“Motion is lotion”

Standing all day will take its toll on your body just as much as sitting in a chair all day, so if you’re feeling the pain then consider the following…

 

1) Your footwear impacts your posture

It’s said that every inch placed under the heel (think of your shoes) will add orientation to the pelvis. This is your body’s way of reorganising its self to compensate; after all, our ancestors wouldn’t have worn shoes at all, so note that your body is clever and one of its primary goals is to survive so it will adapt to things (think of it as a strategy to keep you moving forward in life).

Now if this is the case then it’s going to affect our tissues (muscles etc) because when our bones act our muscles react. So if our pelvis is spilling forwards then our hip flexors are going to become short, tight and weak. As a result, your hip flexors attach to your lower back which could be causing an uncomfortable feeling in your lower back.

You can see the knock-on effect happening here.

I’m not saying that wearing shoes is wrong I’m just saying it will for sure have a knock-on effect above the foot.

 

2) You are not expressing your joints full range of motion

So it’s important for your joints to act like joints – their main function is moving!

Our joints need to move through their full range of motion because when they move they get more blood flow and they get pressure changes which help to nourish them.

The less we move joints the worse they become at doing what they’re good at and your brain won’t have the right information about them so it will send a protective tone to them known as “tightness” – now we begin to lose our ranges.

Think of it like this, a river that flows well is clear and colourful and you can drink from it, but a river that flows slowly is muddy and stagnate and not so nice to drink from.

The moral? We need to express the full ranges of our joints regularly to promote long-term health within (and I can help with this!).

If you’re noticing niggles/aches and pains on a daily basis this could just be the fact that your body is asking for some more movement to get those all-important pressure changes and joint nourishment.

It’s also important to understand that joint health is a process that takes patience and consistency. If you ask me, I would say the best time to start was yesterday… the next best time is NOW!

 

A bit about Kinstretch

I can help you feel and move better, to learn more check out tjpmobility.com where you will find details on my 1-1s and the practice of Kinstretch. Plus a load of free content on movements specific to you, alternatively you can drop me a line on Instagram @tjp_mobility.

I hope to see you soon

Trav (TJP) x