We are Movement Optimists!
Physical Therapists are generally considered movement experts, but we are actually movement optimists. We believe everyone has the capacity to move well despite age, injury, or illness and it’s our job to help make that happen. Of course being injured or suffering from a disease process may affect how you move, but there is always room to improve with hope of feeling better. Let’s talk a little about functional movements and how we use them to help you move towards your best self.
How do we do it?
At Catalyst we take a functional approach to our movement practice. We focus on movements you do everyday to get things done. This means that if you want your your hips and knees to move better, we may work on your squat technique. If you’ve had back pain, chances are deadlifts are in order. At a certain point after shoulder surgery we will have you pressing weight overhead. We do this because these exercises mimic the movement patterns found in everyday life. Reacquainting ourselves with moves like squatting, lifting, pressing, carrying and pulling, frees up untapped energy, reducing exhaustion and the burden of pain. And what better way to impact how well you are moving than to work on the things you have to do everyday?!
What if I’ve been injured?
Somewhere along the way, the idea became prevalent that as we age, or recover from injury, we should avoid lifting with weights or practicing these functional movements. Functional movements are NATURAL which means we were designed to do them!! It’s in our DNA. We were literally made to move this way.
We’ve heard “OH! I shouldn’t squat because I have bad/new knees” or “I’ll never be able to get up and down from the floor since my replacement surgery.” But, did you know that it is not only healthy but necessary to maintaining the health of your joints to use them to get on and off the floor. Positions such as laying on your stomach help maintain postural strength and rolling is a great way to increase core stabilization. We have also learned that it is incredibly important to our bone health to lift heavy things daily to maintain our grip and prevent diseases like Osteoporosis!
How can I lean more?
We use these functional movements and their principles to create a construct of strength, stability, robustness, and resiliency across the lifespan. Over the next 10 days we will show you how these movements apply specifically to YOU and how they can be a vital part of your training or recovery process.
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