muscles.” These are the ones that you yourself see in the mirror and the formation of which you pay special attention to). We are talking about biceps, chest and abdominal muscles. But, being carried away by external beauty, do not forget that unipolarity in this matter will not allow you to fully reveal your full potential. You will significantly improve your fitness if you pay at least the same amount of attention to those muscles that are located behind and hidden from your eyes.
5. Weak stretch. The average person, even those leading an active lifestyle, has significant problems with flexibility, especially in the area of ​​the above hip joint, as well as the posterior thigh muscles and thoracic spine. Moreover, the older you get, the more visible these problems are. Think about it: what part of the training do you usually throw away when time is running out? That's right, stretching. However, the lack of stretching exercises leads to muscle stiffness, discomfort, all kinds of pain and injuries. As a result, all the efforts spent on training go down the drain.

6. Insufficient time for recovery and rest. By changing your approach to training, you are taking a step in the right direction. But this is only one side of the coin. It is impossible to qualitatively strengthen the body through training alone. You also need time for rest and recovery. Give your body the opportunity to replenish its energy reserves. The components of this process rightfully include nutrition, sleep and exercise to increase flexibility. It is important to understand that recovery is an active process. You must make some efforts to help your body overcome the stress accumulated during work in the gym, including those that were created artificially by you (during training). Constantly repeating cyclic monotonous movements are considered one of the main causes of fascial contraction. Therefore, once again: rest, recovery, replenishment of energy.

So, we have looked at the main factors. The problems have been identified. But don’t be upset - every problem has a solution! We can make you happy. Even if your body has become flabby, and everyday negative habits cannot serve as a role model, the problem can be solved. But you need to change something in yourself. Tangible results will come with the acquisition of knowledge and regular efforts. In other words, you need to learn to understand your body and also take proactive steps. Which? – we will definitely tell you on the pages of our fitness website. Keep reading us, we have a lot more interesting things!