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As you know, the path to weight loss in rife with many stumbling blocks. Life stresses, boredom, lack of motivation, lack of time, incorrect information, all of these things can deter progress. For the most part, these things are preventable. However, one hurdle that many people view as not preventable is injuries. We tend to assume that getting injured is just one of those things that can happen, and is sort of inevitable. Often, when it does happen, we feel as though there is nothing we can do. This is frequently the point that most of us will give up. Although we may ask ourselves what went wrong, often, we are at a loss as to why the injury happened. While we may have some ideas, such as not stretching enough, not warming up properly, or just an accident, one of the things we fail to consider is our biomechanics.

Biomechanics basically means the mechanics of how we move. Looking at the body as a machine, biomechanics studies whether or not all of the parts function properly. Essentially, do all of the muscles work they way they are supposed to? Inherent in this question, is a framework for understanding the way a human body moves most efficiently. Within this framework, there are a couple of key elements. The theory is that when each of these things is achieved, the body will move as efficiently as possible, and risk of injury will be significantly decreased. Further, with a failure to achieve these things, the risk of injury increases. With greater deviations from these things, the risk of injury becomes larger. Clearly then, injury prevention is dependent on understanding this framework and thereby decreasing risk as much as possible. So let’s take a look at what these factors are, and how we achieve them.

– MEDIAL TO LATERAL BALANCE: Basically this means side to side balance. To understand this concept, imagine a line drawn down the center of your back, beginning at the top of your head, down you spine, continuing through the center of your hips, and ending right in between your feet. Looking at yourself from behind, your body should be equally balanced on both sides of this line: that is to say that the line divides your body right in half. As you stand, walk and run, your body should then stay equally balanced on both sides of this line and at no point appear to be leaning to one side or another. However, this is hardly ever the case. Most people will have a preference for one side or another, and will appear to be leaning slightly as they stand, walk, and run. An example of this is the person who wears the tread on one shoe slightly more than the other, or tends to bump into one side rail on the treadmill more than the other. When this is the case, the side that the person tends to lean toward will bear more weight than the other side, adding more load to the foot, knee, and hip on that side, thereby predisposing that side of the body to increased injury risk. Sciatica, iliotibial band syndrome, and lower back strain are all examples of poor medial to lateral balance. The only way to assess your medial to lateral balance is to either have someone video you standing, running, and walking from behind, or to have a trained professional watch you and make the necessary adjustments. These adjustments are typically small, and the problem is not difficult to fix once it is identified.

– ANTERIOR TO POSTERIOR BALANCE: This basically means front to back balance. Looking at your body from the side, imagine a line that begins at the top of your head, passes through your shoulder hip, and down to your heel. This line should divide your body in half, making it equally balanced on both sides of the line. Essentially, it should look as though you are standing at a ninety degree angle, and not leaning forward or backward. As you walk and run, the point at which your foot first contacts the ground should fall directly on this line. That is to say that your foot should hit the ground directly under your head. While at increased speeds, such as when sprinting, you may be leaning forward, your foot should continue to contact the ground directly in line with your head. If you lean forward, for example, your foot would contact the ground further forward, and vice-versa if you are leaning backward. Whatever the case may be your head and foot contact should always remain on a vertical line, so that connecting the two points that they make would create a ninety degree angle. When this is not the case and the person tends to lean forward with the head leading the point of contact of the foot, there is more weight displaced on the anterior portions of the body. An imbalance such as this predisposes the person injuries such as patellar compression, shin splints, and strains of the erector spinae muscles. When the opposite is the case, and the person lean backward with the point of contact of the foot in front of the head, there is more weight displaced on the posterior portions of the body. This imbalance can cause injuries such as stress fractures of the lower leg, heel bruising, hip compression, and arthritis of the ankle, knee, and hip. Again, preventing injuries then depends on maintaining correct anterior to posterior balance. Assessing this for yourself will also require the use of a videotape, or a trained professional to make the needed adjustments. Similar to medial to lateral balance, these adjustments are usually minor and the problem is quite fixable once they are made.

So the next time you head out for a walk or run, they probably will be many things on your mind. Maybe you are even going out to “clear your head”. However, one of the last thoughts you probably want to have is of an injury. So take a moment to think about whether or not your body is truly balanced. Are you leaning to one side or another? Are you leaning forward or backward too much? When it comes to biomechanics and injury prevention, what often begins as a small problem, leads to a larger problem, and potentially a setback. What is important to remember is that, in terms of correcting things, small changes can have dramatic effects. As long as you are paying attention to your biomechanics, it doesn’t take much to remain injury free, and well on your way to healthy weight loss.

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Source by Eric Viskovicz