As a PT, I frequently see people who have all sorts of different pain that tell me they work out at the gym and explain to me the exercises they are doing. Yet when I test their core strength, it is amazing they can even stand upright. And then there are my Crossfit athletes that I coach. I cringe when I see them do certain movements, as they are an “injury waiting to happen.”
Our bodies are amazing and will find ways to make a movement happen, but this is to our detriment. If a specific muscle isn’t strong enough to do it’s job or if an area is mobile enough to move through the necessary range, something else will compensate in order to achieve the goal. Compensate for too long and you get pain.
This is where regression comes in. Sometimes it is important to back down the individual to the basics: retraining proper core control and breathing in order to build back up properly or developing proper mobility and stability to perform a movement properly. Once a body is retrained properly, it will progress even quicker when returned back to normal activities since it now has a good foundation to build on.
Education is key with athletes! No one wants to stop doing what they love, but if they are willing to buy in to what is necessary, the results will amaze them!
If you feel like this is you or you want some direction on how to regress your athletes, contact me for more information.
