What is corrective exercise?
What is corrective exercise?
You have probably heard about corrective exercise from your friends, or saw some bro bashing it on the internet. But before you get yourself all worked up about what corrective exercise is or isn't, let's take a step back.
Corrective exercise is to... You guessed it, to correct. Here’s the thing: depending on time, place, knowledge, execution, client, coach, mobility, ability, dysfunction, etc. Any exercise you choose can be corrective. If choosing that exercise helps to correct your issue for the long term, you're on the right track. If it just looks cool on Instagram, or you're doing it without understanding why (or at least your coach understanding why), you're headed down a risky path.
We live in a world full of modern conveniences, things that make life easier, things that make it really, really easy to not move much. These conveniences also make it really easy to not move well. Add the internet with thousands of super fit “influencers” doing complicated, advanced exercises, and bodies are going to get broken. The long and the short is, most people have muscle and sometimes joint restrictions due to the way we live. The way we work, eat, sleep, drive, watch tv and even how we interact with each other makes prime conditions for poor posture, muscular dysfunction, suboptimal movement patterns, and chronic nagging minor injuries.
Corrective exercises can be used for all people from D1 level athletes to the 54 year old mom that has just learned the value of movement for the longevity of life yet has avoided any extra movement for the last 40 years. These are clearly not the same people, but correctives can help each person if applied properly. Properly is the key.
The decisions to add correctives, when, where and which ones are reliant on a good assessment. Coaches each have their own process for assessing clients and then assigning their programs. What is significant is the ability to test, and retest. The use of correctives is to help correct, so if your coach keeps throwing the same thing at you and the issues aren't improving, then these probably aren't the corrective strategies you need.
Corrective exercise is supplemental. The goal of using corrective exercise is to help you return to your favorite movements, regain full functionality for activities of daily living, or to enhance your performance, or nip that nagging tweak in the bud before it becomes a full blown injury and to help make you more durable and resilient to the demands of daily life.
Corrective exercises are thought to help reduce the sensation of pain and discomfort in the muscles due to tightness. To help to reduce the risk of injury, or help to increase the quality and speed of recovery after injury. Correctives have also been shown to help improve the efficacy of movement, which makes basic things like walking up stairs and hauling in groceries easier. While you might not be consciously aware of it, before you make a movement, your body starts a sequence of events preparing for that movement. WIth dysfunction or restriction, this sequence can get out of order and lead to the tightness, loss of range of motion, strength, or motor control. When the body is freed of tight muscles and can gain use of it's full range of motion, things get easier. Movement gets easier. If you want to run 30 miles, deadlift 600 pounds or simply go for a walk without feeling like your back is going to shatter, corrective exercises can help.
Now, don't go getting yourself all excited that you have found a magic bullet and all your problems will be solved. Depending on your history of movement, dysfunction, pain and a host of other variables, correctives can take time. They require effort and understanding from you on a daily basis. It also means that you need to find a coach, PT, chiropractor or another pro who understands how to assess and dispense correctives suited for you and your personal situation. Corrective exercise can help to teach your body how to move in more efficient balanced patterns. As clients use these movements to improve their patterns, most people report an increased sense of body awareness, proprioception and clearer mental and spiritual connection to their body.
The general outline for corrective exercise begins with:
Assessment - What's dysfunctional or less than optimal
Release - Reduce the activation of overactive muscles
Lengthen - Increase the extensibility, length and range of motion for tight or restricted muscles
Activate / Reactivate - Increase the activation of underactive muscles
Integration - Retrain or reduce the muscles to perform correctly within their movement patterns.
To do these things we use a series of implements like lacrosse balls, foam rollers, tiger tails and much more. We can also utilize things like breathing, dynamic and static stretching, alignment practice and cues. Stability, balance, and postural awareness are significant components of corrective exercise. These exercises can help plug up energy leaks by improving form for a specific activity or simply reduce the overall feeling of tightness and restriction in the body, which can improve posture and help you feel simply better in all situations. Feeling better often leads to a natural increase in overall movement, which we know is important for keeping both brain and body in prime working condition as we age.
The goal of using corrective exercise is to get you cleared for your life. To help you feel stable, coordinated and confident in your movement. It's not just for pro athletes or your super crossfit friend. In fact, corrective exercise may provide a significantly more appropriate entry point for the majority of everyday people looking to improve their health and wellness for the long haul.
If you have been considering returning to movement or are just getting started, I encourage you to look for a professional who is able to help meet you at the level you are at today, tight shoulders, tight hips, achy knees, sore lower back, weak wrists and all.
Sources
https://muschealth.org/blog/2019/december/corrective-exercise
https://www.functionalmovement.com/Articles/633/the_case_against_corrective_exercise
https://www.functionalmovement.com/Articles/613/cool_exercise_guy
https://www.functionalmovement.com/Articles/611/functional_vs._corrective_exercises
