I have no strings to hold me down

One of my most frequent quotes, uttered only slightly less often than "my coffee cup is my security blanket", is that "I am solar powered." One of the only things that I don't like about being a massage therapist is the amount of time I spend in a dark, windowless room. 

I grew up on a farm in Southern Alberta. Medicine Hat is arguably one of the sunniest places on the planet. One of the benefits of being so dry, is that there are very few clouds. When an Albertan talks with someone from Vancouver Island about the dreary overcast skies, the Islander is startled. They really don't notice it, because it's normal to them.  I love the foothills for many reasons. No wind being at the top of the list, and seeing the Rocky Mountains every day. But it definitely isn't as sunny as the prairies.

Yesterday, when the sun came out for the first time in days, I soaked it up like a cat. In general I don't take sunny days for granted. When we are all having to avoid outings and our regular activities, a sunny spring day and listening to the melting snow run is like a little slice of paradise. Let's not talk about what I woke up to this morning...

I hope, wherever you are as you read this, there is some sunshine!

How Muscles Move

All muscles have to have an attachment point on at least two bones. Think of muscles like the strings on a marionette.  When a muscle contracts, that is like the puppeteer pulling on the string. Muscles can only move in one direction. When you chew your food, the lower jaw muscles contract to move your teeth apart. Once your mouth is all the way open, they can’t do anymore. To pull your teeth together and bite, your upper jaw muscles have to contract. Every movement we make is a tug of war between opposing sides.

When a muscle has a problem, it keeps the body part from moving as far as it normally can. The distance a part can move is called it’s range of motion (ROM). We have all experienced our ROM being impeded—when you wake up with a kink in your neck and can’t turn your head all the way. This impediment can be caused by injury; a torn muscle may be unable to contract. It can be from a spasm or cramp; the muscle is contracting so hard that the opposite muscle can’t compete.

Pain can stop muscles from moving as well, our bodies have a natural instinct to protect itself from further injury. Our brain tells our body to not move. The Achilles stretch on stairs demonstrates this. Stand on a stair with just the balls of your feet. Drop one heel below the step to stretch your calf. Now try to stretch both at once. You can’t go as far because your brain thinks you will fall backwards. It stops the movement. Our brain is also responsible for “favouring” an old injury. It’s memory of the pain can be hard to overcome to not limp after a knee injury or broken ankle.

A broken bone, sprained ligament or torn muscle will inspire the surrounding muscles to tense up, and act like a natural splint. This is what happens with whiplash. There are a lot of soft tissues in our neck, when some are damaged, the rest go into protection mode. Unfortunately sometimes these overachieving muscles don’t know when to let go. The injury has long since healed, but the muscles are still rigid.

The ongoing tug-of-war between muscles can create imbalances. Some muscles we naturally use more, so they become stronger. Pretend you are pulling back the string on a bow. When, in the course of a regular day, do you ever move your arm like that? We rarely engage those muscles with any weight or force attached. Our biceps, on the other hand, get used constantly. Every time we take a drink of coffee or water or pick something up. If the imbalance gets dramatic enough, it’s like having a teenager and a preschooler trying to use a teeter totter. It can actually pull things out of place. This reminds me of one of my favorite nursery rhymes.

There was a crooked man

Who walked a crooked mile

And found a crooked sixpence

Upon a crooked stile

He bought a crooked cat

Who caught a crooked mouse

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.