As I am about to head to Melbourne to attend a course in Functional Movement Screening- this is a course where we learn to assess people’s fundamental movement patterns in a measurable way, I got to realise the importance of having some means of assessing my clients that is measurable. This course will enable us to determine if any movement patterns need to be corrected.
If any patterns do – and most people will find that there are some that are less than ideal and can lead to stress or injury down the track – this is a system to help address those. At the same time if any pain is found during the assessment, the client will be referred to a medical practitioner to eliminate underlying problems.
Up until now I have been using the Turkish Get Up to assess a client’s movement quality, and then used it along with various other drills we as RKCs learn in our training to improve this quality.
However many times a client is in a hurry to go hard and/or heavy. This type of client doesn’t understand that it is about longevity in whatever sport they wish to do- even if it is the sport of life in general. Too many times do I see people my age and way younger that can’t do basic things like getting up from the floor, standing on one leg or crawl.
The other phenomenon I see often is that people that haven’t done anything for years suddenly arrive at their second childhood and take up activities they used to pursue when they were much younger and moved much better. Then they wonder why they tear muscles, injure or freeze up joints or break down in general. Of course then it is something like: I am too old for that, I only get hurt.
Adding to that is looking after your own general health- keeping weight to a normal range and junk food out of the mouth.
When we were babies we didn’t need medications to keep cholesterol under control, blood pressure down or our blood thin. We also didn’t need anything to control our blood sugar (other than in the case of type 1 diabetes). We did all that naturally.
Normal weight will in most cases assist greatly in moving better even without anything else.
If these people would look up someone that can help them move better and reduce the effects of sedentary living – butt muscles not working, weak midsection, locked up upper spine and imbalances between right and left – as well as help with organising a proper eating plan – a lot can be prevented and a much more active life enjoyed.